6036/Genoshan Home for the Holidays

Genoshan Home for the Holidays
Date of Scene:	22 December 2018
Location:	Genosha
Synopsis:	Wanda decides the family should celebrate the holidays, and Lorna helps her decorate. Magneto, surprisingly.. doesn't disagree. Tinsel for everyone!
Cast of Characters:	Scarlet Witch, Polaris, Magneto

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Scarlet Witch has posed:
Someone was in the holiday spirit, and that someone was Wanda. Not only had she come home for a visit, but she'd decided that Papa's choice in decorations (ie: lack of such things) just wasn't acceptable, so she'd sent herself on a self-imposed mission to not only hunt suitable holiday trappings, but to decorate the palace.

There's no possible way this could go wrong, right?

Polaris has posed:
The youngest daughter of Magneto, was coincidentally, the one that mirrored his powers the most and his temper in some cases. The green haired young woman had spent the last several months in his presence, training and learning. She'd sunk deep into politics and had well and truly become part of Genosha's finer points. Which meant that she picked up the news that her half sister was visiting fairly quickly.

Lorna stepped down the stairs to the main hall, wearing a loose fitting pair of floral patterned pants and a violet halter top of soft, flowing fabric. Flip flops smacked against the floor as she left the stairs behind. She peered around the corner, spotting Wanda in all her holiday glory. She blinked, pausing, her lips parting in surprise. "Wanda? What.. what are you doing exactly?" She barely restrained the laughter that tickled at the corners of her lips.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
It was difficult to say if Wanda shared her father's temper, given that the young woman tended to keep herself to a pleasant, smile filled demeanour. Likely because it would be entirely too easy for one such as herself to use her power to do well meaning, but terrible things. That, and she's experienced the results of her own temper enough as a youth just coming into her poweres that there was an accut awareness of just how terrible she could be were she not endowed with such self-awareness.

It had left her out of politics for all the most obvious reasons. And, most often, left many to rather underestimate her.

Today, however, she's not only her usual smiles, but grinning with impishness as her sister joins her. "I am doing the holidays. I did decide that we should be festive. There are too many of the frowns that I see on the street, and I am thinking that maybe if we make the holiday spirit alive, then there will be less unhappy?" It should be noted that Wanda had procured a very large amount of decorations, and, in the spirit of Wanda, none of them match. This will not be a Martha Stewart Christmas she is creating.

"And now you must come and join me. It is too bad that Papa and Pietro are not here to join us. We could make it be a family tradition." Well, start one. It wasn't like they had ever gathered in the past to deck the halls and celebrate the season as a family. One might wonder why Wanda has this bee in her bonnet now.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna approached, one hand on her hip while the other swung loosely at her side as she came to a stop beside her half sister and arched a green eyebrow upwards. "Hanukkah already ended though?" She tilted her head to the side and waved a hand dismissively around her. "For all that we didn't celebrate here. You know how Dad is." She shrugged and leaned closer to her sibling, making to hesitantly loop an arm around Wanda's shoulder in a half hug.

"Not that I'm complaining that you're here. Things have been more or less quiet around here. Or at least, what I've been told it's been quiet." She made a face at that, "I'm sort of out of the loop." She flashed a sheepish grin at that, rocking her weight back on her heels as she maneuvered around to look at all the various decorations around.

"Are you planning to cover the whole palace or just the main entryway here?" Curiously, the youngest child of Magneto poke around through the various shiny baubles and garlands, turning them this way and that way in the afternoon light.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's lips bow over a secretive smile, "I was thinking the main foyer. Maybe Papa's study. I think a tree for us in the family room? Maybe we could come together as a familar and be family?" Because for all they cared for one another, and defended one another fiercely, time, tides, and differeing schedules meant that the times everyone gathered together were few and far between. And a whole holiday designed specifically as an excuse to do that? You'd think Wanda had just invented it the way she was going at the foyer.

"And yes, Hannukah is already past. Not taht Papa seems to care very much about it. I think he likes to be able to say we are Jewish more than he likes to be Jewish. Besides, we are only using the bits we like."

There are all kinds of baubles and streamers and tinsels and bells and doodads and whatnots and lights in Wanda's boxes and bags. Some are absolutely gorgeous and exquisite heirloom glass pieces - others are nothing more than plastic baubles, as kitchy as they come. She doesn't seem to have discriminated in her acquiring.

Polaris has posed:
A laugh escaped Lorna as she pulled a long string of garland, shiny and metallic from one of the boxes, it kept going and she wound it around her arm and shoulder. "Like Dad will sit still long enough for a family night. You know how he is." She drawled, freeing the rest of the garland from the box and setting it aside with care so as to not rip anything. She bent over the box further, gently picking out bits and bobs and seeing what there was to work with.

"And I think you're right, Dad is Jewish when he says he is. I mean.. to be fair, I still eat bacon and I'm really not all that upset about the idea of a tree either." She flashed Wanda another grin and tugged free a string of lights, all of which lit up as she touched the prongs with her finger tips.

"Think if we cover his study he'll be more annoyed that there's glitter rather than Christmas decorations all over?" She paused, "If we really wanted to bug him we could add some Yule stuff. Straw goats? I mean.. it's more Asgardian but goats are cute?" She teased.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"Oh! Goats!" Then Wanda giggles. "Papa would kill us. Maybe a less farm animal version of Yule? We could do all the greens and maybe a fire." Her eyes widen, and she gets a look of sudden excitement. "We could do a bonfire!"

One thing is for certain, though, she agrees that perhaps the garlands and glitter might be too much for him.

"And Papa would too gather with us." He'd try, at least, Erik seeming to enjoy indulging most of Wanda's whims. "It would be nice to be the family for the holidays. We do not see each other so much."

There's a certain delight from the Scarlet Witch as her sister lights up the lights. "See? You do too understand." Wanda, too, did most things unconventionally, and to be frank, that's exactly what she'd have done. "We could burn a straw goat outside. Wrap him up in garlands of greens. Only, I do not think Papa dances around bonfires." That impish glimmer lights in her eyes again. "Maybe if we both begged him?"

Polaris has posed:
A chortle of laughter escaped Lorna and she slowly shook her head. "Why don't we get some more of the real trees and pines around? Actual holly? Mistletoe?" She wiggled her eyebrows up and down as she stepped back and directed the holiday lights up to the arch above the stairwell, using the metal inherent in the palace's structure to magnetize the string of lights to it. Her hands held out stretched before her as she moved them. A twist of her fingers and it shifted further over to the side.

"Fire might not work so well.. given this //is// a tropical island, you know." She paused, "Hmm, maybe we can talk to someone that can make us snow for a night.." She tapped her chin in thought.

"So, are we going to do gifts?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda stops what she is doing, and claps her hands in delight. "Yes! Exactly that." Then she grins, murmuring slyly, "As for the fire, we will leave that to me."

Which is to say, if Wanda wants a bonfire, there will be a bonfire.

She pauses to watch her sister place the lights, and periodically, were anyone to be paying attention, they might note that certain bulbs change colour - the string realigning to a more pleasing colour combination as Wanda considers it from a distance. Once or twice, a bulb changes from red to green, or green to blue, and back again as she decides the initial colour was actually better. It creates an effect not unlike the string is twinkling in places.

"How much holly and mistletoe do you think we would need?" Wanda looks thoughtful. It's not like she can't get them some.

Polaris has posed:
Wanda's manipulation of the lights and changing of colors didn't go missed by her younger sister, and Lorna smirked faintly as she dug about the boxes for more strings of lights to direct up the stairs, wrapping them up the railings. "Hmm enough green, fresh garlands, of actual pines to go up the railings. A big center piece over the arch. Definitely a few wreaths..." She hmmed under her breath.

"Ribbons too. The thick velvet kind. Or maybe gold. What do you think?" She arched a brow, her arms out stretched as she magnetic decorated the entry way to the palace. It would seem Wanda had her sold on the idea of decorations.

"I'd say lets go with some candles, but I dunno. Might be too hot. Like I said before.. tropical island and all." She murmured, tilting her head as she scooted the lights further down, not entirely happy with their placement.

Magneto has posed:
     Hanukkah had come and gone, with little more than a small menorah in his study and some blue decorations. The girls were right, their father was never really one for the celebration, he never talked about it, but he was always just a little sad around this time, remembering the family that was taken from him as a boy.

  Erik's leather soles clack on the tile floor of the hallway, and he stopped soon after he started down. "What is this?" He asks, more confused than angered.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I do not know. I think we could have cold fire." Because Wanda. And because now that she's thought of it, the thought of flickering flames, that didnt heat the place up, and didn't set it aflame, really appealled to her. "I do not think Papa would object?"

She's considering Lorna's rearrangement of the lights, as well as visualizing where to put the greenery and wreaths that she's yet to produce, when Erik appears.

"Papa!" Wanda says delightedly. "We are decorating for the holidays. It is too much sad everywhere, so I did decide to make it cheerful. Lorna thinks we should do Yule." Wanda considers all the other decorations she's brought. "I suppose I can donate these somewhere else. They are still good."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna paused, her hands lowering to her sides as she turned about as her father approached, she knew vaguely where he was. She always did, his magnetic presence in the world was as powerful as magnetic north to her senses. A magnetic bond connected them, and she lifted up on those fields with a twirl on her toes. Her flip flops grazing the ground as she shifted and resettled. A warm smile on her features.

"Hey Dad, Wanda brought decorations. I thought maybe it would be better to do Yule... People that work around here celebrate, and it is the season." She shrugged, glancing toward her older sister. "And she's right.. we don't spend an awful lot of time together as a family. And we should." She hesitated, her eyebrows furrowing as she waved a hand around.

Magneto has posed:
     Magneto was wearing a suit currently, no helmet as of yet, that was sitting at the front of his desk, an ominous sight much better than any nameplate could be.

  "If you two think so, it's fine." He comments, a tinge of warmth in his tone. "I think the staff wouldn't mind a change in decor." He comments, giving the two a fatherly embrace. "Too bad your brother couldn't be here too."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda gives Lorna a semi-triumphant look. "See? I told you. Papa wouldn't mind so much." Though he might not have appreciated his office being glittered. Magneto may have just been saved from that by the occassion of Yule. There's a certain irony to that.

"I have not heard from Pietro in far too long," Wanda says wistfully. "You do not think he is in troubles?"

Should Lorna care to notice, there are boughs of greenery just off to the side of the bags and boxes of ornaments. Certainly the boughs of pine, holly, and cedar were not there before.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna leaned into the embrace her father offered, a smile on her features as she closed her eyes and simply sank deeper into the warmth of having family around. It had been too long since she'd spent time with her half siblings and the idea that something bad might have happened to Pietro made her stomach knot worriedly. Green eyes flickering up to her father as she stepped back, glancing to the green boughs of holly and pine. The fresh scents of green and growing things that filled the room suddenly.

Distractedly, she turned her gaze back to Wanda with a knowing look, after all, who else would make the decorations appear like that?

"I think the staff will appreciate not having to pick up glitter everywhere. Though, we should make sure to check on the boughs as they dry out." Her gaze returning back to her father again.

Magneto has posed:
     "I have not heard from him as well. I would have figured he contacted us if he were in trouble." Erik says with a small sigh. "Yes. Dropped needles make for very poor floor covering." He says, agreeing with his youngest. He moves to his desk, taking out a sheet of paper to jot down something before he forgot. "I think some tinsel should also do in the foyer."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda, too, is worried, but she brushes the concern aside by virtue of the fact that she felt in her heart of hearts she'd know if Pietro needed her - which left her with the slightly aching possibility that he /didn't/ need her anymore, a much worse scenario in Wanda's mind - and the fact that they all needed distracting from such sobering conversations.

"I am much better than that, Papa. Shame. You should know better." And, it was true. Over the next days, weeks even, there won't be a dropped or shed needle, and every bit of greenery will remain as green and as fresh as this moment.

Magneto is forgiven by viture of his suggesting tinsel for the front foyer. "Oh!" Because tinsel.

Polaris has posed:
A shrug followed from Lorna, and she tucked her hair back from her face, green curls spilling through her fingers and over her back as she moved, trailing lightly behind her father as he moved to his desk. "What if he can't contact us because he is in trouble?" Her eyebrows furrowed and she glanced toward Wanda briefly, if anyone would know if something was wrong with Pietro, it would be his twin. Right? Wanda would have to know.

At least that's what Lorna figured.

She turned her focus back to her father after a beat as he suggested tinsel in the front foyer. She blinked, her eyebrows shooting upwards. "Are you sure? Tinsel? Huh, I hadn't thought about it." She tilted her head to the side, considering. "Not too much though. It would look tacky if we put too much on things." She sighed softly, and shifted to perch on the arm of a chair in her father's office. Her legs crossing.

"...I was thinking about going to visit New York again after the holidays."

Magneto has posed:
     Erik looks down as he is scribbling down his note. "Yes sparingly. But it would look nice."

  "If he would contact anyone, it would have been Wanda...our last encounter was not on the best of terms." He then finishes that note. "Oh, yes. Cannonball and Magik came over asking about those unfortunate souls... Of course Lorna, if you wish to visit, by all means."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I would know," Wanda confirms. "He is not dead. Nor is he in danger." At least none Pietro is willing to admit to himself at this point - she would know that. Their bond was strong. She would know.

"If you wish to come to New York, Lorna, I will show you around? Maybe introduce you to my friends at the Avenger's mansion?" A shy smile. "Introduce you to Nolan." Nolan who Wanda is very obviously fond of.

Polaris has posed:
A creak of the desk followed as Lorna pushed off from the chair she'd perched on. "Well if he's not in trouble and he's not dying then he's just being ...Pietro." She huffed, and crossed her arms as she glanced toward the decorations. Her lips twisted, and her throat tightened in sudden emotion. Wanda wanted to spend time with their family, and Pietro wasn't there. Wasn't part of it.

"Anyways, yeah, I'd like to spend some time with you there Wanda." She moved to pluck up a few boughs of holly and garlands of pine. "For now though, I'll need some help getting all of this put up. So we can surprise Dad when he finally emerges from his study again in a few days." She teased, a smile on her lips.