Looking for Help (Bolin's office)

Rúna wavered for a moment in front of Professor Honghui's office before knocking lightly on the door. She stepped back, hands clenching together as she hoped he was there. The sooner she could speak with him, the sooner she could start sorting through the mess that was her past and hopefully stop it from mucking around with her present and future.

Bolin opened the door slowly and smiled at Rúna when he spotted her.

"Good afternoon," he said, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw with one hand. "What can I help you with?"

Rúna looked up at him and took a deep breath. "I've been having lots of nightmares lately, and I know exactly why. I just need help working through it so I can get past it, you know? I'm told you're the one to talk to about that kind of thing."

Bolin nodded and stood aside, silently inviting her in. The room featured two comfortable armchairs facing Bolin's desk, upon which were two pictures: one featured a much younger Bolin beaming as he held a bright-eyed baby girl, who was clearly giggling as she ran her palms along the buzzed hair at young!Bolin's temples. The other picture showed an older, stern-looking gentleman in uniform with his hand on the shoulder of a young man that looked very much like Bolin, though he was clearly another person. The younger man was smiling more with his eyes than his lips, and there was clear warmth in this picture.

"I am most certainly the one to come to in this situation." He tipped his head and nodded. "At your service, Miss."

"Thank you." Rúna went in, hesitating for a moment before sinking down into one of the armchairs and looking at the pictures on the desk. Curiosity about their subjects nagged at her, but her own need trumped that for the moment. She clasped her hands in her lap and looking up at the professor, wondering how to begin as she waited for an invitation to speak.

Bolin took his seat behind the desk and spread his hands, signaling that she was welcome to begin.

Rúna watched him sit, then took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure how much detail to go into," she began. "I have a lot of past to sort through, but the nightmares are only about a small part of it. And I'm not sure I understand it completely myself."

Bolin nodded and folded his fingers together.

"In my experience, the easiest thing to do is start with the immediate trouble, and then work backwards to see how things are tied together. Let's start with those nightmares, and then see what we can work through using the details you provide."

Rúna nodded and licked her lips. "The nightmares are always the same. I'm lost in tunnels deep underground, and then I come to a big cavern. There's a cage hanging from the ceiling, with a raven inside -- Muninn, one of Odin's servants. I have knives in my belt, and I try to pick the lock. Before I can get it open, someone comes out of the shadows."

Here she paused to steel herself before forging ahead. "It's Loki. All I can see of him are his eyes -- golden, like a snake's -- and his smile. He... he tells me he's been waiting for me, and that he knows who I am... who I was, the parts of my past I can't remember. He took my memories from me, and offers to give them back. I say I'll only take them if he lets Muninn go as well. Then Loki says he'll take my wings as payment." She reached up to her shoulder blades, where Ellie had healed them.

Her next words came between deep shuddering breaths, and she began to shake. "I refuse, but he insists. He frees Muninn from the cage, but then breaks his wing and throws him into a pit. And then he -- Loki rips off my wings and kicks me down after him." She buried her face in her hands, tears running down her face. "That's when I wake up."

Bolin watched her over steepled fingers, paying close attention to her body language. He gave her a moment to breathe, and gently pushed a box of tissues towards her.

"Do you remember why you were lost in the tunnels in the first place?" His voice was gentle. "Were you called there, do you think?"

"And have you considered what this Loki might want with your wings? They must have been able to serve some purpose if he took them."

Rúna gulped for breath and fumbled one-handed for a tissue. She dried her eyes and blew her nose, trying to compose herself; it was a few moments before she could reply.

"I'd volunteered to look for Muninn when he went missing. None of us knew Loki was behind it. My friends and I all went looking, and on the way we fought a giant. I was separated from the others, and that's how I wound up in the tunnels. I don't know what Loki wanted with my wings... he can't have wanted much, because he threw all my feathers down on me in the pit. I think he just did it for enjoyment. And he never did give me back my memories."

"How did you get out of the pit?"

Bolin was making mental notes as he listened, and wasn't entirely sure that Rúna was still speaking strictly about dreams.

"My friends Arnbjörg and Brynja found us and carried us out. Arnbjörg did what she could for my back and Muninn's wing, and then we went back to Odin and Brynhild. My friends and I were their servants, valkyries. We'd been there for more than eight hundred years." She swallowed. "I... I thought they'd be glad I returned, but they got angry and chased me away. They said I wasn't fit to be a valkyrie anymore. Arnbjörg and Brynja tried to follow me, but we were separated, and I found Lakeshore on my own."

Bolin tipped his head thoughtfully. "Not fit to be a valkyrie because your wings were taken?"

"At what point is this happening in the nightmare, and what parts are memories? That's as good a place as any to start sorting things out. Ellie mentioned your injuries, so I'm going to assume that at least part of what your nightmare involved is rooted in living memory."

Rúna blew her nose again. "It's all rooted in memory. The nightmares start with me in the tunnels and end when I'm thrown into the pit. The memories continue until me finding this place. And further back, to when I was chosen to be a valkyrie. Loki took all my memories of before that. My friends have told me bits and pieces of things, like that we're all swan-people who came from the same village, but none of them could tell me my real name. It was them who named me Rúna, because of my amnesia."

Bolin mentally drew the timeline with a furrowed brow. The nightmare was clearly triggered by the stress of memory loss, and made worse by the trauma of losing her wings.

Having no way of contacting Rúna's loved ones meant that Bolin was left with the less... immediate options.

"Firstly, your nightmares." He sat back and pulled out a notepad. "I'm going to speak with Ellie to see if she can concoct a tea of sorts that'll keep you from having them. At least while we work on exploring different memory triggers. It'll be a slow process, but until I can track down other leads, it's our best start. We can meet a few times a week and work together to see if we can find any seeds of mem--"

Bolin froze, pen tip hovering over the paper.

"Of memory." He smiled, slowly, and nodded to himself.

"Rúna, while Ellie works on tea for dreamless sleep, I'm going to have a talk with Fable. Maybe he'll have ideas for us."

Rúna looked at him and nodded, sniffling. She tilted her head a little when he froze for a moment, but decided not to question it. At least not yet. "Thank you. I hope this all works out. no matter how long it takes."

She paused. "...Do you think my friends will be able to find me here? Or -- what if Loki does?"

Bolin looked her over calmly. "My thinking is that we'll find clues for contacting your friends as we ease forth your memories." His smile turned mischievous. Charming, even.

"As for Loki. There are numerous beings on staff at Dunehelden far more threatening than he. Veronique alone is a force to be reckoned with. You don't think any of us would let legitimate harm befall our students, do you?"

Rúna shook her head, blushing a bit. "Of course not."

She smoothed her skirt over her knees, wondering whether the conversation was over yet, as it seemed to be.

Bolin watched her for a moment longer.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, before I seek out Ellie and Fable?"

Rúna thought for a moment, then shook her head again. "I don't think so. Thanks again." She stood and slipped back out of the room, sighing to herself. It was a small step forward, but a step forward nonetheless.