video

[aglonby]

[ the feed comes on to show a boy with very tall hair and a much shorter girl with scratches on her face over her eye, one looking rather cheerful and the other less so. ]

Hi hi hi everyone, I have an important question. [ he holds up a finger, tilts his head as if a thought had just occurred to him. he's so preoccupied he was going to launch himself into his spiel without even introducing himself. ] I'm being rude. I am Henry Cheng, and we were wondering —

[ the not so tall and in fact very short girl interrupts. ] We're looking for someone we know! [ she pulls a little face, looking over at Mr. Henry Cheng. ] A few people, actually. [ okay, maybe that was a little rude. she murmurs something unintelligible and takes a step back. please, proceed. ]

And that was my lovely friend Blue. [ he gestures with a flourish toward her, shoots her a wink, absolutely unbothered by the interruption or her outburst. ] As she said, we are looking for someone. Multiple someones. I'm sure this place has a list of sorts, yes? A quick way to CTRL-F a friend's name and find out their status?

[ he looks a bit more serious, then, like underneath the cheerfulness he's exhausted. his next words are very earnest. ]

We would appreciate any info. Thank you.

[ in the background, Blue begins tromping away, shedding dead leaves for some reason, and can be vaguely heard to say 'maybe we should've mentioned Gansey by name' before the video ends. ]

Comments

[oceiteres]

[ She's missed you too, Noah. In a manner of speaking... ] Well, considering I make everything more fun, I guess I ought to hang around.

[admemoriam]

You should! That way, you can come on our road trip.

[He gives a devious smile.]

We're gonna look for a volcano.

[oceiteres]

[ Cocking her head to one side. ] A volcano, huh? Wait.

Why a volcano? [ Boys??? ]

[admemoriam]

Because it's on my bucket list.

[Like why else would they be going, come on Blue.]

[oceiteres]

[ She blinks a few times. ] Oh.

What else is on it? [ Look. This is Noah and Gansey. There's literally no end to the possibilities. ]

[admemoriam]

[He disappears for just a second, and returns with a crumpled piece of paper, which he holds up to the camera. His eyes are visible above it, lashes brushing the top edge.]

I've already got offers for a lot of them!

[oceiteres]

[ She takes a moment to skim over the list, gaze darting back and forth. ]

Blow "something" up. [ She looks a little amused. ] How many is a lot?

[admemoriam]

Ronan said we can go pretty big.

[Once again, he brings up his fingers to count off.]

And I've got... 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, and 15.

[oceiteres]

[ Blue hums, tapping her lips with her forefinger. ] Well, it's...

June, right? So Independence Day is coming. [ That is still a thing here, right? It better be. Even if Joseph Kavinsky is here and may well make her regret looking forward to it. (She doesn't know what to make of that.) ]

[admemoriam]

[His eyes light up.]

Yeah! And we could set them off right at the Meadows!

[oceiteres]

[ Mark it down, this is happening. ]

I think we're going to have to do that now. I insist.

[admemoriam]

Especially because- [He leans in closer.] -that's the new birthday I picked out.

[oceiteres]

[ Well, that gets her face to light up like Christmas. Good one, Noah! ] Really? So we're going to have two parties then, of course.

[admemoriam]

I picked it so you guys wouldn't just have to think about you-know-who, and what happened last time.

[oceiteres]

[ Her smile turns a bit unreadable. Still happy! But that's... ] It's your birthday. We'll make good memories whatever day it's on, right? [ But maybe especially because of that. ] If you're happy, I'm happy.

[admemoriam]

[Yeah, he thinks. But I won't be there to make them with you next time. Not unless they all stay here, and he can't wish that upon his friends out of his own selfishness.]

It's settled, then. Hot dogs and fireworks and birthday cake.

[oceiteres]

[ Hey. That's not a birthday-appropriate thought. Okay? ]

So much birthday cake. [ She'll consent to eat actual food and not just yogurt or her new diet here. For you, Noah. ] You could have a couple. Different flavors. Can we get watermelon here too?

[admemoriam]

I think so? We haven't actually tried. [A slight pause.] We get a lot of pizza.

[oceiteres]

Well, now I'm really shocked. [ Says she, not sounding shocked at all. ]

[admemoriam]

None of us really cook. [He says it like it's some sort of great universal secret.]

[oceiteres]

Doubly shocked. [ She looks a little sympathetic. Like, if full-on sympathy were a foot, she's about an inch sympathetic. ] I hope everyone's smart enough to know that just because there's a girl around, there's not going to be home-cooked meals every day or something.

[ She subsists on yogurt.

No. She literally subsists on light and air. ]

[admemoriam]

[He lets out a laugh at the sheer thought.]

We aren't quite stupid enough to ask. Besides - you literally only eat yogurt.

[Doesn't even have to read your mind for that, Blue.]

[oceiteres]

[ Tsk. Noah's too good at that. Mind-reading or not. She huffs softly. ]

I do not! [ Her shoulders slump a little. ] Though apparently I don't even need that here.

[admemoriam]

What do you mean?

[That sounds vaguely ominous.]

[oceiteres]

I'm a tree, haven't you heard? [ She says this a bit wryly. ] This folder says I don't need to eat or drink, except for water. I just have to have sunlight and air, like a plant or something.

That sounds ridiculous, right?