xp_logs | The Winding Way - Confrontation

Amanda, Kurt, Jimaine and their friends reach the Szardos camp, just outside of Berlin, at evening, local time. Margali is less then contrite for her actions.

The Szardos clan was camped not far from Berlin, the camping ground small and slightly run-down. Not the usual place Margali chose, Amanda reflected as their small group approached the cluster of caravans, but then again, neither was setting up her youngest daughter as a thief of valuable magical texts. The witch glanced over her shoulder at Jimi, reluctantly following them, Marie-Ange and Doug flanking her in case she tried to warn Margali or do something else stupid. The younger girl met her glance with a glare, and Amanda sighed. What had Margali been telling her to stir such hatred?

"As cliche as this sounds, is it me or is it far too quiet around here?" Wanda asked, walking closer to Amanda so her voice wouldn't carry too far. "This certainly does not remind me of the few times I have visited in the past." More activity, more lights and sound, just more of everything. The sense of everything being subdued was putting her on edge.

Kurt was frowning as he looked around the camp, walking at Wanda's side. "Something is wrong here. Why are none of the children outside playing?"

"If I see Lon Chaney, Junior running by, then I think I'm going to turn back." Mark walked just behind Amanda, Kurt, and Wanda, the second line of defense should the gypsies get rowdy. "This whole place is like something out of a bad horror movie. Seems to be a running theme in my life lately."

Jimaine didn't seem disturbed by the quiet, walking proudly between Doug and Marie-Ange, ostentatiously avoiding touching either of them. "Don't worry, Kurt. The kids are fine. For the rest, you'll find out."

"Or like the rest of this entire mess, you could tell no one anything and then try to do something underhanded to someone you barely know who has done nothing to you." The only thing keeping Marie-Ange from giving Jimaine a good kick in the ankle was that she'd promised Kurt and Amanda to be on her best behaviour. She wasn't quite convinced the promise was worth it.

During the entirety of Jimaine's little "you'll find out" speech, Doug had been making the 'blah blah blah' hand motion that he tended to do when he wanted to mock someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you saying something?" he asked her in a mocking tone when she shot a glare at him. "Do us all a favor and if you're just going to try and get on your high horse, don't even open your mouth," he told her coldly, stepping subtly into her personal space.

"Doug, leave it," Amanda said quietly, before Kurt could step in with the Protective Big Brother thing. The last thing they needed here was a divided front.

Wanda took another few steps forward before coming to a complete stop, looking to the right and left as she tried to find signs of anyone. She ignored what was going on behind her, knowing that Marie-Ange and Doug were too angry on Amanda's half to listen to anyone but the witch. And that Jimaine, no doubt, would really only listen to Kurt. It was best she simply focused on what was going on in front of them.

Then she froze, holding up a hand to get everyone else to come to a stop behind her. "I think we are about to have company," she remarked softly.

"~You are perceptive, Ms. Maximoff.~" Margali stepped from the bushes, blocking their path. "~I have no quarrel with you, or those with you. Only the one who poses as my lost daughter. Leave now, and you won't be harmed.~" In the dim moonlight Margali looked... shrunken. Diminished, somehow, from the formidable woman she'd been even a year ago. Her dark hair had turned largely silver, and there was a certain droop to her facial muscles that suggested she wasn't in as much control of herself as she'd been. It was shocking, to those who knew her, to see such a weakness.

Mark took a step back so he was standing directly in front of Doug. "Translate?" he whispered over his shoulder, loudly enough for just Doug to hear and not disrupt the family confrontation. "Also, eww. This is Amanda's mother? Looks must be paternal."

"She wants Amanda," Doug murmured to Mark. "For what is anyone's guess, considering the way her dear other daughter got our attention." The whole thing smelled of a setup, but he couldn't figure out what the wizened Rom woman's motivation was. Her gaze was intent upon Amanda, but past that her body language gave no clues.

"Mother, speak English." Amanda's voice was still quiet, but held a flat determined note those who knew her would recognise as learned from Pete. "And whatever you have to say, you can say in front of these people. They're my family now."

Margali glared. "If you insist, gadjo." She looked at Jimi, standing between her 'guardians'. "Release my daughter and we shall talk."

"She is not a prisoner, Margali", Kurt said flatly, and his choice of address was conscious and pointed, though there was pain in his eyes at seeing what she'd become. "It is only that we could not trust her to do nothing awkward, on the way. Jimaine." He nodded to the girl, who moved forward to join her mother, walking like a princess.

Mark took a step forward again and stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket. The iPod was there, of course, and feeling just as paranoid as the others, he wanted quick access to it just in case. He didn't have anything to say that would be helpful, so he just kept his mouth shut and stood there looking as menacing as he could. Which, given his clothing and stature, looked more like a pouty H&M model than anything else.

"What is it that you want?" Wanda asked as the younger girl took her place next to Margali and the contrast between the two just made Margali's downward spiral even all the more shocking. "You played a game to get Amanda, and us, this far and I think it is beyond time to find out the reasons behind it, don't you?" Another subtle glance around the camp reassured Wanda that this wasn't an ambush in the typical sense...she didn't know where the rest of the camp was but it was doubtful they were going to be involved in whatever was going on.

"It is very simple," Margali said. "This... impostor," The word dripped with contempt. "Came to us, pretended to be my long-lost daughter. Fooled both of my sons, sent her spy to live among us..."

Kurt stiffened, getting the implications immediately. "Margali, where is Meggan? Tell me you have done nothing to her." Tell me you have not fallen that far.

"She is safe. Stefan gave her to the family of his woman, to care for." Something flickered in Margali's eyes, unreadable. "He has fallen under the influence of this betrayer, just as you have. Once I take back what is ours, all will be restored."

"Oh, -shit-," Doug murmured to himself. He didn't like the sound of 'take back what is ours'. He didn't know what it meant, but he very seriously doubted that it could be anything good. Margali had very carefully maneuvered everyone, almost like chess pieces, to arrive at a situation that she wanted. He took a step forward, not knowing what he was going to do, but knowing he needed to do -something-.

Too late. The older witch raised her hands, incanting a series of words, wind rising and swirling around them. To Doug and Amanda's ears, there were fragments of sentences, calling on dark forces, infusing the vessel... Jimaine was shoved back, away from the expanding cone of wind, Margali's voice rising to a scream. Amanda struggled to reach her, to call up a spell, to stop this madness, to no avail. A sensation of tugging, of tearing, and then a long fall into darkness and cold.

Hours later, the group discovers one of their number is missing.

When consciousness returned, the waning moon had travelled significantly across the sky, signalling some hours had passed.

Marie-Ange woke first, getting to her knees and gritting her teeth at the dull throb in the back of her head. "Amanda, it is nothing personal but... " She started to say, and then looked around. Kurt, Mark, Wanda, Doug... no Amanda. And lying on the ground a short distance from the group was Margali, still unconscious on the ground. "Wake up! Amanda is missing!"

Kurt was the next to rouse himself, staring around at the scene and noticing that not only Amanda, but Jimaine was no longer there. He looked over at the old woman on the ground, then made his way over to try and wake her, shaking her shoulder, not overly rough but definitely firm. "Wake up!"

It took him a split-second to realize that the voice emerging from his mouth was not his, and nor was the hand on Margali's shoulder. Other things were different, too, now his mind cleared from the spell's residual effect and he stopped to think. Among them were added height, a complete change in the centre of balance, and the fact that his body seemed to be female.

Margali, meanwhile, remained unresponsive, face even more drawn into sharp lines and hollowed cheeks, skin cold and pale. Obviously the spell - whatever it had been - had taken its toll on the Romani woman.

"Mierda, govno, and scheisse," Doug growled as he took in the scene. Jimaine had escaped, the little tramp, and Amanda was nowhere to be found. He reached over, shaking the nearest person still not awake, which in this case was Mark. "Come on, wake up, man."

A hand attempted to smack Doug away but ended up flailing uselessly in the air before hitting the ground with a dull thud. Wanda groaned and then coughed into the dirt, rolling over with a deep groan. "What was that..." Her voice trailed off as a deeper sound echoed in her ears and she frowned. "What happened to my voice? And what on earth is digging into my skin?"

Awkwardly, she patted around until she discovered the source of the discomfort and yanked it out, dangling it above her head. Wanda stared up at the iPod--and the very male hands holding it--swinging back and forth on the earphone line. "...I have prettier arms than this. Where did they go?" The voice, while very male, was very calm. For now.

"I think... over here", Kurt said, voice shaking a little as he tried to find his balance again so he wouldn't stumble with every step. "And you are Mark, currently. Which means..." He glanced at his own still-unconscious body.

It took another moment, but the commotion eventually caused Mark to stir and awaken. A blue, furry, and tailed Mark. He raised a three-fingered hand to his face to brush away his hair, only to realize that it was too short to need it. And that his hand only had three fingers. It was a rather extraordinary effort of will that kept him from screeching loudly enough to wake the dead. "What the fuck happened?" he demanded. "Tell me the crazy gypsy woman put me into a nightmare and I'll wake up myself in my own bed. Please?"

"Let us find out, shall we?" Marie-Ange was already crouched by Margali's prone body, and grabbed the old woman by the shoulders, shaking her, perhaps more roughly then necessary to wake her up. "Wake up. Where is Amanda and what have you done to Mark and Wanda and Kurt?"

The old woman made a sort of snorting noise, and her eyes fluttered open. "All right, all right, I'm awake," she complained, accent unmistakably English. "For fuck's sake, Angie, you keep that up, my head'll fall off."

"Your head?" In her surprise, Marie-Ange let go of Margali-no-Amanda's shoulders, and took a step back. Watching the old woman's body, with the mind of her friend in it warily, she glanced at Doug. "... Amanda?"

Mark was in Kurt's body, Kurt was in Wanda's body, and Wanda was in Mark's body. And Amanda was in Margali's body. All of which added up to one very unpleasant conclusion. He took a long hard look at the aged Romani body, and nodded grimly. "Margali's taken Amanda's body and run," he said.

"She what?" Amanda's outburst was interrupted by a coughing fit as she slumped back to the ground. "Shite," she managed when she could talk again. "That must have been the plan, all along. Why the boost. So she had something powerful to jump into..." Her voice cracked and her head drooped wearily. "Fuck, I'm so tired. Must be the spell. Big one." Too big, it went unspoken, to have caught half of the group up as well.

There was a groan as Wanda forced the unfamiliar body into movement and sat up, being careful not to drop the iPod. Everything was slightly out of focus and she winced as her head pounded in dulled pain. The limbs were heavier than what she was used to and less fluid and everything was several inches off--she had never truly appreciated that she had been, apparently, taller. "We need to get her inside," she said, trying to make her way to her feet. In the end, she had to reach out and grab onto Doug as she attempted to rediscover her center of gravity. "Get her inside to one of the caravans and then we need to find Margali. Fast."

Doug helped Wanda to...her? His? ~Oh lord, we're back to the land of gender-confusing pronouns,~ he thought whimsically as he helped Wanda stand up. Then, he moved quickly to Amanda's side, solicitously helping her up. If he looked hard enough at the eyes, he could almost see Amanda, rather than Margali, which made it easier for him to make his touch gentle and helpful.

Kurt was frozen to the spot, watching Doug help Amanda up. Voice heavy with horror, he murmured, "Oh, Mother. What have you done?"

Clutching at Doug's arm, Amanda wobbled for a moment before managing to to get her balance. Her steps, when they came, were very short and tottering. "Are we going somewhere fun, Ange?" she asked, voice vague, holding onto Doug's arm. "I like it when we go somewhere fun." Then she blinked, looking at Doug. "You're not..." she began, sounding confused as she looked around. "Where are we?"

"We are in the camp, Gemile", Kurt answered, giving the old name without thinking. "And it is time to go to Stefan. He will take care of you for a while."

"Stefan's nice," was the response, as they collected themselves and crossed to where the clan waited.

***

Headlights zoomed past on the highway, catching the short, slim figure of a young girl walking along the road, thumb held out. A car eased itself to a stop just ahead of her, and she ran forward to lean in the passenger window.

"~Need a lift?~" the driver asked. He was a young, professional type, with a baby carrier in the back seat. The girl gave him a bright smile, tucking blonde hair behind her ear.

"~Oh, yes please,~" she replied, her German perfect. "~I'm going to Berlin - how far can you take me?~"

"~Hop in. I'm headed for Berlin myself.~" The girl didn't need any more invitation than that and opened the door, climbing into the car. As she did up her seatbelt, the driver pulled out onto the road again, glancing at her briefly. "~So, what takes you to Berlin? Visiting someone?~"

"~Seeking my fortune?~" she suggested brightly. "~I've just come into an inheritance, you see, and I wanted to see the big city.~"

"~Inheritance, hey? Well, you have fun.~" He looked at her again. "~My name's Gerhardt, by the way.~"

"~Margali,~" the girl said. "~Margali Szardos.~"

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: Berlin