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

[aberth]

You're from the future, right? Like Gansey and Noah?

[ Because he thinks he would remember her being hurt. He thinks he'd have known and done something about it. Unbidden his gaze flicks to her eyebrow and back down her face, discontent swirling uselessly in his stomach. ]

They keep telling me it's fine, but --. [ But she's hurt, and he's not stupid. The others have been changed too. ]

[oceiteres]

[ She can't help it. Her hand comes to cover her eye for a second and she frowns. Once she seems to realize what she did, she drops her hand like it got burned. ]

Yeah, I am. [ This is just the strangest thing to have to explain to someone. ] I don't know how far ahead or anything... [ She sort of didn't want to ask. ]

You asked both of them? [ It's not an answer at all, but she wonders. ] What'd they say? Just that it's fine?

[aberth]

I'm from the cave.

[ If that helps. ] With your mom and Artemus. Noah said he was a little along but I got the feeling he didn't want to talk much. Gansey's only been back a little while and I --. [ He pauses, guilt seeping into his stomach. ] I had some other stuff I was trying to deal with. [ Fighting with Ronan, mostly. ]

You're hurt though. [ And he doesn't like it.

He knows enough to try and curb the instinct it inspires, because if anything Blue Sargent would kill him for trying to be protective. But he still doesn't like it. ]

[oceiteres]

[ Her mouth forms a small o-shape. That was awhile ago. Or was it? It feels like years. ]

Noah's... [ She breathes out, then shrugs. Like that's supposed to explain something. ] He's different here. Really different. [ That doesn't explain anything. Not even a little. ] It literally just happened. Right before we got here. A lot of things at once. I was right there. You, Ronan, Henry, Gansey, we were all there. [ Not Noah. ] Then bam, I'm here. I'm still trying to process it or something.

[ She's right about the protectiveness, but she's also in such a state of mind right now. Honestly, she's probably in shock still. ] I'm okay. It looks worse than it is. [ Vague gesturing at her face. ]

[aberth]

Is Gansey --.

[ He stops himself short. He doesn't want to think about it even though he knows he should. Logic dictates that their friend makes it. But logic doesn't have any place in a world like this. Hell, Kavinsky died and he's up and walking around like he owns the place. Adam knows he has to ask. And he knows Blue's the only one who can answer him. She's the only one who shares the same dreadful knowledge he does, the name on a list someplace in Fox Way.

So when he speaks his voice is hushed and awful and he's trying to keep it together because it has no place here. ] Is he okay? [ Does he live? Does he make it? ]

[oceiteres]

[ Of course he wants to know. Of course. There's probably a treatise on time travel somewhere that says she shouldn't answer this or some nonsense, but it's Adam and he deserves to know. He helped her carry that secret around, even if it ended up they weren't really keeping anything from Gansey himself.

She breathes out again. ] He's alive. [ Is he okay? That, she doesn't quite know. Her bottom lip disappears between her teeth. Which is good, because this way it won't tremble. She hasn't said as much aloud yet, has she? Hasn't yet reassured herself it's true. ]

He is.

[aberth]

Is it over?

[ Gansey surviving up to a certain point is all well and good, but if the clock is still ticking than Adam will not be able to rest. He doesn't want to pretend that things will be fine. He doesn't want to lie to himself.

So even though Blue looks like she'd rather disappear into the ground than have this conversation, he has to push, just a little, just enough to be sure. ]

[oceiteres]

[ Blue fidgets intensely with one of her hair spikes before nodding once. ] It's over.

[ Part of her does want to disappear. But part of her wants to spill the whole story, because he ought to know. But maybe if he knows now, he can figure out how to do things better...

No, that's silly. They did the best they could, right? Things were going to be okay. Would've been, if she hadn't ended up here along with everyone else. No. C'mon, Blue. You know too much about meddling in magic to be that foolish. You can't just blurt things out without thinking.

She's thinking so hard it looks like she might set something on fire. Possibly one of the little pile of dead leaves collecting on her head. ]

[aberth]

Okay.

[ He wants to ask more, part of him thinks he should ask more. But Blue's agitated enough and so instead he focuses on the things he can deal with here and now. Namely the fact that she's shedding. ]

Your power? [ Reaching up to pluck a leaf from that pile on her head. ]

[oceiteres]

[ If things calm down, maybe she can figure out how she should say more of it. Maybe.

For now, the distraction is appreciated. ] Oh. Apparently. [ She frowns at the leaf. If she had laser vision, you can bet it'd be disintegrated right now. ] It's not very funny.

[ Oh right. But Adam wouldn't... know about that. ]

They said I can make armor from it or something, but that keeps happening instead.

[aberth]

It's your mood.

[ Adam delivers it without inflection, because if there's one thing he knows it's how quick Blue can be to snap. He doesn't want her to think he's accusing her of anything. Lord knows he's smarter than that. But he's been here before. He's the one with moss and thorns and dead vines creeping their way around him more often than not. ]

I think it's because you're tied into nature, right? You have to be calm for things to keep living? [ He looks her way, turning the leaf over by the stem and then smiling slightly. ] Watch.

[ He twists it again and then slowly, slowly, colour starts seeping back into the leaf. The edges smooth out, the green goes light and bright again, the veins on the leaf gain their life. ] That's my power.

[oceiteres]

[ Blue listens, about to protest the first comment, who are you to tell her she's moody, Adam Parrish, but then she spots what he's doing to the leaf and hears the rest of what he's saying.

A bit spontaneously, she reaches for his hand, gently turning it this way and that to look at the leaf. ]

You brought it back to life. [ She sounds awed? Curiously distant? It's hard to say. Eventually, she looks at him, expression half-curious and half-confused. ] Like a mood ring, but with plants.

[ Hey.

Gansey called her a Starbucks table, so. ]

[aberth]

You should see me on my bad days.

[ It's a joke, and one he makes quite deliberately. Because Adam has never liked the obviousness of his powers. If the door of his bedroom isn't crawling with vines when he's upset, then his floor is littered flowers when he's happy. He's not sure which is worse. But he wants Blue to not feel so alone. ]

I can make a forcefield too, but it's not as prominent as this. I couldn't turn it off even if I wanted to.

[oceiteres]

[ She gives him a little smile. It's one of those sympathetic but not pitying expressions. One she's kinda mastered lately. She's really grateful for Adam being here right now. Not one to hide things in quite the way Adam does, it's hard to imagine how he must feel, having his emotions on display like that. But she can sort of envision it and she knows she wouldn't always be thrilled with the idea... so he probably hates it. ]

So is it hard to learn to control these things? Because I have some kind of amplification too and I think I'm getting used to how that works at home. But this...

[ She's not used to this at all. ] This is new.

[ Hesitating over that word makes it sound a little weird. Well, it's true. The tree thing is new, but not new to here. ]

[aberth]

[ He definitely hates it. But he's lucky in that it's still growth. Even with the vines, he can usually reign in back in and make everything green again. And maybe, if he's honest with himself, it's been stopping him from getting too bleak. There's nothing better to calm a person down than having moss eating away at the house and curious looks thrown his way. ]

A lot of things will be.

[ New, he means. ]

A lot of the time all I can think is what the fuck and I've been here since September. [ A pause. Adam is not usually the #teamwork person.] We help each other though.

[oceiteres]

[ That's a pretty optimistic way of looking at things. Adam Parrish, are you getting a little bit optimistic? ]

I've thought that a few times already. [ She lightly scuffs her toe against the ground at her feet. ] Thank you, Adam.

I need something to put my head back on straight, honestly. [ Little does she know what's coming. ] I guess focusing on this will help. I almost wish I'd come back in time to go to school.

[ She says that, but her face says, 'But not really.' ]

[aberth]

[ No. And if you tell anyone then he'll have to kill you. ]

They gave you a job, right? [ Because trust him to think that work can help clear a head. Or maybe it's just that work can keep a person busy. Lord knows he doesn't need to be working all the time here, but he definitely does not like having time on his hands. He takes to brooding and that's a dangerous pastime. ]

Or you could look into summer classes at the community college. [ Not that ... he ... has ... ]

[oceiteres]

[ Bury her out back under a pile of plant matter, please. ]

Right. Waitressing... [ The irony is strong. Oh, but: ] I talked to Kitty Jones. About the work she does.

[ Which sounds about a thousand times better than waitressing and also makes her a little jealous and also makes her budding friend crush on Kitty a bit worse (little does she knows it's going to get really overblown before too long). Anyway. Waitressing.

She doesn't need to be given anymore time to brood either. Adam and Blue: people of action. ] I don't even need to ask if you're going to take some classes.

[aberth]

Kitty's a good person.

[ She pretty much fought her way under Adam's defences until he had no choice but to accept her. Lord knows, he'd tried to keep her at arm's length but that hadn't happened. ] Y'mean the auto shop? Or the politics stuff? Because if she asks you to go to dinner with someone as a favour just say no. [ He had been stuck with three teenage girls. It had been hilariously awkward and he will never forget it as long as he lives. ]

I'll probably do something. I don't know. It's weird here. Sometimes it feels like I shouldn't let myself settle, because I could be gone tomorrow. But then other days it's like a life is passing me by because I'm just waiting. I have college back home, but what if that's years down the line. Do I just not do that now? [ It's the most he's said on it to anyone so far. But it's been bugging him the closer he gets to graduating Xavier's. What next? Where does he go from here?

It's probably not something he should be off-loading on Blue though, so he shakes his head. ] It's one of those here things. Time. It's hard to get your head around.

[oceiteres]

[ Blue doesn't mind to listen though. At this point, there's so little that actually sounds out of place anymore... well. It's not that she's acclimating well, she just has a strong sense that it'll be better in the long run if she tries. Especially given what Adam's just said. ]

She was telling me about the shop. [ She didn't hear anything about politics. Or, not in so many words. They'll discuss it eventually. Even one conversation with Kitty has been enough that Blue can easily imagine this process of relationship-building between her and Adam. She has a feeling she's going to be fond of Kitty herself. ]

There's a lot about all of this that's hard to get your head around. [ General you. She slumps her shoulders and then squares them again in the span of five seconds. ] What do you want to do while you're here? [ She puts a little emphasis on 'want.' ]

[aberth]

Yeah, the shop's great. [ Obviously he has some pride in it, considering the hours he puts in. He hadn't even meant for it to become a thing but Kitty had offered up the chance to work with honest to god alien car shit and he'd been gone. So now he splits his time evenly between the two auto-shops. ]

I don't know. [ Sleep. Eat. Make out with Ronan.

( It strikes him then, that he doesn't know if she knows about him and Ronan. He doesn't know if she knows about her and Gansey. Because they'd talked about it here, and while Gansey had told him he manages to grow a pair in Henrietta and finally kiss the boy he likes, he's not sure how he dealt with it.

Christ. ) ]

I mostly like to keep busy. [ While his list is simple, he hasn't yet learnt how to chill out and let himself have it. ]

[oceiteres]

[ Blue smiles a little there. Well, at all of that. With utmost love: ] Wow, I'm super shocked. You? Keeping busy? [ Her head tilted a bit to the side, she watches him. ]

I don't see that it's a bad thing, I guess. Trying to go on living here, I mean. Better than doing nothing, which would clearly drive us both up a wall.

[ Clearly.

Also, it might be good if they did talk about the whole... significant other thing. With one another. Possibly. Blue tugs on the hem of her shirt, then looks at Adam again. ] It's too bad you can't transfer college credit across universes.

[aberth]

[ Maybe one day! He's getting better at talking about it. Kitty knows. As does Billy. But Blue is a different case entirely. They've both moved on, but there are still ties.

He pushes those thoughts out of his head, carefully listening to what Blue has to say instead. ] Could you imagine the paperwork you'd have to fill out? [ Faking a shudder. ] That's probably why we never remember when we leave. It's a survival mechanism against having to fill out forms.

[oceiteres]

[ There are things that make it tough, but Blue's seen some things recently that have really...

How to put it.

Well, her perspective on quite a bit has changed. It might be strange for them to talk about it across the gap in time between what he knows and what she knows, but then again, that might make it easier. Who knows. ]

I could die happy if I never saw another form again. [ Blue just wants to romp about in the wild, like a wild thing. Paperwork is not the occupation of a tree in the shape of a girl. ]

[aberth]

I think I'd have some problem with it.

[ He's not as wild. He has to have order and understanding, things in their place and the correct way to go about life. But that's what he has his friends for. They stop him from boxing up everything that makes him him.

Adam smiles, and this time it's full. ] I'm glad you're back, Blue.