Justine

Justine

If the stories the old busybodies and gossips tell are true, and there really was once a "school for weird kids" called Reynardine, located just over the hills in a little village with an unpronounceable name that sits at the foot of Blackwoods Mountain -- well, if that were true, then Justine probably went to school there. And if that school really did burn to the ground under mysterious circumstances, as some of the older and nosier townsfolk claim, then it's possible Justine may know all about that, as well.

But few people in the any of the villages dotting the countryside know Justine very well. Although she appears now and then to give aid and assistance when needed, some folks grumble that she often leaves things worse than when she came. They say that if she is only going to complain and heave heavy sighs while supposedly lending a helping hand, why doesn't she just mind her own business and let folks sort out their own problems? Some wager that she only does an occasional good deed to impress her boss, the elusive man of mystery known as Obscurus. It's also been said that she is friends with the somewhat spooky waif named Peculia, although others claim they are the furtherest thing from friends and that Justine has been observed spying on the other girl and reporting her activities into her phone.

It must be said, that while it's true that Justine is often seen idly wandering the hillside, chatting on her phone or napping under a tree, she has proved extremely resourceful and even brave in her encounters with some of the odder denizens of the outer villages, such as the Kensington Valley werewolves or Professor Bell's army of zombies.

(See: PECULIA)

Pen & ink w/ watercolor on paper, 9" x 11".
Number 27 in Richard's Skeleton Key series.