Chapter Text
Madisynn's face contorted as she concentrated on the very important task of using her arm to block the stream of sunlight shining straight into her eyes. "Mmph." She rolled over in the bed and her right eye slid open. A note and what appeared to be a map sat on the nightstand and she reached for the former. Blinking the sleep out of her eye, she read it:
Good morning, Madisynn,
By the time you'll be reading this, I'll be in the middle of performing my duties. You'll either find me in the library or the courtyard. There's some aspirin in the nightstand drawer if you need it. Feel free to explore Kamar-Taj, and if anyone asks about you just tell them the Sorcerer Supreme invited you.
Sincerely, Wong
ers
She giggled at the strike-out on his signature. "Thanks, Wongers." Putting the note aside, Madisynn reached for the map, squinting her eyes as her fuzzy brain slowly deciphered the diagram. She sat up in bed, stretching her arms over her head before throwing the covers off of her.
Making the bed, taking an aspirin (she was surprised that only one seemed to do the job, considering that a slow night of her drinking would require no less than 4), and changing into the spare clothes she'd brought with her, she took another drink of water. She then made her way out of the room and through the halls of Kamar-Taj, feet padding against the floor in socks and sandals (the supreme footwear duo, she and Wong had agreed on the previous night).
Based on the number of identical doors and uniform hallways, Madisynn was still in the living quarters of the temple. She passed by several others milling about in the halls who must've been students and consulted her map. If that way was the courtyard, then the library should be off to the-
"Can I help you?"
She perked up and made eye contact with the man standing in front of her. His serious expression coupled with his different uniform compared to what the student sorcerers' were wearing signaled to her that he must've been a teacher. "Uh, I'm a little lost. I think."
His expression softened in recognition. "You're Wong's friend, right?"
"Wongers is my bestie, my guy," Madisynn said as she grinned.
He grinned at her nickname for the Sorcerer Supreme. "Interesting, I know him too. Dr. Stephen Strange," he said as he extended a hand.
"Madisynn, with two N's and one Y, but it's not where you thiiiink," she grinned as she introduced herself, playfully shimmying in place.
"Nice to meet you, ‘Madisynn with two N's and one Y, but it's not where I think,’" he smirked.
The Cloak waved its collar at her, making her jaw drop. "Did your cape just wave at me?!"
Stephen laughed. "Yeah, this right here is the Cloak of Levitation-"
"Cloakie!" Madisynn exclaimed before running her hand along its shoulder. Like a domesticated cat, it leaned into her touch while somehow purring based on the slight vibrations she felt.
"I think he likes you," Stephen said, skillfully retracting his outstretched hand.
Madisynn mentally chided herself for being impolite and decided to make up for it by slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Where you headed?"
"I was about to go find Wong, actually," he answered as they began walking, not surprised at the sudden contact. "Didn't find him in the library though, and I think his phone is on silent."
"Wongers always leaves his phone on silent. It's so annoying! So what is this place?"
"Kamar-Taj is where we train new sorcerers. It serves as the hub between the sanctums we have around the world."
"So it's like the Men in Black headquarters?"
He grimaced. "Not... exactly. It's a bit complicated to explain."
They took a turn and entered what looked like what was once a gym. Most of the area was marked off with magical construction tape and cones. "What happened?" Madisynn asked as she saw the damage.
"An incident with another magic user. Don't worry about it," Stephen brushed off as he repressed the memory of that particular adventure. He made a mental note to check on America Chavez afterward.
They finally made their way to the courtyard and Madisynn stood in awe at the bright yellow magic the sorcerers and students used. The instructors yelled out commands and the students followed, making mandalas and whips among other things. "This is so cool!" Some of the instructors turned to look at her with a disapproving gaze and she muttered a "Sorry!"
"Try to keep it down when lessons are going on. They need to concentrate," Stephen supplied. They finally found Wong finishing his conversation with a student before the young sorcerer walked off. "Wongers," Stephen called out.
"I told you not to call me that," Wong grumbled before he looked at Madisynn. "Did you sleep well?"
"It was amazing. I wanna get a bed like that for my place," she admitted. "Thanks for the map, Wongers!"
Wong smiled. "No problem." He looked back at Stephen with a scowl with no real heat behind it. "What're you standing around here for? Shoo."
Stephen rolled his eyes. "Alright alright, I'm going. Have fun with your bestie." Wong restrained himself from using the same gesture he showed Stephen yesterday night.
As Stephen walked off, Madisynn waved at them. "Bye Cloakie! Stephie!"
While Stephen's stride didn't falter, they, unfortunately, missed the pained grimace that crossed over his face. "Stephie," he mumbled to himself before going to who-knows-where.
Wong had the decorum to wait until the man was gone before cackling.
The nearby instructors and students, however, didn't.