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[Her power is slightly tingly, and there's a strange heat-without-heat sensation around the edges of his wounds as the skin knits back together.]

Well, someone didn't like it. [Softer:] You shouldn't be out here by yourself. Enough people have gotten hurt already.

[ Matt makes a small sound, half curiosity and half ticklishness over the feeling. When he looks down, the tears in his shirt are still there (of course), but the scratches have closed up.

He turns his gaze back to Wanda, giving her a look of gratitude. ]

I know. But getting a group together is a little harder than usual, given that ... some of the people I would've asked are the ones who need help right now.

[RIP Ryan's shirt. Or maybe...hmmmm.]

Isn't that a good reason to ask for help? Not everyone is having the same problems.

[She glances from him back to the holes in his shirt and gives them a considering look before pointing at it. And ta-da! One fixed shirt.

...it's still covered in blood, though.]

[ Matt's gaze follows the gesture, eyes widening in delight as he realizes that his skin isn't all that's knit itself back together. ]

Wanda. [ His fingers lift to his side, rubbing the fabric of the shirt between forefinger and thumb. ] That's amazing! Oh my gosh, thank you.

I mean--thank you for everything. The healing too, obviously.

Be more careful next time. Please. It could have been worse.

[Gem-fueled rampages are scary stuff. She can't get Shaxx's injuries out of her head, and she hasn't even seen the people he wrecked.]

I can't fix everything.

Everybody tells me that, [ Matt sighs, regarding her now with something between wonder and sheepishness. ] And I do try, I just ...

Circumstances are always changing, it seems like.

[ The words are a bit cavalier, perhaps, but a look of fretfulness comes over his face. He'd hate to repay Wanda for her help by making her worry more. ]

[Wanda gives him a flat look. Excuses, excuses...

Not that she's showing any particular care for her own safety, being out here when the only way she can quickly get away from a bad situation is to fly.]

Don't make me put you somewhere you can't get into more trouble.

[ A sputter of soft, startled laughter knocks the worried look off his face. Despite the somewhat stark circumstances, Matt's lips tug towards a smile as he regards her. ]

Where'd you have in mind, like a panic room?

[Wanda, on the other hand, isn't laughing. She was 1000% serious.]

...I'll find somewhere. My apartment if I have to.

[~~look okay, every room she's in is a panic room this week~~]

[ Matt's smile lingers, but a slightly puzzled look overtakes it. Like, is she flirting with him right now? Because the timing is a little weird, but honestly, Matt's into it. By this point in the timeline, he'll probably have made out with Zagreus mid-running-for-their-lives, so what's one more bad decision to add to the pile?

He looks at her with a more focused expression: curious, trying to read her. ]

I wouldn't wanna put you out.

[Wanda just stares, flatly. The concern is genuine and her brain has not yet considered all of the implications of what she just said.]

I will be more 'put out' if you get badly hurt or die.

[ Matt's mouth opens, but for a moment, nothing comes out.

What can he say to that? There's nothing, except acknowledgement of the basic nobility of it. Finally he manages another smile, but it's softer than before. ]

In that case ... take me away.

[Good. He's stopped arguing. She's not going to have to drag him (and yes, she absolutely would, just ask Geralt).]

Can you walk or do you need help?

[This is a real question, not a snarky one. She doesn't know what happened to him before he ran into her.]

[ Matt is always happy to participate in his own abduction! Well, 2 out of 3 times so far. But that's a clear, if potentially concerning, majority. ]

I'm okay to walk. And besides ... [ Matt reaches out towards Wanda, fingers half-lifted to her scales before he realizes whoa, don't just touch people. The boundless blue inside him ebbs; his hand drops. Hastily, he adds, ] Seems like we might want to get out of the open fairly quickly? I haven't managed to be very efficient while leaning on people.

[~~Matt, that is not helping your 'you need to be looked after' case...~~

Wanda starts to reach back out of instinct but stops when he does. Surely he wasn't going to touch her scales? She's sure most people must find her scary like this.]

I was just going to pick you up with my powers if you needed it. I still have trouble moving around in this body sometimes, If I need to go somewhere quickly it is easier to fly.

... I'm interested in flying. [ As long as they're going to make the best of a fraught situation, may as well have some fun while they're at it. Matt smiles faintly at her. ] If it won't be too draining for you? I feel you, though, I had like six tentacles instead of legs the other month and every time I looked down I got seasick.

[Wanda can't help but wince in sympathy. Yikes.]

I don't know how you could go anywhere. When this first happened I could barely manage with this without falling over.

[She gestures and carefully lifts him a few feet into the air.]

Does that feel all right?

It was all about just ... not thinking about it. And letting the limbs do what they wanted.

[ That's all the Long Curvy Leg Wisdom Matt has time to offer before Wanda's hand moves. His breath slips out on a soft gasp as his feet leave the ground, and he's suspended gently in midair.

A pause to process the question. Process where he is. ]

Yeah. It feels--

[ Like swimming in a thin medium? Like the wind holding the scruff of his neck? ]

Very interesting. But not bad.

It will be easier for us to get up to my apartment like this. Trying to get my tail in the elevator is harder than you would think. Or maybe I am thinking too much.

[She has been blessed (cursed? blursed?) with an extremely long tail. Good for cuddles and wrapping people up! Bad for maneuvering in small spaces.]

Let me know if you need a break.

[And up up and away they go!]

Oh--

[ As they go, Matt's surprised laugh echoes off the near buildings. ]

I don't know, most elevators weren't designed to hold tails! [ Why is he yelling? Sort of like having tentacles made him not know how to ambulate, apparently being so high off the ground makes him unsure of correct speaking volume. He tries a slightly-less-loud level. ] So that makes sense to me.

This view is wild, [ he adds as they go. ] Do you get to do this whenever you want?

[Wanda can't help but grin at his excitement. It's contagious.]

I have to be careful with my manna here. But this is my own power, not the Ruby.

[Wanda's bringing them in through the balcony and very wisely lets Matt go first. Because when she tries to get in to her apartment...well, there's a series of crashes and cursing in Sokovian. Whoops. Nothing went over the edge, at least, but she's definitely made a mess that will be Future Wanda's problem.]

[ Matt, for his part, smiles wider when he sees her grin. Positive energy is a virtuous cycle, he thinks--sort of like how synchrony and manna are supposed to work. His feet touch down on the balcony, and for a moment, he's suspended between gravity and weightlessness. Like so many in-between moments, Matt can't manage to wrap his head around it before it's gone.

Also, there's a crashing noise behind him. Matt, already stepping into the apartment, whirls around. ]

Oh! Wanda, are you okay?

[ Maybe it's his fault, maybe she burned too much manna. Matt reaches out to try and belatedly steady her. ]

[She's managed to knock over a chair, which in turn knocked over miscellaneous items on the balcony. Wanda shifts her tail, and the watering can tips over just to punctuate her embarrassment.]

It's this tail. It's so long.

[She lets Matt take some of her weight so she can finagle her tail into the apartment without further incident. He's warm. So warm that it's hard to let go, and she holds on a few seconds longer than is strictly necessary.

Grumbling, she uses her powers to slide the door shut and leads him into the living room.]

Make yourself comfortable.

It's kind of long, [ Matt admits as they squeeze through the door together. ] I mean, I'm sure it serves an evolutionary purpose, and it looks great. [ Her scales are so smooth. The articulation of each one under his fingers as clear as perfect pebbles, or individual jewels. ] But ...

[ They separate, and the door closes behind them, taking that thought of Matt's with it. He glances around the space, with an eye towards places to sit. All of a sudden, he's tired. ]

Thanks for this, seriously. [ He knows he tried to fight her on it, albeit in a playful way, but still. ] Normally people don't ...

[Her tail requires quite a bit of extra care in the week that she has it to keep her scales looking good; she's lucky she doesn't have to worry about it all the time.]

Don't what?

[She is oddly reluctant to leave his orbit to go adjust the temperature: a little more AC for him, and then she's going to half-flop on part of the couch so she can hide under a blanket. It's rude to just lay on people, but he is warm and the apartment is about to get a little cooler than she'd like. But it's too hot for non-Rubies to leave it low or off.]

I just wanted to know that you'll be okay.

Contact | Noctium

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I'm so sorry it's been an awful migraine time

NO WORRIES, always happy to see Wanda in my inbox! Take care of yourself first

<3

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