And when they come for me, when they call my name (Arrival)

[scarletchaos]

WHO: Wanda Maximoff, demons, Hinterlands bears, and YOU!
WHAT: Wanda arrives in Thedas after losing track of time studying magic and eventually starts to settle in the Gallows.
WHEN: Throughout Cloudreach.
WHERE: The Hinterlands + The Gallows.
NOTES: Warnings for: Violence, bloodshed, language, etc. I'll add more as they come up/as needed. Also! There are spoilers/potential spoilers for WandaVision here.

I. Arrival

[Wanda doesn’t know when she falls asleep; torn between making herself dinner and studying the Darkhold at the same time, she loses track of time fairly frequently these days, and this evening proves no different as she throws herself into her studies and keeping up with basic housework as she avoids thinking about Westview and her lost family.

When she drifts off to sleep, she’s still dressed in her newly acquired Scarlet Witch outfit, growing increasingly distracted by the calls of her children, echoes of Tommy and Billy ringing in her head. In her hands, she has pieces of their costumes from Halloween: Billy’s headband and Tommy’s sneakers. In the other, she finds herself carrying the map of the plot of land Vision bought for them and a stuffed dog that remarkably resembles Sparky. Glancing down at it, Wanda smiles, fond and sad at the same time; all of these memories she carries with her, and none of the people part of those memories.

She doesn’t have that long to dwell on what’s she lost; not tonight, at least. In a matter of moments, Wanda finds herself falling, surrounded by green, apparently, and, within the next moment, finds herself landing hard on the cold ground, surrounded by what looks like a whole hell of a lot of trees. She seems to be in a forest of sorts, or, at least, in a meadow within a forest; she’s reminded of autumn in the countryside of America, the way the various greens, browns, and reds shine in the cold sunlight around her.

She only just barely has time to register the scenery when she hears what sounds like a screeching noise just behind her; Wanda turns and finds herself facing what looks like a pile of rags, except that it’s screaming at her, and, oops, that pile of rags sure is blasting ice in her direction.

Wanda just manages to avoid getting frozen by magically summoning a barrier in front of her as she tries to take in the scene around her: at least two of those piles of rags are floating around, weaving in and out of trees, each one seemingly trying to out scream the other, a few floating green…wisps? fly about as well, though they seem distinctly less horrifying than the piles of rags, and, finally, from the corners of her eyes, what looks to be a monster made of fire crawls its way towards her.

And that’s before the bear comes charging through the other side of the trees.]

All of this and a bear, really?

[Without thinking, Wanda’s accent slips out as she tries to asses the situation and come up with some kind of battle plan. Her barrier is weakening, she can feel it, with each passing attack; she’ll have to go on the offensive soon.

As her barrier fades, Wanda ducks and rolls to avoid being hit both with ice and from a bear claw to the face. Instinctively, she shoots off blasts of energy in the direction of the screechy piles of rags and the bear. She misses the pile of rags, but she manages to hit the bear in the face, which only seems to serve the purpose of annoying said bear further.

So things are going great, obviously. And all of this is before Wanda notices the sliver of green embedded in her right hand, of course.]


II. Settling in Kirkwall

[When Wanda makes it to Kirkwall, she’s told she needs to quarantine, for safety purposes. Wanda doesn’t argue; she doesn’t feel like arguing, even if she dislikes the thought of being stuck in one place for so long. It’s not as though she really has much of a choice, after all; she finds herself in a strange new world, one with demons and, apparently, really aggressive bears.

The Gallows is…interesting, to say the least. She might not be able to leave it, but Wanda finds that, at least, there’s much to explore and study, even stuck in one place. When she’s able to, she signs herself up for the Research division; studying, she thinks, she can do, safely, without hurting anyone else, intentionally or otherwise. And she would like to be of use, she thinks; at least joining Riftwatch gives her a purpose, a cause to work towards. Perhaps this can be her new means of avoiding thinking about Vision, Billy, and Tommy, and everyone else she’s ever loved and lost.

As a newly discovered witch, she can’t say she particularly loves hearing about the history and politics of magic here in Thedas, as Thedas is explained to her; she tenses, and decides that she’ll have to be completely and utterly careful here, as she realizes that many of her own abilities could easily get her labelled and condemned as a blood mage.

As she quarantines, Wanda tries to put herself at ease and find ways of setting herself up to be at home, as much as she can. When she is able to, she wanders the courtyard of the Gallows often, exploring the courtyard, mostly, and the people who drift in and out of the Gallows. One of her earliest endeavors, when she has the coin for it and when she's able to leave the Gallows to pursue the shops, will be to find herself clothes so that she doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb in her current outfit.

Wanda keeps to herself, mostly, but she isn’t opposed when people approach her, either. She knows she should work on reaching out and getting to know her fellow Rifters, at least, given that they’re all here together in this particularly shaped boat.]

Comments

gallows quarantine.

[ipseite]

( petrana's history with rifters is — fraught, to say the least. that she is among their number makes it no less so; is, arguably, the source of a good deal of the conflict. she may no longer bear the weight of responsibility that the division heads who've come after her do, but she hasn't yet forgotten how exhausting and exasperating the rifter contingent of the then-inquisition outpost had been during her tenure. it is difficult to navigate the rifters, when nothing can truly be negotiated with a group of people who may have changed their makeup entirely within a matter of months,

but it is a bit easier when it appears, if she is frank, that the shift in the past months, has been all to the better. the showing of thoughtfulness and competence that she's seen, the practicality and willingness to work. to listen and think and do so productively, even when not immediately in agreement with her personally. and she has, she supposes, fallen into the self-same trap that has so often exasperated her in turn: seeing them en masse, "rifters". as individuals, willing to mold themselves to a new shape, there is so much that can be achieved.

as individuals, she can give them a chance. extend to them the kindnesses that were once extended to her, new and uncertain. the newest arrival, she's heard, is a woman and a witch — it is easy enough to find in herself some compassion for that. she thinks of the earliest days, and what she had needed, and so: one of the first people to seek out wanda for her own sake is a woman about half a foot shorter than she is with pinned up blonde hair, neatly dressed in corseted sky-blue with full skirts, carrying a large wrapped bundle and a closed sewing basket.

she had decided to leave vysvolod with marcus, less sure as to how the stranger might take a wolfhound unexpectedly. )

My name is Madame de Cedoux, ( she says, all courtesy, an accent that might remind wanda of france or any orlesians she's overheard but doesn't perfectly match either. ) May I come in?

II (infirmary)

[venenifer]

Just have a seat.

[Most new arrivals, especially Rifters, end up in the infirmary for an initial once-over; sometimes they're dealing with collapsing lungs or trauma from the journey, and sometimes they're just concerned about the new green explosion in their palm.

Whatever the case with Wanda, she's approached by a small and serious-faced elf clothed in black, who brings her a ladle of water.]

My name is Brother Gideon. How are you feeling?

[He barely emotes.]

Lowtown - just shout if you'd like any adjustments

[youwonscience]

[Cosima's been back a few weeks now, and she's gathered a few clothes, but she's decided it's time to properly refill her Thedosian wardrobe. Her current outfit blends at a glance, a loose tunic belted over pants. The fingerless gloves hide her anchor shard, though not her rings. But the glasses are always going to draw some notice; she's not willing to get a native pair at a less precise prescription. And anyone who happens to be from Earth in the right era can clock a pair of Doc Martens when they see them, but well-fitting shoes are worth it in Cosima's opinion.

She's currently considering a stall of cloaks when she glances over and smiles a bit.]

Hey ... I don't think we've met, but I've seen you around the Gallows, right? You must be a new arrival. Finding what you need OK?

[The accent's American, as is (arguably) the demeanor. The friendliness does seem genuine, though.]

ii.

[clawings]

He spots Wanda crossing the courtyard and he does a double-take. He'd thought she was gone, so what does this mean? She's back again, like Slim Shady or some shit? Realizing he's been caught staring, Erik raises a hand and then jogs her way.

"Hey." Holding out a hand for her to shake. "Erik Stevens. You're Wanda, right?" Her reaction will tell him at least whether or not she remembers him.