[He loops the cord shorter to leave the charm hanging at a comfortable place. He memorizes what she's telling him: Algiz, shield. And that it either comes from Kiki or she went to Kiki for identification of the rune.]
[And as she finishes like that he looks back up to her with a small smile, touched by the gesture and willing to let that show. Carmen isn't someone for superstition but there doesn't have to be any grand belief in this to mean anything. Meaning is what you make, and that goes for ancient legends as much as anything else. Symbols are infused with power because of the belief in them. And while he doesn't have to believe that the necklace will protect him from a mysterious hurt, he can believe that it means he'll have someone standing behind him when that happens.]
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[And as she finishes like that he looks back up to her with a small smile, touched by the gesture and willing to let that show. Carmen isn't someone for superstition but there doesn't have to be any grand belief in this to mean anything. Meaning is what you make, and that goes for ancient legends as much as anything else. Symbols are infused with power because of the belief in them. And while he doesn't have to believe that the necklace will protect him from a mysterious hurt, he can believe that it means he'll have someone standing behind him when that happens.]
[And that's valuable too. Perhaps even moreso.]
Thank you.