Carmine Jewels ║ Wanda Maximoff

Epilogue

August 23rd, 2025

"Arnulf! Stop that!" Keira stretched out her foot to gently nudge the curious sheep away from the bucket full of sharp nails, a small smile playing in the corner of her lips. Her hands were busy holding up a wooden plank while hammering it into place. "It's bad for you, silly."

But the sheep chose to ignore the words of caution and simply dodged under the foot that obstructed him from his goal. The allure of the mysterious bucket was apparently too much for him, and he curiously nipped at the metal edge. When his teeth clinked against it, Arnulf recoiled slightly at the strange sensation before trying it again. 

As if that would make it less unpleasant.

Keira just shook her head in amusement and focused back on the task at hand. "And I wonder why your breeder had to rescue you out of a well when you were little..."

With music blasting in her right AirPod, she quickly found a rhythm in which she hammered in the nails. And yes, she only had the right one.

Because the left one had mysteriously disappeared during a trip to Portugal with Natasha a few months prior. Did Keira full-heartedly blame the redhead for the disappearance of her hotel keys and earrings during the same trip? Absolutely.

Just as she hammered in the last nail, an ominous rattle was heard from beside her.

"Hey!" Keira threw herself down on the straw-covered without a second thought, all to save the bucket from toppling over. A low huff escaped her lips as she collided with the ground and her hands managed to cup around the edges of the bucket, preventing any nails from spilling over. Her shoulders slumped in relief and she shook her head, torn between amusement and slight exasperation.

Arnulf, who had jumped back at her fast movement, now happily bounced forwards, acting as if he hadn't been the cause of her rescue attempt. His face radiated pure innocence as he sniffed his owner's face expectantly, hoping it would earn him some treats.

Keira couldn't hold back her laugh at the tickly feeling on her cheek and she pushed herself up into a sitting position before succumbing to Arnulf's charms. "You have no manners, you know that, right, Arnie?"

The sheep pressed himself against her hand, showing her exactly where he wanted to get scratched.

At the sight of Arnulf's happily wagging tail, Keira couldn't stay annoyed with him any longer. Not that she had been particularly annoyed to begin with, even if he made the work ten times more difficult by constantly being in the way, or otherwise distracting her.

Arnulf gave a soft baa and nuzzled his nose against her palm, his eyes slowly closing when she used her other arm to scratch the scruff of his neck.

"Alright, you're pretty cute when you want to, I'll admit it." Keira chuckled lightly and just allowed her shoulder to relax for a moment. If there was something she was bad at, it was to take it slow. With one last scratch behind Arnulf's ear, she got back up on her feet. Before he had a chance to dive into the bucket again, she latched her scarred arm through the handle and swooped it up from his reach, much to the Valais Blacknose sheep's dismay.

Arnulf looked up at her with a slightly tilted head, his inky eyes practically blending in with the dark fur that covered his face. He didn't give up hope though. Another baa left his lips, this one sounding more displeased due to the lack of scratches, and instead opted to nudge Keira's thigh with his forehead.

It was widely known among the animals that Keira always carried treats with her. At least one of her pockets was bound to have something tasty in it, whether or not it was right for the animal who begged for it, however, was a different story.