4221/Time to Check In

Time to Check In
Date of Scene:	25 November 2020
Location:	Pepper and Amanda's appartment
Synopsis:	Kurt stops by to check on Amanda, only to dump a whole new mystery in her lap: that of his parentage.
Cast of Characters:	Amanda Sefton, Kurt Wagner

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Amanda Sefton has posed:
It's evening. The sun has set -- earlier each day as the days shorten into winter. Amanda is home, this evening. A rare night, actually, given the fact there are any number of Christmas events on her plate right now. The holidays are a busy time for event planners.

But, having sent a message to assure Kurt she's returned safely, she unsurprised that he'd want to come over to see that for himself. And glad of it, truth be told.

She stands in the kitchen, currently, setting a kettle to boil on a gas burner on the stove. There are tea fixings near to hand on the counter. And soft music on the stereo because it helps her unwind.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
It is, of course, a little silly to insist on stopping by. He did hear from her afterall, but then when one can teleport the notion of dropping by takes on a somewhat simpler connotation. Five mile increments might not seem terribly long to some who can cross great distances within moments, but it still does mean that his definition of what qualifies as local is quite a bit broader then some.

Because he is expected he doesn't hesitate to teleport directly into her apartment, that quiet *bamf* sounding, perhaps loud enough to be heard over the quiet music playing on the stereo. Otherwise Kurt is pretty good about making sure his arrival is on the proper side of the door. Of course that can be something of a start for the neighbours. Either way, he immediately pads towards the kitchen.

"Ah ha, you are home," the fuzzy blue elf says, leaning casually in the doorway. One presumes that he didn't actually doubt her. But magic is involved can one every really be sure? Perhaps she has some way to make her cellphone work in another direction. Or some fae creature could have stolen her voice. Really, the possibilities abound and under the circumstances he is not inclined to discount anything. "You're alright then? Nothing too serious?"

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda glances over her shoulder and smiles as Kurt makes his presence known. She turns and crosses towards him to greet him with a familiar hug. "I am home. And I'm fine." She shakes her head slightly. He's not wrong about all those potential risks -- though she can't really make a cell phone work from a hell dimension. The grimace that crosses her lips, and the roll to her eyes, speak volumes, however. "*Mother* decided she needed my help," she says dryly. "I tried to explain to her it wasn't a good time, but then we were up to our eyebrows in Karastus demons and it just went downhill from there."

Of course, it must have been uphill at some point, because she's out and Margali isn't lurking in the shadows somewhere here.

Not that the little Starkbot Patrick is inclined to let anything lurk in the shadows of this place. He's terribly protective of his territory, and is currently at Kurt's feet, beeping a scolding sequence of notes at him. No surprising the Starkbot!

Kurt Wagner has posed:
A low laugh escapes the fuzzy blue elf, and his arms enfold her in that hug for a moment before he draws back. Eyes glint merrily -- this clearly is not the first, and surely will not be the last time -- that Amanda has been drawn into her mother's affairs. Messy ones as well as it would seem. "Some things will never change, I'm sure," he says wryly. "I figured it was likely such, though it is always good to make sure," he admits. Their unlikley collaborators in the haunted house search had been a little more concerned. But then they don't know her like he does.

Then of course Kurt finds himself quite notably scolded, those electronics beeps and boops bringing a sly smile to his features and he dips his head towards the little bot, moving to step clear of the kitchen doorway. "My apologies Patrick. I did not mean to startle you," he assures the little robot in the most grave of fashions. Aside the corners of his mouth that twitch slightly. "Woe betide the fool who breaks into your apartment," he comments lowly, shooting a glance Amanda's way.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda laughs at Patrick's protests. "You might as well get used to him, clanker," she says fondly to the little bot. "He's family." Patrick makes a burble of sound that's a cross between martyred tolerance and friendly reproach. Kurt's apology goes a long way to molifying him. The witch chuckles again and shoos him away.

Her attention returns to Kurt. "How did that turn out," she asks, some concern in her eyes. "They didn't exactly seem like the best team for handling a haunting on that level." But he's out and in good humour. So, she suspects they might have surprised her, had she been able to stay.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Fortunately Kurt knows how to be ingratiating when he needs to be. It helps that he tends to be pretty good with people. And apparently bots too. It helps to follow the golden rule to be sure and he does a pretty good job at falling on the right side of that teasing/mocking line. Either way he flashes a grin at Patrick, amused by just how expressive those tones can actually be, watching him scuttle off when shooed before turning back to her.

A little smirk crosses his face and he shrugs his shoulders. "I suspect you can find the footage online. They were recording it afterall," he points out before growing a little more serious. "It ended with us more or less running for our lives. The house practically came apart around us. The ceiling was dissolving, flowing like falling sand. We barely got out before it just fell in on us," he admits. "Whatever enchantments were laid on the building seemed to have been gone. Everyone certainly noticed the place when it was just a hole in the ground," he notes drily before hesitating. "But before it all fell apart, well... something odd happened up stairs..." he says slowly.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda's head cants slightly, some concern settling on her features. "Odd how?" she asks, though it's probably unnecessary. He seems inclined to share. The kettle begins whistling. "Tea? There's lager in the fridge, if you prefer."

Anticipating his story, she turns to the kettle and removes it from the stove, beginning to fix tea -- possibly two cups if he prefers that to the lager. "There were enough wards in that house to keep an army at bay. What did you find?"

Kurt Wagner has posed:
He does shoot a glance towards the fridge, the offered lager perhaps tempting but he gives a little shake of his head. "Tea, I think. Something warm, Ja," he says, offering a brief smile as he pads over to lean up against the counter just a short distance from the stove. Some times just being physically close to someone makes the words come a little easier.

"There was a child upstairs. He looked like something out of last century, like something you might see in movies about the nineteen thirties, or forties. A ghost perhaps? Or just a trick, I don't know. He certainly looked like he could have stepped out of one of the pictures that lined the stairs," he offers up. "Then he... twisted. Turned into something monstrous. My unlikely companions thought it was a demon. I suppose it could have been," he admits, pausing once more. "He referred to me as his brother," Kurt adds, brow furrowing once more.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda's brows dip at that. "Brother?" She pours out some water into the second cup and brings it to him, letting the strainer in it steep. "That's... kind of disturbing, yes." She frowns, standing nearby. He's not the only one who appreciates closeness in moments like these.

"Do you believe him?" She suspects a small part of him is at least curious, even if he doesn't truly believe. And that's understandable. She purses her lips faintly. "What did it look like, when it transformed?" At the very least, it might tell her what sort of demon it was... if it was a demon at all and not some trick of the poltergeist.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Suffice to say that he does not know a great deal about his parents. That rather comes with being abandonned as a baby of course and even as he has learned a few details through the years it does not necessarily fill in a lot of the blanks. And truthfully Kurt is okay with that. He is very much a live in the now sort of person, embracing each moment rather then dwelling too much on what has come before. Or fretting too much about what might still happen. His introspection has always tended towards a different sort.

"I do not know. It could be just a cruel trick, that he singled me out as the most inhuman looking amongst those that intruded upon it's sanctum. It could be something else entirely. I am know expert in magic as well you know, though I feel as if I should try to learn a little more about the supernatural if I'm cursed to continually encounter it," the fuzzy blue elf comments wryly. "I do not feel like it looked very much like me, that much is certain. It's still went black, cracked with patches of red as if internal heat were burning through. There were horns and it... swelled. Swelled beyond the confines of the child-like body it appeared to be," he explains before giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "As I say, odd. I suppose I might be more concerned if I were the only one who had been able to see that house, if I had some tie to it, but that does not seem to be the case."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda leans against the counter, shoulder almost touching his. She picks up her own mug and swirls the strainer around briefly to darken the steeping tea before she pulls it out and sets it aside for a deep sip. "It sounds demonic," she admits. "And there was definitely dark energy in that place. But demons are tricksters. You could very well be right. It could be nothing more than a mind game." She glances to him, blue eyes meeting gold. "In fact, that would be my first guess."

But she knows that demons often hide a kernel of truth in the lies they tell. And they don't truly know where Kurt's appearance may be from.

"Do you want me to teach you?" she asks after a moment or two of contemplation. "You may not be a spell slinger, but there's a lot of lore I could share with you. Something to better arm you against this sort of weirdness." For her, it's all in a day's work. For most others... not so much.

"If you want to investigate this further, you know I'm with you. Wherever it leads."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
The tea is certainly warming, clutched between his hands and he too samples it. The idea that it truly drives away some of what he saw there is quaint to be sure, but that warmth is somehow comforting. It might almost be a trope to offer someone tea when they are distressed, but such things are usually so common for a reason.

"As I said, quite odd," Kurt admits with a slow nod of his head before shrugging once more. He forces a smile onto his face though it hardly seems difficult. It does seem to be his default, no matter the situation. "I would not mind picking up a few things from you of course. The lore is generally quite interesting," he agrees, leaning a little closer even as he rests against that counter top. "And I will never turn down your help with something strange or paranormal," he agrees.

"Oh, before I forget..." he says, reaching back to set his mug down before hands delve into a bag slung over his shoulder, emerging with some strange sort of fabric or parchment, looking incredibly dry and thin... and scaly. "This was in the room as well. Coiled all about the chamber. It was sizable to say the least. It was like a tube of shed skin, almost big enough for a grown adult to crawl into, though tappering narrow," he says. "I am no expert, but it certainly looks like snake ski," he adds, frowning for just a moment. "The demon or poltergeist or whatever it was... it said that she would be angry that we had intruded in her sanctum, but that she had others in the city. That she would continue to hunt..."

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda puts her own mug down, taking the skin delicately from him as he draws it out. "Okay... yeah, this lends a little more credence to the demonic theory," she says, glancing to him. "Not you being demonic, but the entity you faced, certainly."

Her brows knit and she takes it to lay it out on the table, examining it carefully. "I can think of half a dozen reptiloid predators just off the top of my head that might might something like this. All of them are bad news."

Her eyes narrow in thought. "If it's got other sanctums and is on the hunt..." She looks at him. "We need to go hunting. Stop her before she hurts someone."

Presuming, of course, he -- *they* aren't already targets. Amanda did, after all, ignite a fairly clear calling card in the demon's front room.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
It certainly is an interesting -- perhaps disturbing would be a better world -- mixture of elements. A ghost or poltergeist or spirit. A demonic figure. Some sort of giant snake or snake-like thing. Someone or something capable of some fairly significant magic. Probably not what either of them had in mind when he popped by and said that he thought he had stumbled across a haunted house. If Kurt keeps that up people might stop answering Kurt's calls!

"I certainly figured as much," the fuzzy blue elf admits, slipping that length of dried, shed snake skin back into his bag for the time being and reclaiming that mug of tea for another lingering sip. "I imagine that you have your ways," he says, wiggling fingers at her in what no doubt is supposed to be mysterious fashion, a brief smile lighting on his face as he does so. Serious situation or not, he will normally try to inject a little levity into the situation.

"I've been doing a little research too. It occured to me that house seemed... old. The condition, the furniture, the pictures. If this creature has been hunting in New York for quite some time perhaps others have noticed things. I looked on the internet and there is a group that, mmm, I suppose investigates or discusses the paranormal at New York University. I thought I would drop by. It might just be a hobby and nothing might come of it, but they might have some records or rumors. They might have more info centered locally then the bigger picture circles you travel," he suggests.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda flashes Kurt a grin and gives a laugh as he wiggles his fingers. "I have ways, yes," she agrees, picking up her own mug as he stows the skin away again.

Her head cants as he tells her about the paranormal group. "You want me to come with you?" she offers. "You're probably right. If they're a local group, they'll have their finger on the pulse more than I would. Most of my hunts take me abroad."

She considers that a moment. "I have, however, developed a unique attunement to this city over the past few months. I could go back to the site of that house, see if I can find echoes of whatever residual energy still lingers there in other places in the city. Maybe it will cross reference with what this group may know."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
It seems like as good a plan as any. This all could be nothing of course. There are no stories in the New York papers about a ravening snake carrying off children -- he's pretty sure he would have noticed them. No tales of demons appearing or anything else horrifically supernatural. But like it or not he is involved now and he can't help but see if through to the end, one way or another. Real, or just some trick of an aggitated spirit.

"But of course, if you happen to free. I'm positively lost without you afterall. You disappeared for five minutes and I was almost eaten by a demon. Did I mention that it turned into a wall of bugs when Hawkeye shot it? That was disturbing. And again, the collapsing house," he says, eyes dancing mischeviously. "They might be strictly amateurs, or more like some ghost hunting, internet posting about conspiracy theories. But I figure just in case that they are for real..." he says, with a small shrug.

Any port in a storm, right?

"That might be a good idea as well. We had to beat a rather hasty retreat. The locals did not seem to be very happy that a bunch of strange sorts were knocking buildings down in their neighbourhood," he points out wryly.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda barks a laugh. "You're going to make me sit through those ridiculous videos, aren't you?" she grumbles, albeit good-naturedly. God knows she's not actually looking forward to that. But, it might give her a clue.

She gives him a warm smile, nonetheless. "I am always free for you, Kurt. You know that. Anywhere, anytime." Unless she's been kidnapped by her mother. In which case, all bets are off... and it's not her fault.

"I can poke around that site without raising too much suspicion, I expect," she says. Illusions are good for that. "Do you want to come with me?" If so, she'll probably make it a night time visit. Less obvious that way.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
On another face like his, on someone a little less joyful that toothy grin might be anything but reassuring. For Kurt, it is pure mischevious delight. There might be dangerous, supernatural powers out there waiting for them. Evil magics, and ghosts and even demons. But it is all still an adventure too. And nobody loves a good adventure like the fuzzy blue elf. "I am," he agrees. "Consider it valuable research," he suggests impishly.

Reaching out to take one of her hands in his own, he gives it a squeeze and offers a genuine smile. "I know. And it is appreciated. All the more at moments like this!" he asserts before taking another long sip of that tea and setting it down once again. "I wouldn't mind. If this really does have anything to do with me, perhaps my being there will help," he points out. It's unlikely to hurt at the very least. And while all the magic, anything supernatural about the place seemed to disappear upon it's collapse, well, just in case there is still something dangerous there he will feel a lot better if he's with her.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Amanda rewards that mischievious delight with a groan and a playful swat. "Jerk," she teases. It won't stop her from watching them, though. He'd better make popcorn, however, so she can throw it.

He takes her hand and she gives his a squeeze, pulling closer to him just because of familiarity and her understanding of the potential danger they could be courting by taking him back to that site. Just because the energy has drained, doesn't mean there's no threat left. The smallest pinprick can turn into a horrific tear with the right application of force.

"It's a date, then," she says lightly. "Bring your swords. Just in case."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Look, someone has to keep the mood light. It is a tough, demanding job but Kurt is ever up for the sacrifice.

At least that's his story. And he's stickin' to it.

"Done and done, meine Dame," he agrees without hesitation. Nothing has ever gone wrong combining popcorn, swords and supernatural investigations. Which means that it should just be about due, right? "Send word and I shall come running. Or teleporting at the very least," he assures her flippantly.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Oh, inevitably. Somewhere out in the universe, the die has been cast and these two are undoubtely about to come up deuces when sevens are high. But they've beaten those odds before. So, why not again. Thus, Amanda flashes that grin again. "I'll make some time. Are you coming for Thanksgiving? Pepper's quite set on it. I'm not allowed to have my first Thanksgiving in this country alone, apparently. But it would be nice to have family there." A beat. "Unless you're committed to Westchester, of course."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
There will be time enough to worry about all the spooky, supernatural stuff suddenly infesting his life. Or at least make light of it some more. When the time demands it. For now though there is enough room in the schedule for a little joy, for friends and family. "If I am invited certainly," the fuzzy blue elf agrees without hesitation. "There is of course plans at the Mansion as well, but the nice thing about teleportation is that I can almost be in two places at once," he notes with a grin. "I can work off the meal at the school by bamfing my way to the festivities here in the city!" he points out. Twice the food, twice the celebration. What's not to like?

Amanda Sefton has posed:
Again, Amanda laughs. She pokes Kurt lightly in the stomach. "I see your priorities haven't changed." She grins as she says it, entirely teasing. "Everyone should have a workout as efficient at yours. Truly." Who needs to sweat on a treadmill for hours when a few bamfs back and forth across the state will suffice?

Her eyes twinkle as she smiles. "I'll let you know when we're sitting down. I expect it will be at the Penthouse." In other words, at Stark Tower. "So, I'll have to let Tony know not to get too jumpy if you just pop in."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
If he tries to eat two full Thanksgiving dinners poking him in the stomach might prove to be a very bad idea. But for now it would seem safe enough and he flashes a grin her way. "Hurray for mutant metabolism," he points out wryly. "And I would certainly appreciate that! While trying to dodge laser fire is an extremely good workout, it is not very festive. Not in keeping with the spirit of this holiday, hmmm?" he points out with a sly little smile. "This should be an experience!" That much seems certain, no matter what.

Amanda Sefton has posed:
"One for the history books," Amanda agrees. "Thanksgiving dinner with Iron Man and his best girl. They're just lucky neither of us are all that fond of the press." Because neither of them would betray hosts or friends that way. Nevermind themselves.

She chuckles. "Some days, I think I'd actually enjoy laser fire. Dodging acidic monster spit has even less to recommend it, trust me."