006 EARTHQUAKE [OPEN + CLOSED]

[scepterschild]

WHO: Wanda Maximoff
WHERE: Village
WHEN: July 1st - 4th
OPEN TO: ALL
WARNINGS: Light Injury

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July 2 - 4 - Anywhere in the Village

Wanda can be found limping around town after the earthquake. Her ankle was hurt but it wasn't enough for her to go the hospital and for the moment there was no one telling her to take care of herself.

Her first stop was her home where she checked on the state of the house as well as a small trembling puppy and a family of baby chickens. Clint had been working on a chicken coop but for the time being they were still sleeping inside and they were getting big. Wanda let the puppy out into the yard, attempting to weakly chase him if he ran a little to far.

When the animals were settled and feed Wanda headed to the inn and town hall in order to see how everyone else was doing. There was so much to fix but she was moving to slowly to really be of any help.

A few days later Wanda can be found sitting and taking a break, carefully inspecting her ankle. It was swollen and red now that she hadn't taken the time to let it heal on it's own. It was only sprained but Wanda wasn't letting it get better.

July 1 - An unoccupied House [CLOSED TO ERIK]

Wanda was heading back home when the earthquake hit the village. She stumbled forward and looked around as the buildings and trees began to shake. Her eyes had to be wrong because she saw the structures around her twisting as if they were about to be torn in two. A shingle fell from a roof and Wanda quickly ran out of it's way.

She was ready to bolt home when she heard the footsteps coming from inside of the house. She could have just left but that thought never entered her mind. She bolted inside the house frantically looking around to see who might be inside. "Hello." She called out, hoping for someone to reply.

"Who's here?"

The earth shook again and Wanda felt her footing slip. Her knees connected hard with the floor. This was not her day.

Comments

July 4th

[9601]

Time -- and work -- waits for no man. Up and at 'em even as he should probably still be recuperating, Logan is not about to lie around all day when he has shit to do. He's got a borrowed shovel over his shoulder, intent on getting started digging out the cellar now that the rain has stopped.

Mud sucks at the soles of his boots, the once dry track left an unholy mess from all the rain. Someone up ahead seems, at first, to be lounging on the veranda of a house, but as he gets closer he sees her head bent over her foot, framed by her dark hair, and the way she seems to cradle her ankle.

"You alright there?"

July 4th

[scepterschild]

Wanda looked up when she heard the deep familiar voice addressing her. She quickly shifted her hips and moved her foot out of view, hiding the swell of her ankle.

"I'm fine." She exhaled the words as she pushed thick dark layers of brown hair over her shoulder. "Taking a break."

Green eyes looked over at Logan, dragging her gaze from head to toe.

july 4th

[ethnobotany]

For the last few days, Beverly has been taking daily walks to try to catch up with the people she cares about here after the earthquake. Really, she's been checking up on everyone in the village if she runs across them, but Wanda is one of the people she's especially been looking for. And hasn't found until just now.

Spotting Wanda sitting down is one thing. Seeing her examining her ankle has Beverly jogging up pretty quickly with no small amount of concern on her face.

"Wanda? Are you okay?"

july 4th

[scepterschild]

Wanda's dark brown hair fanned over her thin shoulders, obscuring her face from view. It’s only as Beverly walks closer that she’ll see the intense concentration that has pulled across Wanda's features. Her pointer finger lightly presses on either side of the red swollen ankle as she slowly attempts the painful process of wiggling her toes. She’s experienced worse injuries but that didn’t make this anymore pleasant.

The sound of Beverly's voice snapped her from her thoughts. She lifted her chin, light stormy green eyes focusing on the woman as she neared.

Fuck.

Wanda knew that it'd be impossible to hide her discomfort so she sat back and waited for the woman’s concern. "I'm fine." She assured Beverly in a thick voice. It wasn't hard to hide how much pain she was it. "I've had worse and I can still move my toes." So nothing was broken.

[ethnobotany]

The expected concern isn't long in surfacing as Beverly kneels down next to Wanda, reaching over to examine the angry red ankle. It doesn't look broken and the fact that Wanda can still feel and move her toes is a good sign. The amount of swelling isn't, though.

"It might not be broken," she allows, "but you're not 'fine,' either. "You've probably sprained it and as much as I can tell you don't like to be idle, I'm going to have to insist that you let it rest. I'll help you get inside, but you need to take care of yourself."

People who are bad about letting themselves heal after an injury frustrate her, even if she can understand why being idle would be too hard for some. She's too much of a doctor and a mother not to care, even if that caring comes in the form of a light, yet worried, lecture.

[scepterschild]

Wanda knew that the swollen area wasn't good and she knew that it wasn't broken but hearing it said out loud had the desired affect. A huff of air was Beverly's only argument as Wanda slowly pushed her weight on her good foot. She leaned on Beverly a little bit but otherwise tried to walk herself.

"How long do I have to rest?" Sprains weren't as easy as breaks in Wanda's opinion. She didn't know how long it would hurt or how long she'd have to stay off it. She could still preserve food in the kitchen but she might have to pause with any heavy lifting.

Her mind was thoroughly distracted with things that she might be able to do. She didn't really notice where they were going or if she was supposed to be leaning them.

[ethnobotany]

"On average? About four weeks." A lot of it depends on the type of fracture, but unfortunate she can't tell as accurately as she normally would be able to. "But it might be higher than that. We'll see how your recovery goes, all right?"

She knows it won't be easy, staying off that foot for so long, but a thought comes to her about then. There might be another way for her to help Wanda get around. She'll have to see if she can find a decent branch for it, and maybe ask someone like Clint for a little bit of help, but it might be possible.

"If I can find a decent enough branch that can hold your weight, I might be able to fashion it into a rudimentary crutch, something you can use to put your weight on rather than your ankle. That will help it heal faster, while allowing you to get out and about sometimes."

[scepterschild]

A frown tugged at Wanda's lips and it'd be obvious to Beverly that she had no intention of resting for four weeks. She'd go easy on her ankle but she won't stop. It wasn't in Wanda to stop.

There was plenty of work she could do while seated.

Beverly's suggestion pulled Wanda out of her thoughts. She blinked, looking at the other woman as if seeing her for the first time. "You'd do that?" She asked, knowing that it was asking Beverly to help her remain mobile.

Wanda paused, her teeth digging into her lower lip before she spoke. "Yes, if you could." There was another pause before she spoke again. Her words were lower, her accenting rounding and pulling at the end of each sentence. "I can't... be helpless. Not again." The pain in her voice was rooted deeply in her past and it was unmistakable.

[ethnobotany]

Beverly has known plenty of people just as stubborn about stopping to wait and rest as Wanda seems to be, which is entirely why she had suggested the make-shift crutch. It wouldn't be as good as a real one or an actual healing. If she could manage two, that would be better, but one would be good. So she nods firmly.

"Of course I would," she insists. "You remind me a lot of my son sometimes. I don't think he would sit still much, either."

Talking about Wesley isn't exactly a sore spot, but she does miss him. Maybe one day he'll come back to her and everything will be all right again. For now, though, she has to take heart in the assumption and determination that he is really fine. Wherever he is. He's alive and healthy. She has to believe that.

"Whatever happened before, you won't be this time," she says firmly. "I'll be here to help however I can and if that means working on my woodcutting, then I will."

[scepterschild]

Wanda paused, feeling her uncertainty tighten in her stomach. She hadn’t realized that Beverly had a son, it made sense, given her age and how she acted but it was hard for Wanda to make that connection. She didn’t have a family. It reminded her a bit of Clint, who’s family all but adopted her after her brother had died.

"Thank you." She paused again.

When she found her voice it was quieter. " When I was ten-" She began, clarity reflecting in the light green hue of her eyes. "My brother and I were trapped beneath our home. It had collapsed on top of us." They had been eating dinner at the time. "It’d been a missile that didn’t detonate. My brother and I were trapped for days. When they tried to dig us out we thought the missile would go off. We waited, with each shift in the rubble to be killed." She paused feeling her anger crawl uncomfortably beneath her skin.

"I thought if it happened again I could do more-" Wanda shook her head. "-but I couldn’t." She had to push her way out of another pile of rubble, this time without her brother and all she had to show for it was a sprained ankle. "We had made a promise. Never to feel helpless again."

After the expedition leaves

[chirrutsluck]

Baze has a promise to keep, and that's to keep an eye on this young lady here while Clint is away. He's been pointed in the direction of her house, and he stops outside the gate to block the path of the exuberant puppy before it can get away from its limping owner. "You could try a leash," he suggests to Wanda, or who he presumes is Wanda since she fits the description, crouching down to offer the puppy a hand to sniff.

After the expedition leaves

[scepterschild]

The puppy was happy to pause in it's energetic rampage and sniff Baze's hand. A new person meant more attention and the little pup was a glutton for attention.

Wanda exhaled a tired breath, pushing her dark hair over her shoulder as she caught up with the puppy. She supposed she could fashion a leash but she saw two problems with it. One, the puppy could find a way out of it and while Wanda had no doubt he'd find his way home, she also knew she'd have to go look for him in case he got into trouble. Two, he might choke or hurt himself in some way. It wasn't as if they had a collar to distribute the force of a dog tugging at it.

The real reason she hadn't wasn't as logical. Wanda just hated to see anything tied up, even a puppy. "I don't think that would slow him down." She inspected Baze with a curious gaze. "Who are you?" She didn't know if it was a friend of Clint's, however Clint wasn't here.

[chirrutsluck]

Well, there are other means of keeping a puppy penned in, at least. He scratches the puppy idly behind the ears, even as he looks back up at her. He's blocking the path out of the yard well enough that he imagines affection will be enough to keep the animal in place. "Baze Malbus. And you are Wanda?" Showing that he does, at least, have some legitimate reason for being here-- at least enough that he knows who she is. Probably. If he's wrong, he'll not be too surprised.

[scepterschild]

Wanda's lips tugging into a soft frown. "Clint asked you to check on me." It was a statement that sounded a little bit disgruntled. She knew that Clint was over protective but she was in her twenties and completely capable of taking care of herself. She knew that he meant well, but she didn't like it.

Exhaling a slow breath Wanda waved a hand towards the house. "Do you want to come in? I'm making food." She had chickens and a puppy to feed.

[chirrutsluck]

"I check on you, he keeps Bodhi safe," Baze agrees, unashamed of the truth of the matter. "That was the deal." He scoops up the puppy with a hand under its belly-- it may grow up to be a big dog, but it's still small enough for that, now. He adds, maybe to soften said truth a little, "I can help with food, some."

[scepterschild]

Wanda rolled her eyes. Baze might not know this but Clint was the sort of person to go threw great lengths to keep everyone safe. If anyone needed someone to watch his back in return it'd be Clint. Bodhi, with the deal or not, would be watched over.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, unsure if she could use his help or not. She had to see what she had. At the very least he could help her feet the animals which would most likely begin raging the moment that the puppy was brought back inside.

Wanda was going to make soup for them and the puppy and then had grasses and roots for the chickens that were just on the other side of the door.

[chirrutsluck]

"I am always hungry," Baze says with a little snort. He's a big guy, and he's been working hard, and it's no longer sweltering and sunny and killing every desire to eat. Food pretty much always sounds good. He ruffles the puppy's ears as he holds it under one arm, to keep it from squirming too much. "I had kitchen duty regularly, in an old life."

[scepterschild]

Wanda nodded at him before leading Baze and the puppy inside of the house. "Do you mind cutting up the roots for the chickens?" She wasn't the sort of person to dig into peoples pasts so she didn't ask what his old life entailed but she was happy to hear that he wasn't completely useless in a kitchen.

She was used to acquaintances not knowing how to cook.

[frankensteinian]

Something told Erik that it was about time for him to have a house of his own instead of continuing to live in the inn (it was probably Claire's regular visits and the fact that there's not much privacy at the inn that did it). Which is why he's poking around a vacant house at the moment.

The earthquake takes him as much by surprise as it does everyone else. It knocks him sideways and onto the floor, knocking the breath out of him in the process.

He's gotten his breath back by the time he hears someone call out. "Wanda?"

[scepterschild]

"Erik!"

She called out his name as the earthquake shook through the ground. She heard items toppling over in the next room over, loud crashes of wood smashing against wood. Wanda continued forward, trying to find the source of the voice.

"We need to get out of here." She called again, hoping to get him to speak again.

[frankensteinian]

"That will be easier to do once the whole place stops moving." Which he really wishes it would. He sees something come toppling in his direction, and he reacts on instinct like he had during that earthquake in Poland, reaching out his hand to stop its trajectory, but nothing happens. There's nothing for him to draw on to affect it in any way.

"Are you okay?"

[scepterschild]

Wanda stumbled towards Erik when he failed to stop whatever crashed behind her. She landed on her hands and knees, turning to look at the remains of what Wanda could only assume was a bookshelf.

She turned to look back up at Erik, her dark hair falling in wide circles around her shoulders. "Get to the basement or under something." The house was falling down around them and Wanda didn't see a way for them to stop it or get out before the earthquake was through.

She pulled herself to her feet and grabbed onto Erik, half leaning on him and half pulling him towards something that was safe. She really hoped this place had a kitchen table or something.

[frankensteinian]

"It's okay." He reaches out to steady her with an arm around her waist, as if he's worried that she might fall down if he didn't. He tries not to wince as he puts weight on his ankle; he must have twisted it. "They usually don't last very long."

Not that he knows much about it. He's only ever experienced one earthquake, since they're not exactly common in anywhere he's lived.

[scepterschild]

Against Wanda's better judgement she clung to Erik. The bookshelf to her right teetered and fell behind her, crashing and blocking the direction she'd come from. She pushed Eirk towards the door frame and then remained there, hoping that the whole house didn't come down on their heads.

"The house is coming down." The words were spoken through clenched teeth.

[frankensteinian]

"No it isn't." A few things have toppled over, and it will probably take some work until the house is livable again, but it won't be left in ruins or anything. "See? It's over now. We'll be fine."