driftfleet | the cold never bothered me anyway

Entry tags:

the cold never bothered me anyway

Who: Wanda Maximoff and you!
Broadcast: No
Action: Yes, planetside
When: Throughout December

i. hot springs
[Oh, she could very happily stay here forever. The warmth of the water feels amazing and even her powers feel calm and refreshed. Wanda spends much of her time here, stretched out in the water with a tablet and almost the most relaxed she's ever felt.

She looks up from her reading at approaching footsteps and waves, flashing a lazy smile. This might be the happiest most people have seen her.]

ii. deck the halls
[Wanda's easily swept up in the preparations for the daily festivities - if she's not helping put decorations somewhere that can't be reached without a ladder, she's probably working in a kitchen, swapping recipes with the natives and doing a little experimentation of her own.

Maybe she's approached you for your opinion on the upper levels of a tree, or maybe she's holding out some sort of berry pastry she made in collaboration with her partner today.]

What do you think?

iii. let it go
[The tree is beautiful and even the air here feels oddly charged. It's electric, making something deep inside her thrum in time with the musical tones. Even her power stirs within her, turning her green eyes a softly glowing red.

Wanda lays a hand on it and involuntarily scarlet glows from her fingertips in response. Maybe she should be concerned that it has such a strong effect on her, but everything feels so joyful here.]

It is real, [she says in hushed, awed tones.] I wonder if the other stories about it were true.

iv. wild card!
[You know what to do. Hit me up at

dontyousonicme

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[Indeed, Wanda's call had come completely out of the blue. Once he heard from her what she wanted, it might as well have been from outer space - ironically enough. He was still adjusting to this planet's strange whims and having had thing passed to him by those he had never even met. Getting a gift from someone he did actually know was, somehow, even more surprising.

It's with some measure of trepidation that Connor meets Wanda today. After Ben's actions in buying a coat for him, he's coming to realise that he doesn't know what to expect from this. His eyes flick to the wrapped present in Wanda's hands before looking back to her face.]

You didn't have to feel bad, you know. I wasn't expecting anything.

[Human brains aren't exactly logical like that, and Wanda...well, hers will make her feel bad over pretty much anything.

Including assuming that Connor could eat just because Vision can and then not having anything to trade for the cookie.]

I don't know what time of year it was for you at home, but a lot of us are treating this like the holidays and I wanted to make sure you got something you could use. [She holds out the present.] I hope you like it.

[After a slight delay, he reaches out to take the wrapped gift from Wanda, giving it a puzzled look. Without scanning it he can't determine what it is.]

It was early November, so the holiday season hadn't yet arrived. [For whatever that meant to him. Connor hadn't given a single thought to customary holidays yet. Glancing back up at Wanda, he manages a small smile.] Thank you, though.

It was earlier fall for me.

[Wanda smiles encouragingly, waiting for him to open it.]

I guess it is close enough.

[He wants to comment on the incongruity of timelines in this place, only he realises that there's a more pressing matter at hand. He should open the present. Connor slides his finger underneath the tape to unfold the paper, revealing the small potted plant.

Very small. It's that fact that surprises him the most about the gift, and he finds himself lifting it higher to get a closer look. They aren't species that he's seen before personally, coming from Detroit's cold winter.]

...I've never seen one of these before.

They look a little like Earth succulents but they're from this planet. They don't need very much care and it's hard to kill them. And you can keep them almost anywhere.

[And they're so darn cute. This variety is even hardier than its Earth cousin due to the difference in climates - the shopkeeper had reassured her that you'd have to be actively trying to kill it.]

[A good call. Connor has never taken care of something in his life, save for slapping Hank back into consciousness then throwing him in a cold shower. That was mere practicality. He knows the basics of plant care but none of the specifics. It wasn't considered relevant information for his model type; he wasn't a housekeeper or nanny.]

So they can manage without direct sunlight?

[This seems like an important factor in a space environment. After brushing one of the leaves with a finger, he looks back up at Wanda.]

Thank you, Wanda.

You're welcome.

[She smiles warmly. It had been a shot in the dark, but since food wasn't an option and he presumably doesn't need scarves or gloves or anything else she might have thought to buy...]

All of the other plants on the Twin Roses seem to be fine. Maybe it's something in the lights? Humans need sunlight too.

[Not as urgently but...still.]

Your ship has a lot of plants then? [Connor lowers the potplant to a more reasonable conversational level.] It would make sense for there to be measures in place to keep lifeforms healthy while on a long space voyage. That could extend to the lighting system.

In the cargo bay, in some of the rooms...we even have a fish tank with kelp and glowing fish. It's nice.

I think we have more than the other ships. More than any of the others I've seen.

There's nothing comparable on the Starduck. But I understand my ship is a merged one, after two earlier vessels were combined.

[That's what he has been able to glean from the network records. Clearly Wonderduck and Starstruck used to be two separate ships and were merged. Something similar had happened to other Fleet vessels too.]

Do you like that aspect of your ship?

[She nods.]

I like having living things around. And it's nice to have something I understand how to take care of, not something I get from the implant.

I can see how that would be more fulfilling.

[Connor dislikes the augment as well, doesn't like the fact that there's yet another thing embedded in his head - physically this time too - giving him prompts. With the assignment of communications, it wasn't so different to his own programmed skills. There isn't much of a leap from interfacing with communications equipment at home to manning the same on a spaceship.

The real discomfort settles in when he wonders what else the augment might do without his knowledge.]

I haven't taken care of anything before besides the Lieutenant, and he didn't always appreciate my stepping in.

[Maybe if you didn't slap him out of unconsciousness, Connor.]

[She's never trusted the augment, but especially not after what the glitches had done to Vision and Kitty's powers. It deeply bothers her that she's once again someone's experimental plaything and that they don't even know what else these augments might have done to their minds. She doesn't feel anything strange in the minds of those she knew at home...but could she, if they'd done something to her to mask it?]

He is one of those people who can never ask for help?

I don't know about never. The time I spent with him was relatively brief.

[And that's... strange to think about, now. For such an explosive part of his life, he's now been in the Fleet far longer than he was in Hank's company. Some consternation flickers on his face before he continues.]

But based on what I observed in that time, I would say yes.

[Wanda sighs and makes a face.]

I'm sorry. It's hard to help someone who can't admit that they need it.

[~~No, she absolutely can't think of anyone who might fit that description, not at all.~~]

I only hope he's managing back at home.

[Whether Connor's absence is noted or not, he can't put the thought out of his mind that it is. If time were progressing without him, it's been weeks since the revolution, and he doesn't know how Hank would go about life in a city evacuated of most humans. Maybe the same way as before... which isn't comforting at all.]

I had only seen him just before I was brought here, and it had been ... a complicated time. For all of us.

I'm sure he is. Everyone else from my world remembers more than I do, but I'm still in their memories.

They seem to be able to put us back without anyone else noticing.

[With another side of messing with their memories. Again, in some cases.]

[That's more or less what Connor's gleaned in his time here as well. The whole thing just stacks up into increasingly impossible feats on behalf of the Atroma, the magnitude of it all causing his LED to spin yellow for a few cycles before settling.]

It bothers me. The scale of what they're capable of.

And this is only what we know about.

[Not a comforting thought. Would she even be able to see if anything else had been done to their minds?

Her gaze flicks up to LED - back to blue. Hmmmm.]

Are you all right?

[He notices where her eyes go and knows immediately what she's asking about.]

Yes, I'm fine. The LED changes colour depending on how much information I'm processing. It's nothing to be concerned about.

[It also, unfortunately, works like a mood ring when he's distressed about something. He's not about to say that though.]

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the cold never bothered me anyway

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