ᴇʀɪᴋ (metalize) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-05-07 07:42:00 |
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Erik closed the journal and slid it away from him, feeling despondent - it wasn’t a feeling he liked necessarily. His entire cache of emotions was beginning to resemble a bank account that was overdrawn and he was simply done with the whole thing - for him, it was disappointing that his own son seemed to think Erik didn’t care about him, yes, but it was also disappointing that there was so much fighting happening during a time when they should all be supporting each other to figure out a way home. But no. Peter was upset that no one had reached out to him - which Erik supposed he understood but, then again, Peter hadn’t reached out to any of them either (before the angry journal entry, that is) and it was a two-way street. He told Rogue he was going outside to get some air - the last thing he wanted was to let that prickliness and unease continue to roll over him in waves, and then he’d likely snap and say something he’d regret. Best to walk away from the situation entirely, despite how hurt he was feeling, so he left the house (it was simple, made of stone with a roof covered with tiles - the floors were tiled too, helped with keeping cool though he imagined in the winter a fire in a metal basket was necessary) and went out to sit by one of the apple trees instead. Maybe he’d stay out here all night - just to keep watch, but also because the apples also seemed to glow, rosier in the sunrise, and it was a pleasant sight. That’s when he saw the circle of orange sparks - it was small at first but then expanded to become big enough to allow someone to step through, and Erik could see a room through the portal. Wanda’s room, he assumed, and he was used to the portals anyway, especially after his and Anna’s bonfire celebration - so he didn’t flinch when he saw it, just kept an eye out for her or Strange. It was Wanda who stepped through it, Stephen having offered to give her a quick lift after she had promised Billy that he’d get to come get her after this (he was staying with them, and obviously he’d picked up on her ire about this all too easily so he had some concern). Her own teleportation skills were in progress - she could manage short distances, but Vallo was wide and endless in both present and past. Best that she leave the immediate transportation skills to those who were more seasoned with it at the moment. Behind her the portal cinched shut, and then - a pause of silence, before she exhaled a breath she’d been holding through that entire mess. “Hi,” she greeted quietly, mouth turning up to a tense, saddened smile. Her Scarlet Witch ensemble seemed to fit the Ancient Vallo vibe quite well, even gleaned some attention in the sense that civilians assumed she was some - mage for hire? People apparently had a lot of problems they were willing to spend coin for, either for pesky monsters that threatened their cattle or an angry wife who wanted to get her husband magically castrated to keep him from brothel visits. “I should have asked before I arrived but I wanted to check up on you?” Peter had gone at Erik hard, unfairly so. She understood being upset for the lack of communication but most of what had occurred was entirely unnecessary. “Oh - “ The sight of Wanda caused Erik to actually smile a little - saddened as well, but there was a bit of pride there too. Because she looked fantastic - powerful and owning every bit of that Scarlet Witch ensemble, owning who she was. He wanted that for her - wanted her to be proud of herself as well, as much as her family and close friends seemed to feel similarly. “That outfit suits you, Wanda.” He stood up, dusting bits of grass and leaves from his trousers - his own outfit was simple, a tunic with a button and a loop of thread with trousers that actually fit well; he and Rogue had been given some spare clothes to wear, items typical for this time period - Anka Irene stuck with her tiny dresses and flower crowns. “I appreciate you coming by. Would you like to go inside? We have a pot of tea going.” It was no Looking-Glass brand, but it was good enough - mountain tea, floral and teeming with herbs, sweet and earthy and a bit humble. Much like these lodgings. Obviously she didn’t mean to intrude, and she trusted Erik enough to let her know if this was a bad time. In this form she didn’t accessorize herself with rings to fiddle with, but that nervous tick of toying with her fingers continued to be a habit. “Thank you - thought it up myself,” she chuckled. “And I’d love tea but only if i’m not interrupting anything?” Minutes ago they were writing incensed words back and while it was calmer, she still simmered with some resentment. She was sure Erik was exhausted by it too. The feelings had bled through the pages, and everything tasted like hurt and anger. Eventually she just needed to slam the journal shot before it overwhelmed her. Erik shook his head, “No, no. You’re not interrupting. Anna’s with Anka Irene, though I’m sure she’d love to see you. Both of them.” He turned and led Wanda inside, where it was decently warm and they’d done some cooking - some heating of the aforementioned tea as well, and Erik poured a bit into two clay cups. He was tired - and although he hadn’t really been too bothered by these circumstances before, right now after arguing with Peter he simply wanted to be home so he could try to work things out in person. Space seemed to be best, however, at least for the time being - he thought he had a right to be upset because those were some pretty cruel words his son had tossed around. “Time traveling is always a hardship,” he sighed. “Well. I’ve really only dealt with one time-traveler, and alternate futures, but...” It was still not anything he’d prefer to dabble in again. “Peter’s still upset with you?” May as well get to the heart of the matter. Wanda’s experience with time traveling was limited to their present situation - and, well, whatever she was told that occurred after half of the universe was dusted out of existence. It was interesting, but wildly stressful. Their presence here would lead to some kind of consequence down the road. That was inevitable. But trying to get back home took precedence over that right now, so. They were doing their best. “More or less,” she shrugged, now that they were broaching that topic - the reason for her visit, why she wanted to check on Erik. Wanda chose a chair at the table to occupy, blowing softly to cool her tea. “He gave me the whole ‘pretend I didn’t say anything’ line. I’m not letting that happen.” Her own exhaustion gave away to plain aggravation. Yes, she understood why Peter was hurt but that wasn’t their intention, and having that they ‘didn’t care’ get thrown at their face brought some wretched feelings. “Has he gotten like this with you before?” Erik sipped his tea, appreciating the earthy flavor. There wasn’t much in the way of furniture where he and Anna were staying, but it worked - a couple chairs, a stool, a table, and the bed, of course. It wasn’t very large but at least it had some animal furs to wrap up in if it was a chilly night - better than sleeping on a bed of dried herbs upon the ground, anyway. He didn’t plan to move, necessarily, not until there was talk of leaving the past - however that would occur. “Never,” he answered Wanda’s question, and perhaps that was why this was so surprising. “Then again - we haven’t been a part of each other’s lives for very long,” he continued. “His mother and I weren’t together, I didn’t even know she’d been pregnant with him. Mostly we were two ships passing in the night and - well, I don’t think she was my biggest fan. In 1963, I was accused of killing John F. Kennedy and after a hasty trial was put into prison. Peter was actually one of the people who broke me out ten years later. I didn’t know he was my son then and I think he had recently just learned about his parentage too.” So basically Erik hadn’t known, was the point. He thought in Vallo they’d get a chance to be together, as a family, but all of this hostility was coming to the surface and now they had to work through it. Wanda still waited to take a sip from her cup, opting to pinch the bridge of her nose and just kind of - massage that area, as if it could serve as a balm to soothe her irritation. A few details of the whole son-father past had been explained to her before, but Erik was filling in the gaps of how much more complicated it all truly was. “I think the outburst was rooted in something deeper,” she explained, breathing in through her nose only to let that breath go in a sigh so deep the tension visibly drained from her shoulders. Finally, she moved to raise the tea to her lips. “He wrote back about being the product of two people not wanting him - about being alone. This was after we poked holes in his arguments about the mechanics over how these journals worked. I’m sure you have spoken to him about the situation with his mother?” It seemed as if it would be the first explanation to tackle in realizing that they were related, but she was asking just to be certain. “We did have that conversation - or, well, he didn’t even tell me he was my son. Rogue did,” Erik explained. Anna had known and hinted at it but technically, Anka Irene had been the one to actually speak up about it - a toddler who simply wanted to spend time with her older brother, whom she remembered from another world. She was excited to see him, that was all. “But then I invited him over and we had a talk about how I would like for him to be a part of my family, that...I wanted to know him. To be a part of his life too, if he would let me.” So now to hear that Peter was upset about two people who didn’t want him - that felt like a slap in the face with an iron gauntlet. He didn’t know what the situation was with Peter’s mother - obviously they hadn’t spoken in decades - but here, once Erik found out they were family, he did all he could to try to be a good father. While hoping it wasn’t too late. He felt even more despondent now, mouth turning down in a thoughtful frown as he clenched the cup between his hands. “I don’t - “ Eventually he lifted fingers to rub at his temple, where he was experiencing a dull ache and throb. “I was trying, but I suppose this situation set us back a little. I’ll give him some space before talking to him again.” Space was best, Wanda thought. Even if Peter had offered resistance in that when he wrote to her privately, how he was tired of feeling this way and how he wanted it resolved now - but that wasn’t happening if he was too angry to apologize to Erik (his words), and Erik deserved some time as well. No need for even more emotional bruising over this. “Functional families are a myth,” she mused aloud, lips forming a tired smirk. “Miscommunication, overcommunication. It happens. I think his reaction shows how much he does care - but the insecurity he feels about us was unexpected. To me, at least.” Peter wasn’t her twin, she didn’t know him outside of this - and while they spent a lot of time together in Vallo there was still a lot they had to learn from one another. Wanda definitely wanted to. She enjoyed his company, and found herself to easily love him like a brother. She didn’t have plans to lose that if she could help it. Wanda drank a little more of the tea, wishing she had something to sweeten it with but the warmth was good - it was comforting, and the flavor wasn’t awful. Just strong. “I can keep in contact with him throughout all this. That way you two can have some time to think and we can all continue to be in the loop with one another? His moodiness doesn’t bother me.” She was far from a pushover - she didn’t mind setting him straight when necessary. It was a very sibling thing to do. On Erik’s end, the insecurity wasn’t necessarily unexpected - he knew that Peter didn’t have the best relationship with his mother, and it was mostly him who looked after his younger half-sisters, but what Erik didn’t expect was the cruelty. He wasn’t immune to feelings, far from it - he didn’t need people (especially his family) to look at him and see Magneto, mutant revolutionary, creator of Genosha and (perhaps to some humans) infamous terrorist. But what he did need was to be taken seriously, heard and respected, if he was going to expose those more raw and vulnerable emotions and nerve endings. Peter hadn’t done that. Yes, it stung. And yes, Erik thought an apology was deserved. “I don’t mind keeping in touch with him as well - moodiness doesn’t bother me either,” Erik shrugged. He was often moody, so he knew what a sticky bramble that could be to navigate. “I just don’t want to push him into talking if he doesn’t want to. It will work out - I won’t give up on him, I promise. He’s my son.” Erik loved him unconditionally, no matter what - just because Peter was going through some things right now (and they were all going through things) didn’t mean he’d throw in the towel. “But if you would rather I wait, then I won’t interfere with the two of you.” Erik was a good father. The circumstances weren’t ideal but he tried, genuinely tried. Not one of those half-assed deadbeat attempts either. Wanda knew he wouldn’t give up on him like this - she wouldn’t either. Family didn’t ditch family. But sometimes family could be frustrating, and could bring out the urge for some throttling. Nothing unlike what she went through with Pietro, of course. He had his infuriating moments but he wasn’t explosive with it. There was always a lot of sarcasm, the rolling of his eyes, looks of judgment she sometimes (maybe always) wanted to slap off - arguments, cold shoulders. They always worked through it. She trusted it would be the same with this too. “It is really your call,” she conceded, eyes full of worry watching him. “He is angry, I worry about him going overboard with you again. He became more receptive with me.” Probably because they didn’t have much of a complicated history to build any resentment on was her guess. “I would hate for him to dig a deeper hole with that, is all. You don’t deserve that.” Erik just didn’t understand what Peter was angry about right now, at this very moment - as far as he knew, Peter didn’t blame him for not knowing about their father-son connection prior to Vallo. There wasn’t anything he could do to change that anyway - he didn’t have a time machine then, and he didn’t have one now. Perhaps it was just the sudden expulsion of those he called family, taken away from him without warning - it brought out the worst in him. Brought all those feelings of abandonment and resentment to the surface. “You’re free to do what you’d like, of course - I’ll just wait a little bit before reaching out to him,” Erik decided, turning the cup around in his hands. Honestly, all of this family drama seemed like the last thing any of them needed - especially when they were literally separated by a thousand years, the gap seemingly too big to close. Well. He’d dealt with worse - been through worse. And so he knew he’d be alright. “I’m glad you came by though,” he added, glancing at Wanda. “I was worried about you.” With her, he was attempting to figure out how to best be involved in her life without being overbearing - she likely didn’t need an overprotective father figure anyway, and he was never one to be that way with his children regardless. Fatherhood was actually something he had done right in his life - one of the few things. Maybe Wanda had no right trying to play damage control, really - but Erik seemed to have taken a brunt of that lashing-in-writing, Peter hadn’t really made an effort to tone down his bite aside from stopping all-together in what she was sure was still anger. They’d see. This wasn’t the best moment to take up the role as mediator since they were stuck in the past with currently no solution, but she’d try. “Oh - I’m fine,” she blinked, setting the clay cup down. Much better than she was before, muddling through what to while reeling from loss. It was always the same routine - some days were good, others were not. But now her better days were more frequent, and while her life at home was still very open ended (with her and the Darkhold; trying to bring the boys back to that reality, Vision missing), she was making the conscious decision to simply live the the best she could here with what she had. “I mean, something is always going on but aside from being in limbo here but things are alright. Been keeping myself busy with Billy and Stephen doing research here.” Many speculations have been discussed, no solution has been uncovered. It was frustrating and Wanda’s patience wasn’t always the greatest, either. That was something they had in common - Erik’s patience wasn’t always golden either, but he’d been around for so long he’d learned to be better in that regard. Falling from a pedestal, a fall from grace and into the category of terrorist, a very long stint in solitary confinement, and cradling his dead wife and daughter in his arms after they were murdered were all staples of his life - and taught him one thing or another. “I know you are - you can take care of yourself,” he smiled a little, tired but fond. “I still worry though. And we’re going to get out of this.” He didn’t have all the answers but - he’d try to hold for a little while longer. “And thank you for checking on me,” he added, since he wanted to make sure he showed his appreciation there. It was true that what Peter wrote had hurt and Erik just planned to sit outside and continue to ruminate over everything, stuck in his own head. But a visit from Wanda kind of pulled him out of that. Plus it helped to talk about things too. It was disappointing that Peter shut down so badly when talking to Erik but he’d keep trying to get through to him. Wanda was capable of taking care of herself. In theory, anyway. She wasn’t lacking when it came to an oomph amount of abilities (though she preferred to avoid getting into a dick wave competition about it, she didn’t care for the attention) but she needed people, needed to not feel alone. Erik keeping an eye on her wasn’t unwelcomed. He wasn’t suffocating about it - and he was always rather genuine going about it. It didn’t go unappreciated. He was also very easy to talk to; he knew what it was like to lose it all and somehow rebuild from the ashes of an old love and life. That was something she’d like to learn, one day. “And I worried for you, so -” Wanda brought the cup to her lips to polish off that last herbal sip. “The feelings are all mutual. I hope you can get some rest. Any rest despite the situation.” Then she stood, careful about pushing the chair too far back so the legs wouldn’t scratch against the wood floors and make noise. “I should go to let you do that but if you need anything - please let me know?” Yes, this was also the part where she’d go hug him too. “I’ll let you know,” Erik promised. He and Rogue had already discussed taking things day by day while stuck in this time period, and while he wasn’t particularly eager to rush into any kind of battle he didn’t want to leave the people he did care about on their own - so he’d see what happened. He didn’t have any kind of magic but his powers were useful and it wouldn’t be the first time he’d use them in a fight - in Vallo, he’d probably have to keep doing that more times than he wanted. It was just the way things were. That hug was - well, it was nice. Felt like he was standing in front of a warm iron stove, with brass feet and brass ornaments - just very cozy, and it was pleasant to know he hadn’t screwed up with Wanda or anything. So he hugged her in return, careful to not muss her rather elaborate ensemble. “And I promise I’ll get some rest. I don’t think I can stay awake for much longer anyway.” Hey, he was old. Technically. Turning in early was just par the course, especially being the parent of a toddler. But he was also technically a grandparent too - so the next step was probably stocking up on butterscotch candies; he’d do that when they all returned to the present. If nothing else, it would be something to look forward to. |