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[ It is, perhaps, a weird day when you look around and think, Thank goodness, here comes the giant snake woman.

Not that Matt finds it weird. It's good to see a friendly face, especially after his less than fruitful attempt at pacifying his fellow gembonded. ]

Wanda! Hey, you look amazing. [ Leave it to this disaster to treat this like a social call. Matt looks down at himself, eyes widening as he notices three red slashes across his side. ] Oh--when did that happen?

[ He remembers being struck at with sharp claws, had made a note to apologize to Ryan for ruining another one of his shirts. But wouldn't he have noticed starting to bleed like this? Mostly, Matt feels guilty that he hadn't been able to help. Sure, he doesn't have any of those cuffs--does not, in fact, have any tools but his own personality--but he's got magical powers. He should've been able to figure it out. ]

[Wanda gives him a Look as she slithers closer. 'When did that happen?' Really?]

Did you hit your head too? Or have you just been getting in a lot of fights?

[She's not going to comment on the compliment on her current appearance - blood loss, maybe? She knows she looks kind of scary now.]

Stay still. [She raises a glowing hand and starts directing her powers to heal the visible gashes.]

No fights, [ Matt protests, without heat. ] I've been getting in the opposite of fights. Trying to calm people down.

[ He stays still when Wanda asks him to (well, tells him to)--breathing gently, eyes drawn curiously to her hand. ]

Admittedly ... with some mixed results.

[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. ]

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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