eternal.

“with all due respect, i think there’s a lot you don’t know about the situation. to not know can be frustrating, yes, but we are not the ones you should be focusing your energy at right now.” 

“i don’t think that people realize how complex -- and ancient -- the situation actually is.”

“we had an assignment from a celestial. it trumped all else. or, that’s what we thought, at least. we couldn’t solve your problems for you because you needed to develop, but we could have helped you fight thanos. then again, everything went as it needed to. you can never say in this instances.”

“the whole world did. it was one of the most painful things to watch.” and sersi knew it had to be even worse to live through. the eternals hadn’t reached out to one another but they had all survived. their space was deliberate. “we’ve waited 7,000 years to announce ourselves fully. we are fine with waiting.”

“your father is anthony stark, isn’t he? what happened was incredibly sad.”

“i can’t speak for all of us. i know that phastos had his own reasons and they differed from mine. but if you’d like to talk, we can.”

“well, all it takes sometimes is an existential reckoning to realize what you thought was right is actually wrong.”

“i care about them.” she replied simply. “i care about them and they love it. it makes them happy. i want to be close with them so i can understand the people we protect.”

“philosophy’s need to change, i’ve come to realize. they can trap us in the past and prohibit progress. i want to do better.”

“i can return them to their original state if solid gold isn’t useful.” sersi offered up, just wanting to be helpful. “human progress is incredible. it was a wonder the day the arrow itself was fastened, and now look at you.”

“the inhumans came from the moon.” at they did if her memory was serving her correctly. it usually did. what she didn’t know much about was terrigenesis. it sounded vaguely familiar but the eternal wasn’t able to pinpoint the definition clearly. at the question, her head briefly bowed before she looked up with a smile. “it’s actually -- well, i mean, i find it interesting. i change matter. stone into water, water in air, buses into petals. here,” sersi picked up a stone from the ground and held it in her palm. it transformed itself there; the hard gray softened and turned red before solidifying into a ruby. sersi offered it up to her. “i’m not one of the impressive eternals.”

“humans have been upset with us before. it’s inevitable, considering what we do and who we are.” it hurt sersi, of course. all she wanted was to keep them safe and help them along. the job had been hard on her over the years. pleasant hill didn’t make much sense, but neither did ikaris killed ajak. nothing was certain anymore. “may i ask how so?”

“I’m going on, aren’t I?” Sersi paused. “Pardon. I’m Sersi.”

“I’ve always be so intrigued by the evolution of weapons.” Had it not been Sersi to hand that first dagger over? Grabbing one, the matter warped in her hand and she carefully set the now harmless arrow down. “And each of these are useful?” 

“Well, I’ve watched many men cheat at gin over the decades. Most just don’t show their hidden cards.” She pointed towards the edge of one with a smile.

“Forgive me, then.” The Eternal quickly bowed her head. “I’ve lived in London for so long without ever talking to anyone from MI-13. Maybe I was overzealous in introducing myself.”

Sersi knelt down and rested her hand on the ground. It still thrummed the same as it always did. It rippled slightly before she pulled her hand away and left it unchanged. “Your powers are natural then? I never really got to talk to anyone about what they could do before this. It’s all beautiful.” or, it had the potential to be. Some just tainted beauty.