What do you know about Welsh kings?

"It is rather strange, but everything in Henrietta has been strange lately." Water still hits his back as he makes his way to the car with Blue. He's already soaked to the bone and he realizes he should have brought a change of clothes with him, and he wonders if they should swing by Monmouth first.

Getting into the car, he shakes off his arms, then leans in to kiss her. "Mine was good. I couldn't stop thinking about you all day. It was very hard to concentrate, I have to admit," he smiles over at her. "You think I'll dry off in time for dinner?"

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"I think that's what happens when the ley line and two forests are awake. Things go sideways." Blue shrugs her shoulders though. She really has no idea. Just sounds like a plausible explanation. They're in the midst of new things, energy levels that probably haven't been seen in centuries. Couldn't really know what to expect.

The smile that stretches across Blue's face is huge, the idea that Gansey could be entirely distracted by her easily the best compliment she's ever received. She sidles across the bench seat a little, her hand sliding under the neck of his Aglionby sweater, feeling his skin is damp. "I don't think so. This is what a raincoat is for." With her other hand she tugs at the collar of her own, then leans up and kisses him. "We have all the time we need though. Go change."

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"That is absolutely what he says," Gansey says with certainty, giving Blue a nod. "Effects the whole atmosphere around here. I just hope we don't start getting intense electrical storms." Though that would be a sight to see. Stupidly enough, he'd probably go sit on one of the hillsides to watch it.

"Ah, yes. Raincoats are wonderful, when one remembers to bring them. It completely slipped my mind, honestly and I didn't want to be late for school." He smiles into the kiss, then pulls back and shakes his head, small water droplets getting everywhere. "Alright. Back to Monmouth. I'll sneak in and sneak out." He starts up the Pig and pulls out of the driveway, headed back for Monmouth. He drives slower than usual, windshield wipers working overtime.

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"Wonder what will happen when more forests wake up. Could be a whole different world." It's an exciting idea, and the fact that they were responsible for it... It's that feeling of magic and wonder and importance Blue's wanted her whole life. Maybe that was already happening.

But her attentions really are elsewhere. She's more concerned with Gansey, and his plans for their evening, and sitting a little too close to him in the Pig with her arm stretched across the back of the seat and her fingers trailing through wet hair. "Can't be late." Something in her feels like she's forgotten something important, that nagging feeling at the back of her mind, but it's so easily ignored that that's what Blue does. She watches out the window, water sheeting over the glass with brief moments of clarity provided by the wipers.

There's an rev from the engine of the Pig, lurching forward for a moment, before it goes back to normal. Blue pauses, listening, and when it's driving like it always does, loud and with the smell of gasoline, she turns her attention back to Gansey. "So what's the plan tonight?"

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"Sometimes I think that's what Adam sees in his head now. All the different possibilities for different forests and different worlds. I think they all need something to channel their energy into, or help release it every once in a while, like what Ronan and Kavinsky do." But he doesn't even know if there are any more people like them out in the world. He wonders if he can set up a sort of network.

He draws his attention back to Blue, but only for a moment before his full attention is back on the road again. "You just said we have all the time we need! We wont be late," he chuckles, then goes silent as he tries to listen to the engine when it starts doing what it always does, right before it breaks down. "Oh no... no, no, no. Not here." Gansey tries to look out the window to see how close they are, but any more sputtering and they'll end up stuck right in the middle of the road.

He pulls over to the side of the road, right as the Pig does it's last sputter and dies. He lets out a long breath, then glances at Blue. "Not this. This was not the plan for tonight." He wants to curse, but he refrains.

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"Yeah, I think so too, especially with how Boone went down. I wonder if they'll all wake up like that." It makes Blue worry about Adam, and how he gets pulled by Cabeswater and the ley line. Persephone has told her time and time again not to worry, which is usually good enough for Blue, but not so much with Adam. More worry than she's used to in her life, with all of them. Gansey and Adam get extra levels of worry.

"I was giving you crap about your need to be early for everything, mister." Her voice is prodding and so is her smile, but then it's fading to concern when the Pig is guided to the side of the road, giving one final valiant effort before it chokes and dies. She sighs a little.

"It's just flooded though, right? Usually just wait it out a few minutes and we're good? Don't get too discouraged." Her smile is back and bright and aimed at Gansey. "Like I said, all the time in the world, even if it means waiting it out for an extra fifteen minutes here on the side of the road."

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"If they're been dormant for that long? Quite possibly. We should probably be there next time, though. Hopefully all of us can be there by Adam's side." He hates it when Adam runs off like that, but he can understand it. He gets that way as well, from time to time. He understands the need.

He gives her a wary look. "It might just be flooded, but..." He wipes off the window, its already hard to see. "We can wait. But then it might get worse. Let me go out there and take a look." He leans in and kisses her, then gives her a smile. "Not discouraged. Not at all. No way I could be with you here." He takes his phone out of his pocket so it doesn't get drenched, along with his mint leaves, and passes them off to Blue, then another kiss before he's out the door, running to the front to pop the hood and check it out.

He doesn't spend a whole lot of time there, because he really can't remember what to do, especially when rain is pouring down over his head. He runs back, nearly slipping on the road which is getting muddier by the second, scrambling back into the car. "Jesus christ, it's wet out there."

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Blue accepts every kiss with one of her own, eyes bright even though they were sitting in a thunderstorm that could wash out roads and cause accidents, because she's with Gansey, and nothing can go wrong, not really. She takes his phone from him, and the mint leaves, holding them in her lap, chasing him out with another kiss and a grin. "Careful!"

Her thumb traces the jagged edge of a mint leaf as she waits, hearing the creaking groan from the aged (and likely rusty) hinges of the hood of the Camaro. Rain sounds like thunder itself with the speed and weight of it hitting the roof, windows blurred like funhouse mirrors with water running down them. There are a few places where water beads on glass inside the Camaro, but Blue is warm and dry. She should've offered Gansey her umbrella.

He's back in, and she reaches over and tousles his hair, squinting as she's sprayed. "Yeah, you're completely drowned. Maybe we should call the guys? Adam'll probably know what's wrong." She hands him his phone, mint leaves after, pulling her knees up on the seat with feet hanging off, leaning and watching Gansey. "Do you have a towel in here anywhere?"

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"I feel bad dragging Adam all the way out here. He probably just settled in. He seemed a little far off today," Gansey goes on about Adam, taking a mint leaf and chews on it, while mulling over the idea of calling Adam. "I..." He looks at the back seat as if a towel will magically appear. "No, I'm afraid not."

He wonders if the rain will stop any time soon, then realizes what a ridiculous thought that is, with how much it's rained today. "Alright, I'll call him." He hits speed dial and waits for Adam to answer.

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leylined

Ronan's off and dreaming before Adam can really argue about it or anything else, so he just settles in, steadfastedly watching the television and not paying attention to the way the room shifts and makes auditory illusions, or the feeling of plantlife against his skin. It isn't long at all before his phone rings. "SQUASH ONE, SQUASH TWO-" accompanied with a picture of someone's dick as the contact picture. He picks it up quickly, cursing Kavinsky under his breath as he puts the phone to his ear.

"What's up?"

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Ronan is fast asleep but not for long. When he wakes up he is clutching bright yellow rain gear. Like always he is slow to wake up. He is looking down on his body from above.

It takes few minutes but eventually Ronan is back in his body. Glancing at Adam he asks in a groggy voice, "Who is it?"

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Blue's glad when Gansey relents. One thing she knew about him - he wasn't too terribly great with cars. He could recite to you the lineage for the entire Welsh line of kings for a millenia, but cars and Gansey weren't close friends. The odd thought that there'd be no way Aglionby would offer shop class crosses her mind, and she snickers softly to herself, imagining Raven boys in their sweaters and flat-front khakis beneath their shiny Porches in a classroom setting.

She still watches Gansey, though. He looks cute, even drenched and miserable and worried about his car. "Come on, Adam, the Pig needs a dashing rescue!" She says it in a voice just loud enough to be heard, grinning at Gansey.

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"Adam, I really feel horrible about this, but the Pig broke down. Again. I know, I know," he says as if he knows the lecture Adam would get into, if he was sitting right here beside him. He chuckles lightly at Blue's plea. "Jane is already with me. I hate to make you come back out in the rain like this, but it's true. You're own only hope. We were on our way back to Monmouth, actually. I'm soaked to the bone."

He'll never give the Camaro up though, even after this. He'll drive it until the day he dies.

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leylined

"It what?" It's less incredulity and more annoyance. So much for the ley line today. He stands up and heads over to Ronan, grabbing the rain gear as he mouths Gansey to him while the other talks. "You are really lucky you caught me right now, you know. Lynch and I were about to head out." He shoulders himself into the jacket and motions for Ronan to start heading out, kicking Gunnar away from him lightly as he moves. "What's going on? Any unusual noises, smells, feelings when it died?"

As he starts walking, he pulls the phone away from his ear and looks at Ronan. "Gansey's car broke down. We have to go get them. Hopefully it's something we can fix."

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"Hopefully it's something you can fix." He corrected. Ronan doesn't fix cars. There are people for that. He didn't know the names for tools or car parts. Thank god Adam was teaching K. He slipped into the rain jacket. Reaching for his keys he rethinks it and puts them down.

"You're going to have to drive. I've been drinking." And none of them seemed to tolerate his drinking and driving. In this kind of rain he wouldn't trust himself either.

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Blue's not anxious at all, even if maybe she should be. She figures Adam and Ronan will come rescue the Pig, and if rescue isn't possible, they'll get towed and she and Gansey will have some rain-soaked adventure anyway. This won't ruin their day.

She picks at some poking edge of cracked vinyl, then looks back at Gansey. "Are they coming?" Blue highly doubts either one of them would leave him stranded on the side of the road long, come hell or high water.

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He can hear the annoyance and he scolds himself internally for not being able to figure it out on his own. He always learns the bare minimum of what he needs to know, when it comes to things like cars and when Ronan tries to teach him how to fight. They rag on him for it, he knows it, and right now he feels bad about it.

"I am lucky, I know it. I really do appreciate it, Adam." He rubs at his lip, thinking. "Unusually clanking noises maybe? It's hard to tell because of all the rain. I'll take another look in a moment." Getting out of the car seems daunting, but it's the least he can do, considering Adam is coming all this way. "Thanks, Adam. I owe you. True best friend."

He gives Adam their rough location, then he turns back to Blue once he's off the phone. "We're lucky we caught them when we did. They were about to head off." It occurs to them that they could have called Kavinsky then, seeing as Adam has been teaching him this and that, but god only knows the state Kavinsky is in now, what with hanging out with his pack of friends. "Shouldn't be too long now. I'm going to check it out again. See if I can smell anything, or a find a leak."

Gansey chuckles lightly. "Adventures with Gansey, hm? We'll get it fixed. Adam's the man." He reaches out and squeezes her hand. "You look beautiful, Jane. Kissed by rain droplets. Even in the rain, you're the loveliest thing I've ever seen." He leans over and kisses her, soft a gentle, then winks. "Wish me luck." He chuckles again, then he's jumping out of the car, going to check under the hood again.

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leylined

"Yeah, yeah," Adam replies, annoyed but his voice is still tinged with a hint of fondness. "I'll see you there." He hangs up and finishes putting the coat on entirely, locking the door behind himself as he heads out with Ronan. The rain already seems more intense, and as he gets behind the wheel, the seeming is more of a definite thing. He tries to keep chatter to a minimum, but it doesn't matter, the stereo coming back on and this time Adam's complaints being ignored until he's about to snap. Then when it goes off, he switches it back on, just to be defiant.

He's not in the right frame of mind as he's driving, trying to make out the road behind the ever present sheet of rain against his windshield. Hell, he isn't even entirely there, spiritually speaking, as more visions and sensations crawl around him. It's why, when oil and other car fluids on the ground mix in with the water, he hydroplanes. It's why someone like Adam, who knows what to do in a situation such as this, reacts too slowly, and by the time he's doing the right thing, machine collides with man.

Everything and nothing greets Adam as it happens. The sound is horrendous, resounding through rain and bass and a scream, and Adam doesn't know if it came from Ronan, himself, or whatever it is that's now gracing his hood as he skids to a halt on the highway shoulder. Everything in front of him is a sickly shade of red, washed away slowly into a pink mess, and through all the confusion, Adam can see what it is.

"GANSEY!"

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Ronan gives up on the stereo. He isn't as tense as Adam after three beers. When the radio is snapped back on he tugged his headphones up over his ears and blasted his own music from the MP3 player inside his jacket. For the rest of the ride he is mostly ignoring Adam. Every once in a while he casts a sideways glance. Occasionally he reached a hand out to brace against the dash when he felt the tires hit a patch of standing water.

A single ear is exposed and he glances Adam's way. He's about to tell him to slow down. There is too much water on the road. The wipers pass over the windshield and he sees a flash of orange. His eyes clench shut when something else flashes in front of the car. He can feel the car moving out of control as it slid through the water. Bodies jar and jerk against the seat belts. The airbag deploys and hits him hard in the face.

"Fuck, Parrish....What did we hit?" He shoved at the deflating airbag. Blood pounded hard and fast in his ears and his hands were shaking. "Was it a deer? What the fuck was--" Looking up his head started to spin. The window was broken. Rain washing the blood away as Gansey's face slipped down the glass and onto the hood of the car.

"Fuck....fuck...Gansey!" He shoved Adam's arm hard to get him to get out of the car. Ronan threw his door open and jumped out. "GANSEY!" Climbing on the hood he drags the limp bloody body into his lap. Fingers shake through the blood seeping from somewhere as he seeks out a pulse.

"PARRISH! He-- there--" Getting the words out seemed impossible. "I can't find a pulse. THERE ISN"T A FUCKING PULSE! "

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The look she gives Gansey when he compliments her is unadulterated fondness. She really is completely in love with him. There's an itch, a push to tell him. There's something in her that's nudging her forward, but he's stepping out. "Good luck."

She steals one of the mint leaves off the seat and plays with it again. She can see the blurred form of Gansey there, mostly cut off by the hood of the car. Blue watches as he stands and moves from the Pig when there's a black car heading toward them. And then Blue thinks she has a moment of what it's like to be psychic.

The Bentley doesn't slow down, it's moving too quickly. And in that instant, before it even happens, it happens in her head. She sees Gansey hit. And everything slows to a crawl. She's already throwing the door of the Pig open, those hinges creaking like the groan of a pained beast. She's moving, before the strike even happens.

And then it's a flash, and Blue's standing there, soaked. Another flash, and Blue's scrambling onto the hood of the car next to Ronan and some guttural noise comes from her. "No. No nonononono." She grabs his face, Gansey's perfect face. She screams his name at him before she's crying too hard to be understood, before she's just hunched over him. Blood stains her hands even as it washes down into the mud on the road.

She says his name over and over again, and looks up at Ronan, something pleading in her eyes.

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leylined

Adam can't move. He can't think. All he can do is watch, from some horrible part of his mind as the image of his best friend slides against the car windshield, cracked and soaked by rain. He's distantly aware of the airbag deflating, just in time to watch as Ronan scrambles to scrape the boy from his hood. Then there's water, and Adam realizes that he's out of the car. Was this what it was like, when he walked twenty miles, not remembering a thing until having a phone pressed to his ear outside of the Pentagon?

No. It's not the same, because he can still remember beyond this moment. A part of him is still screaming, begging for Cabeswater to fix this, or at least protect him from...from what? The damage has been done already. From himself? But now Cabeswater is blessedly, horrifyingly silent.

There's blood, so much blood. On the car, on Ronan and Blue. But none on him. Why isn't there any blood on him? was he the only one not hurt? Why are Gansey and Blue even here in the first place, and then everything starts connecting. They'd been waiting for him. Adam was coming to get them and they were right there. He hadn't been paying attention, and now....

Now.

He'd hit Gansey. Gansey was depending on him and he- "Oh my god. Oh, fuck. Fuck." His vision recedes, things appearing smaller, and he realizes, somewhat late, that his legs are moving back, stepping away from the gore against his will.

"Gansey?" He looks right. Shattered glass and a dented hood, crumpled with the force of a person meeting it at a high speed. So that's what it looks like. He doesn't look again. "Gansey, get up. This isn't funny anymore, we have to-" his throat tightens. He can't breath, he- He's on the floor now. The rain tastes like salt, peculiarly warm. And they're still there, Blue and Ronan, covered in blood. Gansey, limp and painfully still. He can't-

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In his pain he finds some semblance of clarity. A voice whispering between the screaming and the breaking of his heart. Even though the tears streaming down his face are being washed away by the rain the curl of his bottom lip and how his chin dimples can't be hidden. His fathers face flashes in his head. His double dying on the ground torn apart by nightmares. Gansey never deserved a death like this. Never. Seeing him so broken breaks a part of him that had just started healing.

He holds his brothers body against his chest, his heart is hammering so hard against his bones it hurts. His other arm finds Blue and pulls her into his side.

Ronan hears the Orphan Girl again. Her tiny, frail voice cracking with agony in Latin inside his head. When he can finally stop the racking sobs that shake his shoulders he looks around, wild and panicked.

"Cabeswater." He starts to move. "We aren't far. Hurry. We have to get him to Cabeswater." He didn't know why all he knew was with every breath and beat of his heart he felt the urgent need to take Gansey there. To shove his hands in the earth that was full of magic and make a promise as Adam had if they would fix this. Maybe he could dream something to fix him.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! "

He was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Ronan was driven by the need to act and the poisonous anger and pain pumping through his veins. If he stayed in that spot he wasn't sure he could move again. When his world fell apart Gansey was there. He didn't know if he could exist in a world where Gansey didn't.

That very thought doubled him over and he fumbled to find his phone. Tucking his head under the hood of the yellow jacket he put the phone into his ear.

"K. I need you. Hurry. I need you. He's dead." Ronan gave no time for his boyfriend to get a word in edgewise. "We hit water and skidded off the road. We hit him. There is so much fucking blood. Gansey....he's gone. I need you. K...hurry."

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fucking_kavinsky

Kavinsky's connections with his friends have been shaky since he got together with Ronan and moved into Monmouth. It isn't often they hang out together like this anymore, so when they do, they go all out. This time though, the rain keeps them inside, because while Kavinsky has little fear of things, or so he says, dying is not on the list anymore and racing in this weather would be suicide.

But that still leaves a whole lot of shit he doesn't get to do in Monmouth, like rails off coke off Swan's dining room table, popping some pills that Jiang got a hold of, and whatever drinking games they can come up with, so they don't get bored.

Kavinsky is about to suggest starting a bonfire on Swan's mother's shitty floral couch when his cell phone goes off. Normally he'd ignore it, but that's Ronan's ringtone and he'd never ignore a call from Ronan. He climbs over Prokopenko, who is sprawled out on the floor, and grabs at his phone, answering it.

He doesn't even get a word in before Ronan's panicked voice comes through, something about someone being dead. He can barely hear, and he shoves his way over to the stereo to turn it down, "Gansey? He's... what?" Kavinsky doesn't think he heard right, and when Ronan gets it all out, Kavinsky is stiff, his heart racing more than it already has been. He blinks, rubbing at his forehead, trying to clear his head and he really wishes he just went home with Ronan and Adam today instead of coming here to get high. "Where are you? Fuck! I'll be there. Just give me..." He doesn't even know what time it is, or where they could be. "Give me your location. Ronan, I'll be there. Just hang on, I'm coming. Tell me where to meet you."

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