deercountry | ( CLOSED ) I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN.

[ she's not surprised that amos is a tough cookie to crack. although she has a feeling he's a big softie on the inside and loves the irksome traditions of christmas and the trench, she knows he has to save face and be a little terse about things.

it honestly surprises her more that he entertains her notions. she wants to break him and turn him into someone who enjoys christmas cheer, and he allows her to do it one snowball at a time.

although she has every intention of seeing to him helping her decorate her house with christmas lights (apparently, a woman who can magic things out of thin air needs help hanging them up on her second story gutter), she wants his opinion on her winter mourning first. she's crafted one out of antler-bones and decorated it with a nice red and blue hue to match her and pietro.

but before she can ask him what he thinks of it as they stand in her kitchen, the grey bones begin to glow brightly.

the explosion of red isn't unfamiliar, but the opening of the deep blood red sky is. the wooden floor of her kitchen breaks into the sky as they float in the air. wanda peers down, startled at how she doesn't need to lift herself up. she's floating, staying near the scene unfolding before her.

she remembers this. she sees herself toss red magic, bleeding it everywhere as the sky burns… and there's agatha, sucking it all up like a void. ]

Watch your step.

[ it's a silly thing to say, but she needs something to say. ]

( amos honestly doesn't know why she wants to spend so much time around him, trying to get him into the season. he's grumpy and mean and yet, she just keeps prodding at him and she does get underneath some of his barriers but he's still keeping her back a bit.

he allows her though he's going to wonder if that's the right decision once they're transported to somewhere that's...well, that's really fucking insane. there's red everywhere and people in the air and he doesn't know what's going on. )

Who the fuck is that?

( because that's not her. that's someone else but she looks like she's sucking up everything around her like a black hole. )

Agatha.

[ not a friend, not her neighbour. wanda doesn't truly consider her an enemy, either. she's merely agatha.

she eyes her for a moment, listening to agatha's cackle. she truly does give into the stereotype of a witch. she briefly wonders if agatha had been the one to birth the evil witch cackle. it'd make sense if she did.

looking back at amos, she grips his bicep gently. while she suspects he won't plummet to the ground, she imagines that being in the air like this is new for him. he may be used to floating in space, but he's always connected to something and wearing one of those suits. this is how wanda flies. ]

She's stealing my magic. [ she gestures with her other hand towards the red walls. ] All of that is me.

Why are you letting her?

( logically, amos knows there's a reason for wanda not fighting back but he still doesn't like it. he winces and shakes his head. )

Kick her ass! Come on, I know you can!

[ she can't help but smile, ducking her head sheepishly. wanda had considered giving all of her power to agatha and leaving it be. but being a normal girl without her powers would leave her feeling emptier than she began. having her powers made her feel complete. ]

It's all part of a plan.

[ wanda gives him a small smile. watching herself turn grey and dehydrated as agatha takes her magic and seemingly her life force is a little difficult, but she knows how this ends. frankly, she knows how many stories end. ]

She can absorb magic. But she can't take it away as I can.

[ and that's what she does, the runes glowing brightly around the four walls of the hex. wanda doesn't look so sickly anymore. agatha doesn't appear so strong and powerful as her reality begins to dawn on her.

she remembers how easy it had been to call her magic back. it comes to her in thick black, purple and red waves. ]

Where'd this bitch even come from?

( not that he knows anything about wanda's past between a few tidbits here and there. but he doesn't remember this tidbit at all. she hadn't mentioned some purple clad witch being mentioned. )

Did you know here before she tried to do this shit?

I met her in Westview.

[ not that she thinks that will make much sense to him. westview is hers and hers alone, save for the few people who were trapped inside of it. ]

She was my very friendly neighbour. I think she sensed my magic and invited herself in.

[ the wanda before her begins to pull all back her magic, the air around them rippling violently. a familiar red crown glows brightly on her head. ]

I kick her ass, see?

Huh.

( while amos is listening to her, he's also got an eye on things up there and he frowns. )

The fuck did that crown come from? Did you know that was going to happen?

I don't know. I think so.

[ in the moment, wanda had been so incredibly sure of herself. it'd been the one moment in her life that she had clarity on who she was. the crown had formed of its own accord... or perhaps she had made it so. ]

It's my magic. I'm... something. The... witch who is the captain of her coven has a crown.

[ he gets that, doesn't he? ]

So, you're the captain of a bunch of other witches?

( he's trying to understand, wanda, he really is. )

It's a cool crown. Looks sharp.

( definitely a cool crown. )

I don't have anyone in my coven.

[ which, she suspects, will only make him more confused. she thinks for a moment as herself pulls all of agatha's magic from her body, leaving her fingers blackened and her skin cold. ]

It's like... if you were the captain of the Rocinate. You're the leader, yes? But you don't have a crew, even though you can man every corner of the ship.

That's...fucking confusing. Because yeah, I could man every part of the Rocinante but I couldn't fly it on my own. It's too big.

( he gets what she's going for though. )

You want more witches in your coven?

[ mulling over his question, she knows her answer. her coven is two people, and that person had died a long time ago. she much prefers being on her own, of relying only on herself.

she shakes her head. ] No.

[ she looks at him, furrowing her brows. ]

Do you think that makes me selfish?

Nah.

( hey, he likes being alone too. he looks back up at where she was floating and flitting around in the sky. )

Why don't you want anyone else?

Because I hurt people.

[ by accident, never intentionally. wanda knows that's an important distinction, but she knows it's not one the people who have been left behind by the deaths she's accidentally caused share. ]

And when I hurt people, the people who are with me get blamed, too. I couldn't want my coven to be blamed for my mistakes.

But you'd have backup. In the analogy you made, yeah, I could probably run the Rocinante but I'd get killed easily. My crew have my back.

( and yeah she was powerful and all but who had her back? )

You don't want something like that?

[ she shakes her head. ]

No.

[ she had the avengers, but wanda doesn't consider herself one. she's merely wanda. ]

What I am — [ she gestures towards the wanda in the sky, dressed in her full scarlet witch garb. ] — I'm not meant to be with a team. And I think that it's right. I have to be alone. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's for the best.

If that's true, why am I here?

( she wasn't alone right now, was she? he kept showing up around her and with her in things like this. he doesn't know why. )

Or do I not count because I'm not a witch?

You're not a witch.

[ hence, he wouldn't count. but she knows what he's implying. very gently, she drops her hands and the two of them descend as the dark red walls surrounding them break into a clear blue sky. wanda and agatha descend, too. ]

But you can count in a different way.

How do I count?

( he's not going to push for being some coven member. he doesn't care that much. )

As a friend.

[ for anyone else, that may seem like a very lame compensation. a witch in a coven is something profound and coveted by a lot of people. it represents power. but wanda's been alone for most of her life, it made worse by the absence of her family. the avengers had been a great band of people, but she'd been so lonely in those crowded rooms. ]

I didn't have a lot of them before I came here.

Don't got too many friends.

( and before you ask, wanda, that doesn't mean he doesn't want them. it's just an observation. )

Think you could stomach being my friend?

[ she'd been expecting him to refute her completely. this is a nice change of pace. clearly, her talking about holden's pants has worn him down.

wanda smiles and shrugs. ]

I've been through worse. It's not desirable, but... [ her smile widens. ]

It's not desirable?

( he laughs at that one because of course. he appreciates that she's going to play along with him a bit. )

What would be more desirable than being friends with me?

[ she thinks to give him a list of things—an ice cream cone, jewellery, a nice, juicy burger, meeting holden. but none of those may see him smile. it's a nice look on him. it's good to know he can do that. ]

Driving the Rocinante.

[ steering? captaining? is this the proper word? ]

( SCARLET MEMORY THEATRE )

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