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

[matermali]

[ Vanessa is probably more lax on titles than most people from her 'Victorian' era, never having insisted that people here use them. She only continues to use them for others, needing that distance for her own sake. Given there was no mention of Mrs., she'll assume Wanda is also unmarried until she's corrected.

The motion to the sluggishly retreating figure gets Vanessa to glance over to the Doctor again. Lucky he can't see her look, though he may feel it, even if it's joined with a smile of grudging amusement. She'll answer a bit louder—pointedly. ]

A well-meaning man who cannot resist curiosities and enjoys tempting fate. [ She is incredibly irritated but she's also so very touched, just pinning him with a strange mixed glare before turning her attention back on Wanda. ] He goes by the Doctor. Forgive him...again. I suspect he only worries.

[thedreamer]

[ Him. Oh, yes, he did rather...bungle this, didn't he? Once again failing at being stealthy in any way at all. He does mean well, or he tries to, even if he might fail in the execution at times. Vanessa went away (briefly, true, but she still went away) and then she came back and there was talk of Lucifer and witches, and now here, suddenly, another witch. Perhaps he can be forgiven (later, maybe, much later) for just needing to be sure all is well.

And now, very much assured and perhaps slightly chagrined, the Doctor tugs for a moment at his tie, straightens it, and then turns to face them both. His expression is one of humble apology, to start, but then rather quickly his characteristically bright grin takes its place. ]

Delighted! Wanda Maximoff - excellent name. [ He points with a thumb casually at Vanessa. ] She's right, of course; tempting fate, my middle name. Sort of. Just an expression, of course, because that wouldn't be the best middle name, honestly. Haven't given a middle name much thought before actually.... [ He catches himself, clapping his hands together lightly, briefly. ]

I do get carried away sometimes, sorry! I'll leave you to it, but if you get famished later, call on me, I'll sort you out with something truly delightful. Those eggs were just a warm up, not my best work.

[ Unsure how to end this and leave on a good note, he opts for a casual salute at them both before doing a quick spin around and excusing himself back to the kitchen before he...makes it worse than it maybe already is... ]

[westviews]

[That is so much talking. Wanda politely listens, though her gaze does drift to Vanessa to see how she's taking this. This is how he... normally is, she assumes. He seems nice, and that's certainly not a bad thing. It's just different.]

He seems sweet.

[Finally said as he leaves.]

What would have him worried?

[matermali]

[ He does talk a lot! And Vanessa is trying not to look enchanted when he does, and she mostly succeeds through her mild glare. At least he doesn't seem to have scared off Wanda, so his attempt to eavesdrop is immediately forgiven and she nods at the remark on his sweetness. Yes, yes he is.

Finally, she'll take a sip of her coffee. It's cooled off enough, and it gives her a moment to think of how she wants to answer. It's rare for her to even consider sharing that much, but they won't get anywhere if she's too coy. Vanessa is far more interested in answers these days. ]

Throughout my life, I have been...hunted.

[ Her expression sobers considerably, gaze even casting downward momentarily as she loses herself in scattered memories, but she's quick to resume eye contact. ]

Your query left me startled, and he knows of those who have hunted me for this curse. But...I do not think you are an enemy.

[westviews]

[There's a sympathetic tip of Wanda's head, brow creased. There's something fond between Vanessa and the Doctor, something she can recognize as familiar, but she dashes that thought before it can spiral into the land of bitterness. There are other things that are familiar and better to focus on.]

I've been hunted, too.

[She knows the feeling.]

I'm not after anything. Just... satisfying my curiosity, I guess.

[matermali]

We both have our curiosities, then.

[ It's not surprising to hear that Wanda has also been hunted. Vanessa can sense the danger in her. It's something Vanessa has always been drawn to since she was young, and her pursuers have taken advantage of her desire for that dark embrace. It's enough to keep her wary of Wanda's capabilities, even as she leans just slightly closer, elbows resting on the table's edge. ]

What came of those who hunted you?

[westviews]

Nothing good for them.

[It's all in the past tense. But she's less interested in the stories of being hunted and who might be the predator.]

What can you do?

[matermali]

[ Immediately, she draws back. The answer has never been simple, but even the one she gave Ethan Chandler so long ago no longer seems applicable, especially not in the face of a witch who nurtures magic born of chaos. ]

I...

[ They've only just met, and Vanessa knows it would be foolish to be too open, but there's also a connection that she can't deny, something felt so deep that she would know if malice touched it.

What can she do? The question reaches the monster inside, and it coils and pulses in her gut with the desire to answer; so much her jaw tightens and her gaze glosses while she appraises Wanda. It whispers and reaches and pulls. I've supped on Lucifer's heart and been found wanting. The blood of Amun-Ra has run dry on my tongue. I can taste your darkness, creature. Won't you let me drink deep? ]

...I am still learning my limitations. [ A pause, then with a softer grate to an already ragged voice, breaking her gaze to look down to her coffee. She stops and starts as her thoughts drift to shadowy memories. ] I have yet to discover where they end. There are times when I am...not altogether myself. Or, rather...there are parts of me in conflict, and I am not entirely sure what I'm capable of.

[westviews]

[She's about to tell her that she doesn't really need to answer, that she's simply curious because so few are even remotely like her, but then she speaks. The poor meal is entirely abandoned along with the coffee, Wanda's attention entirely on Vanessa.]

And you were born like this?

[matermali]

[ After a moment, she nods and looks back up. Since she was born; since before she was born. This soul has dipped a toe in eternity, and Vanessa knows she floats through ripples that have spread since before creation. ]

It is why I have never known true peace.

[ Though she may enjoy glimpses of it lately, more than she ever has before, something within will cause suffering, and not always for lack of want. She wonders at the pain that Wanda must carry. ]

You say no one taught you the arts, but you have a name for it. How did you learn? Where did you begin?

[westviews]

[Wanda can't say she's known much peace since getting her powers, either. And since becoming the Scarlet Witch...]

There was a book. The book of the damned. There were a lot of things in it, but there was a chapter on a being known as the Scarlet Witch. [She's saying too much, she thinks, but at the same time--she doesn't care. Little is a threat to her.] A being of unimaginable power, capable of spontaneous creation. Prophesized to either rule or destroy the world.

[She motions to herself with a shrug.]

Apparently, that's me. But that book led me down a dark path. The wrong one.

[matermali]

[ Wanda already had Vanessa's attention, but it's unlikely she's ever going to shake it now. How many prophecies now, for the end of days? Each with their own possible instigator, two among present company. The Doctor and Mr. Hargreeves are their own harbingers of the storm, but Wanda's magic calls to Vanessa intimately. She even talks of a book, and her eyes flicker in curiosity and yearning and nostalgia at the mention.

But... Creation. Vanessa has always connected her own powers to Death. Yet, she thinks of her scorpions—the little kiss of her deathstalker before it burrowed back down into her flesh, to her bones, to her soul. Perhaps there is something familiar to the concept of chaos, and if it could mean she isn't only restricted to Death? Wouldn't that make chaos the more virtuous path?

She stares unblinking, every muscle coiled in anticipation, but without judgment. She's enraptured. ]

And what did you decide was the right one?

[westviews]

The Darkhold only corrupts. [Strange had said as much, and she'd seen it in Agatha before she even had the book for her own, and yet--] I destroyed it. No one will ever be tempted by its promises, and no one will know the prophecy of the Scarlet Witch.

[Unless it's a tale that's reached beyond those who wield magic, but it's not like she's had much opportunity to sit and chat with anyone. This, here, is really the first time she's had a conversation about it. Wanda fiddles with her fingers on her lap, glancing down at them, still glad they're no longer burned with black.]

There really are some things that shouldn't be trifled with, regardless of power or intent.

[matermali]

[ Darkhold. A different name from the pages she once borrowed from, though both were meant to corrupt. The shame was that Vanessa had long been corrupted.

Her eyes narrow a touch to know Wanda destroyed it, squinting in a mix of admiration and disappointment. Such as it is, even if the inviting hiss through the ether is a reminder that nothing is ever final. If no one is to know the prophecy, then Vanessa can be no one, just as she's been before; Nothing more than a blade of grass. ]

Did you lose the knowledge it possessed? Or did you merely keep it from the hands of others?

[westviews]

It was a big book.

[Said with a wry twist of her mouth. There was so much of the dark arts in there, but she was only ever focused on ways to get her boys back. It's probably a good thing.]

It was never a thing that could be used for good.

[matermali]

[ Cursed books of dark magic do tend to be big, but Vanessa no longer has need of hers. The knowledge is kept within, at times even hidden from herself. Even evil can be fickle. ]

...You may be right.

[ Vanessa's said as much regarding her own powers in the past, but that never entirely kills the hope to make something more of them. Did Wanda lose that hope? Did she find a new one? There's something unsteady there, and Vanessa latches onto it. ]

But what if you are wrong? If I have learned anything from existing between worlds for so long, it's that nothing is certain. We can make our own prophecies.

[westviews]

I didn't fulfill mine. I made sure of it.

[A bit of a moot point.]

Better safe than sorry, is what I've learned. Nothing is certain, but it's better to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[matermali]

[ She tilts her head. She can come back to that. As if she could ever let it go. ]

What will you do to prepare for the worst, I wonder. Are you aware of some of the worst that this world has to offer?

[westviews]

Are you trying to frighten me?

[She asks, a hair away from sounding amused. Joke's on her--all the worst things that could possibly happen have happened to her, and so the rest is just extra.]

[matermali]

[ At that, she can't resist a strange little half-smile. Déjà vu. ]

I am extending an invitation. You would be wise to be frightened, however.

[westviews]

Why?

[Still, there's zero alarm.]

[matermali]

[ Given what Wanda's already revealed, the lack of alarm is to be expected. The curiosity is even appreciated, even if Vanessa is rarely direct in rewarding it. ]

Because this place will take fears you thought long dormant and you will be tormented with them. Those around you will witness this torment. Perhaps suffer for it. An inevitability is that we are here to tear at our breast until we reveal the ugly stains upon our hearts and souls...again and again.

[westviews]

[At that, she tips her head, listening intently.]

That's a regular occurrence, in my life. I wouldn't appreciate an audience, but it is what it is.

[matermali]

...Yes. It is what it is.

[ Vanessa once claimed the same, though not in so many words, so she can't fault Wanda her confidence. In many ways it had been a regular occurrence for Vanessa, as well. There's still concern over what might happen if this world draws upon the power of the Scarlet Witch, but Vanessa will be first to defend her right to at least attempt living freely, regardless of the risk.

She may not have heard of the Scarlet Witch before, but there's something singularly familiar about what she had sensed within Wanda. If she's had more time to learn about magic, what else could she have learned? Likely nothing helpful to Vanessa, but she would be fool not to ask.

With a glance down, her brow furrows as she forms the question, but she's quick to look back up to witness Wanda's answer. ]

Does the name Amunet mean anything to you?

[westviews]

Amunet?

[Wanda repeats the name. An orphan in a warzone of a country, her education wasn't the best. But she remembers seeing books in the orphanage, of drawings of pyramids and pictures of hieroglyphs and statues.]

Something relating to Egypt?