8197/Weather of Wanda

Weather of Wanda
Date of Scene:	06 July 2019
Location:	Wanda's Room - Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Lara Croft visits to discuss storage of magical artifacts. Familial histories are also discussed.
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Scarlet Witch
Tinyplot:	Weather Spheres

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Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had been busy, all over the place really, she hadn't been able to check in with the magical-types to see how the trap was going to catch the person who'd stolen the Summer and Winter Spheres. Today was a day to do that, to put aside her other pending work and come to the Avengers Mansion to check in with the more pleasant of magical types she's met, Wanda Maximoff.

Lara arrives via the use of her black Jeep. She parks it in the drive way after registering with the visitor system near the front gate and is now stepping up to the front doors when two people exit the house. She has her SHIELD jacket on over a black tank top and her badge is even out today and tucked into the little spot over her left breast to display who she is beyond just the navy blue jacket. Its more official that way.

Once inside, Lara reaches up to remove her sunglasses and fold their limbs closed in front of her waist. She looks around the lobby and is greeted by one of the AI drones. "Lara, Croft. Here to see Miss Maximoff?" She tells the robot.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The disembodied voice of Jarvis immediately responds to the query. "Greetings, Lady Croft. I believe that Miss Maximoff is already en-" he manages to get out before a swirl of scarlet light forms in the hallway ahead of Lara. It brightens and then faces away, leaving Wanda there, wearing a simple long-sleeved white shirt with thin horizontal blue stripes, white cut-off shorts and a colorful yellow belt with little similarly colored orbs dangling from it.

"Lady Croft, nice of you to come by," Wanda says. "Would you like to join me up in my room? I set some water boiling before I came down. Or do we need a more formal place for your visit? Maps and fancy graphics and all the things that Tony loves?" she asks, her lips pulling back in a soft smile at the last part.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes go from the swirl of red magic, to the Jarvis drone, then to the arriving Wanda and she shows a soft smile at the fancy display. "My entrances a never quite so impressive." She tells the other woman before she takes in a breath and dips her chin into a single but decisive nod. "Your room is fine, this is nothing so formal as it is just me hoping to help push things along, and... well. You know how it is, worrying about the safety of others and all." She shows another quick smile before she gives another short glance to the robot.

Those things are very impressive, but then most things Stark makes are. "I wonder how long before every household has a computerized floating butler such as that." Lara quietly comments then as she moves to follow after Wanda, while raising her sunglasses up to tuck them by one limb into the low scooping neckline of her tanktop.

"I admittedly would like to buy some to keep in my home back in London. It would be nice to have a way to check in on the place without having to travel so far."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda gives a soft grin at Lara's comment about the English lady's entrances not being as impressive. "I am not so sure of that, Lady Croft," Wanda says, each word spoken slowly as if to give it its due. "I heard some of the security commenting on your arrival last visit. I believe they found your presence quite impressive," she says in a tone that is a mix of gossip and compliment.

Wanda motions to the stairs and leads Lara up into the residence halls and down to her room. "I understand the preparations are proceeding, though getting the right quality to fool yet still have the strength to be effective is a challenge," she comments as they reach her room. Inside her room is very comfortable. An open design, without walls except for the bathroom. There is a little bit of clutter here and there, as if one is seeing Wanda's real living space and not just some place that she entertains visitors.

Wanda goes over to the open kitchen to check on the water which is just starting to boil and make the teapot sing. "Are there going to need to be extra preparations at SHIELD for it?" she inquires as she pulls out a variety of teas for Lara to choose from.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara looks back to Wanda then and the complimentary gossip was both well received and entertaining to the Briton. She flashes a grin at it. "Well, yes. Might be rooted in different origins though, or the same, really. Who's to say."

She continues to look around the interior of the mansion, having not seen these areas that they're walking through. "This reminds me of home in many ways, really. Though it has a... distinctly American flavor to it. I like it though, its a comfortable place."

Once they're enter Wanda's living space she starts to get a better feel for how the Avengers live in this place. "So this is more like a large apartment building for the members of the Avengers?" Lara then asks as she watches Wanda move to the kitchen area and she pursues her a few steps behind, standing off to the side near to a chair that she places her hands down gently onto the back of.

"And... admittedly I'm here to also talk about an alternative solution to SHIELD's storing of magical artifacts. I'm going to pitch to the... ones in charge, that we find a new place to put things that are recovered, and potentially dangerous. Such as the Spheres. I don't think its wise to keep the Spheres there anymore, I think we need to do as Doctor Strange said he'd done and store them in a location that is only rechable through magic that a select few know. Yourself included."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda will show Lara the teas she has on hand and then begin steeping the pot of tea while they talk. "It is I suppose. The building was built by Tony's father back... I think it was during the Depression actually. Which says something given how opulent it is," Wanda says, giving the tiny shake of her head at that which you might expect from someone who didn't come from money.

"Many of the team live here, though not all. And of course it has all of the facilities we need, thanks to Tony," Wanda adds, knowing that Lara has seen some of the labs in the subterranean levels, if probably not much of the base down there.

Wanda moves with a slow but steady purpose, getting to each thing in its time as she sets out a pair of teacups on saucers, and checks if Lara would like milk, honey or lemon with her tea before she begins pouring. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Having a few of us to work together on the defenses and test them seems a fine idea."

Wanda passes Lara's cup over to her. "I wonder though whether your superiors will see the merit in it. I have gotten the impression they often do not like to pass control of such things to others. Though admittedly, my experiences are limited compared to others."

Lara Croft has posed:
The history lesson from Wanda is well received, Lara gives more glances around the room. There's things about it all that are standing out to her, little hints of its past and things that speak to her on a level that she's not prepared to talk about, but thats how Lara's mind works, always trying to solve the little puzzles she sees around her.

"I get the sense there's more to this building than we even realize." She says, not really going into much more detail than that. "I've read a bit about Howard Stark, and though I don't think he was like Tony in too many ways, there seems to have been some very key similarities. I guess I share that sort've thing with my own father though."

The tea is accepted with a thankful smile to the European woman and she nods once after sipping from it. "Delicious." She says then, standing there facing her host and holding the cup with both of her hands.

There's a bit of a silent linger after Wanda's words on the rest and after a moment Lara lets her head shake just a little to the right and back again but she cuts it off before doing a full shake of her head. "SHIELD... isn't my ideal place in life. But its serving a purpose for me. They are very possessive of the items that I've brought in for them, but they give me an ability to take things across borders that I otherwise would have to struggle much harder with. Advantageous, I suppose, is the word I would use."

She draws in a breath then, takes another sip of the tea and takes a slow step forward to get a different angle on her looking around Wanda's space. "Meeting Doctor Strange has opened my eyes up to knowing that there could be better locations for items like these, that aren't SHIELD's vault. This robbery has proven that to me now."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda doesn't seem to mind Lara looking around. She even gestures towards the room as if to invite her to do so, while Wanda moves over to take a seat on the purple couch. Her guitar is sitting out over by the bed, a book of guitar music open to Suite Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby Stills and Nash. A few books are sitting out, some with book marks. Everything from a Harry Potter book to a history of China.

Wanda relaxes in the comfortable couch and says slowly, "Fathers can cast large shadows." She gives a faint smile. "Or, so I have learned." She gives a tiny shrug of helplessness there and takes a sip of her tea, having added just a bit of milk to it earlier, before setting it down on the coffee table. "Your father was an archeologist as well I assume? You seem to have caught the bug from someone, I am guessing?" Wanda asks the British woman, green eyes lifting over to regard Lara as she looks about the room.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara does wander a bit, but she doesn't want to be rude and explore this woman's living space overly-so when they only barely know one another. She does eye the books though and a smile spreads across her lips at seeing Harry Potter, it reminds her of her conversation with the man at the bar in Harlem. But she doesn't comment on it to Wanda as its a bit of a side story and probably not that interesting to most.

She looks to the guitar and the music again, but she's not familiar with that song. Lara has lived a pretty reclusive life when it comes to pop culture, tv, movies and music. What she knows is what has been associated to her work and life, which doesn't really include that band and its catalog of tunes.

When the topic of her father comes up, Lara moves over to sit on the sofa as well, she settles down onto the edge of it and holds her tea above her knees between both of her hands, she sits proper and refined which Wanda might pick up. "He was an archaeologist of great renown, yes. At least in his early career. After my mother passed, he lost favor amongst the... circle of colleagues, as he became obsessed with lore and legends thought to be nothing more than just that."

She glances over to Wanda then and shows a soft smile. "I've proven some of those to be fact, to restore some of his honor in his absence." She seems quite proud of this too, as the look on her face would suggest. "How about your father?" She asks before sipping from the teacup again.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda smiles softly as Lara speaks of her father. She breaks out in a warm chuckle at the comment about Lara having proven some of her father's theories to be fact. "I was just about to ask you about that," Wanda, says with a motion of her hand. "I hope you will forgive me for seeming to think I have some sort of read on you. But I suspect you can be quite tenacious for matters that are of importance to you," Wanda says. She takes a sip of her tea before adding, "Which is usually a good thing, I think. While anything can be taken too far, I think the world could use more of that quality, than less of it."

The Transian woman draws a soft sigh at the mention of her own father. "Well, I believe in some ways he has gained some positive perspectives in recent years. But his strength of resolve is still there. I worry at how much he is willing to turn to the harder response to problems. Or how quickly, at least," she says of her father who is thought of by some in the world as more terrorist than national leader. Not that the two titles have not been held simultaneously by quite a few people throughout history. "My brother and I parted from him, not on the best of terms, many years ago. That led to us joining the Avengers, actually. In more recent times, I am trying to make inroads. But... well? Family, you know," she says, shaking her head again.

Lara Croft has posed:
The first part makes Lara smile warmly to the suggestion of her tenacity. "I have my moments." She replies to that, as she lowers her cup of tea back down to her lap, though those who know her really well would likely describe her to be far more 'lost in her work' than just a matter of mere moments.

When Wanda speaks of her own father, Lara looks over to her and keeps eye contact, a level gaze and a calm expression. She has NO IDEA who Wanda's father actually is, so the words that Wanda speaks with regard to him? Come across as just a woman speaking of her father as though he were any other man, though she gets the hint that he's likely wealthy and in some kind of power.

"Family yes..." Lara states then. "I only have extended family left. Cousins, aunts and uncles. Sadly I don't get along with most of them. A few of my cousins are enjoyable to be around, but their parents do not let them speak to me any longer. An internal feud over the estate left behind by my parents." She draws in a breath, clears her throat softly and flashes a light smile to the other woman.

"At least you have your brother then. I hope he's a good source of family strength for you."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's face lights up. "He is. We're twins, he's a few minutes older and acts as if those minutes are /years/," Wanda says with the kind of warm laugh that can make it easy for someone to be favorably disposed towards her. "And I have a sister as well. Like Pietro and I, she grew up not realizing that Magneto was our father," Wanda says, not having realized this might be a revelation to Lara. "And... I have not been the best of sisters to her, I'm afraid. We were already a little estranged from our father, Pietro and I, by the time she found out her heritage. But of late, I'm trying to mend those fences," Wanda says, looking down at her tea cup and looking more thoughtful.

"Family is good and bad at times. But always family," she says. "I hope that your own is able to put the matter of the estate in the past some day. I realize such things can be difficult, though," she says.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is taking a sip from the tea when the 'Magneto' name drops and it doesn't make her spit-take, but it does make her stop her sip to look over at the other woman. She waits for her to finish speaking before the look of mild shock on her face is more evident to how she internally took that revelation.

"Erik Lehnsherr is your father?" She asks then. "As in, the Magneto who was there on the White House lawn the day that the president was shot and killed?" How many other Magnetos are there in the world though, realistically speaking.

"Wow." Lara softly adds then and there, only a moment or so later. "I can't even imagine how much trouble that must be for you and yours. Having a different surname likely helps somewhat though, I would think."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"It does somewhat," Wanda agrees on having kept the name of the family that raised her. "Probably more so was that we rejected his more radical beliefs and... well, it set us on the path it did. And I hope we've helped to make the world a better place for that. I'm still hopeful for my father. I did not grow up with him as I gather you did with yours. I did not know he was my father until I was a young adult already. I didn't know my religious heritage, and still do not really think of myself as Jewish even if I am half-Jewish by birth," Wanda says.

She gives a small shrug. "But we proceed as best we can in life. And I hope he will play a positive role in the world in the days to come, still," Wanda says. She'll suggest they go for a walk around the grounds to continue the talk, enjoy the pleasant weather while it lasts, giving them more time to talk, both about the magic artifacts, and just getting to know each other, before it is time for Lara to depart.