[ it isn't that she blames him, his lingering immediate confusion, or even that she wants to frighten him.
but the young man won't shut his mouth even after a local shoves the device into his hand, having explained the process, the rules — the stakes. wanda is worn too threadbare by exhaustion and her own unease with the incomparable mystery to have much patience for either watching him die, or leading others to die with him. she absorbs his disbelief from around the corner... peers at him past the edge of an abandoned storefront, watching him struggle.
still talking. damn it.
cloth-covered slippers advance toward him in long, purposeful strides; she's upon him in mere seconds, hand raised, scarlet filaments of energy curling out like wisps of smoke from her fingertips, directed toward his mouth.
he may find it very difficult, at this point, to use his jaw. ]
❝ Do you hear anyone laughing? ❞
[ she'll retreat from his mind as soon as he proves he can handle the ground rules. ]
➾ ARRIVAL
but the young man won't shut his mouth even after a local shoves the device into his hand, having explained the process, the rules — the stakes. wanda is worn too threadbare by exhaustion and her own unease with the incomparable mystery to have much patience for either watching him die, or leading others to die with him. she absorbs his disbelief from around the corner... peers at him past the edge of an abandoned storefront, watching him struggle.
still talking. damn it.
cloth-covered slippers advance toward him in long, purposeful strides; she's upon him in mere seconds, hand raised, scarlet filaments of energy curling out like wisps of smoke from her fingertips, directed toward his mouth.
he may find it very difficult, at this point, to use his jaw. ]
❝ Do you hear anyone laughing? ❞
[ she'll retreat from his mind as soon as he proves he can handle the ground rules. ]