[It would be easy enough to imagine into existence a bit of road and whatever kind of car he wanted. But by himself, it wouldn't be half as fun. Unknowingly, his thoughts take the same turn as Wanda's: he always imagined Erik in the passenger seat. More memories he never got to make.
In the kitchen, Wilhelm selects a tea from the chest. Nothing fancy. Helping himself to a chair, he watches the raven waddle around and waits for the water to boil. The fact that Wanda is doing everything the old-fashioned way doesn't escape his notice, and the normalcy is something of a comfort too.
In Wanda's presence, thoughts of Erik bleed into thoughts of her brother too. At the edge of his mind perches the awareness that it's Wanda's birthday today — Pietro's too — but he's not sure if he should bring it up before she does. Those who have lost a loved one experience milestones differently from everyone else. Belatedly, he thinks to ask:]
[as the water boils, she grabs at two simple cups, as if made in a pottery class, glazed in a paster blue and rich honey coating. because it is the horizon, they don't have to wait all the necessary minutes for water to boil—so, she makes it so, for the kettle to whistle shortly after wilhelm's picked out his tea, and she's topping up the cups and bringing them to the table.
one for wilhelm, one for herself.
she then turns back into the kitchen and returns with a small helping of nuts; she's aware that ravens prefer meat, but ferrari and the rest can hunt as much as they like in the forest. these, wanda places atop the windowsill beside the table.]
—considering? Could be worse. [between fielding arguments from two divine siblings, to parsing through whatever is happening in this world, to her own lingering guilt and shame ever present? things could definitely be worse.] I'm mostly glad we've somehow managed to avoid all-out war.
[but, as they say, out of the fire and into the frying pan. no time to properly relax, until they know things are really peaceful, and in abraxas? that's impossible to tell, at times. she chooses a tea and puts the bag into her water, lets it steep.]
I've been working on some spells for a friend, so thank you for indulging me on a tea break. [a small smile lingers,] Did you know my son was summoned here? Well, a Wanda's son, one from so many alternate universes. He's all grown up, a couple years older than you.
[He plops the teabag into his mug, leaving it to steep. The whole concept of alternate universes is still a little too slippery to wrap his brain around, but the important bit to pull out of that is the fact that Wanda's been reunited with one of her kids. Good for her — in the sincerest possible shade of the phrase. It takes him a moment to figure out why the name Billy rings familiar. Oh, right—]
I sort of dropped in on him a little while ago. Here in the Horizon, I mean. Totally by accident.
[When the Horizon — and possibly the Singularity itself — was out of sorts thanks to weird old gods run amok. Watching Wanda carefully, pulling his mug closer, he asks:]
Is it...weird?
[Seeing him all grown up all of a sudden. Missing all those years in between. He'll let Wanda fill in the blank.]
[wanda smiles softly, happy to know that wilhelm has a face to draw upon when she talks about billy. the smile remains for just a moment longer before it falters entirely. his question is not unexpected—she anticipated something regarding her feelings to him being here.
she's never thought of what the answer would be, despite that, regardless of who asked.]
Well, when I first met him and recognized who he was, I nearly killed him with my magic.
[said with the air of something that should be a funny anecdote. thankfully, billy's magic reacted to her own, and no harm befell the boy.]
—but... it's definitely weird. He isn't my son, but he feels like he is. There are so many things of him that are like my Billy's, many parts of him that are just — very much a Maximoff thing. [here her smile returns, small and tight.] I've been trying to do better by him.
I'm sure that's what any other Wanda would do if any of my boys ever showed up at their doorstep.
[too bad she doesn't know, at the moment, that the future holds this billy disappearing from abraxas and returning to his world.]
[Timing has never been Wilhelm's strong suit either. The world has a way of crumbling underneath your feet just when you've found your stride. Catching the stumble in Wanda's smile, he wishes he hadn't asked and rushes to offer reassurance.]
I'm sure...I'm sure he recognizes that.
[Except, well, he can't guarantee any such thing. He knows damn well how fraught the relationship between mother and child can be. It must be weird for Billy, too, to encounter his mom-but-not, a refraction through the prism of another universe. He shakes his head with a wry little curl of his lips.]
[she recognizes what he's doing, and wanda reads the cues well enough to move past the subject. she is grateful that he's gone and asked about billy, but her focus returns instead to him — his talk about 'other wilhelms out there'.]
Most likely.
[with the concept of the multiverse as it is—]
But I know from personal experience that thinking of what ifs will only make the choices you regret and your grief a lot more difficult to cope with.
[pulling the teabag out of her cup, she sets it down on a small saucer that she conjures from thin air; a silver, delicate spoon appears between her fingers, now, and wanda stirs at her tea to make sure the herbs have infused properly with the hot water.]
—I wanted to show you something. [she sets the spoon down on the same saucer as the teabag, fingers lingering on it for a moment as if she's trying to find the words to say what she wants to say. eventually, as she starts speaking again, she moves her hand away.] A friend of mine drew a picture of my brother while on the ship. It surprised me how much I had forgotten what he looked like.
[there is a point here that she wants to make. she wants to show wilhelm what her older brother looked like, but she also would like to... maybe offer to take the memory of his brother from his mind, ask that steve also draw him? it's powerful — just having a picture to look back at.]
[Wilhelm nods and tries to shelve the thought. He has already surrendered countless hours to what ifs that never soothe but only exacerbate all the aches in his heart, the way prodding at a bruise only deepens it.
Following Wanda's cue, he imagines into existence a saucer on which he can set his teabag now that it's steeped for a few minutes. Whatever she's on the precipice of saying, he senses it's important — and when she says it, understanding alights on his expression.]
Sure, I'd love to see it.
[He'd gotten a hazy glimpse of Pietro once, that time Wanda's powers surged out of her control, shaped out of raw emotion. But that afternoon is all jumbled up in his memories. Now Wanda has risen from that dark place — though he knows the darkness doesn't just go away, it shrinks to hide inside of you somewhere. He recognizes that she's opening up on her own terms.]
I tried drawing Erik, but...it didn't look much like him.
[Though he chuckles and shakes his head, he can't quite hide his disappointment.]
[it's hard when there aren't pictures to conserve the memories of loved ones, especially lost loved ones. wanda is sure that wilhelm must have plenty of pictures of his older brother—back home. as for wanda, she and pietro grew up without the possibility of saving any pictures; whatever albums they had, whatever cameras they used, they were all lost at one point or another.]
Maybe Steve could draw it for you. [she can't keep herself from saying.] Steve Rogers.
[and, as if to continue this pitch of why steve is the best choice for this... wanda creates from the horizon's nothing, a piece of paper with a sketch. a bust of pietro's face, his usual grin and the mirth in his eyes, messy hair. it's as perfect a rendition as it gets, and steve is very talented when it comes to drawing, even if it seems he's not the type.
[Leaning forward, Wilhelm studies the sketch with a seriousness that belongs in the hush of an art museum. Even on the paper, he can see the similarities that mark Pietro as Wanda's sibling. He nods, not because he thinks his approval matters, but because he...appreciates her sharing something so close to her heart with him. It's nice to be let in somewhere sacred.]
He looks like he's fun to be around.
[Was, he's supposed to say, but the past tense often cuts too sharp, weighs too heavy. With the first tentative sip of his tea, he considers Wanda's offer. He does have some photos of Erik in the house he's made for himself here in the Horizon, but it would be even better to have a reminder of his brother to keep in the castle.]
If your friend doesn't mind...I'd really like that. [A beat, his brow wrinkling.] But how, uh...how would I show him what Erik looks like?
[she appreciates that wilhelm is able to see the nature of pietro in this drawing. there's something exciting about being able to share the likeness of her brother to others, without having to rely on memories or spoken descriptions.
wanda smiles at that, knowing that it never gets quite easy talking about him, but the memories can still be good.]
—with magic, drawing out of your memories, perhaps? [it shouldn't be so complicated.] Steve Rogers. Maybe you've met him before.
[Pietro and Erik had that in common, a magnetic presence that drew everyone to them. And the way Wanda says it, he suspects that they have something in common too: a shortage of charisma, which forces them to fake their way through social situations. His smile is soft and a little somber. At her suggestion, it flattens to a look of contemplation. He nods in tentative agreement. While he's apprehensive of the idea of anyone rooting through his memories, he thinks he can trust Wanda to tread lightly.]
Yeah, I know him. [He taps the side of his mug.] Well...I messaged him, like, once.
[He gestures to his head, indicating the magical network of sorts that links their minds. That once, he'd been an awkward mess as usual and asked about something he shouldn't have. So...that's the main thing he remembers Steve by.]
[ah, just the once— it takes her a moment, but wanda thinks that she can pinpoint when was an opportunity to contact steve. he isn't exactly one putting himself out there to be contacted, preferring quiet and privacy.
that had been a rather loud display of the avengers, hadn't it?
wanda's smile softens.]
Steve became like family to me after I lost Pietro. We worked together for a time, and — well, I think he's one of the better people I've met.
[It's good that Wanda had found someone to rely on after she lost her brother. The empty space ripped open in your life where someone important used to be becomes a kind of blackhole that pulls you away from everyone else. You have to find someone who can pull you back with enough force. For Wilhelm, it had been Simon. And then he lost him too.
But he's found a few good people here.]
He seemed cool.
[Sipping his tea, he looks at her over the lip of the mug.]
So...how does it work? Like, sharing a memory with you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[It would be easy enough to imagine into existence a bit of road and whatever kind of car he wanted. But by himself, it wouldn't be half as fun. Unknowingly, his thoughts take the same turn as Wanda's: he always imagined Erik in the passenger seat. More memories he never got to make.
In the kitchen, Wilhelm selects a tea from the chest. Nothing fancy. Helping himself to a chair, he watches the raven waddle around and waits for the water to boil. The fact that Wanda is doing everything the old-fashioned way doesn't escape his notice, and the normalcy is something of a comfort too.
In Wanda's presence, thoughts of Erik bleed into thoughts of her brother too. At the edge of his mind perches the awareness that it's Wanda's birthday today — Pietro's too — but he's not sure if he should bring it up before she does. Those who have lost a loved one experience milestones differently from everyone else. Belatedly, he thinks to ask:]
How have you been, Wanda?
no subject
one for wilhelm, one for herself.
she then turns back into the kitchen and returns with a small helping of nuts; she's aware that ravens prefer meat, but ferrari and the rest can hunt as much as they like in the forest. these, wanda places atop the windowsill beside the table.]
—considering? Could be worse. [between fielding arguments from two divine siblings, to parsing through whatever is happening in this world, to her own lingering guilt and shame ever present? things could definitely be worse.] I'm mostly glad we've somehow managed to avoid all-out war.
[but, as they say, out of the fire and into the frying pan. no time to properly relax, until they know things are really peaceful, and in abraxas? that's impossible to tell, at times. she chooses a tea and puts the bag into her water, lets it steep.]
I've been working on some spells for a friend, so thank you for indulging me on a tea break. [a small smile lingers,] Did you know my son was summoned here? Well, a Wanda's son, one from so many alternate universes. He's all grown up, a couple years older than you.
Billy.
[maybe they've met? maybe not.]
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I sort of dropped in on him a little while ago. Here in the Horizon, I mean. Totally by accident.
[When the Horizon — and possibly the Singularity itself — was out of sorts thanks to weird old gods run amok. Watching Wanda carefully, pulling his mug closer, he asks:]
Is it...weird?
[Seeing him all grown up all of a sudden. Missing all those years in between. He'll let Wanda fill in the blank.]
no subject
[wanda smiles softly, happy to know that wilhelm has a face to draw upon when she talks about billy. the smile remains for just a moment longer before it falters entirely. his question is not unexpected—she anticipated something regarding her feelings to him being here.
she's never thought of what the answer would be, despite that, regardless of who asked.]
Well, when I first met him and recognized who he was, I nearly killed him with my magic.
[said with the air of something that should be a funny anecdote. thankfully, billy's magic reacted to her own, and no harm befell the boy.]
—but... it's definitely weird. He isn't my son, but he feels like he is. There are so many things of him that are like my Billy's, many parts of him that are just — very much a Maximoff thing. [here her smile returns, small and tight.] I've been trying to do better by him.
I'm sure that's what any other Wanda would do if any of my boys ever showed up at their doorstep.
[too bad she doesn't know, at the moment, that the future holds this billy disappearing from abraxas and returning to his world.]
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I'm sure...I'm sure he recognizes that.
[Except, well, he can't guarantee any such thing. He knows damn well how fraught the relationship between mother and child can be. It must be weird for Billy, too, to encounter his mom-but-not, a refraction through the prism of another universe. He shakes his head with a wry little curl of his lips.]
I wonder if there are other Wilhelms out there.
[Maybe one of them gets to have a normal life.]
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Most likely.
[with the concept of the multiverse as it is—]
But I know from personal experience that thinking of what ifs will only make the choices you regret and your grief a lot more difficult to cope with.
[pulling the teabag out of her cup, she sets it down on a small saucer that she conjures from thin air; a silver, delicate spoon appears between her fingers, now, and wanda stirs at her tea to make sure the herbs have infused properly with the hot water.]
—I wanted to show you something. [she sets the spoon down on the same saucer as the teabag, fingers lingering on it for a moment as if she's trying to find the words to say what she wants to say. eventually, as she starts speaking again, she moves her hand away.] A friend of mine drew a picture of my brother while on the ship. It surprised me how much I had forgotten what he looked like.
[there is a point here that she wants to make. she wants to show wilhelm what her older brother looked like, but she also would like to... maybe offer to take the memory of his brother from his mind, ask that steve also draw him? it's powerful — just having a picture to look back at.]
Do you mind if I showed you?
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Following Wanda's cue, he imagines into existence a saucer on which he can set his teabag now that it's steeped for a few minutes. Whatever she's on the precipice of saying, he senses it's important — and when she says it, understanding alights on his expression.]
Sure, I'd love to see it.
[He'd gotten a hazy glimpse of Pietro once, that time Wanda's powers surged out of her control, shaped out of raw emotion. But that afternoon is all jumbled up in his memories. Now Wanda has risen from that dark place — though he knows the darkness doesn't just go away, it shrinks to hide inside of you somewhere. He recognizes that she's opening up on her own terms.]
I tried drawing Erik, but...it didn't look much like him.
[Though he chuckles and shakes his head, he can't quite hide his disappointment.]
no subject
Maybe Steve could draw it for you. [she can't keep herself from saying.] Steve Rogers.
[and, as if to continue this pitch of why steve is the best choice for this... wanda creates from the horizon's nothing, a piece of paper with a sketch. a bust of pietro's face, his usual grin and the mirth in his eyes, messy hair. it's as perfect a rendition as it gets, and steve is very talented when it comes to drawing, even if it seems he's not the type.
being a soldier and all.
wanda turns the paper over for wilhelm to see.]
This was Pietro. My brother.
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He looks like he's fun to be around.
[Was, he's supposed to say, but the past tense often cuts too sharp, weighs too heavy. With the first tentative sip of his tea, he considers Wanda's offer. He does have some photos of Erik in the house he's made for himself here in the Horizon, but it would be even better to have a reminder of his brother to keep in the castle.]
If your friend doesn't mind...I'd really like that. [A beat, his brow wrinkling.] But how, uh...how would I show him what Erik looks like?
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[she appreciates that wilhelm is able to see the nature of pietro in this drawing. there's something exciting about being able to share the likeness of her brother to others, without having to rely on memories or spoken descriptions.
wanda smiles at that, knowing that it never gets quite easy talking about him, but the memories can still be good.]
—with magic, drawing out of your memories, perhaps? [it shouldn't be so complicated.] Steve Rogers. Maybe you've met him before.
no subject
Yeah, I know him. [He taps the side of his mug.] Well...I messaged him, like, once.
[He gestures to his head, indicating the magical network of sorts that links their minds. That once, he'd been an awkward mess as usual and asked about something he shouldn't have. So...that's the main thing he remembers Steve by.]
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that had been a rather loud display of the avengers, hadn't it?
wanda's smile softens.]
Steve became like family to me after I lost Pietro. We worked together for a time, and — well, I think he's one of the better people I've met.
no subject
But he's found a few good people here.]
He seemed cool.
[Sipping his tea, he looks at her over the lip of the mug.]
So...how does it work? Like, sharing a memory with you.