[ Vanessa isn't the sort to rub it in when she's right; usually when she's right, it isn't a good thing. In this case, even she's a bit overwhelmed by the amount of conflict that's been delivered to Wanda in the wake of newcomers.
Her grip momentarily tightens on Wanda's arm, squeezing gently when she mentions her brother. Dead...brother? Time travel. Yes, she's heard of it, but now she's to witness it? A family separated by time, by death? How is it possible? Ten years...
One thing at a time. She doesn't answer immediately, taking a moment to absorb this news while casting Wanda a worried glance through the light cast by the moon and distant, dwindling campfires. When she does respond, she nearly whispers. ]
...No. You mustn't tell him anything of his future. There are risks beyond even heartbreak. [ Though the Doctor would know more. Perhaps not the comfort Wanda hoped for. ] I cannot fathom the pain this must cause you.
[The squeeze is a comfort, but it pales in comparison to Vanessa's reassurance. Lying is terrible and she's so bad at it, especially when it comes to Pietro, but how could she wound him by telling him he's been dead and gone for so long? She's had to pick herself up and go on without him.
So, having him back is a strange thing, equal parts joyous and painful and she can't explain it to him.
Wanda lets out a shaky breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in her chest.]
He's my twin. [They'd been together before birth and rarely ever apart. Until.] His name is Pietro. We were all we had, growing up. Seeing him again, it's like... like every wound has been reopened.
[Not that any of them ever healed cleanly, with her.]
[ Twins? Vanessa has never known the love of a sibling; her love of Mina and Peter might have come the closest, though Mina was something more. What might touch the love of a twin, though? To come into the world together, but suffer such cruelty as not leaving it together?
Her eyes are downcast while she considers the gravity of the situation, but she looks back up to speak, her brow furrowed in open concern. Pietro. What is the purpose in him arriving? To serve even beyond death? Even Vanessa had not intended to predict this manner of unusual torture. ]
And you don't wish him to see your pain.
[ Of course not. He would wonder what it meant, and who knows what disaster could come of him learning such a hopeless truth? It would only serve further agony and nothing good. ]
You needn't hide it from me. I've sensed your suffering since our meeting. Tell me, how can I help?
[Wanda nods, pressing her teeth into her bottom lip as she searches for the words.]
I know my brother better than he knows me, now. It was never like that. It was always... even. I know he'll be upset with himself, thinking of all the ways he wasn't there when that was never in his control.
[Her big brother, even if by minutes. Now she's older by years. It's not fair. In reality, she didn't keep him safe. This will be a chance to do better, and the first way she can protect him is by trying to keep this truth from reaching him.
She glances at Vanessa, a mirthless smile on her lips.]
Listening helps. Just hearing that... I'm making the sensible choice in regards to Pietro. I just need to tell others that might know about him--or me--to play along.
[ There is the heartbreak of tragedy shared, but Vanessa is concerned over grander repercussions as well. Perhaps the risks are different because of how time has been butchered in this world, but is it worth it to find out?
Their steps are slow, so she's unblinking while gauging Wanda in full—the flutter of lashes over sad eyes, the rise and fall of her breast, the tremble to her breath as she speaks with a pain-worn voice that carries wounds both old and new again—and considers what it could mean for a woman with so much beauteous power to carry responsibility and risk like that. Wanda walks like a woman uncertain of the next step, but Vanessa has seen a hint of her strength, and she can only see a goddess at her side.
Whatever is to come of this, there is little that Vanessa can force, but she is most willing to help. ]
These others you mentioned, would you consider them friends?
[ It sounds complicated, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a problem. She wants to hear Wanda's take. ]
[She's not one to share the business of others, but this is intertwined with herself. And Vanessa is proving to be a shoulder to lean on, and a capable one at that. So, after a moment of hesitation, she explains. It's not as easy as friend or foe.]
Stephen Strange is a sorcerer. A very skilled and powerful one. When I was under the influence of the Darkhold, we fought. He was witness to a number of horrific things I did.
[However, their encounter here was tame. He was wary, but didn't threaten her. Not that much can threaten her.]
He's not a friend but he understands that I want peace. That's all I can ask. And Bucky was... an ally, for a time. We were friends with the same people. I'm not worried about him.
[To put it lightly. She's not even sure what Bucky knows about her, but she can guess he doesn't know about Westview.]
[ It sounds as though Vanessa should keep a careful eye when someone named Stephen Strange is around, even though it sounds as if some sort of truce was struck. He fought Wanda. He didn't kill her. Didn't or couldn't? Curiosity is so sharp it will cut her tongue if she doesn't address it, but—
But she isn't eager to dredge up those painful memories more than necessary, not when the focus needs to remain on Wanda's brother, so she bites her tongue in regards to this confrontation.
To the matter at hand. ]
If either of them wishes for the same peace you do, then it should be simple to reason with them. Is there anyone else who may cause concern for your brother?
Kamala. One of the younger people here. Have you met her?
[Sweet, bubbly, and impressionable, Wanda doubts she'll be a problem. She almost vibrated out of her skin when she met her, so easily brushing Westview under the rug.]
She idolizes the so-called "heroes" in my world. [Wanda's disdain for the term is audible.] She'll do what I ask of her.
[ Vanessa is not exactly a social butterfly, and that's on her good days. It's only been since Christmas that she's even felt like seeking others out for more than errands.
For anyone to be so youthful as to idolize others as heroes... Well, they really don't belong here. Heroes are fantasy, and this is no fantasy. ]
It sounds as though the only real concern for your brother's safety may be this sorcerer if he won't see reason... [ With her other hand, she pats Wanda's arm, tilting her head with another searching gaze. ] ...or are you worried over what you may utter unbidden?
[ It's something Vanessa would certainly be caught up in, were she in such a dreadful position where emotions are high. Knowing to do one thing and being able to do it are two different things. ]
[Vanessa isn't entirely wrong, and Wanda looks down at their feet for a long moment.]
My brother is smarter than he seems. I think he already knows something is wrong, but he'd never guess a decade has gone by. He'd never guess that he died.
[Thank you, genetics. She's not as babyfaced as she once was, but Pietro can chalk up the change in her appearance as just the change in hair color, for now.]
I'm not a good liar. I can tamper with minds, but I don't enjoy doing it, and I'd never use it on my own brother.
[ She isn't necessarily surprised that Wanda can tamper with minds. So can any witch claiming old power. Technically, so can Vanessa, but...she wouldn't. Couldn't. There was only once, and that was— ...unintentional. At least she can appreciate Wanda's transparency. She imagines it's because there's little reason to hide such things from Vanessa, whether it's because of trust or simply because she has no fear anyone or anything.
Except hurting her family, of course. Vanessa understands this deeply, and she considers her words with care. She is hardly one to offer good advice, and she wouldn't want to make an already terrible situation even worse. In fact, she knows there's really no advice she can offer, but she knows someone else who might be able to.
Distantly, she wonders if tampering with Wanda's mind might actually help. Then she wouldn't be lying. But it's too drastic, and she dare not suggest it. The fact that it occurs to her at all...bothers her. She would never encourage self-deception. ]
Forgive me for my boldness, but I believe it might help to speak with the Doctor about your brother. Nobody understands the trials and consequences of time travel like he does, given that he's a Time Lord. It isn't a burden you need to shoulder alone, and he may have true advice on how best to proceed.
[ Though her concern still runs deep, her tone softens a bit as she recommends the Doctor's help. ]
I trust him with my life. I would trust him with anything. You can trust him with this.
[ The Doctor does seem like a lot of things, and even in his support of a lie, it will come from a place of good, but she also knows there is far more to him than meets the eye.
For how broad his smile can be, seemingly enough to encompass the world with kindness, the pain the Doctor has known and caused—will know and will cause—spans the universe ad infinitum. He understands consequence, and Vanessa thinks he'll do well to explain the consequences of time better than anything she herself might attempt. ]
In the meantime, it may do you well to consider a plan should something feel poorly. If he may begin to suspect something or you struggle to find your words, you may feel free to summon me. I am more than willing to provide a distraction in the interim.
[ So Vanessa will need to put forth her references, will she? She tips her head in thought. A bittersweet thought; something impossible not to visit alongside a memory. ]
I grew up knowing a boy named Peter. I loved him so, but he was not always on his best behavior, especially when we were young.
[ Like a brother to her, though she refrains from saying so, not wishing to belittle the unique connection that twins would share. ]
I do recall when he would carry himself away into his fantasies, trekking across the wilds of Africa. One such time, he decided that his sister and I would suit as exotic prey to capture, and for three days he would set traps throughout our houses. [ A headshake, though she nearly smiles. ] Not all failures.
[It's a silly story, one Wanda has a hard time imagining this current Vanessa taking in stride. Maybe a younger one was just as beautifully foreboding, too.]
I could see Pietro doing that. In record time, mind you. He's... not like me. [Not a witch, not something written about in dark, forbidden tomes.] But he's fast. Faster than the eye can track. It can be a lot if you're not prepared for it.
[There's her warning. But there's one more thing.]
I'd do anything for him. Anything. I won't let him be taken from me again.
[Which might mean forever avoiding any beacons that might send her home or whatever, but she wasn't planning on going back, anyway. Now she has all the more reason to stay and see this world made better.]
[ Faster than the eye can track? That would make it far more difficult to keep track of him in a very precarious situation, but Wanda has abilities she’s never seen before and if anyone can do find ways to keep her brother in her sights, it’s likely her. That doesn’t mean it’s fair. Will she find any happiness while seeking a new life with her brother, or will she spend the entire time managing his?
She may already be able to guess that Vanessa had no intention of returning to her old life from when she had shared finding a new purpose, but some further reassurance may still be in order. This is a weighted matter, one that Wanda needn’t shoulder alone. ]
I too have loved ones that I will not lose to anything; not even the beacons. My support and company, however meager, will remain yours well beyond their activation.
[ A small smile, perhaps even a little sad. Pietro’s future can’t be guaranteed once the undead lieges and their lords are eradicated, but whatever comes of it, Vanessa has no desire to let Wanda face that trial alone. ]
[For as prickly as their first moments meeting might have been, it's long forgotten. It takes Wanda a moment of delay, but she mirrors Vanessa's smile, a hand lifting to give her bicep a squeeze.]
I wouldn't call it meager.
[It's been a very long time since she's had a friend. And never a friend that seems to understand the burden of possessing something so strange within themselves... not to mention a growing list of secrets.]
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no subject
Her grip momentarily tightens on Wanda's arm, squeezing gently when she mentions her brother. Dead...brother? Time travel. Yes, she's heard of it, but now she's to witness it? A family separated by time, by death? How is it possible? Ten years...
One thing at a time. She doesn't answer immediately, taking a moment to absorb this news while casting Wanda a worried glance through the light cast by the moon and distant, dwindling campfires. When she does respond, she nearly whispers. ]
...No. You mustn't tell him anything of his future. There are risks beyond even heartbreak. [ Though the Doctor would know more. Perhaps not the comfort Wanda hoped for. ] I cannot fathom the pain this must cause you.
no subject
So, having him back is a strange thing, equal parts joyous and painful and she can't explain it to him.
Wanda lets out a shaky breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in her chest.]
He's my twin. [They'd been together before birth and rarely ever apart. Until.] His name is Pietro. We were all we had, growing up. Seeing him again, it's like... like every wound has been reopened.
[Not that any of them ever healed cleanly, with her.]
no subject
Her eyes are downcast while she considers the gravity of the situation, but she looks back up to speak, her brow furrowed in open concern. Pietro. What is the purpose in him arriving? To serve even beyond death? Even Vanessa had not intended to predict this manner of unusual torture. ]
And you don't wish him to see your pain.
[ Of course not. He would wonder what it meant, and who knows what disaster could come of him learning such a hopeless truth? It would only serve further agony and nothing good. ]
You needn't hide it from me. I've sensed your suffering since our meeting. Tell me, how can I help?
no subject
I know my brother better than he knows me, now. It was never like that. It was always... even. I know he'll be upset with himself, thinking of all the ways he wasn't there when that was never in his control.
[Her big brother, even if by minutes. Now she's older by years. It's not fair. In reality, she didn't keep him safe. This will be a chance to do better, and the first way she can protect him is by trying to keep this truth from reaching him.
She glances at Vanessa, a mirthless smile on her lips.]
Listening helps. Just hearing that... I'm making the sensible choice in regards to Pietro. I just need to tell others that might know about him--or me--to play along.
no subject
Their steps are slow, so she's unblinking while gauging Wanda in full—the flutter of lashes over sad eyes, the rise and fall of her breast, the tremble to her breath as she speaks with a pain-worn voice that carries wounds both old and new again—and considers what it could mean for a woman with so much beauteous power to carry responsibility and risk like that. Wanda walks like a woman uncertain of the next step, but Vanessa has seen a hint of her strength, and she can only see a goddess at her side.
Whatever is to come of this, there is little that Vanessa can force, but she is most willing to help. ]
These others you mentioned, would you consider them friends?
[ It sounds complicated, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a problem. She wants to hear Wanda's take. ]
no subject
Stephen Strange is a sorcerer. A very skilled and powerful one. When I was under the influence of the Darkhold, we fought. He was witness to a number of horrific things I did.
[However, their encounter here was tame. He was wary, but didn't threaten her. Not that much can threaten her.]
He's not a friend but he understands that I want peace. That's all I can ask. And Bucky was... an ally, for a time. We were friends with the same people. I'm not worried about him.
[To put it lightly. She's not even sure what Bucky knows about her, but she can guess he doesn't know about Westview.]
no subject
But she isn't eager to dredge up those painful memories more than necessary, not when the focus needs to remain on Wanda's brother, so she bites her tongue in regards to this confrontation.
To the matter at hand. ]
If either of them wishes for the same peace you do, then it should be simple to reason with them. Is there anyone else who may cause concern for your brother?
no subject
Kamala. One of the younger people here. Have you met her?
[Sweet, bubbly, and impressionable, Wanda doubts she'll be a problem. She almost vibrated out of her skin when she met her, so easily brushing Westview under the rug.]
She idolizes the so-called "heroes" in my world. [Wanda's disdain for the term is audible.] She'll do what I ask of her.
no subject
[ Vanessa is not exactly a social butterfly, and that's on her good days. It's only been since Christmas that she's even felt like seeking others out for more than errands.
For anyone to be so youthful as to idolize others as heroes... Well, they really don't belong here. Heroes are fantasy, and this is no fantasy. ]
It sounds as though the only real concern for your brother's safety may be this sorcerer if he won't see reason... [ With her other hand, she pats Wanda's arm, tilting her head with another searching gaze. ] ...or are you worried over what you may utter unbidden?
[ It's something Vanessa would certainly be caught up in, were she in such a dreadful position where emotions are high. Knowing to do one thing and being able to do it are two different things. ]
no subject
My brother is smarter than he seems. I think he already knows something is wrong, but he'd never guess a decade has gone by. He'd never guess that he died.
[Thank you, genetics. She's not as babyfaced as she once was, but Pietro can chalk up the change in her appearance as just the change in hair color, for now.]
I'm not a good liar. I can tamper with minds, but I don't enjoy doing it, and I'd never use it on my own brother.
[... but.]
no subject
Except hurting her family, of course. Vanessa understands this deeply, and she considers her words with care. She is hardly one to offer good advice, and she wouldn't want to make an already terrible situation even worse. In fact, she knows there's really no advice she can offer, but she knows someone else who might be able to.
Distantly, she wonders if tampering with Wanda's mind might actually help. Then she wouldn't be lying. But it's too drastic, and she dare not suggest it. The fact that it occurs to her at all...bothers her. She would never encourage self-deception. ]
Forgive me for my boldness, but I believe it might help to speak with the Doctor about your brother. Nobody understands the trials and consequences of time travel like he does, given that he's a Time Lord. It isn't a burden you need to shoulder alone, and he may have true advice on how best to proceed.
[ Though her concern still runs deep, her tone softens a bit as she recommends the Doctor's help. ]
I trust him with my life. I would trust him with anything. You can trust him with this.
no subject
Do you think he'd support lying to my dead twin?
[Because, no offense, he seemed very... kindhearted. Sweet. Someone that might have a hard time telling a lie himself, with how expressive he is.]
no subject
[ The Doctor does seem like a lot of things, and even in his support of a lie, it will come from a place of good, but she also knows there is far more to him than meets the eye.
For how broad his smile can be, seemingly enough to encompass the world with kindness, the pain the Doctor has known and caused—will know and will cause—spans the universe ad infinitum. He understands consequence, and Vanessa thinks he'll do well to explain the consequences of time better than anything she herself might attempt. ]
In the meantime, it may do you well to consider a plan should something feel poorly. If he may begin to suspect something or you struggle to find your words, you may feel free to summon me. I am more than willing to provide a distraction in the interim.
no subject
[Vanessa has yet to steer her wrong, nevermind how short a time they've know one another. She wouldn't keep company she couldn't trust.]
... oh, I don't know if I want to inflict Pietro upon you.
[But look at that, there's something close to amusement in Wanda's voice.]
He's very annoying.
[And she loves him very much.]
no subject
I grew up knowing a boy named Peter. I loved him so, but he was not always on his best behavior, especially when we were young.
[ Like a brother to her, though she refrains from saying so, not wishing to belittle the unique connection that twins would share. ]
I do recall when he would carry himself away into his fantasies, trekking across the wilds of Africa. One such time, he decided that his sister and I would suit as exotic prey to capture, and for three days he would set traps throughout our houses. [ A headshake, though she nearly smiles. ] Not all failures.
no subject
I could see Pietro doing that. In record time, mind you. He's... not like me. [Not a witch, not something written about in dark, forbidden tomes.] But he's fast. Faster than the eye can track. It can be a lot if you're not prepared for it.
[There's her warning. But there's one more thing.]
I'd do anything for him. Anything. I won't let him be taken from me again.
[Which might mean forever avoiding any beacons that might send her home or whatever, but she wasn't planning on going back, anyway. Now she has all the more reason to stay and see this world made better.]
no subject
She may already be able to guess that Vanessa had no intention of returning to her old life from when she had shared finding a new purpose, but some further reassurance may still be in order. This is a weighted matter, one that Wanda needn’t shoulder alone. ]
I too have loved ones that I will not lose to anything; not even the beacons. My support and company, however meager, will remain yours well beyond their activation.
[ A small smile, perhaps even a little sad. Pietro’s future can’t be guaranteed once the undead lieges and their lords are eradicated, but whatever comes of it, Vanessa has no desire to let Wanda face that trial alone. ]
Should you wish it.
no subject
I wouldn't call it meager.
[It's been a very long time since she's had a friend. And never a friend that seems to understand the burden of possessing something so strange within themselves... not to mention a growing list of secrets.]