THEY ARE BOTH PRISONERS HERE. wakanda is beautiful - staggering in her LUSH glory, and her people, although timid && wary of outsiders, are kind - but it does not change the reality of their situation. king t’challa calls them guests in his home - a kind proposition that is the other man’s civil and heartfelt attempt to pay off a debt, for assuming barnes was responsible for his father’s death ;; for targeting steve and his companions in an act of heated rage - but the harsh truth is that they are WAR CRIMINALS with no where left to go, seeking asylum. they are ‘ FREE TO LEAVE ‘ should they choose to do so ( so they are told. ) the isolation && seclusion of the hidden african nation makes it a perfect refuge and every decision made is for their own PROTECTION. he has no reason to distrust any of them, especially steve. && yet, despite their kindness and hospitality, barnes cannot shake the feeling of being CAGED.
HELL, in terms of cages, this one isn’t bad. certainly better than a fuckin’ containment crate with leather restraints and magnetized cuffs ;; better than a dark isolation tank or a stasis pod with only a single window, deteriorated by time ;; better than the RAFT. — && he sounds ungrateful, he knows he does, but sometimes he feels like these camouflaged walls are closing in on him. his only natural instinct, an instinct that has kept him alive, rumbles like a livid storm inside his bones. this IMPULSE to run. && wakanda, however vast, prevents him from doing so. in this place, eyes are always on him, watching - watching - watching. he is an OUTSIDER here, incapable of blending in. his face, his IDENTITY is known, unmistakable and undeniable. he is someone in this place and it makes his skin CRAWL. —but steve wants him to stay, insists they are SAFE here. the soldier understands that the farce of safety is a LIE. they will never be safe, never. the only way to survive is to move. TO DISAPPEAR…
WHEREAS THE OTHERS ARE DEEMED WAR CRIMINALS, they are apparently on a different spectrum entirely. it is the shared link that binds them. she, an ABOMINATION ;; he, a TERRORIST. they are feared, man - made WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. they are to be CONTAINED, and if they cannot be contained ( controlled ), they are to be outlawed. human turned weapon, returned human turned fugitive. she has no idea either, none of the answers he is so desperately fishing for ;; no real idea where they go from here. he makes a soft, noncommittal noise, glancing out the large, full - length window while pondering his words. unconsciously, he starts to rub at the stump of his mutilated arm, gritting his teeth at the discomfort it produces.
shrugging, he tilts his head, expression flat, but voice amiable. ❛ you still can. …think of it like– studying abroad, right? ❜ after a beat, he looks back to her, eyes taking in her form. ❛ although, you don’t strike me as a NORMAL girl. ❜ it sounds BLUNT, but his words are not meant to be insulting. it is a simple, unbiased observation. ❛ if you wanted to go to school, you would’ve gone to school. ❜
expression suddenly bleeds empty, GUARDED - and purposely so, as his mind follows this MURKY trail of thought down to the very bottom. ❛ why did you sign up? why did you CHOOSE hydra? ❜ — && if it sounds a little CRITICIZING, he doesn’t mean it… although the flare of heated horror inside his chest may suggest otherwise…
__________✦ SHE CAN’T HELP THE BUBBLE OF SOMEWHAT EMBITTERED LAUGHTER THAT SEEPS FROM HER PALE LIPS AT THE statements he has made. normal girl ?? no, she is far from it. always has been really. even his question about that godforsaken organization she joined ... never one to sit out a fight. never one to turn a blind eye to the suffering, even if it meant becoming a MONSTER in the eyes of those she once sought to save. she had only been a kid when she made the decision ... but she was not truly a child. innocence had died screaming && what was left was the hollow, walking corpse of who had once been a wanda maximoff. rest in peace, little girl. you may be breathing, but we all know the truth. you’ve been dead for years.
✦__________ SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TAKEN FOR A SMIRK TUGS AT THE CORNERS OF HER MOUTH, SOFTENING HER FEATURES if not releasing the tension resting behind those emerald eyes of hers. ❛ long ago, i dreamed of being a teacher. i wanted to teach science && language. not quite a NORMAL combination, but as you’ve pointed out, i’m not quite the normal girl. it kept me in school until i was SIXTEEN. but we all had to work to eat. it was only survival from that point on. ❜
__________✦ THE SMIRK DROPS, LEAVING HER MORE SERIOUS. GOD HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE SHE’S LAUGHED or felt anything other than this vast ... emptiness ?? ❛ i dropped out because the foster system threatened to separate my brother && i. so we ran ... school became IRRELEVANT then, but we had each other. after our parents ... well, you know, you try to hold onto any sense of normalcy you can. we grew up during the civil war. novi grad was one of the last government strongholds, though the rebels were internationally backed. it’s how they got the STARK missiles that killed our parents during the final invasion. ❜
✦__________ ❛ WHEN THE GOVERNMENT FELL, THE REBEL REGIME WAS NOT MUCH BETTER. PEOPLE STILL STARVED. NO ONE was safe. && my brother && i had lost everything, much as many others had. so when we left school, we had NOTHING to do, but to fight to bring our country back from the edge of TYRANNY. we protested. we rallied the working class. running only does you good for so long && then came the day we were caught by the secret police. a man calling himself SHIELD managed to find his way to where we were being held && asked us what we would do to not only escape, but to save our country ... ❜
__________✦ ANYTHING. THEY’D GIVE ANYTHING TO SAVE THE LAND THAT HAD RAISED THEM && THAT WAS NOW BURNING TO THE GROUND. OH && DID THEY GIVE. ❛ we knew the man was lying. but he got us out of there. no one is IMMUNE to bribes if you find enough to pay. pietro didn’t want to do it, but i told him that what happens to us did not matter, as long as we could help our people. ❜ a pause. enough for HEARTBREAK to set in. her fault, her fault, her fault ❛ maybe he’d still be alive if i hadn’t said anything. maybe we’d still have a HOME. no one can know for sure. ❜