ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ (mysticism) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-07-12 11:29:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: kate danvers, ₴ inactive: stephen strange |
WHO: Kate & Stephen
WHAT: Because she's such a gracious friend, Kate offered to taste test the Thai tea pie Stephen made for Sam's cookout
WHERE: The Sanctum
WHEN: Backdated to July 3rd-ish
WARNINGS: Nooooooope
STATUS: Complete
The Sanctum was kind of a nerd haven. Kate had been distracted from the second she had walked in the door. That proved how epic it was, because she was supposed to be here for food, and Kate rarely got sidetracked from food. Of course Kate didn’t touch anything. This werewolf knew better than to touch magic shit if it could be helped, and right now it could be helped. She wasn’t looking to get herself cursed, or transported inside something and trapped. Kate knew better, most of the time. But she was eyeing everything with extreme detail, from the design work on a blade of an axe that was on display as she tried to pinpoint when and where it was from, to the double ouroboros. She’d never seen a double in person before, only text books on tombs of Pharros. She couldn’t remember which one right now. “Your house is a walking nerd trap.” She stated, eyes switching over to a scroll of paper that was rolled up, preventing her from reading it. Probably intentionally. “Like I wouldn’t even have to touch something, I could easily just forget what I was doing by looking.” Right now she was holding up pie tasting for the BBQ she was now going to, but this was so cool. A walking nerd trap was as good of a description for the Sanctum as any, Stephen supposed. Only there was one thing - one thing he could be a shit about. “It doesn’t actually have legs,” he deadpanned, but with a twitch of a smirk that tipped the corners of his mouth up. “But - I know what you mean.” The Chamber of Relics was always a prime place to start to let someone have a look around at what was housed in the Sanctum, however, since it was all mostly here - the books remained in the library, of course, but the relics were the main point of the whole ‘quirky museum’ vibe. At the back of the chamber was the gateway, revolving doors that led to - in theory - the other Sanctums (Hong Kong and London) and then Kamar-Taj, the central nexus. Of course, in Vallo they went elsewhere - but that was beside the point. Plenty of hallways (a maze, almost) and hidden entrances were in abundance as well - French doors leading to fireplaces, shifting corridors, skylights, passages behind stairs. If one didn’t know their way around or Stephen wasn’t there to guide them, it was also possible that becoming lost would happen. He’d hate to suddenly find a hapless visitor’s skeleton in a random entranceway one day. The sun streamed golden in through the chamber’s window, which was the Seal of the Vishanti. Nary a speck of dust or a smudged fingerprint to be found either, by the way. “That’s the Axe of Angarruumus,” he added, nodding toward the weapon Kate seemed to have taken an interest in. “It came from a crypt on the moon, allegedly. Listen closely and it hums magic - “ He leaned in a bit, “...do you hear it? It’s saying feed me. Or maybe that’s you.” She was probably his closest friend in Vallo, besides Stark - he was allowed to tease a little. Kate shot him a ‘really?’ kind of look when he delivered that terrible dad joke and shook her head. “I mean, you sure about that? You got enough magic in here that you could probably make that happen.” Or she was assuming that he did anyway. It wasn’t like she could sense magic, but this place definitely gave off that vibe. “You have a space axe?” Angarruumus? She’d never heard of a name like that, in any language she’d studied. And the number of questions that came from finding an axe in a tomb on the moon was very, very long. She tilted her head slightly to see if she could hear any magic when he mentioned it, but then stopped when Stephen followed up with more sarcasm. “That is always me,” she responded instantly, not even ashamed of that. “But you can’t blame a person for being distracted by this place.” The pie was going to be there still when they got to the kitchen. Arguably this place would still be here when the pie was had, but she would forgive herself for a temporary distraction. Kate dragged her eyes away from the displays and headed back toward Stephen with a smile. “Alright doctor, lead the way.” The space axe was pretty neat, admittedly - the ouroboros Kate had been looking at was also interesting, or at least Stephen thought so. It was a conduit for elemental magic, and might have to do with the window with constant rain that was also on this floor - or maybe it was unrelated, he wasn’t entirely sure. But either way, he supposed if he wanted it to snow inside of the Sanctum this particular artifact would be the one to use. “I promise I’ll continue to answer any other relic questions,” he solemnly swore. “This funhouse continues to fascinate even me. But yes - pie. Right this way, doctor.” He had a way of teleporting around the Sanctum, and teleporting guests too - just blink and you were someplace else, your surroundings seemingly having shifted around you in a miniscule, microscopic second and while it was incredibly handy it could be a little disorienting. So he didn’t go that route now - just took the stairs, with Kate, and led the way to the kitchen. Where the fridge demon rumbled something akin to a greeting, the actual appliance and coils within vibrating. The door opened and shut a few times, while grumbling, like it was trying to communicate. “Don’t mind that thing, it’s finicky. I swear if you splatter this pie I made - “ In response, the door opened and let Stephen reach in without shutting itself on his hand. Luckily. “What do you usually drink with pie? I have - pretty much everything.” If he didn’t have it here, he could conjure it no problem. “Oh, cool, because I’ve never actually seen a double ouroboros outside of drawings in books before.” If he offered to keep talking, she was going to ask. “Was that here when you took over? What’s its story?” Assuming he knew. Hopefully he knew because that was something she was pretty sure her dad would nerd out over too. She followed him up the stairs easily and nearly soundlessly, though she couldn’t stop any creeks in the wood, taking in all of her surroundings as they went. When they got into the kitchen and the fridge started moving, she did freeze, the hair on the back of her neck standing on edge. She had to actively prevent herself from sliding into a more defensive stance, but her experience with demons was not a good one. While she had heard there was a demon possessing a fridge, it was another thing entirely to actually see it. Sort of. See it working through the fridge. “You really weren’t kidding.” Kate watched Stephen interact with the fridge, getting out the pie in one piece. “Why a fridge, of all things?” There were so many potential answers to that question, and how fancy you were about it. “Depends on the type of pie.” She didn’t recognize the look of it from across the room. But she breathed in deeply, focusing her senses on the item that just came out of the fridge. She didn’t recognize the combination of scents, but she could pick out the separate ones. “Peanuts, graham crackers, vanilla, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, is that turmeric? What is that?” It smelled delicious, but she was drawing a blank on pies she had registered in her memory. Such a curious kitten - or curious wolf Stephen should say. “Well, now that you’ve just identified pretty much every ingredient in the pie...” he trailed off with a laugh that was low and just as spiced as this dessert concoction he’d put together for the purpose of taste-testing. He wasn’t a baker, really, so he stuck with what he knew - and he didn’t want to show up at Sam’s cookout without anything to offer. Though any offerings, if they tasted like a dirty sock left in the rain and then locked in a dark closet for a month, wouldn’t be doing him any favors either. Kate didn’t seem like she was put off by anything though, so he’d press on. “It’s a Thai tea pie,” he shared, summoning the appropriate cutter to him with a flick of fingers - the cabinets opened by themselves too, plates procured. The cinnamon, cardamom, and anise were usually spices associated with the onset of autumn - but he thought they worked all year round, and was a fan of Thai tea anyway; he’d made the mix himself at Looking-Glass. Besides, the crust was a cookie crust and the crushed peanuts worked with the warm flavors too. It was something different, anyway. “And everything in the Sanctum was here when I arrived as the place’s guardian - including the fridge demon. Not sure why, or how, but it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and I’ve made my peace with it.” Sort of. After cutting them both slices of pie (though he wouldn’t care if Kate just ate the whole thing - he knew what kind of appetite she had), he sat at the table and rolled up the sleeves of his cardigan. It was summer out there but the Sanctum tended to get drafty. “The Ouroboros was originally concealed, hidden from view due to a spell - one of the other Masters of the Mystic Arts discovered it, someplace in Sokovia when it was still standing I believe, and added it to the Sanctum’s collection. A lot of the relics ended up in each of the Sanctums that way, through research and discovery - the order’s been around for a very long time.” “It’s one of my super powers.” Which yes, it really was. A heightened sense of smell came with the package, and years of learning to identify scents helped. Plus those spices were all distinct and aromatic. Definitely usually associated with autumn, but that didn’t mean they had to only be used then. “It’s hard to go wrong with those spices. I’d normally associate them with pumpkin pie, but this smells just as good in a different way.” Thai tea pie. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard of that. At least not that she could remember. Her curiosity was spiked, and her stomach was ready to start demanding if it had to.”It doesn’t eat your food or anything? Or demand anything to access it?” She asked, curiously, glancing at the fridge again and still trying to keep her distance while moving toward the table. “It kind of just hangs out there?” Strangest demon she’d ever come in close contact with. Kate lowered herself into a seat where she could still casually keep an eye on the fridge, she didn’t trust demons, no offense to the resident one. Her thanks were offered when the slice of pie came her way. Up close the smells were even stronger, and just as mouth watering. She examined the crust and coloring for a moment, and then took a bite while Dr. Strange talked. Kate arched an eyebrow at ‘Sokovia,’ she was absolutely certain this place did not exist in her world, so it must have been a his-world-thing. By the sounds of it, somewhere in Central Europe. “Sokovia’s a country?” she asked, “This is delicious, by the way.” She’d have like six, thanks. “Was there a war?” She didn’t really know how else it would fall, that was how nations fell. “Do you guys think it came from Sokovia, or was it hidden there?” Well, good to know he hadn’t fucked up a no-bake pie (though there was work involved - you had to use the stove, at least, to make the filling). He wouldn’t be entering it in any competitions anytime soon but overall, Stephen thought it wasn’t bad. It would be passable for the cookout, anyway. “The fridge demon just hangs out. It was probably trapped in the appliance eons ago for one reason or another and I don’t intend to unleash it in Vallo - “ Which had enough problems with things getting unleashed, things that shouldn’t be out there, “...so it stays.” With a quick, purposeful turn of fingers, a carafe of milk appeared on the table - along with two glasses. Milk and pie, such a good combo - but if Kate wanted something else, Stephen would get it. “Anyway, I’m not sure if the Ouroboros came from there or if it was hidden - I’d have to research the journals and writings of the Masters who came before me. Hard to tell now anyway or go back and research because the country was destroyed after a war - the country was a battleground, the Avengers swooped in, lots of civilians were killed. Others had to relocate and start their lives over after their home was destroyed. It spurned something called the Sokovia Accords, which was an attempt to control where ‘superheroes’ intervened.” Because world leaders had been tired of massive destruction and having to rebuild entire cities - like New York, for example. Everything had been in the name of ‘saving the day,’ sure, but rebuilding was expensive. That all felt like so long ago too. After Thanos, everything seemed inconsequential - especially for Stephen, who had to deal (presumably) with a cracking multiverse. “It’s where Wanda’s from,” he added. “Sokovia, I mean.” She assumed eons was an exaggeration, given that the appliance in its current form wasn’t quite that old. She still had to wonder who the hell thought it would be a brilliant idea to trap a demon in one. So many questions. Kate also had no idea how he didn’t spend every hour learning all these details about all the items here. Or maybe he already had. But she could easily picture her dad, herself, and maybe even Logan completely losing track reading up on everything they could. “That’s convenient.” Very convenient. Witches and sorcerers in her world couldn’t do that, but if they could she would almost wish she had that kind of power. It was hard to imagine an entire country being obliterated in a war. Entirely wiped off the map. But as she listened she was reminded exactly why supernaturals in her world did no come forward to humans. If they weren’t subject to experimentation, witch hunts, or something else, the government would try to control them. Though if they ever wiped a country off a map maybe she could see why. At least people in the Otherworld were usually more subtle. “That sounds like a mess. The accords, I mean. That’s awful, for Wanda and its people. I can’t imagine an entire country going down like that.” That became a depressing topic, really fast, when she hadn’t meant it to be. History was violent though. Back to the pie, which if she didn’t slow down was going to be gone in seconds. So she reached for the milk instead. It had been a long time since she’d had a glass of milk with anything. “So where did you discover this pie?” “Pinterest,” Stephen admitted with a smirk, cutting into his slice of pie with a fork. He was all set to cut Kate another slice too, when she finished - trust him, he was keeping an eye on the hungry werewolf situation to make sure she was fed. “Though I make my own Thai tea mix at Looking-Glass - I only did the research to figure out how to best incorporate that into a dessert.” And lo and behold, the internet didn’t let him down. Because he wanted something he could make successfully, just without baking - he knew where his strengths were and what they were, thanks. Though he was curious if Christine would make bean dip again - they were both somewhat C+ in the kitchen so the simpler, the better. “Glad you like it though. And if you don’t come to the cookout, at least you got to sample it now.” What were friends for, right? Besides taste-testing food and braving a potential trip to the hospital to get stomachs pumped. “How are you, by the way? How’s Thom - do any making out recently?” Ho hum, just a casual question. Whatever answer she had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. Kate knew what Pintrest was, it had been at its height of popularity when she was a teenager. She had probably found some useful things on it, but if she had an account, she couldn’t remember. “It’s hard to imagine you pinning recipes.” Or really anything at all, but you could probably find some useful things there. “I really need to stop by that shop of yours.” Though tea had never been her thing, she would drink it occasionally. But incorporating it into a pie she could get behind. “I’ll go.” she said with a shrug. “I’m not a fan of big crowds most of the time. But if I know someone is going to be there and there’s going to be food, I don’t need much more convincing after that.” If she fell into conversation with people she liked, she’d be fine. She might even stay until the end. If she didn’t find her groove there, she’d leave early. No big deal. Kate rolled her eyes at Stephen’s question while taking another bite of pie. Nosy. Not that she could blame him, she was just as curious about Stephen and a certain member of his so-called sister-wife group. “Not much to tell.” She liked Thom, they had a lot of things in common in many ways that made him easy to get along with. He was also attractive- minus the constant smell of cigarettes that was always around him. But she had no idea if there was anything there beyond that. “It’s just been a one time thing so far.” Not that she was opposed to that changing. Leaning back in her chair, she shrugged her shoulders, not letting herself think too much about it. “What about you and Wanda?” Stephen coughed. A slosh of milk went down the wrong pipe - though it was fairly quick, so at least he didn’t see his life flash before his eyes. He’d much rather hear about Kate’s exploits with Thom than talk about Wanda - but, damn, she already answered the question. “Maybe you could ask him on a date?” he suggested, fully expecting to get laughed out of the kitchen. But, well, what? That wasn’t too bad of an idea, was it? Alright, he’d stalled long enough. Kate had set him up with a Tag profile (but he didn’t maintain it) and he didn’t really mind much - he knew she was just ‘looking out,’ as the kids said, and it was...nice. To have someone care about his happiness that much. Or maybe it was apparent that he hadn’t gone for any makeouts of his own in forever and it was about time to get on that. “Things sort of came to light - feelings and whatnot,” he hedged, glass twisting around and around in his hands. “She said she needed time, so I’m giving her time. We’re not...involved or anything.” Kate failed at biting back a laugh at his reaction. She didn’t care all that much about talking about her personal life most of the time, and she sure as hell had different modesty standards from most of society. “Don’t choke.” she teased, though really, don’t choke. “Maybe. I don’t even remember how to date at this point. But maybe I’ll get a few days off and see if he wants to go camping.” That was an easy place to start, right? She hadn’t poked or pryed into Wanda’s life, but clearly she was dealing with something. That whole trip to the past had been connected to her. Kate hadn’t cared for magic being worked on her, but it had been overall harmless, at least. At least Wanda was aware she was still working things out. “Well, that’s fair enough.” You couldn’t fault someone for needing that. “So what does that mean for you?” He definitely didn’t fault Wanda for needing time. Everything had sort of been brought up so abruptly, at the Vorerra event, that even Stephen had been a little brain-scrambled by it as well. Maybe some time to think about things wouldn’t hurt him either. “For me, it’s - I suppose it’s a matter of realizing that I don’t have to...choose this fate of isolation,” he said, feeling a little weird talking about it. But it might help. Keeping the Earth safe was certainly one way to stay busy - but, at the heart of him, there was always this silence that filled the empty spaces and made him wish he had company. Someone to share all parts of his life with (and it was a fleeting wish, yet there all the same - it was about time he admitted it to himself). “I’m not necessarily Sorcerer Supreme here. There are eight-hundred people who could jump in to help with most any cosmic horror situation - it doesn’t always have to be me handling everything, and the multiverse isn’t cracking. So, sure, I can - have a life. Have a relationship. Date. Run a tea shop.” He shrugged. “Make a pie.” The world was his oyster, wasn’t it? This fate of isolation might have been one of the most dramatic things she had heard in a while. There was that hint that he was a superhero or some kind in his world. But she kept those thoughts to herself, because they weren’t going to do any good out in the open. “I guess that is one of the good things about this place. Responsibilities from home don’t necessarily translate over to her.” But even if they had, did that really come with a total isolation requirement? Kate couldn’t imagine. “The thing about fate is, you don’t choose it. Fate implies a lack of control of someone's life. You have choices. At least here. I don’t know if the Fates have their claws in you back in your world or not.” The fates, from what little she knew of them, kind of sucked anyway. But fate and choice did not go hand in hand. Kate finished off her slice of pie, washing it down with about half of the milk in the glass. “You should pretty much do whatever you want to do, within reason. A life, a relationship, the tea shop all seem pretty reasonable.” “I think they sort of do - have their claws in me, that is,” Stephen chuckled wryly. He agreed - Fate sucked. Just like Wanda was ‘destined’ to destroy the world, he was meant to protect it - to protect the fabric of reality, and keep her from ripping through it with chaos magic. A relationship between the two of them would be full of twists and turns, at the very least. He liked to think that choice came into play somewhere though - he hoped. Here, they could choose, that much he knew. “But I do think all of that is doable. It’s been working so far - so I’ll keep trying.” You had to work for the things you wanted, anyway - whatever was worth obtaining, it wasn’t necessarily easy to obtain either. “And keep eating pie - I’ll go on and cut you another slice.” Oh yeah. He knew she wanted one - actually, he did too. And when it came to dessert (or a mid-afternoon sweet snack)? That was something it wasn’t hurting to indulge in. Sometimes a slice of homemade (no-bake) pie really did help put things in perspective. “Even here? I’d put my money on the fates being outmatched by Vallo.” Assuming Vallo itself wasn’t somehow connected to the fates. That sounded like a mess she didn’t want to try to consider, or even look at. “I’d hope that even the superhero types get a little more freedom in this place.” Kate certainly did. No one gave a shit if her mother was the North American Alpha. That wasn’t a thing here. In some ways it was annoying, but in other ways it was kind of nice. “Try is the best we can do, pie makes it better.” She agreed without hesitation, sliding her plate closer to the pie as soon as he mentioned it. She was attempting to be a good guest. She had years of controlling her portion sizes, as much as it made her grumble, to blend in with humanity. It was an automatic thing now when she wasn’t just with her pack, or other people with appetites like her own. “You should start issuing challenges or something at your tea shop. Pick a tea of the month and see who can create the best dessert from it. I volunteer as a judge.” An extra large slice for best werewolf doctor Kate, then. Stephen was generous - and basically ended up giving her a good chunk of the pie, but that’s what friends did. “That’s a good idea, actually,” he said. “I’ll definitely recruit you as a judge, promise.” He thought that drumming up more business for Looking-Glass would be beneficial too - and people loved dessert (food in general, really). And challenges. Besides, there was a lot you could do with matcha green tea, for example - so he thought that others would rise to the occasion. “Thanks, by the way,” he added. “For coming over. And, you know - talking.” He was prone to be an introverted Sanctum-dweller otherwise but when he had excuses to come out of that, it really was all the better for him. Healthier. He couldn’t imagine leaving, disappearing without a trace, and not remembering any of the people who had gotten close to him, worming their way past his defenses and self-imposed wall composed of ice bricks. So he just wouldn’t think about it. Much. An extra large slice, if you could call that a slice, had not been expected, but her delight of more pie was evident on her face. This was going to make her stomach happy, even if it wasn’t something protein laced. It was pie. “Thank you.” she said happily before immediately starting in. Not a damn crumb would go to waste on her watch. She wasn’t sure if he was serious about the idea, but if he was, she would hold him to that judge's position. Best gig ever. At some point she’d probably have to offer to compete too, so she wasn't just eating everything. Kate didn’t have a lot of close friends here. Stephen was probably one of her closest, which meant she’d be here in a heartbeat if he needed anything. As a werewolf Kate was raised a certain way. The pack always, always came first, but there were people outside of that who could get pretty close. Kate didn’t have a pack here, so her friends were a top priority. “You don’t have to thank me for that, it’s literally what friends are for. You’re not done talking yet though because I’m going to have a hundred more questions about your museum out there after this pie is done.” |