The Scarlet Apprentice

For the fire

Once the rain eventually cleared, the two did return to the comforts of the inside of the cabin. After the connection they formed while sitting out on the porch, they took it easy for the rest of the day.

They shared the occasional glance every now and then which would ignite a warm comforting feeling in their hearts, but apart from that, they kept to themselves.

Y/n cosied up in wandas blanket with a mug resting in her hands for most of the day while subtly enjoying the blissful smell that the rain left, whereas wanda retained her attention upon her guest.

Even if it was a small glance to see if she was comfortable, or the long occasional stare she'd managed to achieve when y/n was focused on doing something, her eyes stayed on her for most the the day.

Then came the night, and the two settled into their beds with a better feeling.

Wanda, knowing she had more days ahead to spend with y/n, managed to get a slightly longer sleep then usual, and even when she'd wake up in the night she'd feel a comfort knowing that she wasn't alone in her house.

Y/n, finally at peace with the idea that someone related to her, fell into her slumber almost immediately with the blanket wrapped tightly around her.

The morning came quickly for the two and, as always, wanda had woken up early and made herself a cup of coffee. While in the kitchen, she considered waking up y/n and making her one too, but as she saw how comfortable she looked, she decided to give her a bit more time.

Wanda's plans of reading her book in bed for a couple hours was spoiled because, for the first time in a long time, she fell asleep into a nap a few moments after sitting in bed.

After an hour went by, y/n finally awoke from her sleep due to the gentle and comforting sound of a few birds lightly chirping from outside the cabin.

No part of her wanted to stay in bed for any longer, so she stood up with a stretch and mindlessly wandered around the cabin. At least, her route was mindless until she saw that the fireplace had only one piece of wood to fuel it, which sparked an idea.

Peering through the kitchen window, she noticed the stump and bunch of logs which rested against the side of the cabin, waiting to be used, so she settled on her plan.

Wanda still remained sleeping for a while longer until she was jolted out her nap by a harsh and quick sound that made its way through to her bedroom.

What distracted her was the sound of something breaking under a forceful blow. She would've usually dismissed it, but judging by the crazy events of her life over the past couple of months, she immediately assumed it was a threat.

With the strands of crimson light threading through her fingers, she cautiously walked out into the rest of the cabin, her eyes staying alert to anything that moved. She watched any movement like a predator watched its prey before her stare landed on the couch.

By then, the couch had been vacated - completely abandoned - and the lovely red blanket was no longer resting upon the sleeping body of her guest. Instead, it was folded in half and hung against the back of the couch.

A tremble in her breath formed as she heard the forceful blow yet again, but she soon realised it was coming from outside. Clenching her jaw, she marched out, pulling the door open as she went.

Without slowing down her pace, she marched down the steps, creating an array of panicked footsteps to echo from the wood.

However, when she stood on the grass with her hand engulfed in red energy, she realised what it was. The magic she had summoned to protect herself slid back into her arms as she dropped her hand down to her side, looking at the sight with confusion.

"What are you doing?" Wanda asked.

Before answering, y/n swung the axe down once again to split the log in half, then she rested the axe over her shoulder with a huff, "chopping up wood for the fire."

"Why?" She shrugged.

"I noticed you were nearly out." She explained, pulling the axe down from her shoulder again.

She bent over and picked up another piece of wood from the pile, placing it on the stump. With a quiet groan, she lifted the axe before forcefully swinging it down onto the log, causing it to split it half and fall to the grass.

When she realised she was still be watched by wanda, y/n turned, "you wanna join?"

She smiled softly and gazed at her with awe, "That's adorable."

"What?" She asked.

Without saying anything else, wanda lifted her hand and lightly waved it in the direction of the pile, emitting her energy into shards which sliced each log in half.

Y/n watched in disbelief as all the logs she had yet to do were effortlessly split in half to match those she'd spent so long working on.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She mumbled to herself, out of breath from how much she'd lifted the heavy axe, only to drop it down again.

With the soft smile lingering on her face, wanda turned and walked back into the house. After groaning obnoxiously loudly, y/n dropped the axe onto the ground beside her and lightly jogged up to the porch.

Without pausing her walk, she pulled her boots off and gently kicked them against the side of the door before walking into the house not long after wanda.

"I've been out there for an hour cutting up wood and you could've done it in two seconds?" She asked as she followed her to the kitchen, "do you have any idea how fucking stupid that makes me look?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it, I thought it was cute." She assured her.

"Right." She rubbed her forehead with her hand before sighing, "i fucked up my clothes doing that. I've got wood shavings all over me, there's a hole in my sweatpants-."

Cutting her off, she asked, "I gave you those not long ago, how have you managed to ruin them already?"

"A bit of thread got caught in some of the bark." She answered.

"Well, did you try and carefully remove it?" She asked with a squint.

"No, I cut it off with the axe." She shrugged.

"Oh, my god, okay." She sighed, "you're lucky that you stumbled upon a witch's cabin and not some random persons."

"Is that so?" She smirked slightly.

She explained, "I can turn these ruined clothes into whatever outfit you want."

Her brows furrowed, "and you're sure that's not... incredibly dangerous?"

She shrugged, "I do it all time."