Wanda and Amanda

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Without really telling anyone, Wanda headed off to London to get together with Amanda to give her the rest of the information. They talk about family and Amanda asks her if she would come with her to meet Kurt, and possibly her, family.



It was the eve of Amanda's departure to Berlin to meet with the Pack, and she had something on her mind. Something that hadn't really resolved talking over with Pete and Romany, who seemed determined to not give her any actual advice, since they claimed anything they had to say on the matter would be biased, and she had to make up her own mind this time. Romany had, however, reassured Amanda that Margali was definitely on the lighter side of the mystic path. Luckily, there was someone else handy to bounce ideas off...

"I talked t' Kurt," she told Wanda almost abruptly as they settled into a corner of the pub with a couple of pints.

If Wanda was startled by the near abruptness of what Amanda said, she didn't show it. Instead, she took a sip of her beer--she was probably going to need this--and quirked an eyebrow. "I am assuming since I have not smelled burning blue flesh, that something went right?" she asked, putting the pint back on the table.

Amanda snorted. "I think if I did anythin' t' him I'd get zapped by the Almighty or somethin'. That's what happens when you do nasty stuff t' saints, right?" she asked rhetorically. "It went... all right. I still ain't sure 'bout how hard they went lookin' for me, but I'm pretty sure Rack lied t' me. 'Bout them sellin' me."

Something inside eased a little at that and she gave her a smile. "Good. The man was a trickster, everything he did was twisted. Or so it sounds. On that note, the one about them looking for you...I finished my research."

Amanda winced a little at that. "Yeah, yer probably right 'bout that," she muttered, picking up her beer. She counted as one of those things Rack had had a hand in. "What did you find?" she asked, before Wanda could react to that.

Leaning forward a little, careful not to get any of her hair in her beer, she pulled out her wallet. "I made copies," Wanda explained, pulling out a few sheets of paper. "These are complaints lodged against the German government by one Margali Szardos, over quite a time. Note that the dates are consistent. She was there every day, at the same time, without fail. There were also letters after their caravan moved on, or so I'm assuming."

Examining the papers (although they were all in German, so she couldn't actually read them), Amanda nodded. "So he wasn't exaggeratin'," she murmured, still going over everything she'd either been told or found out in her mind. She'd have to make a decision, she was realising. "Rom knows of this Margali," she said, almost diffidently. "Small fry, in the scale of magic, tends towards healin' an' the like." Like me, she almost added, but bit her tongue. "I was worried, when Kurt told me that, considerin' me power an' all. People with not a lot of power tend t' want more. Rom says she wouldn't have the know-how, even if she wanted, but I would want... back-up, I s'pose, if I met 'em."

"I told you I would be more than happy to give you a hand, no matter what," she said, taking another sip of her beer. "I do not mind playing back up for you, especially in this situation. I have also met Margali before, on my travels through Germany, so that will help as well." Wanda looked at her hard for a second. "You realize this does not have to change anything, yes? Family is as much what you make of it as who you are born by. I was the one who opened this particular Pandora's box, I know, but...still."

"One thing I realised at New Year's, with what went on," Amanda said thoughtfully. "Is that there's some stuff you can't leave hangin'. 'Cause you don't know what'll happen tomorrow. Nah, I asked you t' look, an' I should see it through, if only so I know one way or another. I had t' cut off all thought of me havin' a family that gave a fuck when I was a kid - wouldn't have survived otherwise. But as people keep tellin' me, things are different now. I can't stay scared, or angry, without cause for the rest of me life."

"That is a good attitude to have. It really is. Life is all about change, even from day to day. What happened all those years ago still affects you but...well, you know what they say about courage. It's not the absence of fear, it's acting in face of it."

Amanda did shrug a little at that. "I wouldn't say I'm brave," she said. "Truth is, I spent so long hatin' me real family for what I thought they did, it was hard t' stop. But I ain't stupid, either - with all the proof yer've given me, an' the fact Kurt can't lie t' save himself... well, it'd be stupid t' go on hatin' out of habit. That's what people like Moira's bastard of an ex do." Taking another sip of beer, she grinned, wryly. "'Sides, if me family do turn out t' be evil bastards tryin' t' take over the world or somethin', I'd rather find out now than give 'em time t' show up on the doorstep of the school in funny outfits. Since it's been done an' all." She gave Wanda a brief wink, to take any unintended sting out of her words.

Wanda was far from hurt by the comment and laughed, delightedly. "He does wear the most horrific outfits," she muttered into her beer, grinning. "And yes, I believe that trend is starting to get outdated. Everyone's done it." Leaning back, she thought for a second. "And you're right, really. The more knowledge you have, the better off you are. You can better prepare yourself for what's going to be coming if you have the information on hand."

"You keep tellin' me I'm right, I'm gunna get a swelled head," Amanda told her with a much more relaxed grin. "I dunno when exactly yet, but with me bein' in Berlin, an' them in the same country an' all, well, it'd be stupid not t' make the effort. You'll come with me, then? When I go an' meet 'em?" 'If' had turned to 'When' without her noticing.

She noticed though, and smiled a little bit at the slip. "Of course, it would be my pleasure. Besides, normally I'd be doing a bit of traveling around this time of the year for the university. It won't take me long to get ready, for whenever you leave."

"Ta, I appreciate it. Really." Amanda didn't add that the fact the Pack were in Germany as well went a long way to making her feel safer - she'd talk to Domino about some kind of panic button, just in case she'd misread Wanda. She didn't think so, but after almost a year in the school, she was learning to err on the side of caution. "Yer've met 'em? The Szardoses?" At Wanda's nod, Amanda hesitated, picking bits off the beer coaster before going on. "Do you think... do you think they'll like me?"

Something in Amanda's voice tugged at Wanda's heart strings. There was always this...air about her, made people forget how young she really was. All that nastiness in her life had forced her to put up that shell. "Honestly, I think they will," she responded gently. "Just be yourself, Amanda. That's all you have to do."

A wry grin appeared. "That'd be easy, only I'm still working out what that is. Used t' be easier showin' people what they thought I was. Now..." She shrugged a little. "I've been pulled in so many directions 'm not sure which way's up."

"Seems to me like you need some time to get your head on straight. And I do not mean that in a bad way. I haven't been at the mansion long and yet I can recognize the kind of chaos it breeds." She smirked slightly. "Might be why I feel so at home here."

"Yer'd be surprised how often I get told that. But I never get the time I need - look at New Year's." Amanda's tone held a touch of bitterness. "'S why I'm goin' t' see the Pack - well, partly, any way. I just need t' get away an' have a break, an' with them at least I know I'm safe, pretty much." She grinned. "But yeah, I can see it appealin' t' you. Lots of strings t' pull, yeah?"

"You have no idea," she sighed, melodramatically. "Actually, I have to mediate more often because of it. But there are times...I guess we all thrive under odd situations. And I hope you find what you seek in Berlin..." There was a wicked glint in Wanda's eye. "Rest, relaxation, drinking..."

"All of the above?" Amanda said, snickering. "Sounds about right."