Wanda and Amanda (Backdated to January)

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

Wanda stops by to deliver a special package to Amanda and it's the first time Amanda's seen her since the end of the world.

"Did you know I had to bargain for nearly two hours to get this?"  Wanda appeared in the doorway to Amanda's suite with her arms.  "I feel like I ended up on the losing end, honestly, even though Mira was quite insistent that she had lost out, thank you very much.  We probably both broke even though god help either of us if we'd admit it."  She shifted the box slightly and tilted her head at Amanda.  "Oh yes, hello!  Sorry, I was excited to finally drag this out from the box I had shipped to the mansion."

"I hope you kept the receipt for North." The words - and the amused, teasing tone - came automatically before Amanda's brain engaged and she realised the woman standing in the doorway wasn't her Wanda. "Um, yeah, welcome back. Here, let me help you with that." She got off the couch where she'd been watching TV with a cup of tea and moved to help Wanda with the box. "Do you want a cuppa?"

Wanda gratefully slipped the box into Amanda's arms so she could shake out her own.  "I would love one," she confirmed, following behind Amanda as they went further into the suite.  "And the old man has been grumbling about my receipts all morning, so, yes, he was my first stop before I came over.  Despite his arguments, yes, you can easily spend that much on a single item."  She grinned as she took a seat at the table.  "I told him he should see my recent clothes shopping purchases if he wanted further proof."

Amanda grunted slightly at the weight of the box and quickly deposited it on the coffee table. "I can believe it," she replied, still trying to factor in that this woman wasn't the same one she'd known for years, that she'd lost only weeks before. She was the same. "I've seen your shoe collection. Grab a pew while I put the kettle on."

"And my jacket collection," Wanda reminded her with a laugh.  Perhaps that was the reason she stayed on, she thought with amusement.  She simply had too much stuff to take up wandering again.  "It is good to be back, though.  I wish the circumstances of why are better but ..."  She shook her head and had to smooth down her hair afterwards.  "I have to try to see the good in all this."

Amanda stuck her head out from the kitchenette, where she had the kettle turned on. "How bad is it out there?" she asked. "I mean, I've seen what it's like here in New York, but I haven't really been able to get much from the rest of the world."

"It's ..."  Her thoughts drifted back to the days after the event and how hard it had been even trying to get a flight once the flight bans were lifted.  The news and the general distrust of everyone.  "Tense and nearly at a boiling point in places where it has not yet boiled over.  Humans are terrified they'll be taken out by the mutants and the mutants are terrified that they'll either go sky high themselves or get attacked by humans."  A scowl crossed Wanda's face.  "A rather fine receipt for more disaster."

"We all knew it was possible, but no-one ever considered something like this whole M-Day," Amanda said with her own sigh - then again, an interdimensional evil version of Jean going on a rampage hadn't been on the plans either. "And our job wasn't exactly easy before."

"Half of our resources have left town, died or are in hiding.  And rebuilding that will be the easy part in comparison to the rest of the fall out."  If it was possible, Wanda's face grew even more grave as she met Amanda's eyes.  "We always knew you could not have been an anomaly - a mutant with magical ties.  I fear we might have been proved correct as I have not been able to reach several of our magical contacts.  I am just beyond grateful that you were not one of those we lost."

She grew quiet and sat back in her seat, gaze drawn to the box in front of her.  Wanda had been beyond terrified for days as she waited for word to start trickling in from her people and she had felt the greatest relief when Amanda had reappeared.

Amanda winced. "Yeah, I'm kind of glad I wasn't either. Not that it's been a picnic. Things power-wise have been a bit weird. You can't lose so many people without it having an ongoing impact, and the cites are all noticing it." Those that were actually still "talking" to her, any way - the changes in the world had meant many places she'd had a connection to were now strange to her. "My teachers always said I wasn't the special snowflake I wanted to be in terms of being a mutant and a witch, but yeah, I wish there'd been another way of finding out."

"An online poll would have been preferable," was Wanda's dry response.  "We may need to carve out some time and do face-to-face visits, like North is planning with his contacts in Germany.  Those that weren't impacted directly have probably rabbited.  Mutants are a reality to the world at large but magic, not so much.  Many magic users will probably be mistaken for mutants and that is not a good thing right now."

She grimaced and stared at the top of the table for a few moments as she wrestled with something.  "Blast it.  I'll need to put in a call to Agatha."

Amanda nearly choked on her tea. "Agatha? But I thought..." She caught what she was about to say and changed it to: "...you two weren't exactly on speaking terms?"

Amanda's reaction was about what Wanda had expected, given the fall out. "Ever since she managed to survive Nicholas' attack, yes, we have not exactly been keeping in touch," she said softly. "Plus, the whole keeping Chthon a secret from me didn't exactly inspire confidence." She laughed ruefully. "Would you believe she called me? Right after M-Day, out of her wits end at the news - of course, the moment she confirmed I had not exploded or the chaotic equivalent, she reverted into good old Agatha Harkness."

It had been gratifying to hear the concern in her old mentors voice. Wanda had been the one to put the distance between them but the old woman had done nothing to bridge that gap. "Of course, doesn't exactly mean it'll be a fun walk in the park to give her a ring. I did once go through a window trying to avoid her sudden visit all those years ago."

"Sounds...dramatic," Amanda observed with a slight grin. "And I don't think I've heard this story."

"Really? Jubilee nearly broke something she was laughing so hard. I think you must have been on travel at the time..." Settling her arms across her chest, Wanda leaned back in her chair as she thought back to that. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Agatha showed up at the offices, completely out of the blue. I had apparently been amiss in my visits and she had something to talk to me about. Cammie buzzed me to let me know and Jubilee found me going out the window."

At the laugh from Amanda, she held up her hands in defense. "I had been caught off guard! It kicked in all of my flight or fight instincts and I generally lose if I pick the other with that woman."

"If you're going out of the window from the top of the Snow Valley building, you must really have been caught off guard," Amanda snorted, recovering from inhaling her tea. She set the mug down and leaned forward to poke at the box. "So, what's in here? Nothing that's going to bite my nose off if I open it, I hope?"

"Well, that might depend on what spell you'd end up casting," Wanda responded dryly, knowing exactly what sort of spells Amanda had at her disposal. "If you avoid sparking anything, I doubt you'll lose anything important." She shifted in her seat in anticipation, knowing there was more in that box than what she was letting on. "I managed to coax Mira out of that book you've had your eye on for about a year. The grimoire that was cobbled together from the four masters?"

Amanda's eyes shone. "Really? She let you have it? How the fuck did you manage that?" Unable to contain herself, she starting tearing off the packing tape sealing the box closed. "I can't believe you did that."

Wanda's features softened as she watched Amanda and her smile was fond as she leaned her chin on the palm of her hand. "I had a relatively harmless yet interesting bauble Agatha had given me ages ago on hand," she explained. "Mira's a collector and as much as the book was special, this trumped it in her eyes. Just remind me to stay low for a while since I know she'll pretend I got the better end of the deal."

There was a giggle from Amanda at Wanda's words, the witch intent on getting at the precious book. However, once she pulled out a handful of bubble wrap used to cushion the contents, she paused. "Hey, what's this?"

"It caught my eye when I was in Egypt for a few days," Wanda said, pulling away some of the loose wrapping that was tumbling out of the box. She smiled impishly as Amanda pulled out an intricately carved hourglass made of a wood so dark it looked black. "Go head - give it a zap. Er, a small one, if you please."

Amanda raised her eyebrows and complied, reaching out to touch the hourglass with a fingertip as she let go of a tendril of stored-up magic. The hourglass lit up with a soft dark-blue glow from the series of glyphs carved into the wood that had been invisible before. The witch made a soft noise of appreciation as she examined the spells, before breaking into a sudden smile. "It's a relaxation spell!" she exclaimed. "This is brilliant - it's basically a magical night light, isn't it?"

Wanda had to laugh at the description. It was an apt one, that was for sure. "Essentially," she chuckled, eyeing the glowing glyphs. "Not enough of a magical oomph to actually put someone to sleep - I made sure to ask, it has a limit to how strong the spell will go - but it will help someone get into a place of calm enough for them to naturally go to sleep. In our line of work, sometimes the nights are the worst, so I hope you like it."

"Like it? I love it!" Without thinking, Amanda bounced up and hugged Wanda, bent over the chair she was sitting in. "Thank you so much!"

That made lugging the book and the hourglass through customs worth every moment. She hugged Amanda back and tried not to think of those first few chaotic days when no one had any idea who had survived. Leaning back, she gave the younger woman a knowing look. "So, shall we continue to catch up for a while before the call of that grimoire gets to be too much and I lose you for a few hours? Or perhaps days..."

...and I lose you for a few hours... The words reminded Amanda that she had lost Wanda. Her Wanda. But this woman, who looked and sounded and felt exactly the same, she was here. It wouldn't be the same, but it wasn't so different. And so, giving Wanda's shoulders another squeeze, she smiled back into the woman's face. "Sure thing, Boss Lady."