( january catch all )

[prescind]

Who: stefan salvatore (prescind) + katherine pierce (manipulative) + amos burton (rocinantes) + wanda maximoff (explosion)
What: new year's things, event things
When: january
Where: all around

Content Warnings: probably some language to start.

Comments

[explosion]

[ wanda shrugs, although it's the type of shrug that suggests she's about to say something utterly mean (in a nice way). ]

You just seem tone-deaf.

[ never one to mince her words when it comes to him. ]

[rocinantes]

You say that like it's a bad thing.

( he doesn't need to be someone who sings and hums or plays instruments. )

You need better insults.

[explosion]

But I like my insults.

[ she purposefully pouts, although she smiles as she does so. she likes her insults because they are bad insults. they're the one thing that's hers and no one else's. they don't belong to a script that's been magically written. ]

I am very good at humming. See?

[ tilting her head up, she hums a very cheery tune. she widens her smile as she does so, grateful for the distraction. ]

[rocinantes]

Uh huh.

( he hums too, trying to follow her rhythm because anything's better than the humming he'd been hearing. )

You'd say you were very good at everything, though.

[explosion]

I am.

[ she presses her hands to her hips, bending her elbows as she playfully glares at him. ]

I am the best at many things. I'm good at humming [ obviously. ] and star jumps and magic.

[ one of those things is definitely the thing she's best at. ]

[rocinantes]

Can you tell me one thing you're not good at?

( or would her ego not allow her to do that? )

[explosion]

[ keeping people alive.

wanda taps her finger against her chin as she makes a show of mulling over his question. she could give him an answer pietro would give, but that wouldn't be responding correctly, would it? ]

Doing things without magic.

[ she's not overly smiley when she says it. in fact, she says it quite soberly, her seriousness apparent. it's one of the few things that she overcompensates with her magic. ]

[rocinantes]

( huh, he hadn't actually expected her to admit anything but look at that, she's surprised him. he smirks. )

Doing what kinds of things?

( that dependent on your magic, wanda? good to know. )

[explosion]

Fixing things. [ she shrugs and looks away. it's a confession of vulnerability. wanda's so used to trying to appear like she's in control because she wants to be in control that admitting anything but what she's perfect at feels like an admission of being subpar. ]

I'm very bad at defending myself without magic.

[rocinantes]

Have you ever wanted to learn? To defend yourself without magic?

( that was one thing he was pretty good at. )

[explosion]

[ she nods. being an avenger often means she's fighting beings that are on par with what comes naturally to her, but she knows she could've had the upper hand with proxima midnight a year or so ago (or years ago, given the blip) if she had spent more time with steve and natasha training. ]

I'm not always going to have my powers. [ the trench has taught her as much. ] It's something I think I should learn.

[rocinantes]

Why haven't you?

( learned, that is. )

You've been here awhile, right?

[explosion]

Yes…

[ she knows where this is going, and wanda hates that she flushes in embarrassment. she keeps her face turned away and her gaze straight forward. ]

There just hasn't been any time.

[ a lie. ]

[rocinantes]

Who've you asked?

( call him curious. )

Who do you want to teach you?

[explosion]

I had friends at home who used to let me train with them.

[ and wanda had learned some things that she could combine with her hexes, but she's still so reliant on her magic. ]

They're not here.

[rocinantes]

Haven't asked me, have you?

( not that he'd offered either. )

You haven't asked anyone here.

[explosion]

If you ask people here, you get twenty offers and a great sense of feeling overwhelmed.

[ people in the trench were big on helping, and as much as wanda really appreciated that, she often found herself very overwhelmed by people's kindness.

she arches her brow as she gives him a small smile. ]

You'd teach me?

[rocinantes]

If you wanted me to.

( fighting is something he knows well. )

And if you really wanted to learn.

[explosion]

[ wanda stops walking and turns to face him. crossing her arms against her chest, she playfully narrows her eyes as she sizes him up. ]

What are you credentials? Do you know how to hold your fist for a punch?

[ because, of course, she does not. ]

[rocinantes]

Really?

( this is a good distraction at least from the stupid humming but he can still hear it at the back of his head. )

We doing an interview now?

[explosion]

Yes.

[ she tilts her chin up at him defiantly, daring him to reject it. ]

If you want me to ask you to teach me how to fight, then yes. I should know how good of a fighter you are.

[ never mind that she's seen it. that's not the point. the point is that she wants to hear amos talk himself up. it's always fun when he has a go at that. ]

[rocinantes]

You've seen it.

( they seem to end up around each other a lot when there's a fight so he knows that she's seen it.

he raises an eyebrow. )

How am I gonna prove it more than that?

[explosion]

Have you ever taught anyone to fight?

[ knowing how to fight and teaching another how to fight are two separate things. she doesn't doubt that amos would be a good teacher, given that he has a lot to show, but she thinks it's only fair to ask.

besides, she's curious. how many people in space have come to amos for his expertise? ]

[rocinantes]

None.

( he shrugs. it hadn't exactly been a thing he offered to people and the crew he'd traveled with had all known how to fight. )

But it's not something I tell people I'll teach them often.

[explosion]

[ oh, so this offer is special, then. that takes the wind out of her sails when it comes to teasing him.

so, she nods, taking this seriously. if she's going to trust anyone to have the patience with her to unlearn depending on her powers, then it's amos burton. ] I'd like you to teach me, if you want to teach.

[ fair warning: she's utterly hopeless, amos. utterly hopeless. ]