Thread: Of Winter & Of Wonder [Tempt x insufferable]

Tears streamed down the child's pale cheeks as the rubble's dust burned her bright green eyes. She clenched desperately to a dirty old stuffed bunny - one so aged the stuffing had either flattened or disintegrated altogether. Yet still, even despite its unappealing smell and appearance, she held on to it as if it was the last thing she had. But not even her cries would be enough to shatter the thick of my hazed illusion. As I fought tooth and nail for dominance over your physically superior form, not even the sound of a dying child could break calm this beast. With a heart filled with vengeance, I pummeled and pawned until I finally succeeded over you. Finally having you within my grasp, and at the mercy of my lasso, I wasted no time in seeking the truth. But the truth was not what I was looking for. It was not what I wanted to hear. As the golden whip tightened firmer and firmer around your neck, your responses became longer and more precise. But with every word you uttered, my grasp only became stiffer. My brows lowered as I became angrier and angrier with every reply. JAMES , You would sputter. J-James James Buchanan Barnes . But I wanted more. United States Army Sergeant - Serial No. 32557038 . And you were gone. As your eyes rolled to the back of your head, your body grew limp in my death wrap of my rope. The moment you fell unconscious, my eyes widened and my stomach sank. Releasing the lasso all at once, as if my hands had forgotten how to hold, I watched as the golden simmer lost its glowing color. It fell lifelessly to the floor, as did your body, and immediately, I knew something was wrong. Even despite my focus slowly coming to reality, there was still silence around me. No explosions. No deafening bullet chimes. Not even the cries of an innocent little girl. Snapping out of my daze, I shift my head to the side. There stood the young Romanian child, no younger than my own Amena, just a foot away from me. She held her tattered rabbit in one hand, while the other tiny fingers clasped on to an small circular object. Holding it up to me, her glossy olive eyes looked at me. Without a single word, or a single sound, she handed to me the very item Amena had striven to deliver. The Amulet of Harmonia . A pendant once secured to a rope chain had been lost in battle. Opening the palm of my hand, my eyes found the dusty copper pendant . Harmonia, the child of Ares, had created the Amulet before her father could destroy her, blessing it with the ability to see his weakness. COSMINA!!! A woman shrieked at the top of her lungs. The child, seemingly awed by my presence, turned to look at her mother running towards her at a far distance. COSMINA! She would shriek once more before the young child would look back at me for the last time. Holding up her disheveled friend, she offered me her greatest gift the stuffed rabbit. Taking it from her, she quickly turned around to return to her mother. In an energized run, she raced for her mother, who soon collapsed to her knees to embrace her child with a deep embrace. My eyes watered as I watched their loving reunion. A single tear streamed down my ash-smeared cheek. Clenching both the Amulet and the rabbit in my hands, I looked at the disaster before me the rubble I had created the destruction I had begun. Feeling nothing but shame, regret, and dishonesty - this was not the life I wished to live. Looking over to your unconscious corpse, I secured the amulet to my armor and stepped over to you. With one foot planted heavy to either side of your waist, I looked suspiciously down to you. Crouching down over your hips, I stuffed the toy rabbit into your belt. It was not a gift for me, but a gift for you. The breeze blew smoke and ash in the air - creating a fading image of clarity for anyone in the distance. I could hear someone call my name, but my only focus now was on you. With lasso at hip and shield at my back, I was ready to leave this mess behind. Grabbing your bionic arm, I hauled you in one heaping lift. Pulling your body over my shoulder, my divine strength was unmatched by any mortal female. Diana!!! Steve Rogers had emerged from the depths of hideout as Captain America once more - determined to rescue a man he thought was his ultimate partner on the battlefield. As she shouted my name, I paid no attention to his calls. He shouted for me to wait. He shouted for me to stop. He even shouted for me to spare you. But he didn't know the truth here. He certainly didn't know mine. I slowly rotated my body to look at him. Fully in-gear, with a new partner in justice by his side, I did nothing but pierce my dark eyes into his own blue wonders. It was a look of defeat, but not that of my own. Diana, please! He begged, but it was already too late. With your limp body at the mercy of my grip, I lowered my stance down, balancing the weight of both of us on my strong thighs. The two extended into a desperate bolt, Steve running furiously to reach us before I could escape with you again. Sam Wilson responded with technology, his jet pack spreading into Falcon wings . The ground shook below me, and within a second, I was gone. Vanished as if in thin air, leaving nothing behind but the crumbling asphalt that once supported my feet. I had launch my body so hard into the air that even a blink of the eye was enough to miss the sight of me. And just as quickly as Sam took off, he returned to the ground to land beside his best friend, Steve. Having watched me take off, Steve's came to a sudden stop and dropped his head in disappointment . You didn't tell me she could FLY AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT. Sam exclaimed. She hauled his 200-pound ass up like he was a DAISY. Steve returned his gaze to Sam, still huffing from the sprint with no future. There were no words to describe the fear he felt inside, but the worried look in his eyes was enough to spook Sam into cooling it down. Alright, alright. What's the plan, Cap? How we gonna get to Miss Amazonia over there before it's too late? Bucharest, Romania - 637am - Apartment 1P Your eyes began to twitch, and this time, I knew you were finally waking. The moment your mind came to consciousness, your senses would surely know exactly where you were. The damp, dingy smell was distinct in its odor - the smell of a penthouse apartment, or what was left of it from what used to be. It was at the very height of the apartment complex, once a lavish project now turned to junkie-filled dumps after abandonment just years ago. Nevertheless, it made for a good hideout, one you had been using on and off around Romania in assumed discretion. But it wasn't so secret anymore, now that I was sitting right in the middle of it. I had lay you on the bed to rest, something I had expected to last minutes, not hours. But your body wasn't the only thing I lay out. In the hours you were asleep, I had searched your apartment found every single weapon hidden in every nook and cranny, or at least... the bulk of it. Rather than keeping them in their hide-away duffel bags, wrapped newspapers, and whatever other materials you used to stash, I unwrapped every single piece of equipment, and one-by-one, laid them all out on the dining room floor. With my back to the couch and facing you - between you and I - there was an ocean of weapons that separated us. And even though your bed was nearly to the ground, held off the floor by only a couple of wooden crates , you were still higher than me. I sat promptly on the floor, facing the rows and rows of guns and explosives I had never seen before. With my legs crossed towards me, one would think I was ready to meditate, not ready to fight. Without any sort of proper introduction or caution or truce, I started with a quote, instead. A wise Queen once told me... Be careful in the world of men, Diana. For they do not deserve you . My voice was calm and nonthreatening as your eyelids fluttered open completely. Whatever your waking reaction, I didn't seem bothered nor alarmed by it. Instead, I swallowed hard. It wasn't out of nerves, but out of disappointment for myself. But today... I continued, ... I witnessed an innocent child who deserved to be saved, and a man who sacrificed his own flesh to save her. My eyes shifted from the amulet I had been clutching in my palm to look at you. My dark chocolate eyes met your own deep blues, and without blinking, I stared intensely into them. You were not the man - the God - I thought you were. I continued, And for that, I added, I apologize . Fully realizing that it was in fact not Ares I was speaking with, I owned up to my mistakes, and to the harm I had caused just hours ago. Steve was right about you, James . My head nodded ever so softly. You are not evil. But I do believe you are being controlled by it... Taking a breath in, I looked to you with sympathy. And I think I can help you destroy it. Pausing, I pulled the stuffed rabbit out from behind me. I offered it to you as a sign of peace, as Cosmina had done to me before. Whether or not you accepted the tattered toy or not, my mind and senses stayed focus on you. My eyes fell to the weapons once more. I am not from your world Man's World . And I do not know this new age of weaponry you use... Referring to the guns and grenades just inches from my knees, I looked to you with engaging eyes, Will you teach me?