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-Vip!-
"You can find these things everywhere out here, it's like they're growing on trees!" Pietro happily exclaims while reappearing back at Wanda's side. His arms are currently loaded down with hot dogs, stuffed three high within each small cardboard basket. "Tell ya one thing, we're never going hungry again. The whole 'not being at war' thing is kinda nice, too."
Another 'blink' and one of the containers gets flicked into a dumpster, missing its three dogs.
"Maybe that weird guy was right, we could get a fresh start here. Kind of a fixer-upper with the demons and such but nowhere is perfect."
Having said this Pietro blinks and looks around the alley, somewhat puzzled. "How'd we end up here? This looks kinda shady." Then he looks to Wanda. "Are you looking for trouble again? Aaaaare yoooou..?" he teasingly presses.
*
The hot dog gets an absolutely doubtful look from honey-brown eyes. Wanda stares at the box as if it might be stuffed with slugs covered in hot sauce. The truth isn't too much further away from that.
"And vampires," she says, holding her box and peers down at these strange sausage items. They are close enough to being Slavic culturally sausage should register as food.
A ruby light rolls over her eyes and she looks at Pietro. "They are killing and enslaving people. In Hell's Kitchen. A bad luck name." Her feet dangle over the edge, and she waves her hand.
You know, the very place they're in with the bad luck name eating food where apparently undead like to prowl. He might be on the spot if the knives at her hips and the other one in her boot weren't a giveaway, nor the fact she has been acting almost itchy for the past hour.
Paranoia is a lovely thing. "We won't live here. It is not cleaned out. They need help. Everyone has forgotten how dangerous it is. The old country would have taught them better." It's Romany! Woooo!
*
Supposedly there are demons in Hell's Kitchen…but there has been a 'demon' there for a while now — a blue 'demon' with yellow eyes and a tail who seems to be beloved of the kids in the neighborhood. Maybe not all demons are evil? This blue one, in particular, has taken to watching the neighborhood to be sure that the wrong demons don't try and attack his kids or their families. It means perching on the fire escape at times and watching.
Upon hearing voices, he teleports to the alleyway, appearing with dark smoke and the smell of Brimstone a couple of stories up on the fire escape there.
*
Pietro makes a silent 'Ah' and gently nods a few times while turning to look away from his twin. "Looking for trouble. Come on though, when's the last time you ate? You still need to eat. They're actually pretty good. Not quite as good as this little yellow thing called a Twinkie, though. Go on, take it. Take iiiit," he insists while all but pushing one of the baskets right against her. "We can talk about their silly choices of names later."
He doesn't seem nearly as concerned by the news about vampires as he should be.
"Well not -heeere,- no," he says with a rolling of eyes. "Much nicer places to live in the city. More peaceful. Less stinky. Besides, more problems with creepy critters…" he says then switches to speaking in Romanian, "means they aren't going to be bothering -us.- Think about it."
Vampires -and- demons? Hah, don't be silly. That's just excessive even for this country's take on the word! Nightcrawler isn't noticed just yet. There's lots of things to see, most of them also being easier to spot at night!
*
The demon hunter sitting on that there ledge peers down into the tangle of alleyways. It's probably pointless given the density of the buildings, the way they overhang one another at sick and disturbing angles.
She tries to take a bite of the hot dog without holding her nose. There is a trick to it, but Wanda is practical. One bite… and she looks patently sick, shaking her head. The heaving of her throat is indication enough. "I can't do it. Meat." The buns are pulled apart, though, and those she can polish out rapidly.
He can eat the sausage bits. "The other thing should be fine. I think we best accept no more steaks, no more ham, no more chicken for me any time soon. You are mistaken if you think the vampires will ignore us. I'm looking for one."
That never spells anything good.
"And when I find it the vampire will die properly the way it should." Her nostrils flare. Her head turns and she looks up, already reaching for a knife.
*
That voice he definitely recognizes! He was actually hoping to see the younger woman again, but the man with her…there's a little sigh of disappointment before he leaps down from his perch, "They boil the wursts here," is offered in his German accented Romany. "They do not grill them or sear them as they should." Sharp teeth are shown in a grin even as he lifts a three-fingered hand, "Hallo again! But you do know that it is not very safe to be walking about in the dark here, ja?"
*
There's a half shrug from Pietro and in the next instant he's sitting on the edge of the rooftop right next to Wanda, devouring what passes for meat without the bun. He's not nearly as picky, though at the rate he burns through calories it would be a bad thing if he was!
"Wuth," he nags her around a wad of pseudo-meat.
Alright, salads for sister. Shouldn't be too difficult to find something like that around here. He can find just about anything around here! Piece by piece he's upgrading his own wardrobe, getting just a little bit more flashy with each successful outing. He's just having a ball in America, he doesn't have to hide all of the time!
"Of course they won't ignore us, why would I think they would ignore us?" Wait—she's looking for one? "Sometimes I worry about you." But only sometimes.
As soon as Wanda starts reaching for the knife Pietro is -right- there, one of his hands lightly resting upon the top of hers. "You sure that's the best approach, sis? We only just got here, you sure you want to take on their fights and start attacking everything questionable?"
Third voice! Quicksilver is on his feet in a heartbeat, catching sight of the dark on dark movement. At first he just stands there, staring at the blue guy. "Hi..!" Then he frowns, quickly looking back to Wanda. "You've met him already?" Then he must not be that bad a guy, but..for as fast as Pietro is it still surprises (and forever annoys) him when he finds out that she managed to do something which he wasn't aware of. Not fast enough, apparently!
*
"They'd regret finding me here. Hello up there. Yes, they are savages in food," Wanda says. Her brown hair hangs around her shoulders, pushed back by her headband. Garnet drops glitter at her temples as she peers up at the mobile shadow that resolves to something familiar. Someone.
She chews through the bun, and have no doubt. She burns up calories as fast as Pietro does in her way. The prohibitions of magic are, however, inviolate and insensible.
Her teeth set for a moment, forehead lined in thought. "Maybe you need to remember what we know about vampires. They are dead. They feast on the blood of the living. They often kill their victims. They kill them to live when they used up their time. Now they are out controlling people and making them sick, making them injured and hurt." Facts laid out in fine detail by the Maximoff sister have no pause, but jab neatly one after the other. "I think if I'm in Hell's Kitchen and I see something with fangs and no heartbeat, looking at my throat like you do that wurst, I'm going to stab it. You back me up on this." She waves her bun at Kurt. "My brother Pietro. This here, he is Kurt. He is not one of the dead or one of the things from the hell portal in the park."
*
Nightcrawler looks at Pietro and then at Wanda. Brother! Ah! That's good! "Kurt Wagner, from Germany," is offered still in Roma. Isn't it nice to be able to find another sort of 'family' so far from the origin? His grin fades as Wanda continues to talk about vampires and demons and killing them. "Ah, no. I am sorry, but I cannot let you kill anyone here. If they are demons, we will go to the Church for help, but there will be no killing." He actually seems fairly firm on that.
*
Whoa boy, Sis is putting her foot down. Pietro holds both of his hands up, palms out. They're both empty now, the collection of little baskets set down on the rooftop beside him. "Alright alright, I'm just saying that if we're being watched and all that maybe we don't want to seem too blood-thirsty, ourselves. There's a fine line between random heroics and butchering undead monstrosities, that's all."
Gees, she should really learn to relax sometime…
Then Kurt here puts -his- foot down, to which Pietro is quick to extend a hand in the blue guy's direction with a very obvious expression of 'See, I told you so!' "First impressions, am I right?"
-Vip!-
"Hey there, nice to meetcha. This country's really messed up, isn't it?" he asks while holding a hand in greeting to Kurt. Now that he's close enough to offer a hand, and all. Frankly, he's rather glad that Wanda was able to make a friend here. One that doesn't appear to think she's crazy. It's important to him! Though, one question still lingers on his mind…
"How is the Church going to help with that?"
*
Wanda gestures down to the alley below, where movements are furtive at best. "And what about all of them, Pietro?" Her eyes are narrowed a little. "Do you think they can sleep easy in their beds being stalked? I have no proof signs of faith are enough to repel them. I wish that I did."
That is a concession but she is still thinking while she chews over the bread and her thoughts. FInally she can endure no more, speaking up again. "Too much is unknown, but these undead abominations are attacking and hurting people. Maybe they can help, the church. Why not already when the demons are crawling through Central Park and now vampires in Hell's Kitchen? It is two dangerous issues."
*
Nightcrawler takes the offered hand briefly before looking between the siblings and back to Pietro, "If there are truly demons and such, then the Church and the cross will harm them, ja? That is what the stories say…" the few that he's read or seen in movies. Either way. the Church can perform exorcisms, right? "Demons are hurt by what is holy." He then looks to Wanda, "I have not yet seen these Vampires and I have been watching in the night. Maybe I haven't seen everything yet, but I will not let you go about killing. What if you kill something that is not a vampire or a demon?"
*
It's a tricky situation, to be sure. Pietro would really like to be able to help these people. He would! But his top priority in all of this is -their- safety. Primarily, -Wanda's- safety.
Kurt's allowed to say his piece without him interrupting, though he does let out a soft sigh. Frustration, impatience, mix of the two? This isn't the first time the twins haven't seen eye to eye.
When he reappears behind Wanda and rests his hands upon her shoulders he does so with a gentle touch. A delicate situation deserves a delicate approach. Especially with her.
"Listen to the Blue Dude. We're guests here, Sis. This isn't our fight. These aren't our people. If you want to butt heads with these creatures then let's not instigate a war of our own. Let's find someone else who's already trying to help these people so we can then help -them.- No bloody crusades. Okay..? This country is different. Really..really different. We don't know what the rules are here. Maybe they've already found a better way to deal with this problem."
*
Wanda's gaze is still flickering with those faint traces of powdered garnet running around her pupils. "I know what you are worried about. Is this right? Is this our place or do we wait? It might be wiser to wait and see. Find out where the sides are, and then we take our time to approach it carefully. This country is not our country, we have to be careful."
Then she looks up at Kurt, still rather mild. "You are worried someone could be hurt, someone innocent injured. Believe me. I don't want anyone to have a hair on their head cut by accident or deliberately. These are your worries, yes?"
Her hands dusted, she lets the crumbs roll over the edge. Under her twin's hands, her shoulders dip a bit. Not enough to hint at defeat, but accepting the closeness. Pietro's forearm is held above the wrist by her long slim fingers. "It's reasonable. These are good things to ask. But Pietro, I have sanction from an authority, about the highest there is. What do you think I am doing but helping the person trying to help these people?" So that explains what she gets up to when not slogging through an alley with knives drawn. "And Kurt, I ask where the Church is. I also can tell a demon from a not demon. They look very distinct to me in ways that might not to others."
Her palm opens up and a small swirl of cerise energy starts to take shape out of formless mist. It rotates on a merry axis.
*
"My name is Kurt," he gently corrects Pietro…apparently 'Blue Dude' isn't a moniker he prefers. He watches the speedster move protectively behind his sister before he looks back to Wanda, "What authority?" Is she here from the Church? That might also be disappointing but in another way. He gestures in the direction of the Church, "It is not hard to find." It's a rather prominent landmark.
Her boast of telling a demon from a not-demon has him tilting his head, "Can you? Are you so very certain?"
*
Pietro releases a slooooow breath when Wanda seems to be standing down. A glance is passed back to Kurt, silently mouthing 'Because you're bluuuue!' then immediately following it up with a cheeky grin as a silent 'thank you.'
He's all set to give his twin a hug when he stops short, immediately leaning around her side to make eye contact with her. He'll spread fingers across the top of her head and give both a little turn in his direction if he has to! "Wait what now? When did this happen? With who? This seems kind of important. Why didn't you tell me this?" he rapid-fires at her. And more importantly, how is he supposed to help keep her safe if she's already leaving him in the dark?
Irritated Pietro is irritated.
"Well -I- still haven't gotten permission, which means -I'm- not fighting." Which also means that if they run into any trouble she can expect him to grab her and run really quickly -the other way.-
So there.
*
It isn't a boast. The statement has none of the bravado or polish that a boasting statement would have. It's almost bitter in a way supposing someone catches the hidden whispers under the main statement.
"Yes, Kurt, I can be very certain. It would be like seeing the color orange." The little cerise ball of energy floats between her fingers, wrapped around the flexing digits without coming into actual contact. "They are like another color to me. I can't ignore it. I know it when I see it and feel it." That might be the simplest way for her to describe it even as she allows that little beam to weave around her.
But being scolded by her brother does set her feet against the ground, and she rocks forward, landing on her knees. From there she gets up to a standing position. "It happened not that long ago and I didn't tell you because I was holding vigil and trying to keep that vampire's curse from getting any further than it was." The magic goes up like fireworks, a harmless spackling of fuchsia energy turning into little pinpricks and bubbles. "You can be mad at me. I could not let someone die when I was placed to help. It's hard to use that much energy. I had to sleep. You wanted to know. Now you know."
*
"What authority," Kurt still presses, looking from Pietro to Wanda and back again. Yellow eyes narrow at the 'blue' comment but he rolls his eyes at the grin. Everyone's a joker. Those eyes then glance back to Wanda, "Your…" he gestures to whatever the magic thing is in her hand, "It does not say that I am a demon?" Is he testing or asking.
"I still cannot let you kill anyone here. These kids…They need to be protected but they also need to know that hurting someone is not the only way."
*
If she couldn't let someone die when she was around, then..Wanda saved somebody's life. Right..? Pietro's choosing to see it this way. It's the best-case scenario on a couple of levels, and it means he doesn't have to stay mad over the ordeal. Instead he makes a show of hanging his shoulders and tilting his head back slightly, releasing his next breath upward so it gently plays through his bangs.
Then he looks to Kurt, passing a thumb back at Wanda. 'See what I have to live with?'
There's also the open display of her magic out here. In the city. At night. It hadn't been such a big deal before but she seems to be getting a bit ..more lively with expressing that side of herself.
"I'd like to know that too, you know."
-Vip!-
While he stands there (over -there- now) and watches her with an expectant expression he does so while absently stuffing another hot dog into his mouth. Just what the heck is he going to do with her…
He hasn't ruled out duct tape as an option just yet.
*
No death and a good day dawns. Hands fitted together, Wanda stands at her full height and peers down into Hell's Kitchen in all its shadows. Not towards the church but an axis cutting right back to Central Park if someone drew a line there. It eases her to focus and the weight of the world shifts a bit. The distrust, that's nothing new.
Second guessing by others? Still nothing new.
She does lift her chin a little, and rubs her thumb over one of her rings banding her knuckles. "The authority of the foremost magical guardian on this planet. A parallel, he would be the Pope to all mages and mystics who follow a similarly…" Here comes the choice, and she wrinkles up her nose. "A benevolent 'white' creed like Christianity is not so simple, but it serves. We do not use our magic to harm other people. We try to keep people safe. And he is the strongest defender of the faith, supposing magic were faith in its way, we have."
The brunette isn't exactly knocking things lightly, now is she?
"Have I your permission to give you a good look, Kurt, and tell you? Though you being concerned about being a demon and not hurting people tells me nearly everything I need to know." Her eyes are still narrowed against the dimness in the depths of the city. It's hard to see when there is so little light.
*
Nightcrawler can't help a little grin at Pietro's gesture and his apparent impatience. That must be tough to move so quickly when the rest of the world doesn't. At Wanda's explanation though, the grin fades, "I…I do not think that counts. Maybe for you, but no one except God can choose to take a life and if you kill then you are setting yourself up above Him." His piece said, he then offers, "Maybe another time. I am not too sure that I want to know myself. But please…no killing here. These kids see enough violence that it should not be in front of their homes."
*
Well, Wanda sure does have a lot to say about the situation. Except for one..minor..detail. "Still waiting for a name, Sis," Pietro calls out, having to try -really hard- not to tap his foot. He probably won't know this guy by name alone but he'd feel better knowing who it is, darnit!
To try and put his impatience at ease he's suddenly holding a folded paper airplane, made out of one of the empty 'dog cartons. He makes a face while concentrating on some unseen target then gives it a little push into the air, watching as the higher up wind catches it and immediately sends it veering off course and tumbling all over the place.
So much for that idea.
And, rather than dive into the matter of vampirism and his own thoughts on the subject, he decides not to add to the conflict.
-Vip!-
Suddenly he's got Wanda by the arm. "How about you show me where this super funky magical master guy is hiding so I can introduce myself?" It's promptly followed with another look back to Kurt, complete with smile and an empty hand held up in a departing gesture. "See you around, buddy."
He's not annoyed at Wanda! Really, he isn't!
Maybe he is a little bit annoyed.