Manuel and Wanda

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

Wanda drops by the mansion to pay a late lunch visit to Manuel - she gets to meet his sister and they speak of debts and catch up.



It felt like Wanda was feeding everyone in existence. First the dinner at her place with her friends and coworkers, then Lil when she'd stopped over, with more recent events having her keeping Jake fat and happy, and now she was hauling a lunch basket around on mansion grounds. But considering Manuel's email she thought a little touch of home would be good not only for the elder empath but also potentially for the younger, as well. Once upon a time, there had been a relationship of respect before it had crumbled but for all the grief before, he had saved Jennie's life.

That went a very long way in her book.

She paused out back and shielded her eyes, looking for Manuel and his sister. When she spotted them, she called out her presence before sending out a tendril of power. It created barely visible rings around her hands but even still, mentally and emotionally she dropped out of sight as if she were no longer there.

It was odd that she was there, that he sensed her before her emotions disappeared from his power's radar. It was because he was waiting for her that he had dropped his shields in waiting. Upon seeing her, they were put back up in place, enough to keep the residents at bay.

Valentia turned around, eager to know who she was going to meet,but her shy attitude slipped into Manuel's side, disappearing from sight.

"Wanda," Manuel greeted and headed towards her. "May I take your basket for you?" he asked, leaning on his cane while his sister counter balanced him on the other side.

"I think I can make do until we reach the back porch, but thank you," she responded, her smile widening at her first look at the little girl. She switched from English to Spanish, though her accent was heavy and thick. "~And you must be Valentia. My name is Wanda.~" For once it was quiet on the grounds but the school had grown smaller than when she had been there - it was probably still a treasure to the empaths.

The Spanish tongue brought her out from Manuel's thigh, peeking around the black jacket. A black leather hand rested on her head protectively and fell to her shoulder as she stepped forward but did not leave Manuel's side. She held up her hands and signed her name, as Manuel had taught her. "She does not speak very well in sign language, we are still learning. However, she does have the gestures correct. Her finger placement is not completely literate yet." He still gave her an approving look, though not too much emotion. Too much of that and he would spoil her or so he figured.

Gesturing towards the mansion, Manuel reached down, pushing Valentia ahead of him. "I did not think you would stand me up," he said conversationally as they approached the door. "However, I am surprised you came." The door was pulled open for her, allowing Wanda inside first and then his sister.

She stepped to the side to allow them both to enter after her, the basket sliding to the crook of her arm as she moved. "You asked me to come over," Wanda responded mildly. "People change and I've been told that you have done so. Besides, for all that I had to chase you lot through Rio, you saved Jennie's life. That alone would have moved me to stop by."

Despite the fact that she didn't live there anymore, Wanda still knew the mansion layout almost by heart and so she headed towards a rarely used sunroom. It was living up to its name with the sun coming in through the window and now that they were inside, the glare wasn't as harsh.

"You had quite the stamina then, as I recall." Removing his gloves, he reached the sunroom and reached for the basket, taking it from her before she could say anything and set it down on the table. Immediately, Manuel offered to take her coat, helping her slid it from her shoulders before draping it over a nearby chair that Valentia had discarded hers on. He was the last to shed his coat. "You seem different." From the last time they spoke, from the last time he ran from her with Jennie's hand interlocked through his. Just kids then.

Wanda flashed him a grin. "Life has a way of changing everyone, even once you are past the stage that you do not believe you can be changed anymore." She was amused but pleased at the courtesy. It was wrong to say that chivalry was dead but this was a more archaic form than she was generally used to. It was nice and disarming. "And for all that I have influenced my younger friends they in turn have influenced me. Sometimes for the better."

She looked over at Valentia and asked, "~Are you hungry? I made some food that might remind you of home.~"

Manuel smiled as he sat, but his focus switched to his sister, who was standing by the window, drawing a very disfigured person. It didn't make him smile to realize that it was probably him. "~Valentia, she is speaking to you.~" Valentia turned around but her finger still lingered on the window before tapping her chin with her fingers all lined up together.

"That is thank you, I believe, in sign language. ~Valentia, sit and eat first, play after.~" He sat up and pulled out a chair for his sister, insisting she come again but she remained where she was a bit longer. "I like to toy with the idea that had I been around sooner, she would be much easier to deal with," he admitted.

The summers in Spain were pleasant memories for Wanda, though she was never fully aware until later that it had been partially thanks to the de la Rocha family. As a child she'd just enjoyed the one or two months they'd spent wandering around the countryside and she'd grown rather fond of the culture. So she'd taken some care in making some authentic dishes that Valentia, and maybe Manuel, would find some comfort in.

As she was doling out the food from the basket, she nodded at the slight glimmer of red around her wrists. "Is that helping?"

"It does help some, yes. You do not need to coddle me. I am quite capable of taking care of my emotional self." However, he was content to sit back and allow Wanda to serve him. There was something oddly familiar about the setting, comforting and Manuel ignored his sister who came back to them, brown straight hair bouncing until she hopped into his lap.

"~No, you are old enough to sit by yourself~"

Stubbornly, she slid from his lap and went over to a free chair, climbing into it, watching Wanda with vague curiosity.

"There is coddling and there is ..." As Wanda doled out the food, giving Valentia a smile as she slid across a plate of food that was still warm from the containers, she sought out a good explanation. "Payment in kind. Your family gave my family and our caravan safe passage for more years than I can count. On top of saving Jennie's life, I owe you a familial debt. Using my powers like this at such a low setting is not taxing and I believe that sometimes not having to watch oneself in front of someone is freeing."

"~Utensils~" Manuel said, eying his sister's hesitation at his command. She considered nicking a broccoli head and putting it in her mouth, but his blatant stare forced her to sit up and reach over the table to retrieve a fork.

He sat up after making sure she would be polite, signing a thank you. Valentia countered it with a slap to her forehead.

"~_Where_ did you learn _that_~" he barked, turning his full attention on her. Only briefly did he look to Wanda, a warning to keep her smile off her face because he was attempting to do the same. Valentia only shrugged, then pulled up the sleeve of her black shirt, mocking a gesture with her arm.

"Forge."

It was hard enough not to laugh let alone smile but Wanda managed by only making a slight choking noise in the back of her throat. The little girl had shown more personality in those movements than before, she thought as she hastily swallowed some of her lunch in hopes of stopping the giggles, though it obviously pained, and amused which added to his pain, Manuel.

"You left her with Forge?" she asked after a minute, eyes bright with amusement. "Consider yourself lucky she hasn't taken apart anything."

"Awhile ago. She helped him with his car, which is currently in ruins for reasons unknown." He hadn't bothered to read the rest of Forge's post and frankly, he didn't want to know what that man was doing with another vehicle. He had enough excuses to build things. He did not need anymore.

"I must admit, he is good with her. She is signing colours better because of him and I am tempted to set him up on child duty once every two weeks."

Wanda looked amused. "Good luck talking him into that," she laughed. "Though if you sweeten the deal enough, he just might. She seems to be adjusting well enough. I always did enjoy children. Just, well, not enough to subject myself, or any potential children, to that kind of experience. Luckily, growing up in my clan meant that you learned to enjoy other children as family. It's saved me any potential headache, let me tell you."

"Yes," he nodded. "Children are most agreeable when you can hand them back after an hour and move on with your own -- Valentia, no! Do not--" Manuel barked at his sister, who had taken the food and was wearing it on her face like a mustache. "Eat it," he signed.

Then he turned to Wanda. "Would you like a child? You'll find my fees are reasonable."

Sadly, she wasn't able to properly answer him because she was in absolute hysterics at that point. Wanda glanced between a beaming Valentia and an exasperated looking Manuel, only to break down into many giggles.

"You have just earned yourself babysitting detention, Wanda," Manuel scolded, "since you like to encourage little girls to do bad things." Figures. Twice his age and still she acted like she was sixteen.