The woman in red across the table stared without a break as Anemone attempted to focus on her meal. Her widened eyes kept on her every movement. Anemone bit her tongue to keep herself distracted from the attention she was receiving all around her. The man next to Wanda was the only person at the table who couldn't give a second to look her way as he kept his entire focus on the bowl of soup.
"So," the silence was broken as Steve spoke up, "Anemone..."
She looked up to him.
"The thing is... we don't exactly know who you are. And I cannot say that our actions from the night before were justified..." Steve continued with a struggle to find words, "However, considering that you are... talented as we are, we could not help but worry that our cover was blown."
"You have telekinetic powers?" Wanda spoke up over him. She leaned forward across the table.
Anemone eyed the woman from her seat. "No. I cannot move objects with my mind. My powers don't work like that."
"How, pray tell, do they then?" The man named Sam glided into the conversation before Wanda had a chance to retort. "If we may know."
Her voice halted at the base of her throat. Anemone could feel the anxiety take over as her vision slightly blurred. No one ever asked her this. No one had ever the chance to ask her this. Mustering her sentences whilst searching for answers, Anemone finally replied. "I was plagued with migraines since I was a child. They were genetic, passed down in my family. And then... something happened. Something triggered the pain even more."
She lifted the palm of her hand to the table. A small blue spark erupted from her fingertips, dancing around her skin vibrantly. From the corner of her eye she could see the man next to her move closer. The grey of his eyes focused on the blue waves of her wrist.
"I don't know what it is... whether it's truly telekinesis or some sort of lightning. But I can cast a shield of it around me just as I can concentrate it in one point to unleash." Anemone looked up at Wanda with caution. "I'm sorry you had to experience that first hand."
Wanda remained silent as her cheeks started to turn red.
"We all acted irrationally." Steve began, "The better choice was to communicate first. But we were all too busy worrying to save our own hide. Regardless, everything has passed now and no one is going to be throwing any punches any time soon."
"Does using your powers come with a price?" Wanda interrupted again. This time her expression had softened, her shoulders relaxed and at ease.
Anemone hid her hand underneath the table at the question. Her eyes darted from the woman and, without consideration, met with the gaze to her right. Bucky kept his distance but his attention remained intent.
"My migraines... they amplify whenever I use my powers too quickly. I have to build up to it; the pain still increases but at a slower rate." She reached up to touch the skin of her temple. A sharp sting hit her brain. "I can't control it. The pain in my head can be excruciating if it comes too quick. At the best, I can still function to defend myself. At the worst... I have been tempted carve out the inside of my head just to relieve it for a second."
She ceased talking. The silence of the dinning hall filled the atmosphere in response to her statement. Anemone did not have to continue anymore before the group understood her situation. This wasn't a rose-coloured super power. She could not wield it at any given moment. There were direct consequences and limited use of it. She wasn't like the Avengers. She couldn't physically withstand that kind of combat.
"So... are you going to finish that?" Scott's voice erupted among the silence. He was pointing his spoon to Anemone's serving of soup. The entire group stared at him in disbelief, unsure of what to say.
"No, you can have it if you want." Anemone replied with a half-smile as she stood up, passing the bowl across the table. She stepped around the table towards the door before pausing to look back. "I need some fresh air. I'll be back soon... I promise I won't run off somewhere."
Steve rose midway but stopped once he noticed Bucky was already on his feet. Wanda twisted herself in her chair to watch the young woman walk through the door and out of the building. Bucky followed silently.
"We cannot leave her alone like this." Wanda's voice cracked as she turned her attention back to the group, "She's on her own out here. We can't leave her to deal with her powers in solitude."
"Have you already forgiven her for last night?" Clint chuckled under his breath while finishing his serving.
Wanda darted her vision back to him with annoyance. "I know what it's like to live in solitude. I know what fear of your own strength can do to your conscience if you're left to it alone. Pietro was with me at the time when I started to discover myself. This girl had no one. She isolates herself to protect others around her and in the process, she's killing herself."
"I agree." Steve chimed in, "I do not want to see others with such special gifts undergo their lives on their own. If she wants to, I am for her staying with us."
Wanda shook her head at the words, silently seconding.
The two of them looked over at the rest of the group.
Scott gave a shrug as he focused back to his meal.
"I am alright with her joining us for the moment." Sam began, "However, I feel that we need to know her better before formally extending an invite."
"I'm right behind you on that." Clint spoke up, "We have had a crap ton of misunderstandings and confusion occur for the past few months. Taking in a stray kid is one thing. Taking in a stray kid with unknown super powers is another. We have to keep an eye on her."
"Keep all of the eyes that you want," Wanda retorted. Pushing herself away from the table, she started making her way towards the hallway. "She is not staying in these mountains alone. I guarantee you that one."
The slam of the hallway door shattered around the room. Clint rubbed his eyes in frustration while Steve proceeded to start clearing the table. He glanced out the window to spot his friend disappear into the woods at the trail head. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out."
The morning sunlight started to overcast into noon as the shadows of the forest shrunk. Anemone could pick out the woodpeckers that sang into the woods while cricket frogs clicked in unison somewhere hidden in the forest floor. She stepped over dead branches on the trail, careful to make as little noise as possible. Her very existence in the mountains was foreign to the inhabitants. It was moments like these that heightened her senses and expanded her thoughts. Anemone enjoyed the bustle of the mountains. It was certainly incomparable to the traffic screech of a city. She continued to make her way deeper into the lush greenery.
Around the bend of the trail a rock outcrop had been jabbed out of the ground. Anemone walked up to it, placing the palm of her hand to the cool surface. The rugged minerals scratched at her skin as she glided her hand across the length of its side. Her breathing had calmed. The pain in her temple had dulled into the back of her head. Everything that had occurred within the past ten hours seemed to fly out with the passing breeze. She slid to her knees to observe the lines carved into the stone. Her eyes darted at each little detail she could spot, trying to keep the patterns in her head while running her finger aimlessly on the soil ground. Anemone head was filled with the scent of earth.
"Неужели это гранит?" She mumbled under her breath in thought.
She wished she had her backpack with her now. There was a small journal packed into one of the front pockets with a sketching pencil that she used to capture moments like these on paper. Anemone scanned her surrounding to try to remember the scenery. She wanted to return later that evening to the spot.
A twig cracked from a distance and Anemone snapped in the direction of the sound. She could tell that the sound was too heavy for a deer but light enough to be a bear. Her heart raced as she scurried to conceal herself behind the outcrop, away from the trail. The sounds ceased momentarily as the forest songs filled her ears once more. Anemone remained in her spot, unsure whether the intruder had passed.
Suddenly, a cold surface brushed against the back of her neck. Anemone nearly lost her balance and slammed her head into the rock in shock. Her heart sank to the bottom pit of her stomach. Her voice completely stuck. She gripped onto the outcrop as she twisted her head up. Her short blonde hair wiped around. Above her stood a familiar figure. Too familiar in her opinion.
"What are you doing?" Bucky announced himself as he stood behind her.
Anemone looked down to notice his boots covered in clay mud. He must have walked off the main trail path and wandered off.
Bucky took a step forward unexpectedly.
"N-nothing." She attempted at a response. "I'm just looking at this rock."
Bucky leaned in, coming down to her eye level. He squat next to her as he reached out to touch the outcrop with his own right hand. Anemone attempted to move aside to get out of his way. "What is so special about it?"
"I don't know..." She paused, inching away, "I just like the pattern the minerals form."
"What minerals do you think they are?" His voice rang at such close proximity.
Anemone glanced back to the rock. "I imagine most of this is quartz. There's some sort of feldspar in here too and that," She pointed to a thin sheet over one of the minerals, "That is a small sliver of mica. Probably muscovite variety. It's the most common."
She turned back to face Bucky.
The edge of his mouth curved up a little. "It sounds like you have a lot of interest in these mountains."
Anemone could feel the tip of her ears heat up and redden. The entire position was simply awkward. Two grown adults kneeling at a rock was unusual. Bucky ran his hand across the outcrop in her direction. He stopped just before it ran into her cheek. He turned his attention to her once more, the grey in his eyes unchanging, hollow. Anemone took note of the scruff that reached the bend of his neck. The jaw that clenched tight was unshaven as well. His lips were pressed in a thin line. She tried to focus on anything except for the gaze that did not cease.
Suddenly her breathing halted. Anemone choked out a gasp as she realized that his second hand had crept around to grasp at her jaw. She scrambled to take hold of his grip, desperately trying to pull him off. Bucky tilted her head so that he could not look away from him. "Where did you say you were from?"
The voice was chilling. The gentle tone that he carried with her earlier in the morning was completely gone. Replaced with snarl, Bucky held her firmly in place as Anemone continued to struggle in his grip.
"For a local of the state, your accent is really good."
Anemone dug her fingernails into creases of his metal hand. "Fuck... off."
Her vision instantly blurred as air rushed back into her lungs. Before she could make out what occurred, Anemone was flung across the forested floor against her shoulder. She landed in a loud crack, her back rimming into a tree. A soft cry escaped her lips, unable to make out any words. She could taste the iron inside her mouth.
Bucky was already on his feet as he advanced in her direction. His teeth grinding, "Who sent you? Откуда вы? Какой организации вы принадлежите?"
Anemone pressed against the soil ground. Her body was aching from the impact. "For fuck's sake... you hear Russian and immediately you assume spies?"
Before she could make another remark, a wave of red blocked Bucky's fist, sending him flying in the opposite direction. From across the trail stood Wanda, her hands extended and eyes filled with rage. Behind her stood Steve who looked as if he was about to lose his breakfast.
"B-Bucky!" He called out in mid-run. Wanda sprinted towards Anemone instead.
"What happened?" Wanda nearly screeched as Anemone gripped onto the tree to straighten herself.
Before she could reply, Anemone heard a distinct smack followed by a crash. She glanced over Wanda's shoulder to notice Steve down. Stepping over him, Bucky stormed forward in her direction again. Anemone moved Wanda aside to brace for the impact, releasing her shield.
The fist that collided with her wall thundered, sending a large flash of blue rushing up a nearby tree. The bark cracked open as the tree came crashing down to their side. Anemone gripped her head, holding back a scream. It wasn't enough. The strength of her shield did not send Bucky back as it did with Sam. Another fist met, sending a bigger lightning shock in the opposite direction. Anemone could feel the wall cracking as she fell to the ground. She wasn't quick enough. The layer of her shield was quickly being penetrated.
The third hit finished it. Shattering the blue orb that surrounded Wanda and Anemone, the sparks flew in all directions as her shrill resonated against the mountain. Bucky reached down to pick at Anemone's collar, pulling harshly upright so that she now remained eye level. The fury in his eyes was overpowering. Anemone attempted to stay conscious as she dangled with her feet nearly off the ground. Memories flooded her mind. Memories of a plane and New York City.
"She's an immigrant, you goddamn bastard!" Wanda yelled as she took grip on Bucky's shoulder. "You're choking her!"
Anemone reached up to push against his face with her last strength. The soft skin of her fingers barely pressed much to his cheek. Her heart fluttered up to her throat, her lungs struggling for air. The hollow of his eyes was slowly starting to disappear. Bucky eased his grip as Anemone nearly fell to the ground. He caught her from her backside with his other arm as she sunk down. Her voice was rasp, coughing out into his shoulder.
Wanda nearly shoved him away, grasping Anemone in her arms as she leaned over the girl. She snarled at Bucky, her face twisted in agony.
"Steve!" She shrieked. "Take him out of my sight before I rip him apart myself!"
The last thing Anemone remembered was the pained horror fill his eyes. And she was out once more.