Rohaan's eyes, bloodshot from the tears, had veins of pale silver where there would have been red in anyone else's. Likewise, instead of his cheeks flushing red, his olive skin seemed to pale a little, gaining a barely perceptible milky quality. It was distinct from the paleness of illness, or of desperately clenched fists. Humans often found it counterintuitive and in their early days together, Berlin had frequently missed cues he likely would not have missed in a red blooded face. Those were usually the days he got bitten or scratched. 

Though the nature of his physiology was undoubtedly and sometimes uncomfortably not quite human, his expression certainly was human enough. The wet streaked cheeks, the trembling lip, the sniffling, and his iron grip on Pieter's arm as though he feared the man would float away if he let him go, all painted the picture of an ordinary human boy, if not in body then in soul. 

Those azurite eyes looked up into Pieter's with a seriousness that did not match his age. "Even you?" He'd finally given voice to the fear that had been gnawing at him. Though his first thought had immediately been [I]they've come back to take me[/I], that thought at least he was able to reason away. But the possibility that they could kill or capture his chosen family? That fear still troubled his little heart. He had gathered that Barizians were after magic achieved through blood. And magical blood had to be at least perceived as being better for the task whether it truly was or not. Rohaan guessed that if these rats knew the crew was primarily magical, they might be in even greater danger. "Promise me you won't let them take you, too." And then, he considered a moment and his face screwed up with a black hate as he added, "Then promise me they'll fucking burn." 


---

"Exploit them?" Uban blinked, wondering if he could be exploited in a similar way. But then, he was not a rune, nor did he have one, so maybe it wasn't possible? Though he was curious, he wasn't troubled. "Fascinating! I never knew any of this stuff was even possible. So as you learn more, you collect runes on your staff?" His eyes drifted down to the staff, studying it with a new perspective. Instead of seeing the bare wood and few runes and considering them rudimentary, he simply saw a person whom he thought incredibly talented, and a whole staff full of potential for more. It almost didn't seem possible. He'd forgotten about their guests entirely, and his lute sat propped up against the gunnel; Hana had his full attention. Consciously, he thought learning about magic was interesting and enjoyed hearing her talk about it. Subconsciously, he was too stricken by the electric connection he shared with her to think about anything else [I]but[/I] her. He was too stricken by [I]her.[/I]

Uban pointed to one of the runes. "What's this one for?" As an experiment, he extended his senses towards it but felt nothing beyond his own being. Evidently it had nothing to do with lightning, and absently he wondered what it would be like to touch other elements the way he could touch lightning.