Cora Amell (fereldenshero) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-11-13 23:13:00 |
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It was not a lie to say this was the most comfortable prison she had been in. Honestly it was nearly more comfortable than her own rooms, silks and furs be damned. There was no wet cold that hung in the air nor the noise of a keep in motion. It was blissfully silent except for the strange noises the device she had been given made. She had been given a run down for the most part by the agents who had collected her once she had regained consciousness. A different world with different rules and different everything. Still the punishment seemed fair and it was hardly the first time she had languished in a cell for a few days. Still their menu left a lot to be desired when it came to quantity. Confusing a poor man into bringing her something to eat was hardly the worst thing she could have done. After all she was being very patient with this whole nonsense, minus almost killing an agent or two. Cora made a mental note to see if she could get the recipe for whatever poison they had used on her, it was remarkable. There was still the possibility that he might not show up. Which would be a pity, she would have to convince the good Dr. Foster to bring her something if it came to that. Or possibly figure out how to take this wonderful device apart. Which is what she set about doing, cross legged on the floor with fingers gently attempting to pry it open to see what was inside. Bruce carried a thick plastic tray with several little items stacked on it. He walked slowly, lacking confidence-- that and the knowledge of which cell she’d be in. He heard the clacking of fingernails on a smartphone (it’s in danger!!) and went that-a-way. “Miss-uh, Cora?” He already forgot her last name. But he remembered her first name, that should count for something. “Don’t do that.” Bruce then hunkered down on the floor on the other side of the barrier, trying to get down to her level. “You’ll just break it and then you won’t be able to get food brought to you.” He laughed, mostly at himself. He pulled the napkin off the tray to show her what he brought: instant noodles, a croissant, a bagel with a side of cream cheese, and some sort of cookie. She might not notice this was slim pickings, but he did in fact, scrounge up most of this from leftover breakfast items. The sound of her name brought her eyes up. For a moment her fingers stilled from attempting to pry apart the device as she looked over the man in front of her. Older, not terribly broad, and with a posture that seemed to make him smaller than he would naturally sit. As soon as food was mentioned, her smile broke out and she set the ‘phone’ aside. “Ser Banner. You came.” It was a serene, pleasant sort of feeling. To be quite honest this cell felt far too much like solitary back in the tower for her own comfort. While she had never spent much time there, having learned early on when to show up, the itching feeling in her spine remained. Every other time she had been captured it was always with someone else. It was never so irrepressibly lonely. But such thoughts did not quell her smile as her stomach growled fiercely. “Sorry.” she said, almost apologetic. “Warden’s appetite. Though is that something here? Do you have Grey Wardens?” she asked before immediately continuing on. “Oh is that a cookie? I love cookies.” She talked a lot. He had a few people like that around him. Bruce liked to listen-- and not just because it was easier than trying to think of something to say. He seemed nervous when he shrugged, “I said I would.” It’s just sad how so many people assume everyone is going to shit on them. Bruce knew what it was like to think that, and he knew what it was like to be captured. He knew what it was like to have a cage made especially for him. “I don’t know what a Grey Warden is, but we have Grey Gardens, though I’m sure that’s not the same thing.” He passed the food to her, careful to not let his arms linger too long in her company. In case this was a trick-- Bruce isn’t the most trustworthy and she was currently in a cell. “There’s a great difference between saying and doing. It’s the true test of a man or woman in my opinion.” Cora mused. He was nervous, it was easy to tell. She might not be familiar with this world in the slightest but there were always the tells in a person. And it was a feeling she was all too familiar with. Tension like that carried in the shoulders when one was used to being watched at any moment. It never fully went away. Her smile widened even more as he passed the plate underneath the door. Cora waited patiently, hands folded in her lap as he reached in and pulled back quickly. “I can promise I only bite when asked.” she teased but ducked her head slightly. “Thank you. It’s quite brave to do something like this for a stranger.” Bruce shook his head. “That saying has been around, I’ll tell you that.” Being around Tony so much lately made him want to tack a nickname on the end there. Kiddo, chief, babe. No, that wasn’t Bruce. That was Tony and Tony was back at Stark Tower. “You’re a stranger who is working on righting her wrongs. You aren’t still fighting people. And I feel for you, trying to protect yourself.” Hulk saved his life more times than he’d like to admit. “And you’re supposed to pay it forward or something. Kindness. I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t nervous because she was a woman or a mage or anything. Just. Cells. Ehhh. Tilting her head slightly, Cora watched him for a moment as she bit into the cookie. Was it her making him so nervous? It seemed unlikely that he would come if that were the case. And it did not seem like the bashful sort that she had dealt with in the past. It was likely related to the tension in his shoulders, the worry and nerves that twitched beneath the skin that could never be quite ignored. So she focused for a moment, pooling a bit of power and releasing, allowing a small radius of health, warmth, and peace radiate out from where she sat. It always had such a pleasant, tingling sensation to Cora. She had no idea what the aura felt like to a non-mage. “I will keep that in mind.” She said while finishing the cookie and moving on to the baked biscuit looking thing. “You can just call me Cora, by the way. No miss needed.” Bruce suddenly felt calm. He felt warm in his belly, his shoulders relaxed. It was a natural feeling, like when you realize there’s no reason to be like that. (But how often is it that easy to realize?) He didn’t even blink when it happened, he just nodded and repeated her name. “Cora. Done. You can call me Bruce. Dr. Banner--” Doctor Banner was my father? No. Doctor Banner is what kids call me? Nah. “Dr. Banner is kind of silly sounding when all I even do anymore is stop Tony from overthrowing the government.” “So tell me about Grey Wardens.” “A Ser is a knight, Bruce.” she replied with a cheeky grin, hovering over the bite of biscuit. From what Foster had said a Dr was a scholar, such an interesting word. There was no imagining all she would have to pick up here. It would be an even bigger adjustment than leaving the tower, and that had been hard enough as it was. “But what’s this about overthrowing governments? I’ve some experience in that, it’s just a treat for everyone involved. Though goes back into that violence you dislike so much.” A world without Wardens? That was a thought. It meant this place had no darkspawn, no taint, no blights. It also meant the secrets that she kept inside from those outside the order were not terribly useful. What had the agent said from outside her door? She was from a game. How a person’s life could be told through a game she had no idea. She wondered if it was with dice or cards. Brushing aside a bit of her hair, she shrugged lightly as she thought how to best explain. “We are... the first and last line of defense the world has against a threat known as the darkspawn. A select few from every race that have the fortitude of character to survive our life, which is given over to protecting the rest. We are beholden to no throne or country, simply our duty.” Bruce was holding his hands in his lap. He looked down at them shyly. “Yeah, I know how that goes. You have something other people don’t, you need to use it.” Might as well tell her about the Avengers and Chitauri, right? “I have some friends that are the same way. We’re not Grey Wardens but--” He shrugged slightly, if not for the weird calmness that came over him, he might not go so far into the story. “When provoked, I turn into a beast. I can’t control it much. When I’m with them, though, I can help people.” A beast? Cora leaned a bit forward, clearly interested in this admission. “A metaphorical beast, or a real one?” she asked, voice curious but lacking any judgement. Did this man house a spirit within him? People seemed to scoff at spirits here, as if they did not exist. But perhaps they did, just not in a way most people would readily recognize. And spirits she knew better than most. After all they were after her body as much as they were any mage, and she had seen the rare instances where a harmony could be reached with them. “No no, a real one. He’s a big guy. Green. Rips my pants.” Bruce chuckled. Ha ha, laugh with me, would you? He didn’t know what she was going to think of his ‘condition’ and considering where she came from, she might attempt to exercise him. How weird, he thought, would that be? To be cured by a random mage. “So, no, not Ser Bruce, just Bruce. You might have better luck with calling Steve a knight.” “You are possessed then?” she added, taking a bite of the noodles. The confirmation was interesting. And she wondered just how much of his guard had come down for such a revelation to for all intents and purposes a stranger. “It is not uncommon in my world. Especially for people like me, mages.” she explained, setting the food down for a moment. “We are susceptible to demons who wish to cross over to our world. Mages are simply easier and far more powerful to possess than ordinary people.” Shrugging gently she gave a sigh with a belaboured twitch of her smile. “We are thrown to the demons at a young age. If we resist, we are allowed to live, if not we are cut down before we can awaken.” But then there was Wynne, and her dear friends Justice and Anders who seemed to think she was not still watching. And they were fondly remembered. “But there are a rare few that exist in harmony, two wholes within the same body. It’s the strangest gift, and one I admire.” Picking the noodles back up, she resumed her feast. “Pants ripping does not surprise me, spirits can be quite a bit larger than the average man.” He scooted to get more comfortable, with his back against the wall. His legs stretched out in front of him and he watched Cora eat. It was nice, knowing someone was hungry and they soon wouldn’t be-- kind of a simple thrill, but he knew all too much what it was like to be hungry. “I sup...pose you could say that, yes.” Bruce still was in the camp that believed that the Hulk wasn’t him. He was starting to come around and think that if he could control it… well. “It happens when I get angry. And I destroy a lot of things. That’s why I wasn’t too thrilled about violence, Cora.” His voice was explanatory, not accusatory. “And how does that make you different from anyone with power?” she asked easily. This noodles were strangely delicious, she could not quite place the taste at all. Though this was a very informative confession to her, she tried to eat while he spoke. “I have seen kings and generals destroy countries over petty emotions. And none of them had spirits to blame for it, simply their own arrogance.” “It’s defending you. Anger is caused by an aggressor. It’s not an unworthy goal, to protect your host.” How many mages had she seen give themselves over to demons for anger, fear, or just simply pure helplessness. It was a fate she hoped to never share, to be lost in nothing but that desperate emotion. “And you still revert to your original form when it is over?” Bruce nodded, “I go back to this, afterward.” With his arms up and out, like it wasn’t that great of a deal. Not that he’d want to be the Hulk forever, it was just that the Hulk had better muscle tone. “I’m getting better at it, though. Like I said, when my friends need me…” When Cap needed him, or Tony. Not so much Natasha or Thor. “We don’t need to talk about my anger management, what about your powers?” Part of him wanted to ask who she maimed when she arrived, and he wondered if that was the Hulk somewhere in the back of his mind. It seemed like a pragmatic deal in her mind. Then again Cora was no stranger to sacrifices for power. She had seen what happened when people went too far and she often walked that careful line herself. Without seeing this monster, she could not really have any judgement that mattered. But then again her reputation made it known that she did tend to take in the strays that no one else would want through fear or other reasons. “I would move worlds for my friends.” she agreed. And she had possibly doomed the future to whatever the Old God would decide for one and the safety of another. But that was for the future to sort out. She might be dead by the time the child reached its full potential, if it lived that long. “Which ones?” she laughed. “I have many powers. And there are many sorts of mages.” He looked at her for a moment before answering. She was pretty and she said a pretty thing, so his lips twitched into a small smile. “Uh, let me think. Mages. What kind are you? We have a couple of witches here, we got Dr. Strange and I have no idea what he even does… Do you control elements? Can you--” He thought of Loki, “Make copies of yourself or convince people to do terrible things?” Man, if he ever saw Loki again… Bruce pulled his knees up and let his arms sit on his knees. The floor was so comfortable. Cora moved closer, leaning against the door of her cell comfortably. This really was such a well designed cell, it was far more comfortable than she would ever throw anyone she didn’t like in. Which was to her benefit at the moment, she realized. She would love to see where they put people they didn’t like. “Well, I can’t make copies of myself.” she thought through the magic she knew. There were so many spells, so much knowledge that she had stored up in her head. And many she was not about to demonstrate to this man. Holding up one of her hands she allowed a small layer of rock armor to form. “I have some measure of control of the elements. But I specialize in controlling the spirit.” she explained. “I can heal devastating injuries and destroy a person from the inside using their own blood against them.” She dropped her hand, the armor melting away into nothing. “I can bring the dead to my side and make my enemy my ally till I’ve no longer use for him. And the more I’m hurt, the stronger I become.” His eyebrows shot up. Wow, what did he get himself into? “Is that what the blood thing was about when you arrived?” His voice was still quiet and understanding-- no wonder Tony thought he could treat him like a personal psychologist. However, he wasn’t going to fall asleep during this story. His first finger was idly dragged along the barrier between them. “I’m sure that’s useful there, but what are you going to do here?” Bruce was actually concerned, not trying to be a dick with his ‘ha ha you’re so lost’ question. She laughed at the slightly shocked expression on his face. It wasn’t an unkind laugh, simply a soft spot of humor for the reaction. It was not fear or disgust, two she was intimately acquainted with. Instead it just seemed to be honest surprise. Perhaps he had simply not known what he expected? “Yes, well, in part. They all survived, you don’t have to worry.” Reaching up, she pressed the palm of her hand across from his for a moment. “I haven’t the slightest clue. But then again I’ve done the impossible before, so it can’t be that hard can it?” she answered before looking straight at his face. “Do I frighten you now, Bruce?” she asked honestly. There was no judgement in it, simply pragmatism. She was not just the pretty girl asking for favors now. He noticed her hand near his (except for the whole prison part of it) and blinked a little too much. “No. Not at all.” Bruce then hoped, with everything in him, that she was going to say ‘you should be’ and then stab him with magic. “I’m not scared of you.” But trust was a different thing. “Stay cool like this and you’ll be out soon.” Stay cool and Bruce will vouch for you-- but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “Good.” She settled more happily against her cell. Back home it likely was wise to be scared of her. She was a powerful woman who could dismantle countries. But here she was adrift and alone, with no titles to her name and certainly no allies. The similarities to being back and trapped within the circle were not lost on her. As much power as there was running through her veins that meant nothing with the loss of social power. Allies were a way to fix that. “I think meeting your green friend under these circumstances would not be the best, after all.” she teased gently. “Cooler than it already is?” She could not help herself, a small amount of ice spidering out from her hand. “But I hold no grudge. They were not responsible for my capture.” “No, sorry, I mean-- stay compliant. SHIELD isn’t as bad as they may seem. They’re going to give you a place to stay and all that. No lawmen are going to come after you. Can you do that? As a trade for the food?” Bruce wondered when he got to be less of a loner and more of a pack-creature. There was a wolf joke there but he decided to not search for it. “I don’t like bringing the Green Guy out, so it’s for the best, yes.” He nodded and didn’t correct her for calling the Hulk his friend. “You don’t need to bribe me.” she chided gently with the same smile. “If I was planning to start trouble, I’ve had more than enough opportunity to do so. For now, this is all in my best interest. If it remains so, then I shall remain compliant.” Trouble was dangerous and while Cora could more than handle herself in most situations, she knew when she was outmatched. Her against the world could hardly go well no matter how talented she was. But this was a start and she would simply have to work from there. “But you may show me around once I have been freed, if you would like to treat my oh so good behavior.” Bruce nodded, “I can show you around.” He had freedom and he rarely used it. He went places with Tony and Pepper, but most of the city was a mystery to him. (That and he’d hate to remember ‘oh yeah I smashed that last time I was here’). “If you think this cell is nice, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He started to stand. It was embarrassing because he was old and sitting on the floor wasn’t the best idea. “I’m going to go for now--” otherwise Tony would think that they were breaking her out and get a helicopter or something. “Use the phone thingie to contact me if you need help. Don’t take it apart. I did that, they just give you another and bill you.” “The phone?” she blinked at him with confusion for a moment before it dawned on her. “Oh yes! The spirit box!” It didn’t have spirits, she had to remember that. Instead it was technology, like the qunari seemed to employ instead of magic. Still she reached over and picked it up, looking at the small box for a moment before looking back up at him. “I’ll be sure to to resist temptation, no matter how curious I get.” Getting up slowly, she dusted herself off. “Well I do look forward to the wonders you will show me.” she added cheekily. “I do so love new experiences.” |