01 | OPEN

[seeingscarlet]

Who: Wanda Maximoff & you!
What: Exploration time
When: The first week
Where: Greenhouse, hospital, and the forest outskirts
Warnings: N/A, will edit if needed

I. The Greenhouse
[Close to dinnertime you might come across Wanda standing in the greenhouse staring thoughtfully out over the vegetation.]

We could make a soup, I think. If we had a fire and something to cook it in...it would be better than just eating raw vegetables.

II. The Hospital
[The canisters are already ruptured by the time she gets there. Hospitals have always made her uncomfortable, but it's better to take stock of what they have and what they might need now, before anyone needs it. And it would be good to have some idea of how necessary certain aspects of her powers might be and where she might try to explore and push them.

Except while she's exploring the halls, she starts feeling warm and light-headed, and a little bit claustrophobic. She knows whoever worked here is long gone, but the hallways feel cramped and sinister and finally Wanda decides that she can't take it anymore. She turns to start making her way out (going out a window would be quickest but she feels off) and the world lurches sideways. Wanda stumbles into the wall to brace herself and leans her forehead against it. It's nice and cool. She'd stay here for a while if it didn't feel so threatening...

...but it does, and so Wanda's stumbling down the hallways with a hand braced on the wall to steady herself. Just a little farther...]

III. closed to Vision
[They walk hand in hand, Thistle chirping happily at the chance to explore a more familiar environment. Wanda's hair is braided now, looped through itself to hold, and while she misses the feel of the wind (or her lover's fingers) in it, it's not worth how much trouble it would be to detangle it later.

She leans up to kiss Vision's cheek and squeezes his hand.]

Over there? [There's a small clearing around a large tree, and it looks like a nice place to have a talk. Wanda trots ahead to beat him to it and settles back against it between the roots.] Come here, love.

[He's been keeping her as comfortable as he possibly could, and it's time to return the favor.]

IV. wild card
[You know what to do.]

Comments

[unbearablynaive]

The upside of Wanda wearing her hair braided is that the Vision gets to help her braid it. He squeezes her hand back and sits next to her against the tree, smiling.

He knows this isn't easy for her. At the best of times, being ripped away from your home and your life at the whims of a more powerful force is upsetting, and to have to build from the ground up is an additional aggravation nobody needed. But at least they'd gone camping in the wilderness before, and he had some idea what to do to make things a little more comfortable while they worked on getting a more permanent system in place.

He feels a little guilty for enjoying the challenge as much as he does, but it helps when you don't really need to eat or sleep.

"What's on your mind, dearest?"

[seeingscarlet]

She turns to gently cup his cheek. "So much. But I thought we could talk here." It's seemingly peaceful here, and if Wanda tries she can pretend that they're back home on Naviadna. "You don't take enough time to relax, Vizh. I worry about you."

She kisses him tenderly, letting Vision control the intensity and pace of the kiss. This little afternoon excursion is for his comfort and pleasure and so they can talk in peace and privacy, and Wanda doesn't want to put any extra demands on him. It's a mini-date. It should be fun.

And so her hand slides down from his cheek to his neck and shoulders, seeking out areas of tension. Vision may not need to sleep, but that won't spare his poor muscles. "I am going to find a bed frame for us, if you want to stay where we are. You should have somewhere nicer to sleep."

[unbearablynaive]

He starts guiltily at her concern, but he can't deny it. He hasn't really taken a moment off since they got here, unless one counts the moments between when he begins to hold Wanda and when she falls asleep. So after the kiss, he exhales and furrows his brow, telling himself sternly to relax while she works on his back muscles.

"There is so much to be done," he says, tone unhappy and eyes closing so she can work on him. "I feel as though I do not have time to relax."

Which is a bad answer, and he knows it, but it's how he feels.

"Do you want to stay in the shop? Or would you rather be in the hotel with the others?" He doesn't mind either way; the empty shop is better for accumulation of useful items and could be turned into a roomy abode, but the hotel is closer to everyone else.

[seeingscarlet]

"Oh, Vizh..." There's so much tension under her fingers and so Wanda shifts behind him so she can properly work on his back. "You may not need to sleep but you still need to rest. It isn't good for you to be working so much." She leans in close to carefully press several kisses to the side of his neck, another attempt to soothe him.

She's felt guilty that Vision's been acting as her pillow since they arrived, but in hindsight maybe that's one of the only reasons he's been physically resting. Would he just continue to work himself into the ground once she fell asleep if he knew he was leaving her safe in a comfortable bed?

"I like our privacy. But if we get the water working I want to be clean again." She sighs, carefully working her thumbs over a particularly bad knot. "But I will find a bed frame and bring it to the shop just so we can make somewhere nicer to sleep. You deserve better."

The Greenhouse

[doubled_speed]

[At this time of day Tommy has moved on to the process of watering not just what he's worked on, but also wherever the soil looks dry. Still, he gets up and moves from the vines covered in strange, almost transparent pea-pods with little peanut colored peas inside, and instead moves to greet whoever showed up.

And it's her. Wanda. He hesitates for half a second before stepping up to her.]

I think I heard you say soup, right? I mean, I don't have fire or something to cook it in, but I do know the veggies here. I can't tell you what all they taste like, but I can probably help find things that are good for people.

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda smiles, blissfully oblivious to whatever turmoil is going on inside his head.]

I think I could get Thistle to light one, if we had somewhere safe for it. [She shrugs.] We haven't had to think about it much. The fish and I can make enough light to see at night.

Even roasting them might taste a little better.

[doubled_speed]

[The fish? Whatever, he's not going to ask. Instead he gestures for Wanda to follow him down to the lower level for the root vegetables. But he can't disagree about tasty roasted veggies are.]

I mean, if you'd in charge of making things vaguely cooked, then by all means, you manage what you can. Only fair, right?

I. The Greenhouse

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha looks in on Wanda at the greenhouse. Or maybe just catches up with her there.

Either way, she's there in time to field the question.]

I'm sure you could do something with it, assuming we can eat any of them.

[seeingscarlet]

I know some of them are safe. Somehow the cyananas aren't poisonous.

[She's just going to adopt Tommy's name for them because it works. What else do you call a bright blue 'banana'?]

I've thought about touching the sphere but I don't know if I want to.

[outstandingbalance]

Cyananas. [Repeating after her slowly. It doesn't exactly sound like Wanda, does it.] Well, as long as they don't make anyone fall asleep or turn blue...

We'll have to find something to eat.

[The other comment is less easy to know how to respond too. Natasha's been hesitant to engage with any of the spheres.]

If you don't know, you can always give it some time.

II

[beenalongday]

[ If it were up to Clint, he'd never look at anything canister-shaped again. But he has looked at them, and that's why he's feeling decidedly under the weather right about now.

He has the same idea that Wanda does, namely using the walls for support as he tries to make his way down the halls while trying to find the exit again. He spots her just up ahead, or at least he thinks it's someone who looks like her. His vision's swimming just a bit which makes it difficult to tell up from down, but at the very least, her silhouette looks familiar. ]

Wanda? That you?

[ The question sounds silly to his ears after he says it, but he can't quite trust his eyes right now. And that, in itself, is especially troublesome. ]

[seeingscarlet]

Clint?

[Wanda turns and the room shifts again. She squeezes her eyes shut but that awful feeling of vertigo won't go away. Still, she manages a few shaky steps towards him.]

Are you...are you all right?

[beenalongday]

[ He has to keep one hand against the nearest wall to balance himself, but he's trying to take a few more steps towards her. Obviously she got hit with the same thing he did, which puts just one thought in his head: get her out of here and back to safety.

It's easier said than done, of course, but it's not doing either of them any favors to hang out here. ]

My head's spinning, and so is the room, but- Yeah.

[ He shakes his head once, hoping to dislodge some of the cobwebs. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't help. ]

Are you?

[tempredmental]

[Keith was rubbing at his arms under his jacket to try and alleviate a nagging itch that had started to crop up (he hadn't looked in a mirror, yet... spots!) when he came around the corner and almost got tumbled into by Wanda stumbling along.]

Woah, hey... you okay?

[He put his hands out to catch her just in case she needed it. She looked familiar... as in, seen around the Fleet familiar, but he couldn't immediately place the name...]

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda's a little less lucky - she stumbles backwards to avoid a collision and trips, falling flat on her butt. Sure, she could have caught herself, either with her powers or by trying to catch herself on Keith, but her brain's not working at 100% and she doesn't really recognize him. He looks a little familiar, she just can't put her finger on it.

He's also covered in spots and that can't be normal.]

Who are you?

[tempredmental]

I'm Keith. Does 'Drift Fleet' mean anything to you? [He didn't want to assume she was the same version of herself that he remembered seeing around there without asking first.]

[bossofspace]

Hey, I can help with at least one of those things.

[She holds out a hand, a gentle spark leaping across her fingertips in a kind of preview demonstration. Her blasts aren't nearly as strong as they should be, but a soup pot? She can manage that.]

I bet we can find some kinda container in here, too, somewhere.

Anything sounds better than more raw cyananas.

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda's eyes widen in curiosity and surprise. She's met plenty of other people with powers and even another telepath, but the novelty's never going to wear off. Especially not for something that looks so almost-familiar...

Sorry, the food's going to have to wait a minute.]

How are you doing that?

[bossofspace]

This? [ She lets the glow intensify for a second, before it fades back down. ] Short version is I got caught in an explosion and woke up like this instead of winding up dead. [ A soft, small laugh. ] You want the long version?

greenhouse

[theladyofwinterfell]

I am no cook, Wanda, but I can try my best to put something together with you. Between the two of us, we ought to manage to make something palatable. Tell me where to get started and I'll carry out orders.

(Just as she had in the Fleet, Sansa wants to carry her weight. Wanda is a friend, too, and friends help one another. She rolls up her sleeves.)

Ready when you are.

[seeingscarlet]

I think we can roast them even if we can't find a container for soup. I can probably get Thistle to start a small fire...have you seen anywhere safe to set one up? There are plenty of weeds for fuel.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Hmm, we could clear a place, I think. It'd be best to put it in a place that is well-ventilated so the fire doesn't go out and so that the smoke doesn't overwhelm us. Perhaps near one of those back corners?

( Sansa is surprised she knows this much about it. She's managed the stores at Winterfell and during the war, yes, but she's no forager and she doesn't know much about camping in rough country. Perhaps she's just learned something new the way she would in the Fleet sometimes. She tips her head a bit. )

Does that sound good to you, Wanda?

Greenhouse

[brooklyn_boy]

[Steve's stomach growls audibly at the idea of a stew. A real, honest stew with cooked vegetables. He hasn't brought himself to hunt yet, but he could. And then some meat as well? God, it was almost real food.]

What do you think I'd get if I asked the Agrii for spices?

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda had never been one to complain about the protein gel too much - they weren't in any danger of going hungry on the Fleet and she could look at it as a fun challenge to find new (and hopefully tasty) ways to prepare it. Here they have 'real food' but she feels that old anxiety from Sokovia too - their food supply is so much less secure, and all it would take is one catastrophic accident...

She glances over at Steve and makes a face.]

I don't know, but...do you remember that candy Sam gave me without telling me what it was? The one that was like-- [She mimes a lot of little explosions.] --in my mouth.

['Pop Rocks,' Wanda. The words you're looking for are 'Pop Rocks.']

Something like that, I think.

[brooklyn_boy]

Pop Rocks.

[ Steve knows the name only because Sam got him with the same ones more than once. Try getting a bite of them in the middle of a hamburger or in a sip of soda. They were awful things and, sure, probably would be what they got if they asked for spices. ]

We need to figure out someway around the language problem, here. Each request is a crapshoot whether we get something useful or not...