1626/Being In Tune

Being In Tune
Date of Scene:	11 May 2020
Location:	Wanda's Room - Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Clint and Wanda enjoy a nice day and guitar music, until Thor arrives, bearer of ill tidings.
Cast of Characters:	Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, Thor

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Wanda Maximoff has posed:
The doors to Wanda's suite have been left open. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it Wanda and Clint's suite since the two are together there most of the time they are staying in the mansion. And today the doors are open so there is a nice breeze coming in from the open balcony doors and blowing through. Carrying in the city sounds, muted by trees and distance from the street, but also the chirping of birds and the sound of William mowing the mansion's estates outside, but far enough away it is also muted.

No, the sound that predominates is that of a classical guitar. Carefully tuned and cared for, the instrument is producing a quiet, beautiful song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUpNtk5Spk

The warm notes carry out into the hallways, mostly empty for except for the occasional human member of the staff that might pause to listen for a few seconds, or the occasional robotic member that tends to just continue on about their way.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint had been down in the gym and was making his way back to the room he now pretty much shared with Wanda when the first notes of Wanda's playing hit his ears. He grins, and quickening his steps he makes his way to the room, brushing his knuckles in a little knock against the door frame to avoid startling her, and then slipping on inside and flopping into one of the big comfy chairs by the window.

There's no comments from the archer, he just sits, back, smiles and listens for now enjoying the spring breezes and the sounds of the city accompanying the notes of the guitar.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda Maximoff has taken one of the desk chairs over to the door to the balcony. The auburn-haired woman has it tipped back slightly on its hind legs, leaning against the open door, so when the breeze flows through it stirs her hair. She's wearing a pair of girl's boxers and a long-sleeve top that is thin and airy enough to not be too warm on the beautiful sunny day.

Her fingers glide across the neck of the guitar as Wanda sways slightly in time to the music, letting herself sink into the song. She doesn't notice Clint's entrance until he's moving in front of her over into a nearby chair facing her. The woman's green eyes sweep across him, a welcome, warm smile on her face as he joins her.

She doesn't say anything yet, just keeps playing. Though there's a bigger smile on her face now as she does, plucking and strumming the strings, setting them vibrating to give life to the piece before finally she reaches the end and lets it fade out. "There's a sight for sore eyes," she says, shifting the guitar to rest in her lap, neck straight up right as she smiles over to Clint.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint's grin is still in place when Wanda finishes her piece and addresses him directly, "Funny, was thinking the same thing," he smiles at her, giving her leg a nudge with his toes. "I'd say you're getting better at that, but I've got about as much musical talent as this chair," it's true, by how he sings in the shower its a wonder he can get inside his apartment, the man can't find a key to save his life.

"Though it did sound good," he adds warmly, with a glance out at the spring day outside. "Good day for it too."

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda lets the chair tip the rest of the way forward to set all four legs on the ground, and rises from it to move over to where Clint is sitting in the plusher comfy chair. If he lets her, she settles into his lap, with her back leaning mostly against him but turned just a bit to her side, in a position she can continue to hold the guitar in a playing position and have it be comfortable for the both of them.

"I've never really put enough time into it to get truly good, but it means a lot you enjoy hearing it," she tells him through her warm smile. Wanda rests her head against Clint's shoulder as she idly plucks a few notes, not really a song but just experimenting with a few sounds, a little run along a chord progression.

"It is a good day for it. So beautiful out. Maybe we should gather the team tonight for a meal outside," she suggests, glancing out at the manicured lawns, freshly mowed. The scents of the cut grass are making it up to the window, along with the sweeter smells of flowers in the beds around the front walkways. "I could play and you could sing some accompaniment at it," she suggests with a grin. She's heard Clint's singing.

Clint Barton has posed:
'Lets' not really the word, when it comes to Wanda sitting in Clint's lap, let suggests there might be a chance he says no, he accepts the new arrangement without comment, just loosly wrapping his arms around her so as not to get in the way of the guitar as Wanda plucks at it.

There's an easy-going nod for the idea of eating outside tonight, "Would be good, I mean haven't really spent time with the team since the birthday thing a couple of weeks ago," he says, before he breaks into a laugh at the idea of him singing. He grips her tight around the waist then, "Okay, who do you work for? AIM? Hydra? The Mandarin? Trying to destroy the Avengers like that!" he kisses her cheek and loosens his grip. "Gonna pass on the singing but totally onboard with the rest, like I said, it's been a bit since I hung with the team."

SHIELD had been hopping lately, in fact Clint had been opted to crash at the Trisk a few times this week just because he couldn't get away until late, but it was good to get home. "So, not to bring things down, but what happened at the Expo the other night?" he'd heard about it second hand being on assignment elsewhere when the whole thing went down.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
The chance to get comfortable with Clint after he'd been away surely had something to do with Wanda's change in the seating arrangement. Not that it was unlikely to happen during times he hadn't been away more.

She continues playing, but at the question her tone becomes a little more subdued. "Well, MODOK and AIM and some Thanagarians attacked the expo," Wanda says. "I'm still not entirely sure what all their goals were. But we were beating them, when one of their robots managed to grab Tony and they teleported away. I tried to hold the teleportation field open so we could go through, but it was just too much for me," Wanda says, her playing stopping for a moment as she rubs at her nose, remembering how she'd bled from it from the effort.

"A group was able to rescue him soon after," she says. "Though I haven't the details of it yet either," Wanda tells Clint. She rests her head against his shoulder, plucking out a soft song on the classical instrument. "What about you. Anything you can share about what kept you away?"

Thor has posed:
    The sound of footsteps in the hall might well be heard, the slight thump-thump-thump of someone ascending the sweeping stairwell just loud enough to be heard and perhaps heavy enough to feel that shift in air pressure and the slight bounce of a floor one gets when large people are walking hither and yon.
    At first the approach of that man is brought for an entirely other reason than the musical sounds coming from the room, though the tones are enough to distract him and bring him forth. And when he appears in that doorway, poking his head in as if this were a first year dorm and they were all freshmen, Thor looks about curiously.
    "Ah, Wanda. Clinton. Have either of you seen the shoes I wear while I'm at my ease?"
    For apparently his flip flops have gone missing. And it is clear that the Asgardian is at his ease, considering that he wears large bright blue boxers and just the red STARK2020 t-shirt over his chest, with his hair pulled back into a rough pony tail.
    But then he remembers his manners and adds, "Also, lovely music." Though he only heard a few chords most likely.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint listens to Wanda's recounting the tale of Tony's kidnapping, "Sorry I wasn't there to help," he says. "Glad they got him back though." The implications of AIM grabbing Tony were not at all good. "Should check on him sometime soon," he says, not that he and the billionaire inventor were best buds but still it's what you do. "And for me mostly old business, those powered kids we pulled out of that arms sale in Russia mostly. Tracking down leads, that sort of thing," he says vaguely, SHIELD being SHIELD it was the best he could do. "Hill's back from vacation though, should get things close to normal."

Then there's the sound of Thor approaching, Clint turns as the god appears in the doorway. "Your flip flops? Dunno, man check by the pool?" he asks, trying to think if he saw them. "Also, Wanda's trying to make me sing for the team, Thor, you've got to stop her, she's clearly trying to destroy us all."

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda gives a soft little chuckle. "Back to normal. Barely staving off the end of the world then?" she says in a lightly teasing voice, accompanied by a warm smile. The song, mostly messing around, starts to sound like one that Wanda knows and she begins playing Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton on her little classical guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PS8He1Y-2Y

Wanda's gaze swings over to the doorway as Thor comes in. "Thor Odinson," she says, her softly accented English given a warm tone despite the use of his full name. And a smile accompanies the greeting as Wanda motions with her head for him to feel free to come in and join them.

"I don't believe I've seen them either," she says. "Perhaps one of the robotic cleaners might have moved them?" she suggests. "Could always check with JARVIS." She lets out a laugh then and nods at Clint's accusing her of trying to make him sing. "It would be good for morale. A nice picnic for dinner, and a sing along. It sounds like something very Asgardian actually. Though I imagine your songs probably are a bit more boisterous than I play?"

Thor has posed:
    A small 'heh' slips from Thor as he looks to Clint and then back toward Wanda at the idea that the young mutant woman would indeed be plotting their downfall. He takes a deep breath but his smile has shifted a little nervous as he seems to take a second and a third glance at Clint.
    Then turns and focuses on Wanda, nodding along with what she's saying. "Oh wait, I believe I did check with JARVIS. He was not forthcoming." But it's clear something else might well be on the Thunderer's mind as he takes a deep breath. It might be curious then for them to see him take stance in the door way, feet wide and arms folding over his broad chest as he seems to settle in as if about to lift some heavy weight.
    Then he nods, "I come bearing news, as well. I was at the matter of difficulty this last day at Metropolis, when that creature of shadow threatened both it and Gotham. I was of aid to some of your SHIELD colleagues." A nod is given to Clint solemnly.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint has to smile, "Yeah, pretty much, same old, same old," he says to Wanda of what he'd been up to. Though when Thor arrives and they talk briefly of dinner out, "Well, if we're going to get drunk at dinner, then sure, I can sing," he allows lightly, though Thor's sudden shift of stance gets his notice, even if his choice of clothing, boxers and the Stark2020 shirt makes it look a bit comical, there's no mistaking the change of mood. He sits up a little to listen.

Clint nods, "Saw some of the preliminary reports, sounded like it was some fight, glad you were there to help them out." Though his expression gives away he suspects that's not all there is to tell.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda Maximoff also seems to notice the change in posture and the underlying tone from the Thunderer. She glances towards Clint, saying, "I was over in Genosha at the time, still need to read the briefings on what transpired there," before looking back towards Thor.

She also suspects there's more to be said. As she reaches the end of the previous song, Wanda's fingers move across the guitar to start up something new. To the Asgardian it's probably just something soft and melodic. To Clint and many from Earth, it might be recognized as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, which sounds quite nice on the nylon-stringed guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsz4zNtHQ9k

Thor has posed:
    Another solemn nod accompanied by a grunt that sounds like an 'mmm' as if agreeing with the man. "Was a hectic fight, many creatures sought to interfere with Jane and her comrades." Ah, Jane was there. He clears his throat and continues, shifting a look toward Wanda, he glances down at the guitar but then reaffixes his gaze upon Clint.
    "I was there. Many others were as well. The great creature was an old entity that had... escaped a mystic mirror of a sort. They were seeking to lure it to them, to trap it."
    As he speaks the music accompanies it almost curiously as the tension rises.
    "My brother was there as well, and an agent with magical blades. We had to use our... magic to draw it forth into the trap. But our magic was not strong enough. It was not tempting enough."
    He takes a deep breath and then says simply, "I made the decision to shatter Odin's block upon Loki's powers, to grant him his magic back. And it was in that moment that he was able to draw the creature to us. Into the trap. And thus win the day."
    He lets that hang there for a time while Wanda plays, and says naught more for the moment.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint does recognize the tune but it does little to make the news from Thor any sweeter to his ears. "Damn it," he seethes, only stopping from yelling because Wanda was there in his lap.

"Do we know where the mirror came from? Because," he takes a breath to tamp down his rage. "Because Loki came to me out of the blue and gave me one of those shadow creatures, a small one, so SHIELD could study it." Another breath as his mind tries to think in the twisted fashion of the god of mischief. "Think that could have been his end game? Start all this trouble just to get his powers back?"

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
The song that Wanda is picking out falters for just a pair of beats as she hears the news from Thor. She resumes the song, though her mind is not on the playing now. The song lacks the bit of emotion and soul that it had before, just being picked out mechanically as the Scarlet Witch's thoughts are taken other directions.

"It would be something like him, wouldn't it?" she asks, looking over to Thor. "So. What is done is done. What can we do to put the djinn back into the bottle now? Will Odin recall him to Asgard, now the one who reined such destruction on our world has his powers back and is here at Odin's doing?" she asks, lips pressing into a firm line after.

Thor has posed:
    A breath is taken as Thor looks at Clint steadily, ready to accept the onslaught and he nods, "It is possible that may have been his plan. I would not put it past my brother. But whatever it was, the danger was real from the creature. I made the choice I felt I had to make." That said he looks between the two, nodding slowly in agreement.
    "I believe my brother may depart or already have departed. He seemed to not wish to be on Midgard, but I cannot know for sure. Odin..." A hand lifts to the back of his neck as Thor frowns and rubs there. "I shall have to tell my father and how he will react..."
    The Thunderer looks away and frowns, "I cannot say."

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint's lips draw into a thin line and for a few moments he's silent. "It's what he does, Thor. Plays us. Puts us in positions where the only choice is the choice he wants us to make. He did it to me by offering me the shadow creature, and it sounds like he did it to you giving you no choice but to break the lock on his powers," he takes for granted Loki is behind it all. He's scope locked on it. Still he's taking it a good deal better than he took the news of Loki's exile.

"Sorry you got to be the one to bring the news to your old man, but my read was he wasn't all that pissed at Loki to start with, given what his punishment was," either that or Odin didn't really think much of Midgard! "Maybe he'll let it all pass. Though next time Loki pops up on Earth, if he leaves at all, we need to do something about him. We can't keep letting him get away with this crap."

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda Maximoff's guitar playing devolves into just some randomly stringed together bits after the previous song ends. Working notes up and down scales and through chord progressions, but not playing anything in particular. Her thoughts are far more on the impact of the powers being regained by the one whose invasion of Earth is what brought the Avengers together as a team.

Wanda nods slowly. "You did as needed doing, Thor. We will deal with him again when the time comes, as we did before," she says, her usually soft spoken way giving way to a firmer voice. She starts to say something else but cuts herself off before the words make it out. Thor doesn't need to hear them to feel for what happened, and saying them would not accomplish anything.

She glances back to Clint, not able to look at both men at the same time while seated somewhat sideways in Clint's lap, with Thor over in the doorway. "SHIELD will need to be informed to be on watch. Stephen should probably know as well. I can attempt to get in touch with him," she says of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Thor has posed:
    Nodding slowly, "I am off shortly to speak with mine father. I shall convey your regards on the matter." Thor looks between them and murmurs, "If there was another way I would have taken it, Clint." Those words are given and then hang there for a few moments longer until he stops and looks between them.
    "I shall go and prepare. Please, continue with your music." The Asgardian nods towards Wanda and steps back into the hall, eyes drifting between them. "Forgive my interruption and my ill tidings given."
    That said he starts to turn away.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint gently ushers Wanda off his lap so he can stand, looking to Thor before the Thunderer departs fully. "Thor," he says. "I know you would have, you got played like we got played, I don't blame you for any of it." He says before he mulls over the last bit. "And if you need any of us to come with you to see your dad, I'm willing to come." For whatever good that'll do.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Wanda stops playing as she slips off of Clint's lap so he can rise. "I would as well. Though I may not have gentle words, they should be said," she says as she moves over to set the guitar down in it's stand over near where she has a stand for sheet music set up. She prefers to use that over have the music on a tablet, it seems.

Wanda motions towards Thor and Clint. "But don't think this gets either of you off from singing when we have the picnic," she says, ending on a more positive note.

Thor has posed:
    At the movement of Clint to halt his departure and the man's approach, Thor turns and meets the man's gaze with eyes that do have their share of guilt and a touch of sadness. But they're warmed by the man's words and the sentiment shared. So the Asgardian smiles and rests a hand on the archer's shoulder and then gives a firm nod. "You are a brave and noble soul, Clint Barton. But I say to thee nay, you need not present yourself before mine father in any way save as the hero you are."
    He smiles a little as he settles into the rhythm of his homeland and looks away, then back, "This transgression is mine if transgression it is. Though if needs be I will come to you and together we will face whatever aught dare raise hand against us."
    But then Wanda offers her words and he laughs, "Aye then, Wanda. Mark us down for a ballad or two." For in truth, Clint did say... for whatever good.