ultraviolents | inbox | in the night.

[ wanda meets her eyes, and though her gaze is steady, there's something haunted and cavernous about it. the circles under her eyes have gotten darker in her lantern light. ]

I keep thinking about resets. The woods. The town...

[ a beat. she glances past elektra, into the room behind her, how — aside from the darkness — normal it looks. the walls, the roof over her head. built, painted... rebuilt... repainted... ]

Elektra, how many towns do you think there have been?

[ if her room looks tidy in the way that suggests it's been unlived in, that's due to the fact that it more or less has been. she'd stuck to it and the inn in the first few days, after she and matthew had had their hearing damaged, but aside from that she's been avoiding spending much time in it. she'd been like that while living, too, no matter how luxurious the spaces she occupied were, tending to only spend time in those places when she needed the rest.

wanda's words have her considering, though. there was them and the people who had vanished, and then if what they'd been told when arriving was anything to go by, another few groups of people before them. why do the slates keep getting wiped clean? ]

I hadn't thought much about how many. What interests me more is what they might have done wrong.

[ the idea makes her angry, groups before them being brought here without their consent and wiped away if the group didn't perform the way they were supposed to, when they were given no indication of how to behave. it feels a little too familiar. ]

It's clear that you have, though. [ she steps aside then, wordlessly inviting wanda if she wants to come in. ]

[ in the back of her mind, she takes in these small details about elektra, about her home. things she learned to survive, things she honed further with coaching from natasha.

but the most pressing thought is what sliver of trust she has in this necrotic counterfeit of a life here, and that she's decided to offer some of it to elektra. the question is, she wonders, as she steps inside elektra's room — should she extend that trust beyond the borders of where they pretend to live, and to their skills, after everything that's happened?

or perhaps that's not the question. perhaps it's the impulse to move her trust anywhere but within the invisible borders of this small community, lying in wait to be destroyed. ]

I do think about how many towns, [ she replies after a moment, then turns to face her host. ] and where they might have been.

I think about how difficult it has been for those of us who have left this town to explore to come back safely — but they report findings other than spirits. Elektra— [ she pauses, her pulse quickening, she takes a breath, ] the village across the bridge was in ruins when we first found it. Before you came. And before that... well, we didn't know it was there.

[ her eyes pierce elektra's. it wasn't there before they found it. she thinks elektra will get her meaning. ]

Edited 2019-10-01 01:26 (UTC)

[ there isn't much to be found there, but isn't that face a detail in and of itself? her lantern glows on a shelf, there are some clothes tucked away and a few personal care items on the dresser, but nothing indicating much more than her taste in bath scents. (sandalwood and jasmine, for the record.)

the door is shut and secured once wanda steps inside, and elektra is quiet as she observes the other woman and lets her voice her train of thought. that she brings up the possibility of other locations is interesting, and a possibility she doubts many have considered. her eyebrows raise slightly when the bridge is brought up, that there was another village's remains to be found beyond it. ]

You think there's something to be found there beyond ruins?

[ she turns away again, takes a step, places her hand on the edge of elektra's small kitchen-and-dining table. finally, she seats herself with another deep breath and cranes her neck to look back at her... quasi-friend. ]

There is no way to be sure. But I think we have to look.

[ wanda curls her idle fingers into her fists. ]

Look for the other towns. Perhaps... if we see any sign of what they were like before they were reset...

[ she licks her lips. ]

...we could avoid our own.

[ elektra's arms are crossed as she observes wanda, still remaining silent as she considers. it's not long before she nods in agreement. ]

We're going to need to prepare.

[ she's not sure exactly what wanda has seen, but she knows what she's seen and that they're not the only ones to have dangerous encounters. ]

[ a soft, trembling wave of relief washes over her. ]

We will need food, water, enough for... two weeks, perhaps more. Weapons. First aid. At least one torch.

[ wanda tilts her head; a short pause. ]

And Matt.

[ not only does she have an inkling elektra would be reluctant to leave him behind; not only does she think matthew would be an asset despite his disability; but— ]

Three is safer than two.

[ the immense relief wanda must be feeling at her agreement is visible in her stance, even subtly. elektra nods as she lists off what they'll need to go into the woods, until she mentions that they'll need matthew as well.

well, now her coming to her makes sense. she's correct in her assumption that she won't want to go without him, in spite of how well that had gone for him (them) the last time. but that aside, she can't agree to this for him. although she can't imagine that he wouldn't want to help. ]

Have you spoken to him, too? Or was the next part of this asking me to do it?

[ wanda chews the inside of her lip, considering how to phrase this. all of it. ]

I wanted to know how you would feel about it. And I thought... we could ask him together, ultimately.

[ she considers for a moment, then nods again, looking briefly to the view the window offers. the house he's claimed is in the distance, just barely visible from where she's standing. she can't tell whether or not he's there now. ]

Okay. Did you want to find him first, or should we think about what else we're going to need while we're thinking of it?

I've watched you both during our time here.

[ wanda holds up a hand— ]

I know that sounds— bad. What I mean is, I think you are better at forethought and precision, and Matthew excels at moving with instinct.

[ and before that sounds even creepier, ]

It makes sense, given how his senses balance out what he's lost. But if we go to him without a plan, we may end up in the forest before we are ready.

[ the fact that she'd been watching them is less bad than she might think - of course she has, everyone's been keeping a wary eye on everyone else, on some level. and she isn't wrong in her assessment of their respective strengths. what strikes elektra is the last part of what she says, about matthew and his senses. ]

How do you know about that? [ her voice is sharper now, protective of matthew and the secret he's been trying to keep. ]

[ wanda blinks, slowly. she senses she's struck a nerve. ]

About what?

[ question: did wanda really hit on something with matt or was she really just referring to his personality, and how he makes up for being blind? are you giving shit away yourself right now, elektra? ]

[ elektra debates her answer for a second - she doesn't think wanda will appreciate a quick covering lie, and she wouldn't want to anyway, not if they're about to head into the woods together. finally, she relents. ]

You mentioned his senses.

[ wanda folds her hands together in front of her face, then rests her chin over her knuckles. ]

I did. Don't you think it is an accurate assessment that he moves based on instinct more than the average person?

I do. But I've known him longer.

[ she's not about to reveal anything to wanda if she can help it, upcoming expedition or no. it's not her secret to reveal, and matthew's made it clear that he's still trying to keep it. ]

inbox | in the night.

or ride our bikes around the towwwwnnnnn

i don't know the words well enough to continue :(

smth smth let's go get eaten by spirits the end OK BYYYYYEEEE \o/

that segues nicely into old town road

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject