abraxaslogs | • OPEN •

[that makes sense, doesn't it? that claire would have children of her own. except maybe just the one, brianna. wanda can understand a parent's desire to see their child—to just hear their voice one more time.

being stuck here probably doesn't help at all.]

...is there a reason why you haven't seen her in so long?

[wanda can see the disbelief in his face, in how he reacts. eddie's quite a bit of an open book—especially with his love for dramatics. still, she respects as much; not everyone upholds faith to one thing or another, and it's only fair to allow oneself the space to discover where they land, as far as these old gods are concerned.

it's surprising, though, if only because he's been here for quite a bit.]

I don't think there's a right way to go about it.

[truth be told, she doesn't have it down to the science of it.]

I don't... actually ask for anything when I leave offerings. When I was little and I would pray alongside my parents, our prayers were always to say thanks for what we did have, regardless of what we didn't have. Perhaps you can start from there—offer some fruits or tidy up the shrines, and say thanks? Could just be for the nice weather.

Or — have a conversation and introduce yourself. I do a lot of talking to myself while out where the shrines are.

[everyone finds their own way to do this, and her way might not exactly work for everyone.]

Didn't we agree I'm making the rules?

[Spoken with stoicism and serenity. He can be a pain in the ass, too—and although no one's watching them, his brothers wouldn't have to be witness to this for her to convince them of it. They already know.

All in good fun, of course.]

I was thinking of it more like training a dog. Teach it to follow in exchange for a reward.

[And maybe then, once it trusts them enough not to lose its mind like a rabbit with all four feet off the ground, they pick it up and carry it the rest of the way.]

It was safer for her to stay in the 20th century than go back to the 18th. And at the time, I wasn't even sure if she could go through the same portal I did. Not everyone can, and so it wasn't an easy decision.

[ Claire lets out a quiet breath. ]

So, I went back to Jamie with Brianna's blessing, and now I'm here. Although a friend from my future arrived in the Free Cities, and apparently Bree can go through the portal; she's with Jamie right now.

[ And Claire's here, ten decades in the past, stuck and waiting. ]

No wonder artists are always looking for patrons. I guess that's why muses and patrons are often two different things.

[ She can't help but sound bemused. Does her voice also betray an air of realization that she'd had months ago upon arriving here without a piece of gold to her name that things did, in fact, cost money and not only that but that gold was finite? That can be left up to Wanda's interpretation. ]

That isn't true though if you're someone like Jesper. He's able to conjure materials out of thin air just like you.

[ She's jealous really. Now that seems like a useful power. ]

So your magic just sort of...evolved then? Is that the right word for it?

[ She leans back to rest against the back of the couch, albeit a little gingerly, pain prickling slightly on her face as she does. Hilda is quick to try and hide that however. The lizard in her hand seems to sense it though and skitters closer towards her as if that will somehow bring her comfort. ]

[ he watches, eyes still furrowed, as she settles. it's hard not to do something, hard to just sort of wait until something he can do comes up. it's why he's already reaching for his water skin when she says a bit, why he's already handing it to her when she asks the question.

steve, immediately, sits up a little more - looking around to see if he can spot the horse. when he does, he stands - a bit abruptly. ] Yeah, I see her. I'll be right back.

[ there is half a breath there where steve hesitates, wonders if he shouldn't leave her, but he pushes through it and sprints off to where clover is grazing. it takes maybe a minute, maybe less, before he's back again - breathing a bit labored but hey, he was a start athlete in another life. he can do this.

he sets the entire bag down next to wanda, not having stopped to search through it. ]

This bag?

If there’s not a right way to go about it, then…uh…think music would do the trick?

[ Eddie has no problem with going to tidy up the shrines or leaving small offerings, and while actively talking to something he can’t see is a bit awkward, he’s never been afraid of anything like that before. But he’s determined to go about this his own way, and what better way than with a good song? ]

It’s either that or I’m going to compile a full stand-up routine for their amusement.

[ That would be hilarious, actually, but he’s not sure the locals will appreciate it. He grins mildly and brushes that particular joke aside. ]

No, seriously. Thanks. Butter them up and get on their good side, basically?

I know.

( he does know that. he's certain of that. matt turns his face into her hand and kisses her palm. )

I love you too.

[okay, except he’s giving her pointers on how she’s throwing about the treats. it’s completely different from the concept of him making the rules for the entire chore. so, all she does is give him a side eye, turning her attention back to the spriggan and tossing one new treat a little closer as soon as there are no more on the ground.]

It takes a long time to train a dog.

[she’s just being contrarian.

tossing another treat, the spriggan draws closer.]

I seem to remember that they’re generally really friendly.

[suddenly, there’s a lot of conversation about time travel and portals, and while wanda isn’t entirely too privvy about this, she thinks she remembers an off-hand mention of this all. letting go of children is never an easy choice, much less when caught in the limbo—of here—of waiting.]

She is safe, though. That’s what matters.

[that’s what wanda would ever want, for her kids. and, because she knows that it helps her when she is allowed to talk about her tommy and billy, wanda says,]

Tell me about her.

[muses and patrons, it sounds like something wanda would read in a book about a life that could never be hers. suppose so, she thinks, but ultimately thinks that there is beauty in being able to create art despite the scarcity of materials. perhaps jesper would help hilda out with creating those materials she would need.

wanda is not about to mention that she creates coins on the fly when she really needs it; inflation is not her end goal, and the last thing she wants to do is get in trouble over capitalism.]

People train every day to get better at using their weapon of choice or to get stronger. Same thing with my powers. I’d train with it to use it better — and it’d just grow from there.

[it’s less simple than that, but there’s no real intent to want to get into it. agatha’s words echo in her mind when she thinks of her magic as magic. there’s a light frown, though, and wanda’s expression pinches a touch.]

You fought one of the monsters that came through the rift, didn’t you?

[wanda’s eyes light up at that, feeling like that’s a stupenduous idea—one that definitely befits the type of person that eddie is. why had she not thought of that before? it makes her smile, though, given that eddie himself came up with it.]

Basically.

[then a bit of a grin.]

I think music is a really inspired way to go about it. Don’t even have to say anything.

[who knows what kind of favors eddie might find attuning himself to because of his offering of music.]

Will you need an instrument?

[clover is, blessedly, an easygoing horse, despite its height and girth, as a drafthorse. steve’s approach has it snorting once, but allowing for the bag to be taken from where it had been looped onto the saddle. reckoning something is the matter, the smart animal start to stroll closer to them, though still keeping a distance as it grazes.]

—thanks.

[reaching inside the bag, she pulls out a pear.]

Want one?

[and takes a bite from it, handing the bag over to steve to look through if he wants. The juice of the fruit spills over the corner of her mouth, and wanda wipes the back of her hand over her chin.]

[and maybe that’s all the certainty she needs right now—that’s all she needs of matt ‘taking care of her’. snuggling up a little closer, wanda’s situated so she can rest halfway on the pillow and halfway atop him.]

Let’s rest for a bit.

[even if they’re both not quite tired.]

That way I can wake up next to you again.

[That's just what making the rules means to Michael, a consequence of once having had power over life and death. Being in charge means being in charge of all of it, down to the tiniest detail.

It gives Wanda something to fight him on, anyway. It's good for her.]

Less time when food is involved.

[Though Wanda may have a point. She's probably had more experience with dogs than he has. And, maybe even more importantly: a spriggan is not a dog. Michael tilts his head, considers the little living jumble of rocks and moss as it approaches Wanda.]

See if it will let you touch it.

[michael gives out a command, and all wanda does is crouch down. for a moment she wonders if she should put out her hand to see if, in fact, the spriggan will let her touch it.

instead, she sets the bag with the treats down (is it bigger now?), opening it up.

the spriggan perks at this and, with little preamble, rolls its little rocky body inside the bag. why see if she can touch it if it will just roll to where the food is...?

wanda turns the bag upright in her hands, keeping it by her lap, and watches in amusement as the spriggan is contently eating the treats within the bag.]

[ Claire's quiet for a few seconds, thinking back to the best of her time as a mother. ]

She's so incredibly smart, and funny. But it's a dry sort of wit. She loves to read, and she enjoys history and architecture. Bree has the most beautiful red hair, just like yours, actually. [ And her sister, Claire adds quietly to herself. She does that frequently, always starkly aware that there should be two. ] According to a friend from home in the Free Cities, she's made a grandmother twice over.

[ That fills her with a certain kind of elation that's enough to boost her heart. ]

I have an adopted son, Fergus, and apparently, he has more children than John could remember at the time. I must be busy.

[ She says this with fondness, as if she'd ever be idle anyway. ]

[He's about to ask what she's doing, but the spriggan rolls into the bag before he can even open his mouth. Michael waits for it to realize its mistake, but there's no sudden struggle. He can hear it continuing to munch away, the sound now muffled by the fabric of the bag.

For a moment he pauses, the goal-oriented side of his mind butting up against the one that wants things done his way. In the end, results always win.

He sighs.]

I suppose that will do.

[Michael stands and makes his way over to Wanda's corner of the garden, so he too can peer down into the bag and observe the spriggan.]

[ The answer, simple or not, works. It's not as if magic is foreign to her of course but the sort of magic she's familiar with is more nature aligned. Fire, thunder, light, darkness – forces of nature that can be conjured from thin air. It's so different from the magic Wanda is capable of. Of the New Magic in the Free Cities.

Hilda catches the pinched look on her friend's face but before she can read into it more, Wanda's question gives her pause. And of course the pause gives rise to mild panic. Pain pricks at her again like the claws of a dragon dragging lightly into her wounds. ]

I fought a couple of them. Not on purpose, mind you.

[ It's not admitting to anything but it's not lying either. She looks to Wanda. ]

Did you?

[ and sam, because he hears the laughter from wanda, very dramatically puts a hand to his heart - a bit like he's being shot, a bit like he's just giving her shit. ]

Me? Showing off? I'd never. [ she shoves him, and sam just grins through it, the two of them finding a spot to settle as the conversation shifts to something else entirely.

and yes, wanda has every reason to be wary. it makes sense why she's never tried it out. still, sam shrugs. ] Fair- it's not for everyone, and I can understand why you'd be worried. But if you did ever have the urge, we could always find a way to make sure you're safe. You should get to try these things if you want to- but I won't pressure you, that is not my goal here.

[ Putting that sort of spin on it seems to make the whole concept sit much better with him: treat the gods like some sort of omnipresent audience. Maybe you can’t see them, but it doesn’t mean they’re not listening, and you need to entertain them all the same. It doesn’t strike him as much different than listening to a tape or a record.

He beams, looking relieved, because yeah, he can do that. ]

I’ve got about three guitars by this point. But you know…if you’re offering, I wouldn’t say no to a fourth. You know, something worthy of the gods.

[ He wouldn’t say no to more guitars even if the gods weren’t involved. ]

[ But not always. So she's not always listening, always watching? That seems good. (Himeka does know a bit what that's like, even if it's somewhat in hindsight.) Having the help of another is important but privacy is just as, especially for someone like Wanda who keeps things so close to her chest.

She begins to set out the jars that she'll be using to dish out Wanda's rations as well as the offering to Soris. Everyone gets some tasty porridge this morning, even the old gods.

She does pause, of course, at Wanda mentioning her own condition and offers a wry smile of her own. Himeka would offer to help however she can, but she recognizes that's an attempt to assuage her worry and magical intervention before it's presented. ]

Well, if you do start feeling off, just let me know. I'll always be happy to come and fetch you.

[ And it's even easier now that they have some faster mounts at their disposal. ]

I have been wondering about that, though...for the most part the magicks here just feel like different methods of application, but...is it different with the gods? Where does their power come from?

[the loss of a child—be it through distance or situations that are out of a parent's hands—is never quite something one wants to envision for themselves, when they hold the infant in their arms, so innocent and perfect. the retelling of her daughter's traits brings a swell of tears to wanda's eyes.

would that her mother have grown old, to tell stories about her like this. would that she could have seen her boys grow, to know about the things they love, what they would have become.

wanda sits up abruptly, but turns to claire and wraps her arms tightly around the older woman, a gasp of air escaping her—a sob, as she shakes her head against the curve of her neck.

she misses her mom desperately.]

I'm sorry you're not there with her.

Mission accomplished.

[she says, from her crouched position, looking up at michael as he approaches her. there's a small smile on her face, one that claims some kind of mischief from her part.

because what are they if wanda isn't trying to knock over his authority in subtle, harmless ways?

and now she stands, and hands the bag over to michael.]

What next?

[sure, listening to him now.]

— yeah.

[wanda wonders if, based on the panic rising in hilda, if she expects to be chastised. or if something else is the matter altogether. with a light shake of her head, wanda studies her friend for a moment.]

I just want to make sure you're okay.

[because, in the end, that's what friends do.]

I know you're not unfamiliar with danger, but I can still worry.

[at this, wanda offers hilda a small smile.]

• OPEN •

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we can wrap up here!! to make space for dramaz

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