Bewitched │Wolverine

CHAPTER 2: FATE

AS THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN BROKE, the morning sun cast a soft golden glow over the gardens of the Sanctum Sanctorum. The light filtered through the lush foliage, creating a delicate mosaic of light and shadow on the dark haired magician, loose and slightly tousled from the night. The world around her began to awaken, the distant murmur of a water fountain blending into the morning chirps of birds and harmony of nature.

The courtyard, a sanctuary of tranquility, was meticulously managed with an array of exotic plants and mystical herbs. The air was fragrant with the scent of blooming jasmine and lavender, mingling with the aroma of damp soil from last night's rain. Delicate ivy climbed the ancient stone walls, their leaves glistening with morning dew, while rare flowers of vibrant colours dotted the landscape.

Vana settled onto a stone bench in the middle of the courtyard's heart, attempting to meditate and centre herself. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply while trying to push the memory of Selene's words and her call to Scott out of her mind. But the events of the night weighed heavily on her, making it nearly impossible to find the calm she sought. The stillness of the courtyard seemed to amplify her thoughts rather than quiet them.

The gentle rustling of leaves and water provided a soothing backdrop, until a harsh cough caused Vana to lose all focus.

"You appear rather heavy minded. Care to share?"

She opened her eyes to see her host standing with his arms behind his back and a recently shaven goatee.

"No, I would not care to share Stephen, thank you."  Vana snapped with a roll of her eyes, before appearing to instantly regret it. "Sorry, sorry," she sighed. "It just feels like i'm seeing ghosts from the old days all of a sudden. It's overwhelming."

"What kind of ghosts are we talking about?" The sorcerer asks, taking a step closer to where Vana is sat cross legged.

"Well, last night's commission was a setup - this old enemy of the x-men decided to show up and give a whole speech about why she needs me, then just up and left without an explanation, which is completely unacceptable! It was SO rude of her, and even then I was in so much shock that I forgot to place a damn tracing spell on her weird arse dusky shadow of teleportation magic."  Vana looked as if she was about to stop, but then continued with her rant. "And so I stupidly thought 'Who has better information on her than the X-men? I'll just call my old friend Scott to explain what happened!' completely forgetting that I haven't spoken to him or several other members for the last five years and didn't plan on speaking to them in the near future-"

"You spoke to Scott Summers? Cyclops Scott who I thought you hated?" Stephen interrupts with confusion.

"Yeah! Ridiculous of me I know! Anyway, so I'm just trying to figure out what this all means but it's not as easy as I thought..." Vana stops in thought as she realises her rambling before looking back up at Stephen with an awkward smile. "Sorry Strange, I just don't really have anyone else to talk to about this." she mutters.

He looks down at her with a soft smile, placing his hand on her shoulder with care. "It's quite alright Vee, I understand."

Now, obviously this is an odd relationship to read about - and I don't mean relationship, relationship if you get what i'm saying. Vana would never date Stephen, yikes. Sure he's good looking but he compensates with his overly egotistical personality. This is one of the few times where he's actually nice to her, odd.

Anyway, considering that they're both magic users in a world where everyone knows everyone, it's not difficult to understand that they would most likely be friends (of a sort). They actually met because of a mutual they both share, but that's a different story for some other time (Vana doesn't like thinking about her any less than her old friends at Xavier's).