deercountry | ( january catch all )

Because I want to go this way.

( they were both so stubborn. )

[ she keeps her hands on her hips as she glares at him. this is where she should turn on her heel and tell him she'll meet him somewhere once the streets inevitably meet, but she doesn't particularly want to be left alone in a strange city in case, well… she gets lost. ]

Why don't we go that way?

[ she points behind him. ]

Neither of us want to go that way.

[ it's a good compromise. ]

( he sighs but...she's right, it's a good compromise. and then he nods before he starts towards it. )

Come on, let's go.

( she makes the compromise and he agrees. looks like they were both learning to make allowances here. )

If something big and gross attacks us, it's your fault though.

( said playfully. )

[ she chuckles as she heads in the opposite direction to where she was insisting they go. with her hands in her pockets, she shakes her head incredulously. ]

I will remember you fondly if it kills you.

[ it won't, of course. one of his big arms will swing out wide and smack it, and she'll disintegrate it. but she likes the hyperbolic conversation, and she likes that he's humouring her. ]

'Amos was my friend.' That's what I will say at your memorial.

[ nothing more. ]

Many people have tried to kill me.

( he smiles and then shrugs his shoulders. )

No one's managed to do it yet. I know it's coming but I doubt that'll get me. Not here.

[ she hadn't expected him to take her commentary so seriously. death isn't a topic she likes to talk about. it's one she likes to ignore, believing that it doesn't exist. she's lost so many people to death already that she wishes for it not to exist in the trench.

she drops the playfulness as she looks at him. ]

How can you be so sure?

Because I don't think you can die here. Or you can but you come back.

( he's heard of that happening with other people. )

But I also don't make it a point to get into situations where I'm gonna die.

This place does feel a little weirder, like Deerington.

[ but then again, that could be for a multitude of reasons. the magic here is different, but it's something that wanda's taken note of. the moment that shifts, she thinks they'll be fucked. ]

There are a lot of those. [ she looks at him and clarifies, ] Situations where you could end up hurt. Sometimes I wonder if this place actively wants to hurt us, or if it's just… like everywhere else where there's bad and good.

Honestly, haven't been hurt here as much as I have back home.

( probably because this place lacked a holden to get them into messes everywhere. )

Guess it pays to kind of just stay out of things when I get the choice.

[ but it does have a wanda, and she's trouble. ]

Hm.

[ that doesn't sound like her, even though she has remained surprisingly on the sidelines. perhaps subconsciously doing so. ]

Do you like it here? Not here in this city, but the Trench?

I don't know. Answer changes depending on the day.

( he shrugs his shoulders. )

It's not the absolute worst.

But it's still the worst.

[ she hums thoughtfully at that. the answer he gives her isn't surprising. amos seems like a glass-half-empty kind of man, even if he is enjoying himself.

she smiles. ] At least we get to go somewhere new without having to worry about passports. This city is kind of nice.

[ but wanda's a glass-half-full kind of person. ]

This city is...nice?

( well, it's not actively trying to kill them so that's something. )

I guess it coud be worse, sure.

Isn't it? We get free accomodation. We don't have to technically work for anything.

[ it's not like wanda has a steady job. she does a few bits of magic here and there, but that's about it. it feels a lot like her life in sokovia, really.

she doesn't look at him. ] There are nice people here you'd never have met otherwise.

I guess it's not the worst but —

( he eyes her steadily, curious. )

Would you rather stay here then go back home?

[ wanda considers lying and scoffing, telling him that no, of course not, she wants to go home. but that's not true, and wanda's tired of lying to herself. since coming to trench, she's realised that she likes it here for many reasons. there aren't many reminders of vision or the boys or pietro. here, she can be unburdened. ]

Yes.

[ she presses her lips together and glances at him before looking straight ahead. ]

I don't… [ she pauses for a brief moment and considers taking back her words. despite having kissed him on new year's eve, amos is still her friend, and he deserves the truth. ] really have anything back home.

( ah, that makes sense. he doesn't say anything immediately before nodding. )

So, this would be...more than you have.

( he says it gently. )

Yes.

[ it's not something wanda's ever said aloud, and now that she can hear it, it sounds rather pathetic. the trench is more than anything she's ever had in her life is sad. but she supposes that she's not the only one.

she looks at him and wrinkles her nose. ]

It's sad, isn't it?

No.

( amos shakes his head. it's not sad. it's not actually all that surprising. )

If you want to stay here, stay here. It's something better than nothing at all, you know. No one would miss you back there?

[ she shakes her head. ] Not really.

[ sam would be the only one, but he's so preoccupied with his own family that she knows that her staying in the trench wouldn't be much of a blip for him. he's not cruel, but his life is already so full that missing someone who's like a ghost wouldn't be detrimental. ]

A lot of my friends are dead. [ she sighs as she looks straight ahead. while it feels like stones are in her chest, she still feels as though she's floating. ] My… someone is dead. My sons are… I have no idea.

[ she shrugs and glances at him. ]

It's just happier here.

Never thought I'd hear someone say it's happier here.

( but she's right in that it's not bad. it's just...trying sometimes, difficult. it can be dangerous but for someone as powerful as her, maybe the danger is less. )

Think you could spend the rest of your life here and be happy?

[ she would hope so, but she knows the trench is merely another city. while its scope may change from time to time, it's not a protective bubble where the same losses don't happen. ]

I'd like to think so. [ she shrugs. she's not so naive as to believe the trench is infallible. ] There are fewer memories here. I think that's why I like it.

Just means you've got room enough to make some more.

( and he doesn't necessarily mean that in a bad way. )

You've made some good memories here, right?

[ she smiles and nods. ] Yes.

[ and he's a part of those, although, wanda's not quite sure how amos would handle hearing that. he doesn't seem like the overly sentimental type. ]

I have a car. I did have a car back home, but I have another car. [ she smiles. ] And horses. And a house.

[ all things she didn't have to mind control an entire town to have. that, for wanda, is something special. ]

Some very wild adventures. [ she laughs. ]

A car you broke.

( so he could fix it. yes, he's never going to let her forget. )

It hasn't been a bad here.

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