westwhere | our troubles will be out of sight

Entry tags:

our troubles will be out of sight

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.]

Threaded | Flat

[Anduin has been by the wells on his daily walks several times now, each time his momentary investigations filling him with deeper concern. He -- really shouldn't be getting into this, he's supposed to be resting, relaxing here at this inn. He had promised himself he would be, that he wouldn't go poking his nose into any mysteries that might open any further cans of worms, full of danger, heartache, or all of the above.

He can't help but stop by again today though. Spotting that he is not the only one who seems to be troubled by it.]

It seems to happen every day.

[he offers, not meaning to have snuck up on her...]

( They've trawled the lake's shores too long, toes and fingers blistered by the chills of an afternoon thick-misted and sprawling. When ice runs so thick, he knows — a childhood at ease in the quiescence of Cloud Recesses has taught him — it grows blindingly luminous. Their task has been simple: sweep, and outwards, so that the frosted gravel of fresh snow need not attach itself to the lake's skin and shape fresh obstacles for the skaters.

Below, something has stared from morning to midday, scattered and baleful. A danger in the animal, nictating quality of its gaze. Lan Wangji watches the watcher and does not ask (again, yet again) how it is the inn's staff rattle the dice of their fortunes in a timid hand and throw their lot in with ghosts so readily. He has looked past the gossamer of the Mistress' rehearsed, stale greetings and heard her reassurance that the salt-breaker phantasm but seeks a host, that the sisters squabble as family, that the headless man has only shown them kindness. He has known each of these excuses for their failings.

This is not his land. They are not his people. He cannot judge. Only shudder, when the latest of their newfound companions draws his eye from the sweeping to where lake ice has chipped and startled in slim rivulets and cracks like a spider's web.

Where the creature, which only ever coiled and curled and prowled before, has now stopped and focused its attention. )

It is concentrating its efforts. ( This... does not bode them. ) Perhaps, if we search closer.

( Trust a fool — this fool — to start navigating the shores until he's traversing ice to look closer. )

[Caitlyn's come into the forest specifically because of the warnings about direwolves. If one should attack, she thinks she'd be well suited to keep the villagers from harm.

A soft sound in the underbrush draws her attention, and for a long moment, she's staring through a thick nest of shrubs. Another small sound, another rustle. She starts to reach for the rifle in its case on her back and...

A rabbit shoots out of the bushes and takes off running.

Nothing to worry about, then. She starts to relax, only to suddenly whirl around at the sound of the voice addressing her.]

So I've heard. No need to worry, I can protect you.

[Ostensibly Kim is out to collect berries, but her basket dangles from the crook of her arm like an accessory, and her hands are deep in her pockets. Her borrowed jacket is warm, and the top buttons are undone –– it's actually warmer than she thought, given how far it is from modern. Her cheeks are pink, and her blonde hair trails out from under her hat. She looks aimless. Not quite lost, but certainly someone who hasn't trudged out into the woods for god-knows how long. She certainly doesn't notice the other woman until she's called to.]

Wolves? [Ambivalent.] Wolves don't usually go after people.

Probably not, but it might be useful to have.

[ Illumination looks around to see if she can spot any of the usual warning signs of a magical or physical trap. ]

Do you think we could convince someone else to go first or ought we get a very sturdy broomhandle and see what happens?

[ 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?

[Like any teen, Kamala can't stand being stuck inside the house for long without some good video games and snacks. She's not sure if this is better. It's freezing out here. It does get her out of the house which nets her a meeting with an Avenger.

Kamala immediately does a doubletake at her advice. It can't really be Wanda Maximoff saying that. The longer Kamala stares, the clearer it is that is her.

The teen visibly brightens. This is the coolest thing that's ever happened to her. Kamala is about to laugh her advice off. She's standing by someone who protected the planet from the greatest evil the galaxy has ever seen. What does she need to be afraid of?

The fallout and circumstances around that victory start to filter back in. Her smile gradually fades. She remembers it being confirmed Wanda died in the Snap along with half of all life on Earth. She remembers that even when she came back that not all the Avengers joined her. Some of the survivors of the initial Snap were even lost in the battle too. She recalls hearing news reports about what went down in Westview before her parents quickly changed the channel. Sorrow colors her features rather than fear.

She'd been 11 when half of all life on Earth came to an end. Her parents taught her early on to only have compassion for her fellow survivors and grace with herself as they maneuvered through life at the end of half of it. Not everyone can handle so much loss and be their best selves all the time.

Kamala catches herself staring and laughs nervously.] Oh... thanks. I'm sure I'll be okay since- you know. [She gestures to Wanda only to wince. Okay maybe she shouldn't just assume Wanda even wants to superhero anymore. She probably saw her friends die in front of her.]

Sorry, I'm being a total jerk. Ignore me. [She'll just start to walk a little faster in any other direction. It's okay!!!]

[ Clara is staring at the ice, eyes wide which is likely enough of an answer. But she looks over at the other woman and nods. ]

I want to say no, but it'd be a lie. That's enough skating for me, then.

[ Here drifts a black hole in a trench coat, carrying something that almost looks like breakfast. Not for herself, but she'll be serving up the Doctor's attempt at an omelette, which includes cheese, meat, crème fraiche, and...mashed in berries. Enjoy.

She's silent when she moves, her expression cryptic no matter the reactions of any others around her, at least until she offers Wanda her option for breakfast and lets slip a double-take. Vanessa knows what chaos smells like; the monster in her claimed to birth it. Of course she would be wary.

It's subtle, but she'll hesitate before setting the plate on the table, and she might be attempting to turn around and leave a bit more quickly than she entered. If she can get through bringing people coffee, then she's out of there. ]

Threaded | Flat

iii. the wells

i. the lake

iv. the forest

IV. the motherfuckin forest

II. The Mouth.

i

iv. forest