[Not a terrible thing to be. Red calls to her. It's the color of her magic, of chaos, of whatever it is she happens to be, now.
Kira's less shy than her brother, but Wanda still looks surprised that she'd ask Erik about it. Sweet thing.]
I don't know if she'll be able to make things grow exactly like I do, but if she has any interest in plants and nature, I can show her the old fashioned way.
[With seeds and earth and water.]
Maybe I can do that with her, and you do something with Nic. They're together all day, every day. It's not terrible, but... they need to be able to stand on their own. She shouldn't have to worry over her brother constantly and he should have the room to find the courage to make his own decisions. It would be good for the both of them to have something that's their own.
I'd been thinking the same thing. They are all they've ever known, and it's a very strong bond. [ And he knows Wanda can relate, given what she's spoken about her own sibling. ] But you're right, it would benefit them in the long run if they can learn to develop their individual identities as well.
[ Nic was slower to trust, and to warm up to people; but the family they lived with had said he'd been making subtle progress over the weeks that passed. ]
Nic has a harder time with the language barrier than Kira; I can help him with that. And I can take him with me when I do perimeter checks. I know he's curious about the rest of the island. For all that Kira has been his protector, I think there is something in him that wants to do the same; for her and for the other children.
[ And if they were walking and Erik was doing the talking, he knew Nic would feel less pressured. ]
[Wanda's lips curve into an amused smile before she playfully narrows her eyes at Erik across the table.]
You're sure you're not reading my mind?
[A drink of her beer, and she leans against the back of the chair she's in. It feels much better to talk about the two children they find themselves invested in than the death that had happened that night.]
[ It brings an answering amused smile in return as he shakes his head. ]
No, I don't think I'd be very good at that.
[ Traversing people's minds, he means. It takes a certain strength, and while he knows he has strength of his own; it's a different kind. ]
I hope I can be a suitable one. If you asked anyone beyond this island, they would find the idea of me as any kind of role model... very unlikely.
[ To put lightly. But he's glad to be talking about the children now, it helps the remaining vigilance from the fight earlier to slowly fade from his awareness; and he hopes it's doing the same for her. ]
[And she'd argue she's less of a suitable role model than he is. He was a father for many years, and Nina had looked to be happy and well-mannered from what little Wanda saw of her. It couldn't have just been his wife's doing.
Billy and Tommy were as her magic made them, and most good role models likely didn't hold entire towns hostage or slaughter people across the multiverse in the name of what they thought to be the greater good.]
But we'll test your patience. You still need to show me how to make latkes. And speak French. [Might as well make that official.]
[ He raises his brow with a surprised smile, one of approval. He knew she had an interest in learning how to make latkes, but learning French was a much lengthier undertaking, as most languages were.
The latkes were more meaningful however, and there's a softness in his eyes as he thinks back to the conversation they'd first had about him teaching her. ]
The latkes will take considerably less time to learn than French. But we can start off with the basics.
[ He finishes the remainder of his beer and sets it aside. ]
The accent is the best part. [ He says, a bit of dry teasing because he knows people either enjoy that part of speaking and hearing French, or they find it challenging. ]
[There's something very slightly not American in her speaking voice. It's not as extreme as the memory she shared with him. This is a voice she worked with Natasha to perfect, because when they were on the run, that Sokovian accent would have easily given her away. And then it simply stuck, like the copper hair.]
You can tell me how to make latkes with a French accent.
[ He commented with a grin, thinking it was not unlike a version of his own - not sounding alike, but similar in that it seemed like a mixture of different accents combined together, hard to define specifically but decidedly not American. ]
Only if you mimic it as I give the instructions.
[ He answered with a chuckle, imagining himself giving her instructions with an exaggerated French accent while speaking English. ]
If you tried that next the time we read to the children, I guarantee you'd get Nic to laugh.
Sokovian accent. [And it comes back just like that.] You probably never heard of it. [Because as far as she can tell, here, it never existed.] Sokovia was a small country and got absorbed by neighboring ones, like Slovakia.
[And then back to her usual voice, American with a tinge of something else.]
What would really make him laugh is me stumbling through basic phrases. I'll suffer, if it entertains him. Maybe he'll be less nervous about speaking English if I make a fool of myself with French.
[ He nods in understanding. Slovakia he knows, Sokovia he didn't recognize; but it made sense, that sometimes happened with smaller countries. ]
It's nice, your accent. Why did you change it? Or did it just fade over time?
[ His had, more or less; due to living in so many different places and speaking so many different languages. It had become an amalgam of sorts. ]
That is actually a very good idea. [ He chuckles at her suggestion, thinking Nic would likely be very entertained by that. And anything that got the boy to laugh just a bit felt like great progress. ]
When I joined the team, I moved to America. And when the team had their... conflict, my side was forced to go on the run. We were criminals in the eyes of the American government. One of my teammates thought it important for me to not sound so obviously Sokovian. I could give the rest of them away if my accent slipped.
[Natasha, born Russian, could be whoever she wanted to be just by choosing the right accent. She'd been a good teacher.]
I got used to it after a few years. Did yours just fade?
[She hadn't figured he was German by accent alone: the last name sounded German enough for her to make an educated guess.]
[ Americans were touchy enough about those they deemed 'foreign'. If she was on the run, it made sense to use what tools were available. Though it always touched a nerve in him, when he heard of someone having to conceal their origins. For obvious reasons.
Her question opens up a longer explanation that he doesn't quite feel comfortable delving into just yet, so he tries to give the shorter version. ]
I did a lot of traveling when I was younger. [ Traveling and killing Nazis. ] It's where I learned languages, in order to effectively blend in. Enough time spent in different countries speaking their accents, and I found my own had mostly faded. The time I spent in London further influenced it. Now I find it is useful to have an accent that isn't so easily detected.
I bet you didn't think one of your many languages would have you becoming the favorite of two wayward children.
[It's good he speaks French. It makes the children more comfortable around him, because as much as they seem to like Wanda, their English makes them hesitate or struggle to communicate at times. Erik, they don't have to think as much to interact with. It's made their shyness burn off just a touch quicker.]
[ That the languages he learned in the pursuit of violent vengeance would one day be useful as something completely the opposite - something to help two frightened children feel slightly more at ease in a new environment is absolutely not something Erik could have ever imagined. He is glad, though, incredibly; to be able to help Kira and Nic in that small way. ]
Well, that is honestly more believable, given my life. [ There's an amused grin that flashes for a moment, before her asks the question - ] Is that what you'd call yourself? Were there other witches - in the group you were with?
It's the easiest thing to call myself, I think. [Something different from mutant. It's not in her DNA. It's something deeper.] My group was... human, at the end of the day. Highly trained and skilled humans. Some enhanced through technology or science. But no one looked at them differently like they did with me. They all had their monikers. Black Widow. Captain America. Hawkeye. Me, I was just Wanda until recently.
[Forged, the Darkhold had said. It was a long road that led to her becoming the Scarlet Witch.]
The only other witch I met tried to take my powers for her own. Not really a great first impression.
Captain... America? [ He raises a brow at that one, if only because it sounds about the same as there being a Captain France, or ...Lieutenant Norway. But then again, if anyone would take on a name like that, it'd be an American. ]
I suppose all monikers are a little strange if you think about them too long. My group had their own as well. [ And he'd held too tightly to his own moniker for so long, it had only been recently that he was able to just be Erik again. He did find it interesting that she had been only Wanda initially, rather than her own moniker of The Scarlet Witch - which she seemed to have gained later. There were missing pieces still of her story; but just like his own, they were revealing them on their own time. ]
I'll assume it didn't end well for her. [ Not a good first impression indeed, and also not a wise choice to try to take someone's powers; especially someone like Wanda, he thinks. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Not a terrible thing to be. Red calls to her. It's the color of her magic, of chaos, of whatever it is she happens to be, now.
Kira's less shy than her brother, but Wanda still looks surprised that she'd ask Erik about it. Sweet thing.]
I don't know if she'll be able to make things grow exactly like I do, but if she has any interest in plants and nature, I can show her the old fashioned way.
[With seeds and earth and water.]
Maybe I can do that with her, and you do something with Nic. They're together all day, every day. It's not terrible, but... they need to be able to stand on their own. She shouldn't have to worry over her brother constantly and he should have the room to find the courage to make his own decisions. It would be good for the both of them to have something that's their own.
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[ Erik states with a smile. ]
I'd been thinking the same thing. They are all they've ever known, and it's a very strong bond. [ And he knows Wanda can relate, given what she's spoken about her own sibling. ] But you're right, it would benefit them in the long run if they can learn to develop their individual identities as well.
[ Nic was slower to trust, and to warm up to people; but the family they lived with had said he'd been making subtle progress over the weeks that passed. ]
Nic has a harder time with the language barrier than Kira; I can help him with that. And I can take him with me when I do perimeter checks. I know he's curious about the rest of the island. For all that Kira has been his protector, I think there is something in him that wants to do the same; for her and for the other children.
[ And if they were walking and Erik was doing the talking, he knew Nic would feel less pressured. ]
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You're sure you're not reading my mind?
[A drink of her beer, and she leans against the back of the chair she's in. It feels much better to talk about the two children they find themselves invested in than the death that had happened that night.]
He'll be thrilled. Boys need good role models.
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No, I don't think I'd be very good at that.
[ Traversing people's minds, he means. It takes a certain strength, and while he knows he has strength of his own; it's a different kind. ]
I hope I can be a suitable one. If you asked anyone beyond this island, they would find the idea of me as any kind of role model... very unlikely.
[ To put lightly. But he's glad to be talking about the children now, it helps the remaining vigilance from the fight earlier to slowly fade from his awareness; and he hopes it's doing the same for her. ]
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[And she'd argue she's less of a suitable role model than he is. He was a father for many years, and Nina had looked to be happy and well-mannered from what little Wanda saw of her. It couldn't have just been his wife's doing.
Billy and Tommy were as her magic made them, and most good role models likely didn't hold entire towns hostage or slaughter people across the multiverse in the name of what they thought to be the greater good.]
But we'll test your patience. You still need to show me how to make latkes. And speak French. [Might as well make that official.]
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The latkes were more meaningful however, and there's a softness in his eyes as he thinks back to the conversation they'd first had about him teaching her. ]
The latkes will take considerably less time to learn than French. But we can start off with the basics.
[ He finishes the remainder of his beer and sets it aside. ]
The accent is the best part. [ He says, a bit of dry teasing because he knows people either enjoy that part of speaking and hearing French, or they find it challenging. ]
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[There's something very slightly not American in her speaking voice. It's not as extreme as the memory she shared with him. This is a voice she worked with Natasha to perfect, because when they were on the run, that Sokovian accent would have easily given her away. And then it simply stuck, like the copper hair.]
You can tell me how to make latkes with a French accent.
[Don't mind her and her brilliant ideas.]
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[ He commented with a grin, thinking it was not unlike a version of his own - not sounding alike, but similar in that it seemed like a mixture of different accents combined together, hard to define specifically but decidedly not American. ]
Only if you mimic it as I give the instructions.
[ He answered with a chuckle, imagining himself giving her instructions with an exaggerated French accent while speaking English. ]
If you tried that next the time we read to the children, I guarantee you'd get Nic to laugh.
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[And then back to her usual voice, American with a tinge of something else.]
What would really make him laugh is me stumbling through basic phrases. I'll suffer, if it entertains him. Maybe he'll be less nervous about speaking English if I make a fool of myself with French.
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It's nice, your accent. Why did you change it? Or did it just fade over time?
[ His had, more or less; due to living in so many different places and speaking so many different languages. It had become an amalgam of sorts. ]
That is actually a very good idea. [ He chuckles at her suggestion, thinking Nic would likely be very entertained by that. And anything that got the boy to laugh just a bit felt like great progress. ]
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[Natasha, born Russian, could be whoever she wanted to be just by choosing the right accent. She'd been a good teacher.]
I got used to it after a few years. Did yours just fade?
[She hadn't figured he was German by accent alone: the last name sounded German enough for her to make an educated guess.]
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[ Americans were touchy enough about those they deemed 'foreign'. If she was on the run, it made sense to use what tools were available. Though it always touched a nerve in him, when he heard of someone having to conceal their origins. For obvious reasons.
Her question opens up a longer explanation that he doesn't quite feel comfortable delving into just yet, so he tries to give the shorter version. ]
I did a lot of traveling when I was younger. [ Traveling and killing Nazis. ] It's where I learned languages, in order to effectively blend in. Enough time spent in different countries speaking their accents, and I found my own had mostly faded. The time I spent in London further influenced it. Now I find it is useful to have an accent that isn't so easily detected.
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[It's good he speaks French. It makes the children more comfortable around him, because as much as they seem to like Wanda, their English makes them hesitate or struggle to communicate at times. Erik, they don't have to think as much to interact with. It's made their shyness burn off just a touch quicker.]
Or have you teaching a witch.
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[ That the languages he learned in the pursuit of violent vengeance would one day be useful as something completely the opposite - something to help two frightened children feel slightly more at ease in a new environment is absolutely not something Erik could have ever imagined. He is glad, though, incredibly; to be able to help Kira and Nic in that small way. ]
Well, that is honestly more believable, given my life. [ There's an amused grin that flashes for a moment, before her asks the question - ] Is that what you'd call yourself? Were there other witches - in the group you were with?
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[Forged, the Darkhold had said. It was a long road that led to her becoming the Scarlet Witch.]
The only other witch I met tried to take my powers for her own. Not really a great first impression.
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I suppose all monikers are a little strange if you think about them too long. My group had their own as well. [ And he'd held too tightly to his own moniker for so long, it had only been recently that he was able to just be Erik again. He did find it interesting that she had been only Wanda initially, rather than her own moniker of The Scarlet Witch - which she seemed to have gained later. There were missing pieces still of her story; but just like his own, they were revealing them on their own time. ]
I'll assume it didn't end well for her. [ Not a good first impression indeed, and also not a wise choice to try to take someone's powers; especially someone like Wanda, he thinks. ]
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I think the name was chosen for him. He was a war hero. Human, but... enhanced. A super soldier.
[And so he was a little more sympathetic towards her than most. She had appreciated it.]
Agatha's still alive. Just subdued.