The past few months of being on the run were hard for the nomad ex-Avengers. Always moving around and never staying in one place for more than a week proved to be exhausting and stressful, especially on Wanda. They had to leave San Pedro pretty quick after one of the other tenants in the motel caught a video of Claire shifting into her wolf and Wanda using her magic and didn't hesitate on uploading it to social media.

The stress was getting to Wanda, and within the last few months of being on the road, she had experienced four panic attacks (it was actually closer to six, but neither Wanda nor Claire counted them since they stemmed from her nightmares rather than the stress of being fugitives constantly on the run). Their stolen Quinjet felt empty and incomplete since Clint left to return to his family the month before. He heard that the government was willing to place him on two years' house arrest rather than jail time if he turned himself in right away, and he did, not wanting to hurt his family any more than he already has. Wanda understood the obligation he had to his family, and while she was sad to see him go, she didn't blame him.

Claire and Jemma noticed how Wanda's behavior changed since Clint left. Jemma explained to Claire about Wanda's depression and how because she only had her brother for a long time, tended to cling to people like lifelines and whenever they left she became an emotional wreak. And that's how she's been since Clint left. The rest of the team did everything in their power to keep Wanda from spiraling into her depression; keeping her busy with training exercises or games. Claire took a special interest in trying to cheer up the brunette and created a list of all things that worked to make her feel better for the time being (through process of elimination, of course).

The team now lived in the small village of Victoria's Island (it wasn't an island) on the coast of Northern Canada. Out of all the places they've stayed at so far, this village was more ideal for them. They stayed in a series of small log cabins surrounded by nothing but dense woods and tranquil mountains, perfect for a small rag-tag group of enhanced individuals fleeing the law.

Claire liked the woods that surrounded them because it gave her the perfect cover to exercise her wolf to keep her from fighting to get out. She also liked it because it allowed her to train with Wanda, letting her use her powers without any fear of hurting anyone or having someone see. Claire trained with her a lot, since that was the best thing to help distract her from her depression, and Wanda liked it a lot. She liked the feeling of her magic being in her control, her newfound confidence surging through her like adrenaline. She also like training with Claire, thought she wasn't sure what made her different than Steve or Natasha.

Wanda still felt weird when it came to Claire; always second guessing her movements and overthinking every action that she directed to the redhead. She wasn't uncomfortable around her, but ever since Natasha made that comment in their motel room in San Pedro, she started thinking on their connection. She wasn't blind; she obviously felt it before that night in the motel room, but now...it was different, and she didn't understand why.

"Hey Maximoff! Come on, we training or what?" Claire yelled at her from across the hidden field. They made sure to check the surrounding area of their "training ground" every time they went to train, just in case. Wanda snapped out of her thoughts and sent a smirk at Claire as she jogged over to her. "What were you thinking about? No, wait, let me guess. You were thinking about me, right? It was definitely me. You were thinking about how I'm so beautiful and the best person that you know." Wanda laughed as Claire batted her eyelashes and leaned her head on Wanda's shoulder staring deep into her eyes and smiling brightly. Wanda pushed Claire's head off her shoulder and rolled her eyes. She's such a child.

"It's hard to believe you're two years older than me," she muttered under her breath.

"Why do you say that?" Claire asked as she got back into position on the other side of the field.

"Because you're a child!" Wanda yelled so the redhead could hear. Claire's mouth hung open as she gasped, though the corners of her lips curled upwards.

"How could you say that? I'll have you know; I am a mature adult!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! I'm so mature, that I can beat you, and not rub it in your face afterwards." Claire smirked and folded her arms across her chest, leaning to the left. Wanda tilted her head and grinned.

"Well, in order to do that, you have to beat me. And you haven't been able to do that yet." Wanda blinked a few times and bit her bottom lip, sending back Claire's cocky smirk.

"If you're so confident, Maximoff, bring it on."

Wanda stood up straighter and turned her head to the side, cracking her neck. She moved her hands to her sides, igniting the red mist around them as she intently stared at Claire, waiting for her to make the first move. Claire smiled at her as her bones broke and moved as she shifted into her wolf. She sent Wanda a low and playful growl as she took her attack stance.

Claire charged at Wanda, getting impatient. Natasha and Steve always warned her about being impatient, saying that it was better to let her opponent attack first, but she never liked being patient. Wanda smirked; she could always count on Claire to make the first move. So predictable. Claire charged, snapping her jaw and leaped into the air, aiming to catch Wanda with her teeth, but at the last second, Wanda sidestepped to the left and threw a red bolt of energy at Claire's side. She yelped in surprise when she landed, looking at the brunette.

Wanda took a few steps back and waited some more, knowing Claire was going to charge again. Like clockwork, Claire turned and bounded for Wanda again. Wanda threw more energy bolts at the running wolf, walking backwards as she dodged and continued to get closer. Not paying attention, Wanda tripped and fell on her back. Claire pounced on top of her and lifted a giant paw in the air, claws extended. As she brought it down, Wanda moved her hands in front of her face. The red mist enveloping her hands caught Claire's paw as it descended and stopped it from coming in contact with her body. Claire growled and applied more pressure, forcing Wanda's hands down slowly. Wanda fought back, gritting her teeth; Claire's wolf was strong. Her eyes glowed red as she harnessed more power and pushed back against Claire's strength.

With her extra strength, Wanda pushed Claire completely off her, the giant wolf stumbling back. Wanda stood up from the ground, and as Claire was regaining her footing, she took the offensive. She ran at the wolf, using her magic to propel her into the air above her and let go, causing her to fall on Claire's back. Claire jumped in surprise and bucked against Wanda's hold. She ran around the field arching her back and jumping in the air as she tried to throw the witch off her, but Wanda held on tight. She grabbed fistfuls of Claire's thick black fur, latching herself to the wolf.

Claire slowed down to a stop, panting hard. She lowered her head as she caught her breath. Wanda loosened her grip on Claire's back, but stayed seated, in case she moved again. She leaned to the side to look at Claire's face. Claire's head was pointed down and her eyes were closed and her tongue was sticking out; she looked like she was about to drop. Wanda frowned and her heart rate sped up as she worried about her friend.

"Claire? Claire are you okay?" she asked letting go of her grip altogether. She leaned over to Claire's side and lowered her head until her ear was pressed up against Claire's torso. She listened hard, listened to the sound of Claire's breathing and her heart beating. She knew that Claire had exerted a lot of energy—even for her—trying to knock Wanda off, and she worried that maybe she pushed herself too far. As she listened, Claire's eyes opened and she brought her tongue back into her mouth. Though no one could see, she gave a sly wolfy grin as she leaped into the air once more, contorting her body so that she flipped onto her back, and landed hard on the ground, catching Wanda off guard as she let out a little shriek.

Claire rolled off Wanda the second they hit the ground and she turned, looking at the Scarlet Witch. She smiled, showing off her fangs while Wanda let out a groan of pain. Claire stepped closer to her and nudged her neck with her wet nose, checking to see if she was okay.

"You planned that from the start didn't you?" she gasped, not expecting an answer. Claire nudged her again, and laid down in the grass next to her, placing her giant wolf head on top of Wanda's stomach. Wanda panted as she waited for the dulling pain to recede. Claire whined apologetically as she realized that Wanda was hurt. Wanda accepted the unorthodox apology by bringing her hand up and scratching the base of Claire's closest ear, earning a deep purr from her friend. They sat like that for a little while, and when Wanda's body started to move again, Claire lifted her head and stood up off the grass and shifted back into her normal self.

She reached a hand out to Wanda who had moved from lying down to sitting in the grass. Wanda took her hand and stood up with the help of Claire. She chuckled as Wanda's face contorted in discomfort.

"Are you okay?" she asked as the two walked out of the field, heading back to their cabin. Wanda gave her a small smile.

"I will be. I gotta give it to you; that was a good move."
"So was you jumping on my back." The two women laughed as they passed the familiar marker, telling them they were on the right track.

"So, did you plan that?"

"Nope," Claire said popping the "p". "That was done completely in the spur of the moment." Wanda laughed again, the pain already subsiding, but she knew that she would feel it later; maybe even have a wicked bruise. As they reached the cabin door, Claire stopped and turned to Wanda, stopping her also. "I just remembered something."

"What?" Claire smirked, her purple eyes twinkling as they shone a light purple.

"I win."