ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ (mysticism) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-12-11 10:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: stephen strange |
Stephen usually wasn’t at Looking-Glass Teas, but rather - okay, that was a lie, he was here pretty often. Despite having another job doing medical research and actually abiding by the Hippocratic Oath, he gave attention to the tea shop he’d inherited after Hatter disappeared because he honestly adored the place, and had ever since he’d first stepped past the threshold. Wanda was mostly in charge of running it now - she’d hired others to work there, did inventory, ensured operations went smoothly - but Stephen liked to come in and work some weird science in the rear of the shop, where he had a whole tea lab set up in order to concoct new blends. All those dried herbs, flowers, spices - oh my. It was a veritable sneeze-fest back there if you had allergies but luckily he didn’t. And despite the shaky state of his hands, he was also determined to do things the old-fashioned way, grinding with a mortar and pestle and mixing; he thought it was good practice for learning to make potions too, since his magic wasn’t the kind set to any specific gram or boiling point. It wasn’t really that exact. He was in the back when he heard the door chime, so he briefly abandoned his latest effort and went out to do...customer service. Ugh. The idea of it was horrifying, but he’d just go on and suck it up. And he thought he may know who it was anyway, a flicker of recognition in sky blue eyes despite how they hadn’t met in person yet. “Katie, right?” he greeted in a rumble, clearing his throat. “How can I help you?” Starting over wasn’t easy and Katie had always thought that if she ever disappeared from Texas, she would just end up back at home. It never occurred to her that she could be taken from a universe that wasn’t her own to a brand new one. Katie sighed, thinking of everything and everyone back in Texas. Looking around her seemingly empty flat, it was going to be a pain starting over again. However, she did it in Texas and she had no doubts that she could do it again here. Plus, everything she needed to do would provide a much needed distraction. Sirius, George, Fred and Ras were here, yes, that was a definite plus, but back home she had James, Josh, Buffy and Jo and of course, Fabian. Feeling the lump in her throat rising again, she looked down at her list of businesses Katie listed. It landed on the Looking-Glass and before seconding guessing herself, she took off, telling herself she just needed tea. However, when she was outside, she stood there for a moment. “Probably a bad idea,” she muttered. Katie wasn’t even sure if Stephen was in, so she could miss him, which would probably be best. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t know her, it would make things less awkward, but at the same time, very few people knew her and despite their breakup, he was still someone that she knew she could always turn to…but things were different here. She sighed heavily as she made her way inside, looking around before hearing Stephen’s voice. She flinched and berated herself quietly in her head. “Hi, yeah, that’s me.” She looked around for a moment, unsure where to start. “Well I don’t have a lot at my flat right now, but I could really use something good for you know, stress.” “Stress,” Stephen repeated, adjusting the sleeves of the (not) fashionable cardigan he wore, thrown over a t-shirt. The Cloak of Levitation was back at the Sanctum, for the moment. “Can do, sure. Tell me about your tastes - like if you’re a minty person. Or a floral person. Or if you like matcha.” He rattled off these options as he moved toward one corner of the shop, glancing back over his shoulder. She’d just gotten here, hadn’t she? And it seemed as if she knew many other people from other reality-hopping adventures, but still. Crash landing into a new universe could feel overwhelming - and lonely. Loneliness - a very large type of emotion, a great abyss - was something he understood and if he could help ease some of it, then fine. He was really just a soft-hearted squish who put up a front consisting of sarcasm and bitterness at the world, because it sure hadn’t done much for him lately and yet he was still out here. Protecting it to the best of his ability. “And, you know - how are you settling in?” was his follow-up inquiry. Just curious. “Floral, definitely but there’s not much I object to, though I guess I don’t drink a lot of black tea.” It was odd, he certainly seemed like the Stephen she knew, but different, but he had mentioned there being different Stephens, so maybe the one she knew back in Texas was one of the different ones he had mentioned. There was still that small voice inside her telling her this wasn’t a good idea, but she had a habit of not always listening to her own advice. Katie shifted uncomfortably. “It’s okay. It’s like my first year of Hogwarts all over again, only knowing a few people but feeling like I’m surrounded by strangers.” She sighed. “I’m lucky though, I have some friends here and that makes the transition a little easier. It’s just harder knowing-” She paused for a second, thinking of Fabian. “Some of my friends from home weren’t even from my timeline, let alone the same universe. I hate not knowing if I’ll see them again.” Her face flushed, and bit down on her tongue. Already she was opening up like this was a normal conversation for them, but she had to remember he wasn’t the same friend she had back home. “Sorry,” she muttered. “A lot of people feel that way when they first arrive in a new place.” She forced out a small laugh. “This place definitely looks a little more interesting than Texas, and hopefully I don’t have to deal with the blistering heat.” Floral. Hold the black tea. Stephen made note of that, pulling one of the jars from the shelf - a couple, actually, that he set down on the counter nearby, so they’d have some options. “You don’t need to apologize,” he assured. “It’s natural to miss your friends. I even have a couple I miss too - and when you take into account timeline shenanigans, that doesn’t help make anything easier either. It just leaves a lot of unanswered questions.” People didn’t do well with those, as a general rule. But he understood the longing for the comforts of a friend who had been with you for awhile. Maybe once upon a time he wouldn’t have understood - but as he evolved in power, and in scope, as he stepped closer and closer to whatever his mystical fate was meant to be, his sense of compassion blossomed too. How far he’d come. “Hopefully you can take whatever weirdness Vallo throws and turn it into something positive - a lot of us have done that,” he added, unscrewing the lid of one canister. “This one’s rose petals - and lemon peel, hibiscus, and apple. It’s good for when you want to unwind at the end of the day. If you want to take a sniff.” Katie couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, Texas wasn’t a walk in the park most days. I’ve been kidnapped by Bowser, some evil turtle character from a muggle video game, I was turned into a guy, the amount of times things got weird in Texas has been too many to count.” Of course it wasn’t always fun, but right now it was easier to dwell on the good crazy things that happened. “There was even a time I was in a Hallmark movie.” Thinking about what was currently going on with some of Vallo’s residents. “I mean it wasn’t me literally, it was an actress that looked like me and she played a character with my name, it was wild to see but fun.” Katie leaned slightly and smiled blissfully as she caught the aroma of the tea. “Oh that is just brilliant. You certainly have an eye for this, or nose, whichever makes the most sense.” As she straightened back up she looked at him curiously. “How long have you been here?” Bowser? Weirdly enough, Stephen actually understood that reference. Still - he definitely didn’t think it’d be possible for video games to come to life, but then again, it wouldn’t be the weirdest (or dumbest) thing to happen in Vallo. “That all sounds par the course for this pocket of the universe too - similar, but different,” he winced, but the thought of all of that nonsense did draw a bit of a laugh from him too. “We’ve had murder turkeys, a trip into the past, various other monsters, raining candy, people turning into puppets when they got angry - I think my favorite thing was all the kids showing up from the future though.” His least favorite? Definitely encountering his other self, the Strange Supreme who wore his grief like an entire rucksack full of heavy boulders. Like chains, shackles he couldn’t escape from - and what he was trapped with for an eternity too. He also offered a couple other teas for Katie to sniff - one was roses, orange blossom, lavender, and some other additions; there was also a green rooibos, with not only rose petals but sunflower petals too. And freeze dried blueberries - very mild and relaxing. But since she seemed to like the first one, he’d go on and scoop some of that out in a bag for tea takeaway. “It’s been - “ Stephen paused, because how long had it been? “Almost a year. A year in February, actually.” Time really flew - and what a bitch it was sometimes. Katie nodded. “A trip to the past, I think someone mentioned that happening in Texas too, well at least I’ll be in good company.” Kids from the future were new, she didn’t think that ever happened in Texas, or if it did no one ever brought it up to her. “Blimey, that must have been shocking seeing future kids. I’d be curious if them coming to the past might somehow mess things up, but this seems like the kind of thing people shrug and try not to question it too much to avoid headaches.” It was nice, not just the teas, which were all amazing, but that she was proud of herself because it didn’t hurt to talk to Stephen. Okay, it did a little, but not as much as she thought it would, and she was going to count that as a win. Katie grinned at him. “It flies by quickly, doesn’t it? It was that way for me too, after a while I had to really think about it.” Indeed. Time was a tricky concept for Stephen - the Masters of the Mystic Arts had been keepers, guardians of the time stone, for a millennia. The infinity stones themselves, they were wild in their rawest form - to use their powers, one had to harness them. He’d studied advanced time magic probably before he was meant to, stubborn to a fault, and if there was one thing he’d learned about time, it was that there was never enough of it - and no matter what, it kept marching forward. No one could stop it. “So far it hasn’t messed anything up, knock on wood. There are infinite possibilities for the future - if you can imagine it, it’s happened somewhere. One particular timeline, a glimpse of it, shouldn’t be taken as the absolute end-all, be-all anyway,” Stephen replied thoughtfully, managing to get stiff and scarred fingers to cooperate enough to effectively bag up that loose tea. The pain of it was background noise anyway - by now, he was just used to it. “Is there anything else you need? I know settling in is always a challenge, but - I can try to help.” He wasn’t always the most warm and fuzzy person, however, he had the Sanctum here to offer to other magic users as something of a safe haven. Or a creepy museum, if they felt like visiting with some books that had teeth. Katie nodded, “I can imagine it, never really thought of it that way back home, but you’ve been around long enough, seen a few things and your perspective tends to change.” It made her wonder if there was a part of her that was still in Texas then, after all that was the assumption about her home, there being a version of Katie. Afterall, Ras was there and here. She couldn’t say the same for George and Sirius, but it was just enough to give her a little bit of hope that her friends wouldn’t have to do without her. It pained her, especially Charlie. He had lost so many people, she knew how jaded he became, and she didn’t want that to happen to him again. She appreciated his sincerity but didn’t want to seem like she was taking advantage, considering she knew him in ways he probably wouldn’t guess. “Oh no, the tea is perfect, thank you. I appreciate it though.” She looked around once more. “This place is incredible, so I’ll definitely be back here again.” Katie smiled warmly as she looked back at him. “How much do I owe you?” “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a welcome to Vallo present,” Stephen said - he had told her the first cup would be on the house and, well, this counted as a cup. Maybe he also just felt like it was the right thing to do - he couldn’t explain why. It just felt right - in a specific kind of way. A hot bowl of homemade soup. A summer’s day in the Mediterranean, where the air and atmosphere was all perfect weather - that sort of thing. The type of yeah, that works that you just didn’t question much - so he wouldn’t question a welcome gift for someone who was probably a little lost and lonely either. “Here - “ Whenever magic flowed through him, his hands didn’t shake - he used whatever power he had (and it was a lot, apparently - but that was a whole other story that he was still trying to come to terms with, post-Strange Supreme) to quell the tremors. He did it now, a quick yet elegant twist of fingers to pull a sleek business card from its metaphysical hidey hole. “The Sanctum address is on there.” The card was dropped into the small shopping bag he procured, along with the tea. “Hopefully you’ll come by sometime.” “Thanks,” she replied, remembering he did offer tea when they had spoken on the network. Katie couldn’t help but smile at the magic, at least being in a place with magic would make her feel more at home. Katie was so used to not always hiding her magic, of course with the locals back in Texas, she still had to be careful, but she got the sense it wasn’t that way here, which was very refreshing. It was freeing, being able to truly be herself, even if she still painfully missed Texas. So, the Sanctum was here too. She didn’t mention it, but took the card with an appreciative smile. Was Cloak here as well? She didn’t see it around, but if Stephen didn’t remember her, it was unlikely the Cloak would, a shame but expected. “I will, thank you, Stephen.” This place was so familiar and yet so different. It was going to take some time to get used to and it was getting harder not to think about all of those she left behind. |