abraxaslogs | [Open] this doesn't look like a party

I'm not sure that skill level's a worthwhile trade, if that's the case. [ Her eyes gives a pointed drop down to his lower half before meeting his gaze again with a faint smirk. ]

Steve always was terrible at keeping secrets. [ And he's still a terrible liar, at least as far as she knows. But she's grinning as she props her hands on her hips and lets him come to her. ] I was looking for you, actually. Steve told me you were here, but so did everyone else I ran into, so I thought it wiser to seek you out sooner rather than later.

[ She spares a glance around their surroundings before giving him a knowing look. ] There's a lot I need to catch up on, it seems. Both here and elsewhere. Care to help me with that?

[ Which really is an understatement. She's so far out of her element in this place already that it's laughable. Or it would be, if it weren't her new reality. And considering she's arrived with the Factions already impatient for war, from what she hears, she has little time to waste. ]

Were you supposed to be a secret? You'd have been a hard one to keep, considering we all share a castle.

[Within the confines of the castle walls and town just beyond it, it's hard not to see familiar faces, day by day. He does not doubt that Natasha would have been one of them, eventually — she does stand out in the way most Summoned do, though Stephen assumes that’s more due to being new than anything else.

He casts a look around.]

Sure. Of course. There’s plenty to see around here, so let’s walk and talk.

[He turns partway and gestures for her to follow. He imagines she doesn’t want to linger near the stables too long, and Stephen’s had his fill of this place for now. He needs to stretch his legs, get them back into working, non-hobbling order.]

So, catching up on “elsewhere”. What’s the, uh…. [Stephen pauses, trying his best not to let an awkward pause slot itself in-between.] Last thing you remember from home?

I don't know, considering how long it took me to find you, I probably could have successfully hidden for a while. [ Not that she would have, and there's a playful note in her voice to give lie to the words.

But she falls into step beside him, tucking her hands behind her back as she walks. She's dressed in typical Thorne fashion, although it feels odd to be wearing dresses like this, and it's certainly more understated than most. At this point, she'll learn magic just to fill her wardrobe with things she can work easily in.

His question, though, isn't entirely unexpected. It's been one of the first things out of nearly everyone's mouths here. Although considering it's her, there's good reason for that. She'd hate to see their terrible attempts at not telling her what happened, had she been from any earlier point in history which was, apparently, an option in this place.

So her voice is relatively steady and unconcerned when she gives him the one word that will tell him everything he probably needs to know about how much she knows from home. ]

Vormir.

[Vormir.

Yes, that says plenty. Enough to where he pauses in his step for a moment, glancing askance at her with knitted brows. Something shadowing his expression.]

I see. Well, this is the awkward part, then.

[The part he always fumbles with. Natasha seems a bit more casual about the whole ordeal than, say, Tony would be, but that does not necessarily abate the feeling in his chest, like a leaden knot has made its way there to settle.

Everyone had made their choices, of course. Everyone lived, or died, with them. But if the chain of events leading to Thanos’ defeat were a long line of dominoes, Stephen was at the start of it, flicking the first tile over with his finger and watching the rest fall.

He does not regret his decision. But knowing what needed to be done, versus feeling great about it, doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive.]

I never know what to say. Nothing sounds like enough.

[Sorry. Thank you. Words don’t really encapsulate much of anything. He’s awful at this.]

[ Her lips quirk faintly when his pace stutters over her answer and she can feel his eyes on her, even if she keeps her gaze on their surroundings. Both to give him a moment to recover and... to give herself the same. Make certain she had a good grip on her own emotions. It was harder than it should be at times. Grief had a way of sneaking up on you, and she had a lot of that still undealt with. Always.

But she keeps the conversation light, because she'd had enough heavy topics exchanged in Nocwich today already and she would prefer to have at least one conversation today that didn't make her feel weepy again. Not that she was holding her breath on that. ]

Well, to be fair, I don't think there's much of a precedent of needing words for someone after the fact. Honestly, I'm just relieved it worked. I heard our odds were... not great.

[ She's pretty sure that slim thread of hope was all that kept them going, however. A single pinprick of light in the darkness. It had been enough, it seems. ]

[To Stephen’s credit, he doesn’t want to turn this heavier than need be. He imagines… well. If she’s spoken with the rest of their little group hailing from their Earth, then she’s had her fill of them. He doesn’t have the same connection with her as the rest—in fact, even “working acquaintances” could be a stretch—but if he’s already feeling the heft of this conversation?

He can’t imagine what the others might have been like.

He clears his throat. Continues walking, this time pointedly keeping his gait steady.]

They weren’t. But none of it would have been possible without you. Without you giving everything up for a better future.

[His jaw sets, tight.]

I know that’s easy to say, coming from someone who got to live. But— well. I realize there's nothing fair about any of it.

[ Considering she's never actually come face to face with him before today, it's more... work acquaintances by association?

She can tell he's struggling to find the right words and she pauses in her steps this time, reaching out and resting a hand on his arm for a moment as she meets his gaze. For all that green eyes are still shadowed with a hint of exhaustion and lingering grief, she's taking things relatively in stride here so far.

It's a second chance she hadn't been anticipating when she'd made that final decision. She's not in the habit of wasting those. ]

Fortunately for me, I suppose, I'm never really expecting anyone to play fair.

I made my choice fully knowing the cost. It was worth it. If I have any regrets, it's that I never got to see the outcome. Got to see them all one last time. But now I'm here so maybe, in a way, I'm getting that in part. [ Even if some are notably missing. Clint. Bruce. But Steve is here. Wanda. Sam. Even Tony, she hears. It's enough. ]

So you don't need to thank me. Or apologize to me. [ Because she'd picked up on that note of regret in his tone. Could understand it, all too well. It was always hard, being the one who set things in motion, and then having to deal with the aftermath of that outcome. ] I appreciate the sentiment, but for now, I'd rather focus on what I need to know to survive here. Because I gotta be honest, magic is really not my forte and I'm feeling deeply out of my element here.

[Somehow, that’s exactly what Stephen needs to hear. Not a dismissal on her part—far from it—but something closer to acceptance. Of knowing that the right decision was made, even if it wasn’t an easy one. And more importantly, that she wasn’t feeling the keen knife-point of regret, now that she gets a second chance at life.

It abates the gnawing guilt. Stephen didn’t exactly say sorry, and she didn’t exactly ply forgiveness, but it feels like something similar.

He exhales, wondering how long his breath had been wound up in his lungs.]

Right. No more doom and gloom — second chances, and all that. This world’s going to need all the attention we can give it, anyway.

[Finally, the stride within the interior of the castle itself, all stone walls and echoing footsteps.]

Thankfully for you, you’re in the presence of the once-Sorcerer Supreme. [Said with faux fanfare, the sort that is a little facetious. But it’s true all the same.] Abraxan magic isn’t the same as Eldritch, but I’ve done my research. Picked up a few native tricks here and there.

But I guess I should start at the beginning: just how up to speed are you?

That depends. Are we talking about here in general, or when it comes to magic? Because the latter... not at all. [ She makes a face, casting him a rueful glance. ] It's not something I had to worry about before being dragged here, so I'm afraid I'm a little more behind than most.

As for the rest of this place... that's harder to judge. Steve, Sam, and Wanda filled me in a little when I spoke to them in Nocwich earlier. And I've spoken to a few of those who've been here a while in Thorne. Who've been exceedingly welcoming, at least, so I'll give them that. But I also don't know how much I might be missing when everything about this world is so very different.

[ How did you know what to ask for, when you didn't even know if it was a thing here or not? Or if you wouldn't even have considered it in the first place? Although she's doing her best, there's still things continually taking her by surprise.

But she does cast him a crooked grin, bemused. ] Although since you're the once-Sorcerer Supreme, you should be able to tell me all that anyway, right?

And does that 'once' mean that Wong's not letting you have the title back? [ Because that's kind of hilarious. Although she's not even sure if it can be transferred like that. ]

[There was a time, not so long ago in his recollection, that he would have balked at the idea. Stephen’s not nearly as prideful as he used to be, but something kept that little bur in his side — the idea of Wong gaining the title on little more than a technicality. (A large technicality, of Stephen being space dust for five years, but a technicality all the same.) It was a loss of responsibility, and a loss of control — something that he still struggles with to this day.

But. It seems that much as been resolved, at least, because he just scoffs a little, without the heat of offense.]

Yeah, you don’t just hand the title over unless in extreme circumstances. One of those circumstances being blipped for five years.

[But what can you do.]

But I learned that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve been… stifled, when it comes to helping the multiverse. A title’s a title. Wong just gets to boss me around now.

[But as for getting her up to speed.]

Well, you know the main point of all conflict and tension, right? The Singularity, and how each nation wants to approach it?

Which seems to be tied into their individual views of magic, or was I reading that wrong?

[ Although if the Singularity was indeed the source of magic on this world, that made sense. ]

In which case the conflicting options would be... control, destroy, and... worship? [ Her nose wrinkles slightly, because she's learned the least amount of information about Solvunn so far, so that one's a bit of a guess. ]

That's right. The Singularity's basically the origin point of this world's magic, and no one can agree on how to use it. Or if it's to be used at all.

[He frowns, though.]

But honestly? The politics run rife in this castle, but my biggest concern is more its connection to other worlds in the multiverse. Worlds like Earth, unaware of this monolith that might be tied to its own existence somehow.

[ That has her gaze narrowing on him, her steps slowing a little as she takes that in. Tries to untangle how that's possible. ]

What do you mean, tied to its existence? Is this because of the summoning they're doing, or something else?

I mean that the monolith itself is connected to our worlds, and if my suspicions are correct, its... health, in a way.

[He gestures with a scarred hand, explanatory.]

Like a beating heart, sending magical energy out towards the multiverse, connected and providing "sustenance", as it were. And I would hate to see what happens when this heart is tampered with, or utterly stops because we are too focused on a war brewing all around us.

[ She gives him a look that is more than a little alarmed. ]

So you think, if something should happen to the monolith here - which already seems to be at the center of the conflict between all three of the Factions - it could negatively affect our world as well.

[ Why could nothing ever be simple and straightforward? She pinches the bridge of her nose between two fingers, taking a deep breath. ]

Great. That's just what I wanted to hear.

[He's caught between nodding in affirmation and shrugging almost apologetically. It is an alarming thought, of course, not to be taken casually, but this is a concern that has weighed on him nearly since his arrival to this world. The pressure is still there, but the alarm is less sharp and more bodeful, these days. Like a storm cloud hanging over his head, the guillotine's blade obscured in the fog.]

That's exactly what I think, yeah. In fact, I'm willing to bet good money on it. [You know, figuratively.] My fear is that all the factions are more concerned about how the Singularity affects this world, and what they should do with it accordingly. They're not extending their perspective to encompass the universes we all come from. Not everyone.

[Which, if one thinks about it, a little frustrating considering they were summoned into this place without any say in the matter.]

Have you shared this theory with Steve? Or Sam and Wanda?

[ It hadn't come up in her talks with them, but then again, they'd mostly discussed things back home and just the basics of their new life in this place. Maybe it just hadn't come up. But she thinks this sounds pretty serious.

Dropping her hand to her side, she turns to give him a serious look. ]

I'll take your word on this, since you're way more of a magical expert than I'll ever be. In which case, what do you need from me? Is there anything I can do to help?

Sam knows. I figure he filters all information in Steve's direction. And I let Wanda know the moment I ran into her in this world.

[Which feels like an age ago. A minus-one-returning-home-and-making-everything-weird instance ago.

He pauses, looking at Natasha. Her skillset runs so opposite of his, it's almost hard to know where to start.]

Stay here long enough, and this whole castle is nothing but a web of politics and secrets probably hiding in the walls. The thing is, I want to focus only on the magical side -- the part that lets me focus on the Singularity without putting too much of the Queen's scrutiny on my back.

[In other words, he doesn't want to get tangled in red tape.]

[ She pauses when he does, listening to his words and then cocking her head to the side with a faint, sardonic smirk. Reaching out, she pats him consolingly on the arm. ]

Well, lucky for you, you got the one teammate best equipped to deal with webs of politics and secrets, tangled or otherwise. As soon as I get up to speed on what's happening here, I'll be happy to divert that attention whenever you need it.

[Open] this doesn't look like a party

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drags self out of post christmas and new years holiday fugue

it is DEEP

ain't it tho

stephen you really need to work on your reassuring bedside manner

no, everyone is required to stress with him

she doesn't do stress.