Peggy Carter prided herself on being able to stand fast in the face of things that may faze others, but she thought she could be given a little leeway in her new predicament
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Some new residents can be picked out a mile away by the vaguely dazed and disconcerted expression they wear. Depending upon the person, this can last from a few hours to a few months, in Pepper's experience. That isn't the case here, though; this woman seems perfectly sure of herself and her surroundings in a way that Pepper can't help but approve of. Rather, it's the clothing that gives her away. Most people eventually eschew what had been familiar back home for what's common on the island.
"Are you going exploring?" she asks as she pauses before the table, coffee cup held carefully in both hands.
"Eventually, yes," Peggy replied, eyes still on the map as she tried to figure out the best place to start her own tour of the island. When she looked up, she gave the woman an apologetic smile. "I'm rather new, and I wanted to get the lay of the land."
"Not a bad idea, I wish I'd thought to ask for a map when I first arrived." Becoming acclimated to the island hadn't been terribly difficult, but there had been more than a few times in Pepper's first weeks when she'd felt suddenly and horribly lost.
"Only a week ago," she answered, carefully brushing the front of her blouse down as she stood up. Peggy held a hand out, eager to make any acquaintances she could. "Peggy Carter."
Natalia watches her from an armchair, her glances fleeting and unstudied. Today, clad in similarly unremarkable garb, she could be anyone. Any ordinary woman at all, and not one who's served quite closely with this woman's niece some six decades in her future.
The resemblance between this woman and Sharon is there, if not in Peggy's features outright, than in her bearing and the purposeful way with which she moves. It is...disconcerting to observe, and their introduction would be something long since out of the way had Natalia not been, 'til now, experiencing a veritable week from hell.
"Exploring?" she calls at last, watching the second Agent Carter in her life study the outline on a page.
Other people in the rec room had not gone unnoticed, but until catching her attention, Peggy hadn't given any a second thought once focused on the map. She looked up, surprised at being addressed.
"Yes," she replied, sitting up a little straighter, only just noticing the music as it faded out. "I hope to as soon as possible."
"Do pace yourself," says Natalia with a smile she almost feels. In the strangest way, it hurts to look at this woman, and Natalia doesn't shy from it. Sharon Carter is not the first friend whose absence she mourns, nor will she be the last.
"This place has no shortage of oddities. There is much to be seen, and then it's over all at once. The strange becomes the mundane, and you'll be stuck here like the rest of us." Inclining her head, Natalia lets her shoulder rise and fall. "You seem the type to crave adventure."
"Crave might not be the right word," Peggy said, giving the woman's advice some thought. She'd heard just as much, but the more she heard it, the more inclined she was to believe it. Her very presence here proved she would have to give any impossible claim some thought, at the very least.
Gwaine doesn't really ever expect a run-in with a lady so beautiful as the one he finds on this day, but he's quick enough to recover when he does, flashing a bright smile as he searches about for a flower -- finding none -- and coming up empty-handed. "Ah," he says, an embarrassed smile on his face when she catches him unprepared. "You know, if there'd been a vase here, I would have been very charming right now."
His intention made clear, Peggy quickly lost interest in what he was doing. Men who considered themselves charming and did their best to lay it on her were a dime a dozen. They would crop out of the woodwork no matter where she was, but at least he was more polite than most she'd encountered in the last few years.
"I suppose someone might have thought so," she said, playing along only enough to seem polite as she would, inevitably, rebuff his advances.
Gwaine doesn't lose the smile, not for a second as he comes closer and holds out his hands in what some might say is thrilling defeat. "No, but, what can a bloke do? He has to try," he points out. "And a woman once told me that it was very charming that I knew when to stop." He peers over the table and arches a brow. "This looks very in-depth," he points out, already moving away from what seems to be a botched-go.
"Then she was a smart woman," Peggy agreed, watching him as he looked at the map. He seemed the ruggedly handsome type, and while she'd become adept at turning down constant advances, it was nice to meet a man who knew when to stop and keep his dignity intact.
"It's a map of the island. I'm new and plan on exploring as much as I can."
Comments 102
"Are you going exploring?" she asks as she pauses before the table, coffee cup held carefully in both hands.
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"When did you arrive?"
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The resemblance between this woman and Sharon is there, if not in Peggy's features outright, than in her bearing and the purposeful way with which she moves. It is...disconcerting to observe, and their introduction would be something long since out of the way had Natalia not been, 'til now, experiencing a veritable week from hell.
"Exploring?" she calls at last, watching the second Agent Carter in her life study the outline on a page.
Reply
"Yes," she replied, sitting up a little straighter, only just noticing the music as it faded out. "I hope to as soon as possible."
Reply
"This place has no shortage of oddities. There is much to be seen, and then it's over all at once. The strange becomes the mundane, and you'll be stuck here like the rest of us." Inclining her head, Natalia lets her shoulder rise and fall. "You seem the type to crave adventure."
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"I prefer to seek it out before it surprises me."
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"I suppose someone might have thought so," she said, playing along only enough to seem polite as she would, inevitably, rebuff his advances.
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"It's a map of the island. I'm new and plan on exploring as much as I can."
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