Scarlett War

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - BETRAYAL

Wanda Maximoff - Super Human

Ivan disappeared yesterday, the 23rd.

I forgave him for almost choking me out a few days prior. I couldn't blame him, as he said, the stone wasn't a good force for us.

William didn't, and neither did the boys. But they just didn't understand him as I did.

We got our first snow that day as well. Absolutely brutal, especially for the fact that I couldn't snuggle up to William.

For the first time, I went into his tent, when I sensed his presence was gone. I wasn't surprised to see it was bare, small, and normal.

There was a note as if he was expecting me.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

There was no further information. So, I just had to wait for him to return.

Its been ten days since Turner said. We're healing, I guess, but it sucks feeling that our leader is just gone. A hole ripped from our family.

I hope he's okay, wherever he ended up in the afterlife. I didn't know whether he had a girl or a family. He was 31, which meant a greater possibility of him being married already. I wanted to ask Will, but, couldn't.

Will was . . taking it hard. I knew he felt that he was the reason for his death. Just yesterday, I watched him scream at a couple of privates, flask at his side.

Around me, as always, it's different. But day by day, I can't help but feel he's slipping through my fingertips. I know people deal with grief differently, but he wasn't allowing them to move through the stages.

And, once more, with him being in Turner's position, he was busier. Of course, my life didn't revolve around him, but I still loved him, and it sucked not being able to spend time with him.

Besides, my life revolved around something else, now.

"Jesus Christ," Zussman said, huddling closer to the fire. "Second snow and I'm already freezing."

I was better off than the boys were. Sokovia was even more up north, which meant harsher snows. That didn't mean that I wasn't cold, but I definitely had more practice with it.

They were, obviously, all from America. No matter where they were, the winter was not as harsh as it would be here. "Just keep your mind off of it," I said, "and don't drink. It doesn't warm you up."

He looked at me. "Isn't that sort of a thing where you come from?"

I nodded sideways, "yea, but it isn't true. Drinking leads to getting drunk, which leads to bad decisions."

"Hey, Maximoff," Stiles said, "any idea on how to deal with frostbite?"

I smirked; "keep your clothes on."

"Hey!" We all jumped at the sound of Pierson's voice. I turned and looked at him, realizing he was drunk, and in a mood. "Get your asses over there! The tank needs refueling!"

He didn't glance my way as he finished up. Zussman let out a low whistle, eyeing his flask. "Looks like he's drinking his problems away."

I bit back a frown, staying silent. But of course, the attention was dragged to me. "You two haven't been training, have you?"

I looked at Zuss. "No, we haven't. He's been busy - why do you say that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You look different. I don't know, stressed."

What did that mean? I bit my lip, watching as he shrugged. I knew I had a lot of things to hide, and felt a lot of things, but did I look that bad?