#║▌ interactions. // vintertsarn. (bucky) verse. 01.

[drekkavac-moving]

║▌ @vintertsarn.    gets  a  plotted  starter  from  young!anya. 

Up  until  this  point ,    all  of  Anya's  training  with  the  Winter  Soldier  had  been  safely  tucked  away  at  the  same  base  she  had  spent  most  of  her  life.  The  only  exception  being  for  the  less  than  a  month  timespan  just  after  she  was  born.  As  far  as  they  were  considered ... They'd  never  had  any  life  outside  of  that  base  tucked  safely  underground.  But  now ,    now  she  was  being  given  a  chance  to  not  only  go  outside ... But  be  able  to  go  an  actual  city.  They'd  be  working.  Or ,    more  accurately  training  specific  tasks  ,   &  under  constant  supervision ,    but  the  prospect  was  still  something  she  was  excited  about.

She'd  always  been  eager  to  try  new  things.

What  they  hadn't  expected , given  that  they  weren't  told  exactly  what  they  would  be  doing  there ,    was  that  they  wouldn't  be  doing  anything. Stakeout  practice  was  important  to  learn  for  many  of  their  missions.  As  well  as  the  general  importance  of  being  able  to  stay  put  ,    &  stay  still  for  long  periods  of  time  without  moving  a  muscle.  Her  mentor  had  mastered  that  skill  a  long  time  ago.  (even  before  he  could  even  remember)  ──  &  now  it  was  her  turn.

They  were  stocked  with  what  they  would  need  to  get  the  job  of  staying  awake  done  ,    &  to  anyone  who  didn't  know  better ,  it  would  seem  as  though  they  were  left  to  their  own  devices.  Most  people  wouldn't  catch  the  various  cameras  placed  throughout  the  shitty  apartment  that  they  had  been  stationed  at.  It  was  the  best  location  for  the  mock  target  ,    the  one  they  would  be  lining  up  a  shot  for  before  wrapping  up  their  weekend  long  training  session.

Too  bad  stakeouts  were  quite  possibly  the  most  boring  thing  in  the  world  to  the  young  would  be  assassin.

She'd  made  it  two  hours  without  moving.  Eyes  glued  on  the  building  that  their  target  supposedly  resided  in.  The  instruction  given  by  her  teacher  was  to  watch  the  building.  Not  when  he  left  the  building ,    &  when  he  came  back.  Verifying  they  were  still  on  track  for  the  planned  hit.  Any  deviation  needed  to  be  reported  back.  Problem  was  he  had  done  everything  exactly  according  to  the  notes  they  had  been  given.  For  the  first  time  since  being  told  what  to  do  ,    in  the  form  of  a  dramatic  sigh ,    before  plopping  back  in  her  chair.

" Do  we  really  have  to  do  this  all  night? "    She  asked.  Looking  into  the  kitchen  to  where  The  Soldier  had  been  working  in.    The  boredom  was  understanding ,    &  while  she  was  normally  very  good  at  following  orders ,  ──  you  could  only  watch  so  many  kids  playing  in  the  streets  before  you  started  to  wonder  what  it  might  be  like.

[matvdova]

You  would  think  that  there  would  be  𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙾𝙽𝚈  once  everyone  was  back.  In  a  way ... 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎  𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢  𝚠𝚊𝚜.  Since  Thanos  had  used  those  stones  &  made  𝙷𝙰𝙻𝙵  𝙾𝙵  𝙰𝙻𝙻  𝙻𝙸𝙵𝙴  𝚅𝙰𝙽𝙸𝚂𝙷  ,    it  had  hit  their  family  in  a  way  that  Natalia  had  worried  they  𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝  𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖.  Her  main  worry  being  their  daughter  Anya.

Natalia  had  been  𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘  𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎  𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎.  It  hurt  to  lose  James.  Just  like  it  did  before.  But  she  knew  that  she  could  𝙼𝙾𝚅𝙴  𝙾𝙽  with  time.  She  had  been  taught  to  do  that  for  as  long  as  she  could  remember.  Anya  was  different  though.  At  least  ,    𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗  𝚒𝚝  𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.  She'd  seen  how  Anya  had  completely  lost  herself  when  everyone  was  gone.  Then  there  was  the  𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙳  𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  of  both  being  mothers  who  lost  children.

Luckily  ,    she  wouldn't  have  to  worry  about  that.  Wade  &  Anya  while  on  their  𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢  𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎  𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎  that  had  managed  to  bring  back  someone  she  thought  she  had  lost  forever ... But  it  seemed  to  have  𝙲𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃  the  eye  of  Loki  of  all  people.  Who  ,    after  learning  𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚑𝚊𝚍  𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎  &  had  managed  to  work  a  𝙻𝙸𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙻 𝙼𝙸𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙻𝙴  in  bringing  her  family  ,    &  the  rest  of  the  people  Thanos  had  taken  away.

Indeed  ,    there  was  𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙻𝙴𝚂𝚂  𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚂  to  be  had.  But  as  much  as  Natalia  had  missed  those  she  𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚑𝚊𝚍  𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝  ,    came  the  need  to  retreat  from  the  now  𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈  𝙸𝙽𝙲𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙴𝙳  number  of  people  in  the  home  to  allow  herself  some  time  to  decompress  from  it  all.  She  had  been  working  her  way  through  all  the  stages  of  grief  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝  𝚒𝚝  𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍  ,    for  the  sake  of  being  able  to  be  there  for  her  daughter.

The  hour  had  gone  to  a  𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴  𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚁  ,    not  realizing  everyone  had  gone  to  bed  already  while  she  sat  out  on  patio  𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙  𝚒𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝.  Mostly  just  how  she  realzed  she  hadn't  really  𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙴𝙳  herself  to  go  there  while  Anya  needed  her.  Now ... She  was  afraid  of  whenever  that  dam  she  built  up  was  finally  going  to  break.  𝙷𝚒𝚜  𝚏𝚘��𝚝𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜  broke  through  those  thoughts  just  as  they  always  had  though  ,    pulling  a  smirk  as  a  small  huff  left  through  her  nose.

" Still  sounds  the  same ... Even  after  all  this  quiet. "    She  mused  ,    looking  over  her  shoulder ,    but  not  𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢  𝚊𝚝  𝚑𝚒𝚖.

𝙲𝙻𝙾𝚂𝙴𝙳  𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁.  𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍  𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑  @vintertsarn.

[brooklynbred]

there  had  been  a  time  in  steve's  past  ,  where  a  migraine  was  no  new  thing.  something  they  would  simply  SUFFER  THROUGH  &  hope  for  a  better  tomorrow.  perhaps  the  serum  had  done  more  in  the  realm  helping  them  forget  what  it  felt  like.  or  maybe  it  made  them  forget  what  the  limits  were.  after  all  ,  it  had  been  YEARS  since  this  had  been  their  life.  slowing  down  had  understandably  been  a  difficult  task.

but  it  wasn't  one  that  was  going  to  be  VERY  EASY.  or  very  forgiving.  steve  needed  to  remember  QUICKLY  what  the  limits  were  ,  so  they  could  avoid  being  completely  out  of  commission.  before  the  war  ,  steve  &  bucky  MOSTLY  worked  together  in  order  to  manage  when  they  allowed  themselves  the  extra  mile  ,  &  when  to  give  themself  a  day  of  rest ... regardless  of  how  good  they  might  feel.

there  was  a  slight  scoff  from  the  blonde  when  bucky  agreed  with  their  venting.  in  this  day  &  age  ,  bucky  was  the  only  one  STILL  ALIVE  that  remembered  the  steve  before  the  serum.  a  weird  way  the  two  of  them  were  closer  than  anyone  could  really  ever  be  to  steve.  right  down  to  knowing  EXACTLY  what  they  needed  to  at  least  feel  a  little  bit  better.  looking  up  at  bucky  ,  they  smile  after  a  small  sigh  ,  &  then  offered  a  nod  before  attempting  to  sit  up  with  a  bit  of  a  wince.

❝ when  the  hell  is  that  kid  gonna  go  ahead  &  become  a  real  doctor? ❞    they  grumped  while  they  pushed  themself  up  to  sit  in  order  to  make  it  easier  for  bucky.    ❝ with  all  the  work  he's  been  doin  ,  i'm  pretty  sure  he'd  have  more  t'teach  them. ❞    jamie  really  was  a  GENIUS.  at  least  as  far  as  they  were  concerned.  ❝ massage  sounds  nice. ❞    those  words  were  muttered  QUIETLY.  voice  obviously  small  from  the  exhaustion  of  the  pain.

❝ so  what  is  it  that  he's  workin  on  exactly? ❞

@brooklynbred

Ever since Steve had been made to reclaim the burden of his chronic illnesses and ailments, Bucky had admittedly been a little OBSESSIVE with the way that he had been asking his son for updates on Steve's health. Every so often, just as a precaution, Jamie would run some blood tests and various other scans. The way that his son had innovated the process to be the least INVASIVE means had been both impressive and DEEPLY APPRECIATED.

Perhaps it was because Bucky had STRUGGLED so much back in their younger years in terms of getting Steve the medical care he needed. Now that those sicknesses were back with a vengeance, Bucky was going to take advantage of every means at their disposal for treatment and therapy, physical and emotional, anything he could. ANYTHING. Nothing less, and it never had been when it came to the two of them.

When there was PRECIOUS LITTLE he could do though, in cases where Steve had to simply get through some of the symptoms on the harsher days, he sought twice as hard for means to help, only to sometimes still come up empty handed. At the very least this time, he had an ice pack...and a willingness to listen to any venting the blonde had to do.

After handing the icepack over, he offered a soft huff of a laugh, the sympathy written clearly in his eyes even in the low light of the room.

"Yeah, throw ya into th' next ZIP CODE if you're not careful..." he agreed, moving to reach over and sweeping a bit of hair away from the other man's forehead so it didn't get trapped beneath the ice and wound up possibly stuck to him thanks to the moisture meeting the temperature. Small, mother hen-like gestures were the softer side of Bucky that so few on the entire planet were able to witness, and Steve had been one of the first and only ones.

"Jamie says he's workin' on something t' try an' help ya feel better quicker," he tried to speak encouragingly, "ice pack is jus' to hold ya over until then." He rolled his lips briefly in thought.

"Think a neck massage might help?"

[drekkavac-moving]

She  could  make  out  that  her  dad  was  SPEAKING , but  as  to  what  he  was  saying ... That  was  completely  lost  on  her.  Whatever  he  was  saying ... They  couldn't  really  focus  on  it  enough  to  make  up  what  it  was  he  had  said.  The  fever  was  still  there.  Still  OBVIOUS.  But  now  shivers  were  starting  to  make  themselves  known.

Even  hanging  on  was  proving  to  be  IMPOSSIBLE  for  her , but  luckily  enough ... She  didn't  have  to  worry  about  that , considering  one  of  the  things  she  could  register  was  the  tight  hold , and  the  quickened  pace  he  was  taking  to  get  the  two  of  them  to  Steve , Jamie , and  Jen.    " Steve ... Jamie ... Jen ... "

Memories  were  still  coming  back  to  her , but  Jamie  and  Jen  had  been  two  people  that  she  HAD  REMEMBERED.  Jen  had  been  one  of  the  few  things  that  kept  her  some  company ... And  HYDRA  had  made  DAMN  SURE  that  they  didn't  forget  Jamie.  Sometimes  she  had  wished  that  she  could  have , and  she  thought  about  that  in  that  very  moment  when  she  pondered  whether  or  not  she  was  going  to  get  to  see  him  again.

Before  she  could  dwell  on  that  thought  ANY  LONGER.  Before  her  delerious  mind  could  worry  more  about  if  she  was  dying  for  the  moment , the  pace  quickened  a  little  more , and  the  voice  of  someone  else  could  be  heard  as  they  got  closer  to  the  car.  She  could  KIND  OF  make  out  that  it  was  Steve , but  that  had  mostly  been  deductive  reasoning.  The  hatch  to  the  trunk  of  the  car  made  her  jolt , and  a  WHIMPER  left  her  lps  when  she  was  placed  laying  down  in  the  back.

Everything  HURT.  Which  was  only  made  obvious  to  her  when  her  body  made  contact  with  the  floor  of  the  vehicle.  Steve  reached  into  the  back  seat , grabbing  the  blanket  sitting  next  to  Jamie  and  tossing  it  back  to  Bucky  to  hand  to  Anya  before  peeling  out  of  where  the  Forerunner  had  been  parked , and  making  their  getaway.  Anya  heard  Steve's  voice  again , but  COULDN'T  MAKE  OUT  what  it  was  that  they  were  saying , and  instead  focused  her  attention  back  on  her  dad.

" Pappa? "    She  beckoned , feeling  another  coughing  fit  coming  on , and  resisting  the  urge  to  do  so  by  clearing  her  throat.  Her  voice  sounding  a  little  RASPY  when  she  spoke.    " Am ... Am  I  dying? "

@oozeyboozey

The only SOLACE that he had in all of this was that Steve was, indeed, not too far away from where he and Anya were. Even with that being the case though, every single step that had to be taken to get him closer to his partner felt like an ETERNITY to Bucky. He had learned to navigate more perilous landscapes since the War. Since then, he'd gained experience in operating in just about every sort of terrain.

His blinders were set securely and all he could think about was getting Anya some place where they could assess EXACTLY what had been done to them. There was a burning within his esophagus that he tried not to focus on, tried to PUSH PAST the warnings that he certainly knew by then as his INSTINCTS. Bucky was desperate not to believe that there could be any lasting or FATAL going on with Anya. Holding her in his arms however, against his chest, Anya was radiating heat at an even more intense level than a typical enhanced person. Her breathing was shallow and when she did speak, it led her into INTENSE COUGHING. A moment later, Bucky's sense of smell picked up a familiar copper scent, and his WORST FEARS were confirmed with a speckle of blood on her lips as she spoke, doing her best to tell him more about what had happened.

He was ready to tell her to conserve her energy, but when the explanation hit his ears and REGISTERED...it felt as though his entire body had gone numb. They had a gas... They had a gas... THEY HAD A G A S.

Bucky felt like his ears were ringing, his blood ran cold yet he felt like he was being set on fire from the INSIDE, and he continued to hold Anya close just by simple virtue of feeling an INSTINCTUAL NEED TO PROTECT kicking in at full force.

A child's screams, her pleas in Polish, her face streaked with tears as she ran towards him while being pursued by Camp Officers with German Shepherds. She's begging him for help, to hide her, to help her find her parents who were already LONG GONE. He tried to take the fall for her, tried to convince them that she ran because he had beckoned her, but it only earned him a beating, and he wound up with his mouth full of his blood as they held him still and forced him to watch as they SHOT HER IN THE HEAD-

Breathing became a damn near impossible task and his vision was clouded with unshed tears. Had he been within his right mind, he might have been able to stay in the current moment, he might have been able to prevent the DEVASTATION from overcoming his hues.

"No...no..no, no..." His breathing was shallow as he spoke under his breath, pleading for that poor child, pleading for HIS POOR CHILD, begging for all of this to stop, to be a nightmare.

Had he not been entering the clearing that he agreed to meet Steve in, he might have collapsed under the weight of his emotions alone. He was barely able to make out the shape of a black Range Rover with Steve's frame leaned against it while presumably Jamie was in the back seat already, waiting.

If there was anything said, he couldn't hear it immediately. It felt like he was inhaling fiberglass. He rushed to the back of the vehicle and opened the large hatch, climbing inside and gently placing Anya along the space that was converted by putting the seats down.

He begun to check her vitals, he knew damn well already that she had a fever. What he couldn't process though was that he was nearly HYPERVENTILATING at that point, but he was BARELY MAKING A SOUND with every rushed and rapid breath.

[drekkavac-moving]

it  was  likely  a  BLESSING  in  disguise  that  anya  didn't  really  understand  what  she  was  missing  not  being  able  to  have  the  typical  FATHER  DAUGHTER  relationship  with  james.  they  were  never  really  meant  for  RECON  ,  their  purpose  had  much  like  their  father  been  in  the  killing  without  being  seen  variety.  they  didn't  need  her  knowing  TOO  MUCH  about  what  she  was  missing.

as  a  matter  of  fact ... the  little  she  knew  the  better.

but  anya  was  an  observant  child  ,  as  james  had  pointed  out.  bringing  a  brief  SMILE  to  her  face  as  she  glanced  to  him  ,  &  then  back  out  to  the  children  playing  in  the  street.  for  the  most  part  ,  they  had   witnessed  CHILDREN  PLAYING  ,  but  there  had  also  be  the  occasional  father  and  daughter  walking  by  ,  enjoying  the  day  together.  a  natural  curiousness  has  crossed  her  mind  ,  but  was  EASILY  brought  back  to  the  task  at  hand  of  watching  what  was  going  on  in  front  of  the  building.

teamwork  was  ,  in  a  way  taught  to  the  children  where  anya  was  KEPT.  but  not  in  any  way  that  benefited  the  ones  doing  the  work.  there  was  no  LOYALTY  IN  A  TEAM  ,   only  in  the  one  that  held  the  leash.  while  anya  knew  at  times  she  might  work  with  other  agents  ,  any  one  of  them  could  turn  into  an  enemy  in  an  INSTANT.  the  only  exception  ,  with  the  exception  of  their  first  meeting ... being  THE  WINTER  SOLDIER.

the  little  petname  had  caused  her  to  beam  slightly  with  pride.  watching  the  children  while  he  explained  the  PURPOSE  of  the  game  ,  &  how  it  was  intended  to  teach  people  to  work  together  as  a  team.  while  the  concept  of  being  on  the  same  team  as  her  FELLOW  PEERS  was  still  lost  on  the  young  girl ... she  DID  recognize  that  she  &  her  mentor  functioned  as  a  team.

❝ you  &  i  are  like  a  team , ❞    they  pointed  out.  looking  from  the  children  playing  ,  &  BACK  to  james.    ❝ we  should  play  it  too  sometime. ❞

@drekkavac

Wherever POSSIBLE, which wasn't very FREQUENTLY...James did all that he could in order to translate the time that he spent with Anya into something that could hopefully at least RESEMBLE a familial connection.

When they were able to perform well in their training exercises, he would reward her with GENUINE praise, even if his tone couldn't fully and openly portray that pride. Anything too close to LOVE on display and HYDRA wouldn't hesitate to rip them apart and wipe away any trance of each other in their minds. So, the best that he could offer Anya was a GRUFF AFFIRMATION in Russian most of the time, but he almost always managed to make eye contact to make SURE she knew he meant it. When that wasn't possible, he'd attempt to squeeze her shoulder, a small gesture that was brief enough to not feel important to anyone BUT Anya.

On missions such as the one that they were on, he had more of a chance to actively engage with them. He nodded a few times as she explained the game to him, understanding fairly early on what games the kids had made a MAKESHIFT VERSION of. The sight of the kids playing the equivalent of Soccer sent a brief FLASH of a memory through his mind's eye, but he blinked back that recollection for the moment. This was one of the few times he had a chance to speak to his daughter, he wasn't going to focus the attention on himself.

"Excellent recon, маленький солдат," James offered Anya a soft smile of approval. "Some countries call that Soccer. Others call it Futball. Culturally speaking, it's sort of a phenomenon. Across the world, different groups of people enjoy it, and it's ANCIENT as a game."

He took a breath, moving to run his fingers through his hair to get it out of his eyes where it had fallen slightly with his subtle head movements.

"The point of playing though...is to WORK TOGETHER, towards a common goal."

[drekkavac-moving]

watching  hadn't  turned  out  to  be  the  hard  part.  neither  had  learning  the  rules.  she  knew  how  to  follow  orders  well  ,  &  they  were  incredibly  𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚃  beyond  that.  naturally  after  watching  the  children  playing  soccer  in  the  street  was  able  to  understand  the  game  &  concept  of  the  game.  all  of  that  had  been  easy.

the  hard  part  had  been  𝙽𝙾𝚃  𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝚃𝙾  𝙶𝙾  𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈  with  the  children.  while  anya  had  been  𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙴𝙳  to  only  really  know  death  &  pain ... it  didn't  mean  she  didn't  see  other  people  living  otherwise  ,  &  wonder  why  she  didn't  live  the  same.  while  she  had  been  behind  the  safe  walls  of  the  base  they  had  been  𝚁𝙰𝙸𝚂𝙴𝙳  𝙸𝙽  ,  that  all  started  changing  when  it  came  time  to  introduce  her  to  the  real  world.

she'd  kept  it  mostly  to  herself.  she  knew  better  than  to  let  any  of  𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃  𝚃𝙰𝙻𝙺  to  reach  the  higher  ups  who  controlled  their  life.  but  the  soldier  ,  never  seemed  to  wish  to  𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑  𝚑𝚎𝚛  for  honest  inquiries.  they  could  see  they  way  he  considered  exacty  how  to  answer  their  question  ,  &  mismatched  blue  &  green  eyes  tracked  his  expression  as  he  looked  between  her  ,  &  the  children  playing  in  the  street  ,  before  𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙼𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶  to  answer  her.  but  his  answer  didn't  bring  as  much  clarity  as  they  would  have  hoped ... but  rather  more  questions.

children  outside  of  the  place  they  knew  to  be  𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁  𝙷𝙾𝙼𝙴  ,  had  other  children  that  they  liked  ,  &  they  played  with  them.  the  word  ' play '  was  still  a  word  they  were  learning  ,  having  only  heard  it  with  their  enhanced  hearing  while  watching  the  children  below  ,  the  window  open  to  allow  her  to  hear  better.

before  she  could  ask  further  questions  about  why  this  occured  here  ,  her  teacher  was  distracting  her  with  not  only  𝚅𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  in  their  observation  skills  ,  but  asked  further  to  test  what  they  claimed  to  have  learned  while  observing.  with  her  former  question  lost  to  another  inquiry  ,  they  looked  out  the  window  ,  &  pointed  to  either  end  of  the  street  ,  where  makeshift  goal  posts  were  situated.    ❝ each  team  protects  one  side.  the  goal  is  to  kick  the  ball  ,  to  the  opposing  end  ,  &  past  the  one  guarding  at  the  end. ❞    her  hand  pointed  from  one  end  to  the  other  ,  showing  what  she  meant  ,  before  folding  her  arms  𝙸𝙽  𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙽𝚃  of  her  before  leaning  forward  onto  the  windowsill.

@drekkavac

For a long few seconds, James looked out the window with furrowed brows, before that same PERPLEXED expression was turned to face Anya once more. They had managed to completely derail his train of thought while still TECHNICALLY remaining on topic, so he knew that she had been at least half-listening to the lesson that he was trying to teach.

He had, after all, just gotten through explaining that behavioral patterns were IMPORTANT to study. Asking why those children were playing that game was actually rather intuitive.

Above all, she had actually asked a question that wasn't going to be so simple to answer.

His first instinct had been to tell her that they were playing because they were CHILDREN, but that begged the logical question of why she didn't play, or if she was even considered a child at all. Beyond that, there was the simple concept of FRIENDSHIP WITH OTHER CHILDREN to contend with explaining to them. Anya had only ever known other kids, including even her own BROTHER at times, as those that she had to OUTPERFORM.

"Yeah, it looks like it's a game," he started off by agreeing, giving himself a few extra SECONDS to gather his thoughts. His eyes moved from Anya, to the kids, then back to her. "They're probably playing it because they like the game, and they like THE PEOPLE that they're playing with."

His jaw tightened slightly. "You've been watching them play from up here and you've picked up the rules? That's impressive. Good job." He gave Anya's shoulder a small squeeze before pulling up a chair so that he could sit beside them.

"So...what are the rules, then?"

[drekkavac-moving]

for  someone  who  anya  had  never  seen  teach  anyone  other  than  her  ,  the  soldier  showed  𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚃  𝚂𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻  in  how  he  taught  her  in  the  time  that  they  had  known  him.  he  quickly  found  the  best  ways  of  learning  that  worked  for  the  young  girl  ,  &  used  those  as  𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗  𝚊𝚜  𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎.  as  a  result ... anya  was  one  of  the  highest  performing  of  the  children  in  project  legacy.  her  handlers  never  really  seemed  to  be  surprised  by  that  though.  undenounced  to  her  that  they  had  been  comparing  her  to  the  𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗  based  solely  on  the  parentage  she  held.

        [ * ]   another  thing  conveniently  kept  from  her ...

for  now  though ... none  of  that  𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙴𝙳  𝚃𝙾  𝙷𝙴𝚁.  what  mattered ... was  that  for  a  day  or  so  ,  she  got  to  get  away  from  the  base.  for  just  a  little  while ... she  could  get  away  from  the  hell  hole  that  she  had  been  𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘  𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 ,  with  the  sole  intent  of  getting  to  watch  people.  people  made  anya  𝚄𝙽𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴  to  be  around ... but  it  didn't  mean  people  didn't  fascinate  them.

living  a  normal  life  was  𝙽𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁  going  to  be  in  the  cards  for  them.  not  with  the  skillset  that  they  had.  already  ,  they  were  well  on  their  way  to  being  one  of  the  𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝  𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚜  𝙷𝚈𝙳𝚁𝙰  𝚑𝚊𝚍  so  undercover  work  was  likely  not  going  to  be  something  they  would  likely  be  training  her  for ... &  aside  from  that  ,  the  changes  already  done  to  her  brain  had  already  made  it  hard  for  her  to  function  on  a  civil  level  with  𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝  𝚘𝚏  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗  𝚒𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖.  she  was  dangerous  to  the  rest  of  the  assets ... but  too  valuble  to  throw  away.

        [ * ]   but  up  here  she  could  wonder  what  it  might  be  like  to  be  a  normal  kid.

he  was  trying  to  𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.  something  to  do  with  the  stakeout  exercise  she  should  be  focusing  on ... but  she  could  hardly  thinkg  about  any  of  that  when  she  was  stuck  staring  at  these  kids  playing  for  what  seemed  like  it  was  𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚘  𝚋𝚎  𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜.  her  eyes  had  tracked  the  ball  they  were  kicking  around.  learning  the  game  from  up  in  the  window  at  the  floor  just  under  the  roof  of  the  building.  anya  was  smart  ,  so  it  didn't  take  much  time  at  all  for  her  to  figure  out  the  workings  of  the  game  ,  which  only  made  her  𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝  𝚝𝚘  𝚝𝚛𝚢  𝚒𝚝  𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎.

❝ why  are  they  playing  that  game? ❞    she  asked  curiously  ,  &  rather  suddenly  given  what  he  had  been  𝚃𝚁𝚈𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝚃𝙾  𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙸𝙽  to  her.  her  head  tilting  to  one  side  curiously.    ❝ i  think  it's  a  game  at  least.  i  think  i  know  the  rules. ❞

@drekkavac

THE WINTER SOLDIER functioned as, essentially, TWO PEOPLE.

It was the only way that his mind had adapted to cope with EVERYTHING HE'D DONE, and all that he would doubtlessly be expected to do in the future.

There was THE ASSET, the blank slate that HYDRA found to be the most cooperative. There was little to no light behind his eyes, and he functioned more as a machine with a task to accomplish. It was when his mind would shut itself off entirely.

When the mission was over, and when he wasn't being FORCED INTO CRYO, that was when he was both permitted and made to assist in the training of his own child to be another assassin. That...was when he was JAMES. When he was a man that had been SHATTERED and reassembled so many times that he couldn't remember who he had been before HYDRA...was the same man that never forgot his children. Never forgot their MOTHER.

Even DEEPER within the confines of his mind, there was another man entirely that differed substantially from the ASSET, and at least somewhat different from JAMES. That was a man that he didn't have a name to place upon just then. He was someone that was still shrouded in the haze of the past. His voice appeared most often when he SLEPT, faint and usually AGONIZED. Pleading for a way out. Begging to be HEARD. To be SEEN.

The unanimous choice to, in every way possible, PROTECT HIS CHILDREN...that was what bonded every piece of him together, no matter how different those pieces might have been from each other.

Anya was the one that they had allowed him the most time with. Jamie had been placed in another program entirely for a time, and when that program was SHUT DOWN, the boy was passed between handlers. James was able to see him occasionally, even trained with him somewhat a few times, but there was very little prolonged contact made. So, while the father attempted to shield his son as well as his daughter, circumstance wouldn't allow him.

As a result, he wound up placing IMMENSE EFFORT in training Anya. He hadn't been able to communicate to her fully what his intentions were, but his sincere HOPE was that he would be able to train her enough in order to give her the tools that she needed to ESCAPE one day. Until such a day could come, he would continue to teach Anya with sincere effort. Something that even his handlers couldn't question. HYDRA DID want Anya to be proficient.

That was the purpose of their current TRAINING MODULE as well. It wasn't anything that could be considered exciting, and he was more than aware of that, but that didn't mean that ANYA wasn't still going to voice their opinion on the matter.

James found himself with his daughter in the midst of a faux stakeout, one that would be ending with a simulated MARK being wiped off the map. Standard practice and training.

He had been taking apart a few of his guns and cleaning them. What they had wasn't down time, per se, but they didn't have to worry about staying silent. The two of them could openly communicate to an EXTENT. It was the closest thing that James could have to spending time with his daughter.

Looking up from the gun that he was in the midst of putting back together, he met Anya's gaze for a long moment before arching a brow at her.

"You already know the answer to that," James countered in a tone that was BLUNT, but not HARSH. "There are things much worse than BOREDOM that can happen during a stakeout...but sometimes, you just have to learn to APPRECIATE that boredom. Take the time to breathe, center yourself, focus your attention and your thoughts so that when the time comes to ACT, you're more than ready."

He stood up from where he'd been sitting, the gun put back together and safely placed upon the table. James walked over to where Anya was sat and placed his hand gently upon their shoulder. He knelt down some so that he was at her same eye level, looking to her then turning to the window and pointing outside.

"Even the sidewalk traffic and the behavior of those children out there are important to consider. You have to understand behavior, patterns..." He turned back to Anya. "We function outside of most of the world's boundaries...but we still walk within the world. Human behavior isn't an EXACT science, but it's still an important facet of what we do."