our troubles will be out of sight

[westviews]

WHO: Wanda and you!
WHEN: Month of December
WHERE: The Inn
WHAT: Checking things out, getting a feel for her new companions, etc
WARNINGS: Will note as needed.



I.THE LAKE

[A frozen lake is a frozen lake, but this one is strange. Wanda doesn't quite step on the ice itself, but she does stay very close to the edge, eyes narrowed as she tries to discern what she thinks she saw... bump the ice from below?]

Did you see that? [She'll ask whoever is near.]

II. THE MOUTH

Are you sure that's a good idea?

[Interested in taking a sword, shield, or whatever from that pit? Well, Wanda's making a face like she certainly doesn't think it's a good idea.]

III. THE WELLS

[A morning of wandering has Wanda slowly approaching the wells. Generally, she wouldn't care to look, but she's got nothing to do and nowhere to be, so she's allowing her curiosity to win. They look very old, possibly out of use, but as she draws near the first she gives the lid a little push. Far too snug for her to move using her own muscle, which she suspected, but she didn't expect to see blood on the light dusting of snow when she stepped back.

She crouches down to get a better look. It's pretty hard to mistake blood for anything else. Still...

Come spook her while she's already feeling vaguely spooked.]

IV. THE FOREST

[Collecting herbs and berries isn't the most engaging task to help out at the inn, but it does give her an opportunity to watch the villagers. It feels colder out here, and much more dangerous. Which is why Wanda calls out to whoever she might see,]

Careful. They said there are wolves around here.

[Wolves, direwolves. Same difference.]



[ooc: Easy peasy prompts! If you want something more specific, or more actiony, feel free to PM me and I'll gladly work something out for us.]

Comments

i

[slippin]

[ The thing about the lake is there's a nice, wide path of trampled snow leading to and around it. Jimmy's about as far as you can get from a tracker, but it's just common sense to stick to places well-trafficked by corporeal feet. Besides, it's comforting—after Serthica, populated with unwitting zombies and robots and life-size puppets—to hear normal human conversation and even the occasional wild, non-terrified shout.

Anyway. He's found a log to sit on, where he can skeptically regard a borrowed pair of blades meant to be strapped to his boots (in one hand) and a little vial of something black and sludgy (in the other). ]

Huh? [ Jimmy's head snaps up. He looks out over the lake, but sees only a few stray skaters and the fisherman who's been so still it's like he's intent on becoming one with the lake. ] Was it funny?

[westviews]

[Wanda turns her head to look at her company, then back out at the lake. No one seems to be worried. The ice is in one piece, undisturbed. But she thought there had been something. It could have been a trick of the sunlight on the ice, of course.]

I don't know.

[She lets her eyes linger on the ice for a long moment before turning around fully. Skates, and...?]

Are you going skating?

[Said with the tone of you don't look the type.]

[slippin]

[ Weird answer. Maybe the weirdest possible answer? Jimmy eyes her a minute—mostly while her head's turned—with something like puzzlement, something like concern. At her prompting, he returns his attention to the skates. The straps are all tangled up with the buckles, and he has to set the bottle down—digging it a little divot in the snow—to start teasing them apart. ]

Uh, yeah. [ He looks up, points smack dab in her direction. ] I do a mean double Axel. [ This is, needless to say, patently false. ]

What about you? [ A pointed glance at her skateless boots. ] More into luge?

[westviews]

[Wanda purses her lips together. He doesn't scream grace, so she's guessing he's just messing with her. Fair enough.

She doesn't know much about anything that occurs on the ice, so she simply shakes her head.]

Not even a little.

[She nods towards that little bottle he's set down in the snow.]

Is that for the skates?

[... oil for the blade? Leather? She really has no clue. And she wonders if this guy does, either.]

[slippin]

[ Wow, not even a smile? A pity chuckle? God knows he's used to unappreciative silences, but Jimmy's starting to wonder if he'd have more luck with the fisherman.

He perks up, though, when she spots the bottle. Raises one hand to beckon her over, skates-in-progress dangling from the other. ] Come take a look, it's— [ There's a noise, a thud followed by a sharp almost-snap. Jimmy leans back, hand dropping to the log. His gaze flicks to the surrounding woods, then her, then the lake. In half a second, he's gone from relaxed to rigidly alert. ]

[westviews]

[She heard that. There's a tip of Wanda's head in the direction of the icy lake, eyes following, and then she looks back to him. The clear alertness really does answer the question before she asks,]

Did you hear that?

[slippin]

[ His eyes widen—in fear, in disbelief? Probably a combination. He nods, scanning the lake again with a quick, darting glance. Listening.

It clicks, at least: she just got here. She thinks she's losing her mind. ] Really [ his voice is low, most of the fear strangled out of it ] get over here.

[westviews]

[It wouldn't be the first time she's lost her mind, so seeing him react so strongly is a comfort. Wanda steps away, towards him, but keeps her eyes on the ice.]

I think you're going to want to ditch the skates.

[slippin]

Okay, okay. [ Hurriedly he holds up his hands, dumps the skates. They fall to the snow in a heap. He swipes the bottle of goo, though—pocketing it as he takes a last look at the lake. What if someone out there broke a leg?

Nah. The sound was too close. Way too close.

Jimmy scrambles to his feet, stepping behind the log as if that'll protect him. His voice has risen to a loud hiss. ] C'mon, what're you waiting for!

[westviews]

[Some part of her feels obligated, should some big fish-monster burst through the ice, to stop it from whatever it might try to do to anyone unfortunate enough to fall into the water. Another part of her asks why that's her problem. Jimmy's voice is much more annoying even at a hiss, and cuts through her own internal dialogue.]

You. [She motions for him to keep moving back as she finally moves, towards stepping over the log.] Go. C'mon.

[slippin]

[ He pulls a face and throws his arms out at that incomprehensible answer—not so scared he can't mug for a nonexistent crowd—then does as he's told. He takes a few slow, steady steps backwards, breath streaming out like smoke, until he's determined he's far enough away to turn tail and...well, running doesn't seem especially advisable, so he crunches down the path at a kind of trot.

When the path starts to narrow, the trees growing thicker, he risks a glance over his shoulder. ] Are you with me?

[westviews]

You're not that fast.

[While cardio fell on the back burner once she figured out how to use her powers to fly, the pace he sets is easy to keep up with. Still, she comes to a slow stop, turning around to look back at the lake--nearly impossible with the trees in the way.]

Sorry to ruin your plans.

[The skating. He was ready to go and everything.]

[slippin]

What? [ Once it's apparent that she's not, say, trailing blood and nothing's pursuing them, Jimmy slows to a walk. A trudge. He rubs his hands together as he goes, cupping and huffing into them once in a while. ] Ha, well, it just so happens I was also planning on not meeting a soggy demise, so let's call it even.

[ She's treated to a short-lived silent spell while he luxuriates in the certainty that the pond and its contents are safely behind them. The temporary freedom from otherworldly bullshit. ] You're new, huh? [ It's sympathetic, though—like most of what comes out of Jimmy's mouth—not quite convincingly sincere. After a beat he continues in matter-of-fact tour guide tones: ] So I'm guessing that was a ghost. They're all over the place. Some are scary, others are like...you know they'd be cutting you off in traffic if they were alive, but basically harmless. But in my experience [ all of two months ] they all want something. And most of the time that something is, one, incredibly specific and two, completely irrational. The rules of logic do not apply.

Know any toddlers? Kind of like that, honestly.

[westviews]

[Her boys skipped the toddler phase altogether, but she understands his meaning. She walks beside him, arms tucked around herself.]

What do you think a ghost under the ice wants? A space heater?

[She grimaces, though doesn't seem all too worried about ghosts. She resists the urge to look back again at the lake, as if she'd see a pale figure on the ice, waiting. Wanda shakes her head. It doesn't matter. Ghosts are not her problem.]

What's your name?

[slippin]

[ Company.

...he doesn't say, reflexively avoiding her eyes in case the thought somehow makes it onto his face. But it doesn't take him long to regroup. ] No, no...look, it's not your fault, you're a beginner, but you're being way too— [ He stretches his hands apart, holding them even, as if there's a string linking them. ] It wants you to make a snowman that looks like its mom, or something.

[ Up fly his hands, fingers splayed in a gesture of who-fucking-knows, and when they settle a finger's pointed at his chest. ] I'm Jimmy. McGill.

[westviews]

Too...? [She tips her head in question.] Would you prefer I panic?

[Not very helpful, and she's seen stranger than ghosts, though she's not very eager to go meet one and find out what it wants. She'll be steering clear of any at the inn, too. Not her vibe.

She's not sure if this guy seems like a Jimmy, but she nods.]

Wanda Maximoff. The beginner.

[slippin]

No. [ Huh? says his tone. He does the thing with his hands again, then glances down at them as if something might be broken. As if there was any way that could be the source of the misunderstanding here. ] Too, uh, linear. There's usually some kinda sordid...whatever, nice to meet you.

And hey—pay attention, keep your wits about you, and in no time at all you'll be a novice like me.

[westviews]

Nice to meet you, too.

[No one's gotten eaten or haunted yet, so Wanda is going to consider this going great, so far. There's a palpable silence as she tries to think of conversation.]

What's in the bottle?