Who: wanda maximoff + others When: march Where: solvunn & horizon What: catch-all for the month! general top-levels for solvunn, horizon threads for out-of-territory friends (and new meetings). Warnings: tba!
[ Being called out so suddenly for his alias comes as a surprise as it would for anyone who thinks that they're doing a good job of sticking to their story. Fortunately he's practiced enough with his reactions (at least he'd like to think so) that the only physical tell is the slightest twitch of his lip. Some part of him is poised, ready to run because old habits died hard - but instead he remains rooted to the spot dripping on her carpet while the dog at her side continues to gaze at him curiously. Finally he settles on an air of mild amusement. ]
I haven't asked yet. But I'm curious to hear about the fake name you'd give me.
[ He waits for her to keep questioning him, or at the very least turn him away and tell him to get lost. If that particular scenario came to pass he'd take it on the chin and leave.
Instead he watches she produces a towel and offers up her space for him to dry off.
He regards her a moment before giving her a nod of thanks and begins to dry his hair off. ]
This, the fire and the roof are enough. Don't worry about the clothes. I'm sure they'll dry off. That's how this place works, right?
[ He says it but he doesn't really know. He hasn't spent much time here. ]
This place has been working strangely ever since the storm started.
( wanda says in a mumble, because everything in the horizon should be as simple as wishing it, but—
not as of late.
as he begins to dry his hair off, wanda returns to her spot on the couch, keeping her eyes on him, studying the scruffy man that has decided (because it has to be a decision) to break into her domain. though wanda sets some distance between them, mary—the dog—moves over to the stranger, tail wagging, and sniffing at him.
suppose she will see what "alyx" decides to do, react.
after a moment of thought, though, wanda adds, )
Probably Max, as far as fake names go. ( it's not very creative, but she never claimed to be. ) There's something sneaky about names with an 'x', maybe.
[ It probably reveals plenty of both his suspicions and his reluctance to spend more time here than necessary.
He can feel her watching him warily which is fair enough; he continues to keep his hands where she can see them which is mostly atop the towel on his head. When it feels like it's as good as it'll get his gaze turns towards the curious dog. Gently he extends a hand for her to sniff.
"Max's" observation is met with brief snort of amusement. Sneaky hadn't been what he had been going for. Friendly, maybe. Unassuming for sure. ]
Are names with an 'x' in it not common where you're from?
( —and maybe she's just trying to take a page from his book, using a name with 'x' to match the fact that she is aware that it is a fake name. and thus there are some similarities to be had between the two.
it does certainly lighten the mood, though, despite his wanting to hide his name for whatever reasons he may have. mary sniffs and then licks at his hand, immediately enthused to have a new friend.
wanda moves closer to the window, where she can peer out at the flooding he narrowly escaped from. )
If this is your second time, can I assume you don't have a place of your own yet? Or was it carried away by the flood?
[ There's an amused undercurrent to his nonchalant tone. Vehemently trying to dissuade someone of something when he's been caught in a lie had never served him before in the past. Nor did it help when he was telling the truth either if he thinks back to his sentencing on Niamos. And while it certainly isn't ideal that she somehow knows that he's lying, at least he isn't being sent off to a floating prison. Presumably.
Mary's permission and wagging tail encourages him as he kneels down to give her a more vigorous scratch. It's impossible not to easily become enamoured with her. Particularly when he's not on the receiving end of being hunted. ]
You could say I have a place. It's not like this. I didn't build it thinking about flooding so parts of it have probably been carried away.
[ In reality it's a scrap yard and definitely not as homey as this. He'd deal with it later - the only thing that mattered in his domain was safely locked tight in one of the ships. ]
I don't believe it to be your name. ( in fact— ) I know it isn't.
( this much she says with a raise of her gaze, to look up at him. )
I bet I could guess your name.
( and she would be 'cheating' as far as guessing goes, but she doesn't have to show all her cards in one go. wanda watches as he allows himself to scratch and pet mary, who happily receives all that provided attention.
in turn, wanda leans against the windowsill, partly sitting on it. )
I did. I do share it with someone else, so I took his idea of his home and made it into something more concrete. He's not that great with magic and colors and all that. ( being blind and all. ) Does it look familiar to things in your world, Cassian?
[ Her confidence is met with a questioning sound but he offers nothing up more than that. But despite the cozy room and their light banter, the slightest hint of tension begins to creep back in, as if his body is primed and ready to leave at a moment's notice. It would be easy here. He doesn't need to use physical doors or windows to get in and out - all it would take is a forceful push of his mind to leave this place and limit his interactions with her.
But he's been here some time now. There are no Imperial officers that lurk around corners waiting to drag him into a room to question him. Incredibly few know the full truth of his past. This is just a name, he tells himself. A name that can be donned and shed easily. Names were what you made it and 'Alyx' had been something to protect him from an unknown world. It still is to some degree.
Unfortunately this world and the people it pulled from different galaxies and star systems didn't play by the same rules he knew at home. For one, he'd never encountered anyone that could seemingly pluck thoughts from his mind so easily and they seemed common here. He regards her in the same casual way she's regarding him, before giving Mary one final pat and straightening up. ]
No. Every planet is a little different, but I've never seen one look like this. Are you from the same home as this someone else, Max?
( the way he intones her 'name', max, at the end of his question, as if to emphasize the fact that he is at a disadvantage—only knowing the name she's given him while she is all too aware of what his real name is. wanda can feel it, the tension in his muscles and the way he tries to appear nonchalant despite how he may, really, want to react.
when he straightens and looks at her again, wanda is trying to keep a smile from forming.
(she isn't very successful.) )
Wanda Maximoff. I wasn't very creative.
( with her 'alias', she means. the introduction, in any case, though belated, is good-natured. )
This kind of home is from the same world as mine, yeah. Not the country I am from, but one I wouldn't mind if it was should we ever get out of Abraxas.
[ Hearing her name has the desired effect - namely that his muscles begin to lose some of that tension and some of his guard falls if only just. There's no way for him to tell if she's really telling the truth, but deriving "Max" from "Maximoff" is enough for him to give her the benefit of the doubt. ]
You have to work with what you have. [ It's a small nod to her creativity and thinking on her feet. His expression shifts into something a little less wary and more relaxed. ] I never would have guessed 'Maximoff' from 'Max'.
[ Water drips from his hair and returns to dutifully trying to dry as much as he can. Just because he broke his way in doesn't mean he's lost his manners. ]
How long have you been here? This feels like it would take a lot of time to build.
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no subject
I haven't asked yet. But I'm curious to hear about the fake name you'd give me.
[ He waits for her to keep questioning him, or at the very least turn him away and tell him to get lost. If that particular scenario came to pass he'd take it on the chin and leave.
Instead he watches she produces a towel and offers up her space for him to dry off.
He regards her a moment before giving her a nod of thanks and begins to dry his hair off. ]
This, the fire and the roof are enough. Don't worry about the clothes. I'm sure they'll dry off. That's how this place works, right?
[ He says it but he doesn't really know. He hasn't spent much time here. ]
no subject
( wanda says in a mumble, because everything in the horizon should be as simple as wishing it, but—
not as of late.
as he begins to dry his hair off, wanda returns to her spot on the couch, keeping her eyes on him, studying the scruffy man that has decided (because it has to be a decision) to break into her domain. though wanda sets some distance between them, mary—the dog—moves over to the stranger, tail wagging, and sniffing at him.
suppose she will see what "alyx" decides to do, react.
after a moment of thought, though, wanda adds, )
Probably Max, as far as fake names go. ( it's not very creative, but she never claimed to be. ) There's something sneaky about names with an 'x', maybe.
no subject
This is only my second time.
[ It probably reveals plenty of both his suspicions and his reluctance to spend more time here than necessary.
He can feel her watching him warily which is fair enough; he continues to keep his hands where she can see them which is mostly atop the towel on his head. When it feels like it's as good as it'll get his gaze turns towards the curious dog. Gently he extends a hand for her to sniff.
"Max's" observation is met with brief snort of amusement. Sneaky hadn't been what he had been going for. Friendly, maybe. Unassuming for sure. ]
Are names with an 'x' in it not common where you're from?
no subject
( —and maybe she's just trying to take a page from his book, using a name with 'x' to match the fact that she is aware that it is a fake name. and thus there are some similarities to be had between the two.
it does certainly lighten the mood, though, despite his wanting to hide his name for whatever reasons he may have. mary sniffs and then licks at his hand, immediately enthused to have a new friend.
wanda moves closer to the window, where she can peer out at the flooding he narrowly escaped from. )
If this is your second time, can I assume you don't have a place of your own yet? Or was it carried away by the flood?
no subject
[ There's an amused undercurrent to his nonchalant tone. Vehemently trying to dissuade someone of something when he's been caught in a lie had never served him before in the past. Nor did it help when he was telling the truth either if he thinks back to his sentencing on Niamos. And while it certainly isn't ideal that she somehow knows that he's lying, at least he isn't being sent off to a floating prison. Presumably.
Mary's permission and wagging tail encourages him as he kneels down to give her a more vigorous scratch. It's impossible not to easily become enamoured with her. Particularly when he's not on the receiving end of being hunted. ]
You could say I have a place. It's not like this. I didn't build it thinking about flooding so parts of it have probably been carried away.
[ In reality it's a scrap yard and definitely not as homey as this. He'd deal with it later - the only thing that mattered in his domain was safely locked tight in one of the ships. ]
You created all of this?
no subject
( this much she says with a raise of her gaze, to look up at him. )
I bet I could guess your name.
( and she would be 'cheating' as far as guessing goes, but she doesn't have to show all her cards in one go. wanda watches as he allows himself to scratch and pet mary, who happily receives all that provided attention.
in turn, wanda leans against the windowsill, partly sitting on it. )
I did. I do share it with someone else, so I took his idea of his home and made it into something more concrete. He's not that great with magic and colors and all that. ( being blind and all. ) Does it look familiar to things in your world, Cassian?
( see? she told him she could guess his name. )
no subject
But he's been here some time now. There are no Imperial officers that lurk around corners waiting to drag him into a room to question him. Incredibly few know the full truth of his past. This is just a name, he tells himself. A name that can be donned and shed easily. Names were what you made it and 'Alyx' had been something to protect him from an unknown world. It still is to some degree.
Unfortunately this world and the people it pulled from different galaxies and star systems didn't play by the same rules he knew at home. For one, he'd never encountered anyone that could seemingly pluck thoughts from his mind so easily and they seemed common here. He regards her in the same casual way she's regarding him, before giving Mary one final pat and straightening up. ]
No. Every planet is a little different, but I've never seen one look like this. Are you from the same home as this someone else, Max?
no subject
when he straightens and looks at her again, wanda is trying to keep a smile from forming.
(she isn't very successful.) )
Wanda Maximoff. I wasn't very creative.
( with her 'alias', she means. the introduction, in any case, though belated, is good-natured. )
This kind of home is from the same world as mine, yeah. Not the country I am from, but one I wouldn't mind if it was should we ever get out of Abraxas.
no subject
You have to work with what you have. [ It's a small nod to her creativity and thinking on her feet. His expression shifts into something a little less wary and more relaxed. ] I never would have guessed 'Maximoff' from 'Max'.
[ Water drips from his hair and returns to dutifully trying to dry as much as he can. Just because he broke his way in doesn't mean he's lost his manners. ]
How long have you been here? This feels like it would take a lot of time to build.