inbox | in the night.

[ultraviolents]

to be prettied up later!

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[ultraviolents]

[ privacy was a necessity for them in life and remains so in death, but as solitary as elektra had been (and still is, most of the time), she's grown to see the necessity of having people close as well. there aren't many she's extended that too (some of them are gone now), but wanda's on that list for sure.

the smile's returned, and elektra nods as she stands. ]

Of course. Want anything while we wait? Tea, maybe a towel?

[hext]

[ wanda finds herself exhaling in relief on a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. she follows elektra to stand, not knowing what else to do with herself. tremors follow in her vision — her legs wobble, and yet they don't. ]

A towel would be wonderful, thank you. I'll help with the tea.

[ultraviolents]

[ she nods, gesturing towards the kitchen while she heads to the bathroom to find a towel. there's a bit of a tremble in her movements that suggest that she ought to find clothing for wanda, too, but she'll need to be dry before those will do any good. ]

There's a few options to choose from. [ since she moved in, there's been more variety in what's been stocked in the kitchen, though they're still usually limited to what the store has to provide. ] I'll be right back.

[hext]

[ as elektra disappears into the hall, wanda moves into the kitchen area she's familiar with, finding herself glad to be here, glad to have come — here to a place where she's a frequent visitor, knows her way around.

in the cabinets she finds a chamomile blend, then pulls a kettle from it's home and fills it with water. it's here, she gets a good look at the state of her hands... her nails.

suddenly she's taking a sponge and scrubbing furiously, heart racing. ]

[ultraviolents]

[ it takes her a few moments to find not only a towel, but a spare shirt and a pair of leggings for her to put on. when she comes back downstairs, she finds wanda not at the stove, but at the sink, scrubbing frantically at her hands. ]

Wanda? [ she calls out before approaching, setting the clothes and towel on the kitchen table as she comes closer. ]

[hext]

[ by this point she's moved on from her fingernails, her hands — all the way up her scuffed and scratched forearms, where indentations marr her flesh, places where she's pulled foreign bodies out of herself, but they keep coming back.

she tries to answer but she can't stop scrubbing, she can't. ]

...It's not my skin anymore, [ she hisses out breathlessly, ] it's not. Elektra —

[ultraviolents]

[ she doesn't hesitate, rushing over to the sink and turning it off before taking wanda's hands in her own. there are scales protruding from her skin, underneath the scars and indentations, and she finds herself taken aback for a moment before looking back up at her. ]

...Okay. Okay, we're going to fix this, all right? We're going to clean these up and bandage them so you don't keep hurting yourself. Is that okay?

[hext]

[ she shakes her head quickly. ]

No — no, I can't leave them in there —

[ wanda tries to pull her hands back to her chest. ]

— please, Elektra, I have to pull them out...

[ultraviolents]

So we'll pull them out, but not by you tearing up your skin.

[ elektra holds firm, but it's not easy. ]

We've got tweezers, okay? We'll get them out.

[hext]

[ she falters in elektra's grip. okay, okay, they'll pull them out— ]

But they keep coming back...

[ it's only a whisper, but so full of thick and tangible fear. ]

...I'm a monster. I have always been a monster, and now I have the parts to prove it...

[ultraviolents]

[ that sounds familiar, and it hurts elektra to hear someone else say it, to believe it about themselves. ]

We both are. Okay? I'm going to help you with this and we're going to figure out a way for you to live with it. But you're going to be okay.