[closed] I can't help this awful energy

[seeingscarlet]

who: Wanda and Loki
what: Magical shenanigans and training.
when: July 18
where: Gramarye
warnings: None

[Wanda pauses outside Loki's office the day after their conversation, biting her lip before knocking. Of course she's a little nervous. How could she not be? Loki's the only other person she knows of who has both real experience with the Mind Stone and the magical knowledge to understand it. He's her best hope.

If he can't help her, at least there's still Stephen and Billy's books, but her powers are still some degree of different. She's not a sorcerer or a mutant...she just is, and whatever this power is, it's hers. Wanda doesn't know if she'll ever reach a point of absolute comfort with them - she has such an odd relationship with them. Some days it really feels like they're as much a part of her as any limb, but then something will happen and everything feels wrong and off, like her foot's asleep or she's having to remind herself to breathe. Still part of her, but uncomfortable and sometimes frightening in its potential.

But deep down, Wanda knows he's right - she can't keep going like this indefinitely.

She manages to school her expression into something more neutral before the door opens. Thankfully, her voice doesn't betray her.]


Hi. [Not her most eloquent but she's here at least.] Is this a good time?

Comments

[seeingscarlet]

If you're sure...

[Wanda, for one, even without her powers - there's no hiding weird behavior like that. She gives Loki a dubious look, but lets her power resume flowing into him at a slower pace. Her power, too, seems to soften into a gentler, more diffused warmth.]

Is that better?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He breathes out, letting it seep a little closer to his core. Not too close, but he's keeping it contained. ]

It is.

Now I want you to pull a specific memory.

[seeingscarlet]

[She's a little surprised Loki wants her that close to his thoughts, but it's nice to not be treated like she's going to go out of her way to hurt him.

The energy flow stays steady even as Wanda's eyes go unfocused. She can multitask.]

Which one?

[dothelokimotion]

[ That's a tough question isn't it. He takes a long pause to consider which one seems safe enough. ]

Before Thor's coronation.

[seeingscarlet]

[She flicks through his memories until she finds it - oh hey, snake wine.]

I see it. What do you want me to do with it?

[dothelokimotion]

Bring it to the forefront of my mind — gently. The idea to control what people see.

[seeingscarlet]

[This, at least, is the one aspect of her powers Wanda has almost complete faith in (as long as the Hulk isn't involved). She already has a grasp on the memory in question, so even though Loki's mind is harder to work with than a regular human's, this is the easiest thing he's asked her to do so far.]

So they don't think about the injury?

[dothelokimotion]

Partially. You can't cut off feeling in the mind, but manipulation of the mind is still crucial in healing.

[ and using nostalgia, happier moments that elicit certain mental responses is important. more suited to her abilities too. ]

[seeingscarlet]

Sometimes the mind is hurt most.

[Wanda gives the memory a few more gentle tugs. That should do it. She could have done it faster, but it would have been more jarring than Loki had signed up for.]

Do you see it?

[dothelokimotion]

[ It flickers in his mind, like a shadow. ]

Yes, but gentle. Focus on the feelings rather than the vision.

[seeingscarlet]

[She does, reaching out to tug on the strings of Loki's emotions to match the ones she can feel in his memory. It's far gentler than what she'd used on their enemies in the ruins - a nudge rather than an outright mental shove.

Easier than pushing someone into unconsciousness or making them flee in terror.]

This shouldn't hurt...

[dothelokimotion]

[ It doesn't. And the barrage is gentle, sweeping through his mind, tugging on old feelings of nostalgia and sentiment. ]

Good. Now we can move onto physical healing.

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda doesn't need a memory to draw on to evoke a specific emotion, but while she briefly considers adding a note of comfort to the feelings she's triggered in Loki, she decides against it. Better to keep to exactly what he's asked for now and figure out her own style later. And with something so sensitive, she doesn't want to do more than he's asked.]

Normally I would able to feel it, I think. Even if I couldn't see the injury.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He nods. ]

You're far more empathetic than me. But that can be dangerous too.

[seeingscarlet]

[Her power keeps wanting to go to his neck for some reason she can't put her finger on. Weird.]

Sometimes I can feel it, if someone I'm close to is hurt. Or if I'm in their minds.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Very strong, then. Loki severed those connections long ago. ]

Do you want that?

[seeingscarlet]

I couldn't stop it if I wanted to.

[And one day, the pain of an enemy burning to death will make her unable to contain an explosion that will set off the schism within the Avengers.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ He blinks, surprised. ]

Not at all?

[seeingscarlet]

[She shakes her head. This is what she'd been trying to get at earlier. She's very, very sensitive. Hypersensitive, even.]

Maybe a little, but only if I do nothing else. And only sometimes.

[dothelokimotion]

[ that . . . is quite the edge. it can add a lot of power, certainly, but the aftereffects . . . ]

Then you need to decide. Your powers can be remain near limitless that way or we can find ways to curb it.

[seeingscarlet]

I wish it was not so...that it didn't affect me so much. But I think maybe for this it is useful if I can still work.

[dothelokimotion]

Are you sure?

[ Because it seems like . . . a lot. ]

[seeingscarlet]

...it isn't normally like this for people like us, no?

[dothelokimotion]

I have never been normal. So there is little point in asking me.

But I limited those connections.

[seeingscarlet]

If I wanted to...how would I limit it?

[It is a lot, and while it has its uses, it would be nice to know how to not have to feel absolutely everything all the time.]