Nomad | Hawkeye FF ✓

COLD COFFEE AND BAD SURPRISES

She's beginning to know too much.
-Evaluation Notes, Owner, Unknown.

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    COFFEE in a light blue mug, and a picture of a dried cherry tree and three chickadees perched on bare evergreen branches sat untouched on Sophie's coffee table. Gradually, the steam rising out of the mug diminished, as the hot beverage turned lukewarm. 

    The owner of the drink paced inside her living room. Hot with anger that dwelled deeply inside her blood. 

    She couldn't understand the Director's theories and reasonings sometimes, or for that matter, all the time. First, the man seemed as though he wanted to help, and then the next moment he's shuffling her out of his office.

    If these bipolar characteristics continued to happen, Sophie had no idea what she would resort to—going rogue? Perhaps converting to the other side for a while might get her more clues, and result in fewer unanswered questions. Staying at SHIELD had proven an ordeal, as her time with the organization had given her virtually nothing in terms of information.

    "Such help you are," she muttered bitterly, before turning around from the window. She paced to the other side of the room with her head down, brows connected, and thin lips tight.  "I should have never listened to you, Clint." She spat his name as if it were poison atop her tongue.

    Sophie rarely gave anyone the benefit of the doubt and when the young one did, it most certainly meant a great deal to her. Sophie hated the fact that she gave it to Clint, someone she thought she could trust. Why had she thought this? What possessed her to give in to the Avenger?

    Another unhealthy wave of anger swept over her warm skin, making goosebumps pop up along her arm. She ceased in her pacing to stare out her window again. Gradually, the scenery cooled her wrath. 

    The shimmering, thin glass of the Potomac River between Washington D.C. and Virginia hit Sophie's sight like a mirror. Some of the buildings on Washington's side were an eyesore, but Sophie didn't mind the clustered structures at the moment. She became hypnotized by the moving picture outside her window.  

    Clouds drifted on by in a gray sky, the sun tucked somewhere behind the angry cotton balls. Sophie looked to a person launching their canoe into the river, adding to the few kayakers already in the water. They were enjoying the weather, or what was left of the day's loveliness. Dreariness was beginning to creep into the large city.

    The distant, rumbling noise of a helicopter gripped Sophie's full attention as she angled her eyes to the skies. Having taken a closer look, she spotted the plane and saw that the aircraft was one of SHIELD's coming in for a landing on the tarmac.  

    Her vigilant eyes seemed to slip into a daze for a moment, but she was really dividing her visual attention between both her surroundings and the single helicopter that was easing into a smooth landing. All the anger minutes ago instantly diminished from her features and was replaced with a relaxed awe. Her irises now appeared to be far from the world she lived in now, and in a distant longing place she craved to be back in.

    The glistening river, tall buildings, boats, and the sky itself all became a faded scenery setting a different scene. The film of the past came into Sophie's view.

    The farmhouse was apparent to her as she saw herself sitting in the living room with her mother, father, and older sister. She smelt the smoke from the hearth as if she really was in the room, and all of it not a mere memory.

    The clock on the mantelpiece above the fireplace ticked away precious time—time the family spent together as if all was well. Bright smiles lit their faces as enthusiasm twinkled in their eyes. Her mother's joyful face keenly observed her two daughters, who were in a deep discussion with their father; a cup of hot tea was snuggled between her hands, pressed to her chest.