Regarding Vanya

But I'm Retired!

Vanya and Agnes exited the car, standing parallel from a small shop five yards away. On further inspection, Vanya could make it out to be one that sold donuts. Huh, Agnes kind of looked like that woman from Griddy's, the donut shop of her childhood, too. Maybe that was just a standard for donut women. Or, she disliked this belief a bit more, she was losing her mind. They entered with the small ring of a bell triggering their presence, a bell which Vanya had to try desperately to ignore. The musical sounds were the hardest to control, especially her violin. Another good reason to stay gone.

"Agnes?" A large man with dark curls on his head stood behind the counter, wiping it down carefully until the lacquer shone. Agnes smiles at him, stopping to drop off the groceries in the back room before reappearing to tenderly kiss his cheek. Vanya stood, studying the man who's build felt familiar, almost frightening to her. Agnes sensed her discomfort and quickly addressed her, introducing Hazel to the "poor soul" she'd found on the side of the road. "Vanya can stay for a bit, right Hazel?"

Hazel was losing the little color he had in his face, but plastered on a large smile for Agnes. Nodding overeagerly, he gestured towards the back of the shop before issuing his excuse.

"I gotta use the bathroom." Without another sound, he rushed off to a small corridor towards the left, leaving the door swinging from his desperation.

Oh boy. Hazel never forgot a face. It was necessary, the ability to recognize a target or enemy was crucial to survival. So yeah, he knew who Vanya was even if Agnes didn't. He could recall her being the one who's face was printed on that book he and Cha Cha has used to learn about Five's family. He also, though he hated to remember it, recognized her from the break-in itself. Clearly the weakest of the bunch, she was the one they had initially targeted to use as bait before switching to the creepy ouija board of a man.

Hazel didn't know what to do. This must have meant that the Hargreeves had survived the apocalypse (no doubt due to Five) as well as landed near him. Perfect. He was a pacifist now, but if he got caught up in another one way fight with the overly aggressive one... he might just lose his cool. He decided to call Five but no, he couldn't do that now. Gee, it was almost as if going to the sixties were an escape from all of this.

"Hazel!" Agnes' cheerful mezzo rang through the store. Hazel cursed, his time before causing suspicion was up. Coming back out, he was careful to watch Vanya at certain intervals only, no need to be overbearingly obvious. She was sitting now, next to a perfectly round glazed donut that remained untouched. Leaning next to her barstool, he tried to play along.

"That donut won't eat itself you know." Damn, now he sounded more like those other time commission cronies. "I'm an associate of Five's." He reaches out a hand to shake, hoping for this to stay civilized.

She looked at him with large eyes. "Please don't tell." Passing the donut down the counter, she too, wanted to make an effort for peace with him. "Agnes is so nice, thanks."

"Are you running?" He gestured towards the rougher aspects of her appearance: the leaves, the dirt, even the scratches from earlier fall were taken into account.

She nodded. "Thanks for being so nice to me, but I'm dangerous. I can't control these powers and I hurt people." She was so close to tears now, Hazel's empathy came flooding in. Patting her shoulder, he felt the need to demonstrate his understanding.

"Kid, I've hurt people too. It's living with one that keeps me human, ya know?" Taking a risk, he tossed his mask on the table. Even now, it was always in his pocket. He was a civilian, but not free from any attacks, especially as a deserter.

"You attacked our house," her sobs stifled a bit, "you tried to kill us!" Standing up quickly, her eyes took on a dull glow as the utensils on her plate began to levitate. Looking back, this would add to her guilt. At the time though, she still let her emotions get the better of her, using the remaining chimes from the bell on the door to fuel her energy.

Hazel didn't know what to do. Getting on Five's bad side might mean death, but he was already on Vanya's bad side, which also might mean death. Hazel checked the room for Agnes. Nope, she must have gone to the back. Reacting as quickly as possible, he slammed Vanya's head on the counter, knocking her out instantly and causing the utensils to fall, clattering on the ground. He pressed his finger to her neck. Pulse, good. Now where to put her? He decided on the extra room upstairs. Marching upwards, he held her like a princess, keeping the blood from a forehead cut from trickling too far. He hated how used to this he was. Six months out of the game, a whole new life and store, yet this ugly side of him somehow leaked through. Gross.

There were only three rooms upstairs: two beds and a bath. It was a small fit, but Hazel and Agnes didn't mind. They preferred to be outside anyway. Hazel entered the guest room, where a makeshift coat lay in the closet. Placing it down, he lowered Vanya onto it, before shutting the door softly. He thought about locking it, but decided against this. He was not a killer anymore and she was not his prisoner. She was Agnes' guest.

Hazel sighed, going back down the stairs to finally reach out to Five. He hated doing this, but he did have a margarita with the guy. Heading to the back room, he scribbled out a quick note to Five alerting him of the situation. Picking up his old mission coat, he thrust his hand in the pockets looking for it. His final messaging tube. Technically, the rime commission still existed in the 60s and they would send his message forward, as their database would not have either him or Five labeled as a threat yet. Placing the message in the pipeline, he watched it shoot away before heading back to his stools. He grabbed a glazed chocolate donut too. He supposed that being a hero warranted a reward.