oo1 ⌛ video ⌛ open to both courts

[antagonising]

[ The locket opens and the view from the message's intended audience shows the condition of the Station, after Ariadne-Lawkamercyme's rampage through the place not days earlier — claw marks on the walls, furniture and interior structure shredded and destroyed, carpets ruined, basically the entire place in shambles.

Then, Natasha appears. ]

I don't need to ask what happened, here — it's pretty evident that those things got inside somehow and tore the entire place up. I'm a little surprised they'd cause this much damage, though; they hadn't seemed that large when I'd encountered them on the road from Caer Scima.

I assume the threat is gone, for now? If anyone from either court is interested in assisting with the clean-up and repair, I'd imagine they could use someone here with a little more construction know-how than I have. [ She's an expert in demolitions, not rebuilding, and she gives the locket a small smirk. ]

I'm sure the fairies and imps will appreciate it.

Comments

Video - private

[starspangled]

[There's a valley forming between his eyebrows, because she's tossing around names and organizations that he knows, but put together in a way that doesn't make any sense. HYDRA and Zola are both dead as far as he's concerned, and the part about working for the bad guys makes even less sense.

He knows enough about Natasha to know that she can wear a lot of different faces. Maybe something's wearing hers, just a little more literally.]

Who are you?

[His voice is a little sharper than before. He's not talking to a teammate, not talking to a friend.]

Video - private

[antagonising]

You know who I am. It's me. [ Her voice is calm and smooth, a stark contrast to the way her heart is pounding in her chest when he demands to know who she is. ] It's Natasha.

Steve, you don't remember any of this, do you. [ It's not a question; she's realizing that he has an entire chunk of time missing — literally the last week before she'd ended up here, unless his memories cut off after New York. ]

Video - private

[starspangled]

I don't remember it because it hasn't happened.

[For him. But Steve of all people should know that time plays by loose rules here. Hadn't he been on the other side of this conversation with one of Thor's allies?]

Not for me. At least not yet.

Video - private

[antagonising]

[ She's just figuring that out, that the placement of one person may not necessarily dictate the placement of others. It's obvious Steve is from an earlier time — one at least where he knows she's an ally, but nothing more than that.

He doesn't know about Zola embodied in a living computer. He doesn't know about HYDRA's stealth takeover. He doesn't know about Insight.

...He doesn't know about Barnes.

Natasha shutters her features, concealing her expression to keep a neutral mask. ]

...How soon can you get to the Station?

[ Because she's sure as hell not going to tell him everything over a magical locket, and especially not sensitive information such as the fate of his friend. ]

Video - private

[starspangled]

It might take me a few days, I'm sort of on a mission. But I'll be there as soon as I can. Can you wait?

[Oh, here's an idea.]

I can see what Bucky's doing. Maybe he'll be able to keep you company.

Video - private

[antagonising]

[ She's about to say yes, she can wait, it's not as though she has anything pressuring to get back to at Caer Scima, but then he says Bucky and her heart freezes in her throat — ]

— No — [ is her first and instinctive reaction, because the wound in her shoulder still aches, the one that matches the slug wound on her stomach.

But then she takes a breath and calms herself slightly, regaining her composure. ]

— I mean, I just...don't know him. Is he a good guy? Friend of yours?

Video - private

[starspangled]

Natasha?

[Because the force of her reaction seems unusual for her. It definitely came from somewhere, and Steve's not about to just let her gloss over it.]

What is it?

Video - private

[antagonising]

[ She's determined not to open this can of worms until she knows he can handle it — or he genuinely believes her and doesn't think she's lying to him about it — so she shakes her head, speaks quickly. ]

Tell me about your friend, Bucky. What's he like? Friendly? Honest, like you?

[ ...any metal appendages she should know about... ]

Video - private

[starspangled]

[Huh. The sudden interest in Bucky still strikes him as a little strange. Maybe she's just being cautious, or maybe this is a step towards friendship. They didn't exactly have much time to bond before - not counting shawarma.]

Bucky was - is my best friend. When I was a kid, I used to get in a lot of trouble, and Bucky was always the one who pulled me out of it. He was my family when I didn't have anyone else, and he fought right beside me when we took down Hydra during the war.

['And he died doing it.' Steve can't bring himself to save that part, but there's a sadness that passes over his face.]

So if you're worried about whether you can trust him or not, you can. There's not a better man here.

[And ladies, he's a great dancer.]

Video - private | Steve finally arrives, Nat and Bucky are tango-ing it across the Station

[antagonising]

[ His unadulterated praise cinches it for her in her head: Bucky is not the Winter Soldier here, not in this place. (And she thinks what a strange sight he must be, prior to his abduction by Zola and the twisted thing that HYDRA turned him into with decades of brainwashing and indoctrination.)

She presses her lips together, nods succinctly. ]

...Took down HYDRA, right. [ She doesn't have the heart yet to tell him about that particular lie, either. ] He was one of the Commandos, then.

If you want, send him over. Maybe I should have a talk with him. [ At the very least, she'll be able to assess him to ensure that he's genuinely who Steve says he is, and not pulling the wool over anyone's eyes. ]

Video - private | he could picture it

[starspangled]

If everything works out, I could meet the both of you there.

[If.]