World Tree MUSH

  Sokovia is a country still recovering from the many disasters that have wracked it in past years. While the urban areas hit hardest are still recovering, the more rural areas of Sokovia managed to escape the worst of the abuse. Polyuchyn is one such area: A modestly-sized city.

  It also has a charming little commercial quarter, where the cute little sidewalk cafes and restaurants are. There's one such cafe on the corner, with sparser tables than some of the others. Early morning is just breaking over Sokovia: The first light of dawn still touches the streets and the buildings. Fog hangs in the streets, obscuring the earliest activity on the avenues, but there are still people out. The cafes are already bracing themselves for the crowds of morning commuters.

  There are two figures at one of those corner tables: One seated, and one on its feet, just about to leave. They lean close for a moment, as though to speak quietly, but whatever they have to say is muffled by the fog; there might be quiet laughter. The standing figure turns and walks away, then, swallowed by the fog further down the avenue.

  By the time the fog starts burning off, it's just Anneka Stojespal seated at a table. She has a cup of coffee in front of her, steaming profusely, and wears not a flightsuit, nor casual clothing, but a sharp business suit in black, expertly-tailored. She's sitting with one leg folded over the other, one polished shoe bobbing; leaned back in her chair with her arms folded, one is upraised to neatly pinch a cigarette between forefinger, middle finger, and thumb. Her lone eye is distant as she looks at the brightening sky.

  An invitation was extended to Lian for this particular place, at this particular time. For now, Anneka doesn't look like she's in any hurry to be anywhere. This is her morning meeting. She has the unhurried air of someone who could wait around all day for this appointment.

  It's probably the most relaxing day she's had in the last two weeks, to go by the shadows under that eye, but she seems content enough.

  There's an edge about this woman, though. There's something like fire inside her emotional presence -- flames always licking at the periphery, but never quite boiling over. She's motivated by a deep, abiding anger, although this is different from other such folk Lian may or may not have met. This is cold. Hard. Pure and clean. This is rage, but so far beneath the surface that it's instead used to fuel a purpose.

  The pilot exhales a wreath of smoke, gaze floating back up to the sky. By now it's a smear of beautiful pastels as the first light touches the far horizon.

    True to her word, Lian Kamoya has remained in Sokovia. For the most part, she hasn't ventured far from Polyuchyn. For the most part. There has been once or twice where she's slipped any observation net that may have been tracking her; in some of the harder-hit areas of Sokovia, there are occasional rumors of a cloaked woman with a staff, finding lost loved ones, dealing with looters or bandits, and generally just making peoples' lives a little less awful amidst the shambles left by Ultron's attack.

    But she's mostly still staying in Polyuchyn. It was easy enough to get the invitation to the woman, and she arrives just as the fog is burning off, walking staff tap-tapping against the street. She has the lithe, smooth movements of someone in excellent physical shape; no surprise there. But she also has an unconcealed curiosity, watching this or that gathering of people with genuine interest. The first time her gaze meets Anneka's, the pilot is favored with a nod, a warm smile, but the actual greeting doesn't come until she's within a more conversational distance. "A good morning to you, Anneka Stojespal. I appreciate the company."

    Already bright-eyed and wide awake, it seems; she slides into her seat quite elegantly for someone who does so much adventuring, and there's a soft clink from the cylindrical metal device clipped to her left hip under the cloak. Bag and staff are both set down, and her cloak is unhooked to drape over the back of the chair, leaving her arms bare in entirety. "How have you been since we found that spirit?"

  "And a bright good morning to you." Anneka salutes with the cigarette, languid, and as she withdraws it she gestures with it to indicate the unoccupied chair across the table from her. "Have a seat. I have been saving it for you." Not that anybody wants to sit down with the Very Obviously Fed.

  It's hard to say whether Anneka is awake and alert, or so says her presence. Her body language might be relaxed, but there's an edge of tension to her, like she'd rather be up and moving; pacing, maybe. Instead, she bobs her left foot, subtly, in a frantic up-tempo only she can hear.

  "Overworked and underpaid," she answers, exhaling smoke. "But that girl is not just some spirit. That is, apparently, Valentina. If she is who she says she is, she was apparently a distant cousin. Minor offshoot. I am not clear on the details." Her cigarette bobs, eye half-closing. "Probably there are many ghosts, in this land."

  Anneka seems to come back to herself, blinking and looking towards Lian. "Order what you like." A hand waves. "I will only write it off as a business expense, anyway." Absolutely I could not afford to eat here, otherwise. The unspoken statement hangs in the air.

    Lian looks over the menu curiously, and then opts for something simple and breakfast-y; rather than a coffee, however, she opts for a simple hot cocoa. "It's always so interesting trying the cuisine in a new nation, a new world. So many cultures express themselves through their cooking." With her order in, the woman settles back in her chair, reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face. "I admit, in the universe I come from, ghosts are... exceedingly rare. Countless billions of lives, and you almost never see them. I'm more accustomed to feeling the emotions they leave behind, imprinted on a place. It tends to only be those with gifts like mine that truly linger on."

    As the cocoa arrives, the woman reaches out to take it with a pleased look on her face, though her attention lingers on Anneka. "But it sounds like you've a vested interest in the whole thing, then. Does this culture place a lot of stock in family pride? Or do you personally, for that matter?" It's no idle question; she seems genuinely curious. "...goodness, this is rather pleasant. A bit sweet, perhaps. But that's fine, once in a while."

  "I like to stay with what I know." Anneka pauses long enough for a sip of coffee. She swills it around once before setting it down. "In my line of work I am not always so regular in eating, or sleeping." She grins sourly. "I do not always have the luxury of being as adventurous with my food as I am with my work."

  Ghosts? "Do not worry... the ghosts are new for me, too." Glancing over her shoulder, the redhead settles back into her seat. A finger lifts to nudge her eyepatch into place; just so. "For whatever it is worth, I do not know what is happening with all of that." She gestures a little nebulously with both hands. "Not my area of expertise."

  "Still seems strange that with so many people, things like ghosts are such a rarity in your world." The pilot frowns at that. "Hunh. This city... it must not be very good for you, this place, and all the things that have happened in this part of the world." She glances over her shoulder again, but Lian's question brings her to glance back over.

  It may be Anneka only has one eye left, but it has all the focus of a hawk in it, dark autumn-blue fixed on Lian. Her brow arches -- though without the other, it's not always easy to tell what she means by it. Lian can cheat, though, and wisps of that tight control slip from Anneka. The Jedi's first question may have been expected, but the second honestly surprises her.

  "Hmmm. Philip Coulson said the cocoa here was very good." A brief aside, before she focuses on the question asked. "Absolutely the old families still follow the old ways, here in this place." Anneka frowns as she studies Lian, though, head tilting just faintly toward the right; toward her blind side. "Hm. Whether I do or not, though..." She shakes her head, and her fleeting smile is both tired and apologetic. "That is not so easy an answer, I think."

    "I'm not terribly concerned," Lian replies, shaking her head. There's a hint of amusement there. "My career has been a long string of 'things that aren't my area of expertise'. At this point, that is my area of expertise. Or one of them, at any rate."

    The subject of this place, of what the people of Sokovia have been through, brings her a more somber mood. "It's not the first time I've experienced a grand tragedy like this, either during or after. It leaves an impression on the land, certainly, but... so do the living. Those who doggedly persist. They're all the more vibrant for it."

    She nurses her cocoa as she listens to the other woman speak on herself, intent and attentive. Though her face is similarly difficult to read, there is at the very least a true curiosity there. Lian seems legitimately curious about both Anneka and her family. About everything, really. "Understandable. Nothing's truly black and white, really." She sits a bit more forward, setting down her cocoa... just in time for her breakfast to arrive. She's sharp, this one. But as the plate is set down, the woman adds, "For what it's worth, you've my support, if for no other reason than to see justice done and lay a troubled soul to rest."

  "Makes enough sense to me." Anneka's sigh is resigned. It sounds as though the agent has also had a time of things, having to handle emergencies in subject matter she has less than zero expertise with. "I fly Philip Coulson where he needs to go, and I do whatever work he needs me to handle for him. That is all. Not... all of this." She gestures as though to indicate, well, everything around them.

  Sighing, she swills her coffee around in the mug a little, looking down at it as Lian speaks. "Maybe. But they are strong, here, I will give them that much. From the poorest farmer to House Stojespal itself."

  Raising her cigarette, she takes a long drag, eye flicking sidelong to regard Lian, almost as though wary in the face of curiosity. It seems to take a conscious effort for her to stride past it. "No." This, to things never being so cut and dry. "They never are."

  That blue eye tracks sidelong, following the waitstaff bringing in Lian's food, snapping back to Lian herself when the old Jedi speaks again. "I appreciate that. People here, and all over this world, they do not believe in things they cannot see. I would not, if I had not been working with SHIELD for as long as I have." Anneka wrinkles her nose. "So. The World Tree was not so much a shock to us, here."

  "Absolutely I would like to see justice done." The pilot looks up, locking eyes with Lian. That single blue eye is earnest. Focused. "Valentina Stojespal disappeared without a trace. The least I can do is give her family closure." Hm. Odd that she seems to zero in on that, and not the fact that Valentina was a Stojespal; ostensibly, one of her own. "And more importantly," she adds, with a dainty sip of coffee, "find out what the shit is going on here in this place. I do not know the name 'Zhenya,' other than that it is a diminutive of 'Yevgenia,' a Russian name... but I do not know anyone by that name, either." She pauses briefly, and reaches up to rub at her face. "Ehhh. Probably that means nothing to you. It makes no sense. I will tell you that much."

  The pilot sets her coffee cup down with a sigh. "Well, I hope you like mysteries, Lian Kamoya. You will find you are up to your eyes in them, here... both of them."

    Once again, Lian smiles with amusement. "A great deal of my time has been spent on mysteries over the years. I don't have the resources I might once have, but... I have my gifts. And allies in the hunt, to judge by the other day." She works through her food steadily, adding a thoughtful, "It's possible that Yevgenia might be a false name, or an assumed one. Or perhaps a true name, of one who operated under another. I'd offer to investigate, but you have both the home field advantage and an agency's backing. Better that I follow my own hunches, see where they lead."

    She quietly files away Anneka's focus on justice over family, but says nothing. Instead, the next time she pauses in her eating, the older woman replies, "I suppose as far as believing in things you can't see, I'm a bit of a case study. But then, I can at least feel mine, so perhaps not. Either way, the World Tree has been... quite an experience. Vast worlds where technology takes a second place to open magic; cities where technology has gone so far that body replacement is normal, yet they don't take to the stars. I had thought I'd seen most of what life had to offer, but..."

    Lian gestures around with her fork. "Here I am." In a city on another world, helping to solve a mystery involving ghosts.

  "You will have cooperation from the local law enforcement as well as any agency personnel, although since Director Fury could not spare anyone else, that is just myself and Agent Philip Coulson." Anneka frowns. "Given how busy Sokovia is with all of this, probably not so many of them, either. Well. You will have support, anyway. Whatever we can offer. Even if right now that is not all that very much."

  Definitely not a lot, but at least it's something. Anneka takes a long sip of coffee, blue eye settling on Lian at a slight angle over the rim of her cup. "Maybe. We do not have anything concrete, yet, though. I will talk with Agent Philip Coulson, but I do not think we have enough to run on. Not unless this 'Zhenya' makes it a SHIELD priority somehow." After a moment the pilot shakes her head. "We will see."

  "You thought you saw everything, and suddenly, there is much more to see." Grinning, she salutes with her cup. "And now you are very busy; much busier than you thought you would be." The grin widens just a hair. "Welcome to Sokovia."

    That salute puts the mirth back in Lian's eyes. "And quite a welcome it is." She goes back to work on her food, but speaks as she does. "In truth, I've enjoyed it. I'm one of those 'lifelong learner' sorts, and I love... 'life'. Individuals, groups. Nations, worlds. The wild places, and the teeming cities. Though I am very far from home, to have so much yet to learn, so many people left to meet and places to see... it's invigorating. It's put life back into these old bones. A spot of busywork is a small price to pay for that."

    Her meal is nearing its end, and she takes the time to finish off her cocoa as well. "Good that I'll have some backing. I may still do a bit of poking about on my own, but if I learn anything significant or I need the assistance of authorities, I'll get in touch. And if you need me, you can always get in touch... or I'll simply turn up. I've a talent for being in the right place at the right time. Comes with the job," the 'seer' says.

  "Hmm." Folding her arms, Anneka leans back in her chair and studies Lian with a tired eye. Whatever conclusions she reaches are kept to herself, but her presence through the Force is calm; as calm as such a tight-wound person can be. "I like to learn new things, too. See new places. When I am not kept half dead by my job," she adds, grinning. It slides off her face. "My work sends me out sooner or later, anyway. So it is not like I even have to wait until I am off the clock."

  In other words, trouble comes calling as much as she goes seeking it out. How convenient is that?

  Spoiler: Not at all, sometimes!

  Draining the last of the coffee, Anneka sets the cup aside. "Well, that is good. I will stay and take care of the bill," she adds, gesturing to the mostly-empty dishes. "I will wait here for Agent Philip Coulson anyway. He does not need me to be working on anything else, at the moment, and aside from this, I am off today." She leans back, stretching, though still mindful of the limits of her clothing seams. There's a distinct snap-crackle-pop from the vicinity of her spine. "Nnrgh. I am not hurrying for anything, today."

  Her arms she folds behind her head, leaning back into them and eyeing Lian somewhat curiously. Anneka lifts her empty coffee cup in acknowledgement. "Sounds as though you are ready to go, nearly. Anything else? Questions for me; questions for SHIELD...?"

    "Mm," Lian murmurs, a thoughtful sound. "It sounds as if it's both the best and worst job for you at the same time. A lament that echoes through history." She sits herself up a little straighter, with both her own meal and Anneka's coffee finished. "None spring to mind, but I'll be in touch should anything come up that I can't find an answer for myself. Always trust the knowledge of the locals, after all." Carefully, the woman reaches behind herself, pulling the cloak back up and clasping it around her shoulders; then, she reaches down and takes up both staff and satchel.

    "A day off sounds like a precious resource for you," the old adventurer says, bowing her head politely. "I hope you find it restful."

  "Probably it is the best, I think." That lone blue eye half-closes. Her gaze is fixed to the far horizon and its sunrise hues, and the pale light seems to soften some of the harshest edges of her scarring. Anneka doesn't quite look peaceful, but she does look content, for a few brief seconds. The way the left corner of her mouth twists is almost like a smile, but the look in her eye is tired; sad. "Definitely I have seen the worst, too."

  She nods, glancing over at the Jedi. Always trust the locals. "Maybe so." The pilot watches as Lian gathers up her things, and the sigh she exhales as she leans back in her chair is all the agreement Lian could need: Not only a precious resource, but a rare one. "That much is true. Oh, yes, I intend to enjoy it." A huff of a faint sigh, and something incongruously warm through the midst of that careful guardedness. "The opportunity may not appear again for a while."

  "Contact me if you learn anything." That eye opens again, focused on Lian. "No matter how small; so insignificant. It may be important. We cannot be so sure, this early in the game."

  "Goodbye, Lian Kamoya." Anneka's tone is amicable, and she raises a hand in half-hearted salute. "Until we meet again."