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

[westviews]

That's not an easy role.

[It's endless. Thankless, sometimes.]

Has it kept you busy?

[clavesregni]

Busy enough, I suppose.

[She smiles, almost ruefully. Standing around waiting for direwolves to attack isn't exactly what she'd call 'busy.' Still, she's not one to complain about it.]

And yourself? Are you out here to help them gather food?

[westviews]

Seems so.

[She doesn't mean to be dismissive, so Wanda takes a breath and offers a better explanation:]

I can't decide what to do to be of some use around here. There's a lot that needs to be done.

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's always eager to help out, and why not help someone find their purpose? Her smile becomes less rueful and more sincere.]

Well, what sort of skills have you got?

[westviews]

[It's a simple question, but one Wanda still seems to struggle with.]

They tend to be of the magical variety.

[clavesregni]

You're a mage?

[Caitlyn's doing nothing to hide her shock. Magic's banned where she's from, so meeting a magic user, especially one who's so candid about it, is a complete novelty.]

I've never met a mage before. What sorts of magic can you do?

[westviews]

[That's the first time she's gotten such a reaction. It's charming, almost, and Wanda just barely holds back a laugh at it. Absurd.]

Witch is probably more accurate. As for what I can do... it depends. What are mages usually capable of?

[clavesregni]

I... I don't know, really. [Her entire experience with magic comes from secondhand accounts and Jayce's experiments trying to replicate magical effects.]

They can move great distances in the blink of an eye, lift heavy objects with just their thoughts, manipulate the elements. There are stories of mages who could control the sun and moon or even time itself, though... those are just stories. I've no idea whether they're true.

[westviews]

[Some of that sounds familiar. Some of it she'd rather not admit to.]

I've been known to move a few things with my mind.

[clavesregni]

What sorts of things? [She digs in her coat pocket and fishes out her pencil.] Could you move that? Or something bigger? Such as that? [She points to a large boulder a few yards away.]

[westviews]

[Wanda lifts her hand, palm open. There's a soft, red glow there, and a similar one around the pencil--and if her grip isn't terribly tight, it'll move through the air from Caitlyn's hand to Wanda's.]

Just about anything.

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's hand drops out from under the pencil in surprise as soon as she notices the red glow.]

That's remarkable! In my world, magic is done with runes, different combinations of runes have different effects. But that looked as though you were moving it solely with your mind.

[westviews]

I was.

[She smiles, and the pencil returns over to Caitlyn, hovering in the air before her until she grabs it. Runes, Wanda has only some familiarity with, but she sincerely hopes she won't need them here.]

My world has witches, sorcerers... not terribly common, but people know of them.

[Both the good and the bad.]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn plucks the pencil out of the are and looks at it curiously, wondering if there's any visible remnants of the magic on it. Seeing none, she pockets it again.]

Are they different, witches and sorcerers?

[westviews]

It comes down to education, really.

[Wanda's learned on the fly. She's never had a magical mentor, and she doubts she ever will, at this point.]

I've had to figure out most of this on my own.

[clavesregni]

You learned magic without anyone to teach you? [Caitlyn's surprised. And impressed.] That's brilliant.

[westviews]

Most would say dangerous.

[But she looks a little amused despite the words.]

[clavesregni]

Most people where I'm from would say any sort of magic at all is dangerous. [She smiles softly.] But I think you'd have to be pretty brilliant to learn it all on your own.

[westviews]

To be fair, it wasn't all just learned. Some people are just born with it.

[And, to be fair, HYDRA did help her sharpen her abilities. Nowhere near her power and skill now, but they laid a foundation.]