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Who: Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers
What: Late night insomnia conversation
Where: Their house at 1501
When: Tonight
Warnings: Wanda's still grieving obviously so depressing thoughts about her dead twin are rarely far. Will add as necessary.

[It's been nearly a month since Wanda's arrival in Hadriel. A month of healing after her injuries. A month of exploring this strange underground city. A month of trying to learn what she could about Hope and Fear, and a month of trying to adjust to this new lifestyle. One with teammates. Housemates. A couple she would even tentatively call allies if not friends.

One without any apparent purpose or solid goal. She'd had the well-being of Sokovia motivating her before. HYDRA. Ultron. The Avengers after that. She'd had direction and then she'd had nothing at all. Suffice to say that it leaves her with far too much time to think to herself, and more often than not at night when she finds it hard to sleep.

With a cup of what passes for tea, Wanda leans on the railing of the outdoor balcony next to her room, and looks out at the landscape. From here she can see Hope's Temple, or at least the top of the roof, and the tower of apartments near it. They peek out above the other houses in their spiral. She wonders what Pietro would think of this place, if with all of his speed he'd have explored it twice-over by now, perhaps have found something they might be missing.

She wonders if she'll ever get used to the feeling of wrongness that's always lingering at the back of her mind, that it isn't right that she didn't also die with the brother she was born with.]

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[He's aware of most of what happens in the house, even when he's lying there trying to sleep. He knows Arya doesn't always stay in her room, slipping out into the night like a quiet cat on padded feet. He knows Cashmere and Wanda both have nightmares, ones that have them stirring in their sleep sometimes. He knows that they both sometimes ignore sleep to muse in their own way.

He knows Wanda's been on the balcony for the last hour and it's when it passes the hour mark that Steve gets up, shuffles quietly out onto it from his side, hair a little mussed from his own attempts (and failures) at sleep. He watches her for a moment, something he's sure she's aware of, then comes over and leans against the balcony beside her, looking out over the top of what they can see, noting how the light cycle of the unknown light source was at 'night' casting everything in shades of greys and blacks and purples. He didn't look over at her as he spoke.]

I still haven't figured out where the light's coming from...

[Wanda can sense Steve before he ever opens the door out onto the balcony. It's not the first time she's spent time out there alone, not the first time that he's found her there. She's surprised to find that this time he joins her, however. Straightening slightly from the railing, she glances over to him, then away once more.

Her eyes are drawn up toward the sky--ceiling of the cave--when he mentions the light.]

It could be a natural quality of the stone there. Perhaps it isn't as solid as we think. There could be light above it that shines through...I think there are other caves back in our world that have glowing worms also--though I don't know anything about them. Just that they exist.

[She purses her lips together.]

If it were thin enough to show the outside light, it would be on a regular twenty-four hour schedule. I've been keeping track and it's not. Which means one of many things and I'm too tired to go into it right now.

[He rested his arms on the rail, leaning over and looking down before he turned to look over at her.]

You haven't been sleeping.

[Wanda's glad that he's the one who veers the conversation away from something that requires too much critical thought. The ceiling, the light, day and night cycles, these are things she simply doesn't have the capacity for.

Of course, talking about herself isn't always easy. She hasn't been sleeping, or at least not well. Grimacing, she shrugs.]

No, I haven't. It's--[Does she want to go into it? To tell the truth? Perhaps it would be alright. It's not as if her problems are anything that he can fix.] It's hard to fall asleep. When I do, I dream. Of Pietro and I, before HYDRA. Of my glimpse into Ultron's mind. Worse, that moment during the battle when Pietro...

[She falls silent, reaching up to scrub her face with her hands.]

Too quiet when I'm awake and not quiet enough when I sleep.

[He watches her wrestle with her thoughts, with what she can tell him versus what she wants to. He sees the pain, that bit of grief, and he feels sorry for her. Sympathetic, if only because he'd been there. His hand came up to give her shoulder a brief squeeze -- a moment of solidarity.]

It would be nice if we had an off switch. Just a way to turn it off to get some rest. But every time it's quiet, every time there's down time, it's like... like the mind just uses it to go over everything. Especially things you don't want to remember. I wish it was just as easy as turning it off...

[Wanda's used to casual touch from Pietro--or at least she was. They were always comforting one another throughout the long years alone. With teammates? Not so much. But it's been so long that the most she does is still under his touch, having no urge to move away but neither does she feel like she can lean into it. Better to stay still, to simply hope he'll linger a while.

It feels weak to think that way but she's tired and worn.]

An off switch. Wouldn't that be nice. [Her lips press together, thinning.] I think if we had such a thing none of us would ever turn it back on again, however. It would be easier to be numb all of the time I think.

[He didn't keep his hand there longer than that small squeeze. Not because he didn't think she needed it, but because he didn't know how welcome it would be. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel crowded when she was already having problems. He wasn't Pietro and he'd never try to be. But he could be her friend.]

I don't think that's true. I wouldn't leave it off. Sometimes we need to remember the bad times along with the good. It reminds us of why we put ourselves out there. Why we do what we do. A break from it would be nice, but I wouldn't want to lose that feeling forever. Because after the pain's gone, there's just the memories of the good times. We need those.

[To a degree, Wanda hates that he's right. She dislikes to admit it but emotions are important. The things she feels, the pain, the loss, it's part of what kept her strong and focused on the good of her people. The loss of her parents helped to do that. And none of it would have hurt so much if she hadn't loved them as much as she did. The same goes for Pietro, several times over.]

Perhaps. It doesn't make it any easier. [She wets her lips and then presses to the balcony railing, leaning over it slightly and then back again. A restless move.] How do you do it? How do you manage after everything? To sleep? To cope? To continue on...

[A soft laugh, almost a self depreciating one as he runs his hand over the back of his head.]

Because I have to. You keep going or you give up, and I've never been the give up kind of guy. Because I know that I'm doing good, even if it's just a little, and that someone needs that little bit. It makes it worth it.

[She doesn't point out that have to doesn't mean want to. That there's a sense of obligation that comes with that word "have." Thinking this way is what works for him and one of them ought to be strong.]

That's how I felt about Sokovia, when Pietro and I were still trying to save it by whatever means possible. Giving up was not an option there, and I think if we were in New York I could have put the same effort into protecting the world with the Avengers. I'm not certain how we're meant to "keep going" here in this place, and without a path it's difficult to keep from focusing on everything that keeps me from sleep.

[She offers him a wry smile, faint as it is.]

I wonder if I would have felt the same way in post-War Sokovia.

[It can be the same thing for Steve. He'd always wanted to be able to do things for others, to be able to make a difference. Now he could and it was required, both from others around him and himself. He couldn't do any less. It would have been a waste of a great man's gift.]

'Keep going' means different things depending on where you are, what's happening. I think what it could mean here is just... keep getting up in the morning. Help people who need it if you can, and don't give in to the bull these gods are spewing. Keep trying to find a way out of here. Giving up isn't an option, Wanda. Not for us.

I don't plan on giving up.

[It would be easier to stay strong if she could sleep, however. Not that she'll say that. Again, it would sound too much like complaining and Wanda just--it's not what she's trying to do.]

It helps that my leg is healed. As for the gods, I think it will be interesting to see where they try to lead us. Fear, I don't trust. Hope...Hope I'm reserving judgment on for the time being.

I don't trust either of them. One seems to be intentionally trying to get the worst out of us and the other one... has no idea what he's doing, doesn't care about us as people because he seems to have no idea what people are...

I can't say I'm thrilled these are the people in control.

Neither can I, but then I would rather no one be in control at all. Certainly not over all of us, and definitely not in a place like this.

We should...we should try to do something. To find a way out through the tunnels or search these buildings from top to bottom for anything we might have missed. There has to be another way out, we just haven't found it yet.

The tunnels are nixed. The bears have taken to them and last time I went through them, they just dumped me back out here. Every one I took. I don't know if it's a maze or some weird misdirection sense, or if that's just how they were built, but... I'd rather not worry about you getting eaten.

[She manages a small smile as she looks over at him.]

It's nice to know someone would worry about such a thing. [About her.] If it concerns you, you could come with me. Mark sure my career as an Avenger is not ended before it's really begun.

[He gave her a crooked smile, shaking his head.]

I went through them with Nymeria when we first got here. There's really not much to see. And with the new... things in there as well as the bears, it's not worth the risk to just explore. Maybe you could see about taking a closer look at the ceiling. Seeing if there's some kind of structural weakness or maybe a hatch we can't see from here.

We would have a better view from there. [She points to one of the towers of apartments.] From the top floor, we could see it closer, though it would be better if we found...binoculars? A telescope perhaps?

Actually, I was thinking you could...

[He gestured with his hand, lifting it up and pointing at the ceiling.]

Use your abilities. Ah, float up there, or whatever it is you do.

[She smiles faintly, gaze sliding up toward the ceiling.]

I could try, though I'm not certain I could make it that high. It would be something to attempt, however...and if possible perhaps we could find a way to attach a line or a rope ladder of some sort, I'm not sure. Something to allow others up to examine the surface, search for weaknesses or openings.

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