[Adam could not have really articulated how he knew something was wrong, just that he did. It was like He could feel it the pulse of his heartbeat, in how his hands grasped for something as he gasped awake -- Ronan's name on his mouth. He was desperate, grasping for something he could use, and thankfully coming up with a superbright LED flashlight. The light on his phone wouldn't have been bright enough, but this should work. It wasn't his car headlights, but it'd be enough to pull him out of himself. He hoped.
But, he wasn't about to ignore Kavinsky who either hadn't fallen asleep in the first place, or had roused when Adam had startled awake. At least he wasn't Dreaming- that was the last place that he wanted him right now. He cups his jaw and gives him a quick kiss in lieu of an explanation, because he doesn't feel like he has time for the later. His voice is even and sure when he looks into his dark eyes.]
Something's wrong. Just- trust me, sweetheart. Make sure I come back -- that we both do.
[And then he's cross-legged in Kavinsky's bed, with a light shining into his blue eyes; trying to send himself far enough that he can find Ronan. Which is Cabeswater, because of course it is. And technically he's scrying into the space, but it feels real, feels solid under his feet- not like dreaming. But with the pulse of the ley line through him like this, pulled to the place that he'd bound himself to, pulled to Ronan, no wonder it feels so real. Usually he's more reckless, but tonight he's glad that Kavinsky is there to watch him. Briefly he thinks of his boyfriend, sure that he's worried about him, and worried about Ronan, but he pushes the thought away before he can get distracted.
He can feel Ronan, but he can't find him. At least, not at first. But he can feel Cabeswater, old and unknowable, and then he realizes why. That Ronan's under Cabeswater, pulled into the lake beneath it -- drowning. And oh, how he snaps at the forest to fix it, to fix this, to save its dreamer. It doesn't answer in words, but Adam understands the meaning: you are our hands and eyes. Which meant Adam was supposed to save Ronan, but he felt so small and alone. How could he possibly-- He wanted Kavinsky and Blue and he wanted Gansey; knew that they could do something, could force this into something they could solve just by wanting it to be so, by dreaming it. What could Adam do?
Outside of yourself, Magician.
Adam's breath catches in his lungs, and he doesn't know if it's actually Persephone, or just the memory of her voice, her words. But maybe it doesn't matter- especially here. And in a breath it reminds him of what he is, that there was a name he'd claimed for himself, something bigger than Adam Parrish. The stones, the lightning: a network at his feet.
The Magician was a card of power, of acting with your full potential instead of holding back, having the will to manifest your desires into the world. It was reaching and saying I will instead of I want. Months ago he'd taken his first steps, but this felt different.]
I'm going to save him. So please-
[He says it in Latin, but also in the language of thought and intention that he's been so slowly learning to speak to Cabeswater. But it's Ronan, who it loves best, so he hardly has to say the words. He needed power and this place needed a conduit, a connection. Vines threaded against his skin, cool where Adam was flushed, his heart racing with the nervousness of it. Letting this be on his shoulders, standing and being powerful rather than quiet or polite.
It feels like a strange sort of comfort, almost a sort of reassurance: like the forest believes in him.
Most of what he's done so far has felt like small things, small pieces that when he aligned them correctly, could knock the bigger things into place. But nothing about this felt small. It was Ronan, after all. And it was Adam, standing here on his own, but not alone.
He takes a breath.
Kavinsky can probably feel it, because the ley line surges, like lightning on a power line, the way they'd used it to distract the hitmen from the dreamers last summer. Maybe K can even see it, like Adam had seen Ronan all those months before, when he'd been correcting the line, like a window. Because there's that way that the power warps the line between reality and dreams, between Adam and Ronan. He can feel him, feel the beat of his heart, and with the power of the ley line running through him, like a glowing current in his human hands, he reaches for him, trying to wrap it around him. His palms press against the ground, the soft velvet of the grass, the dream forest that had wrapped itself around him ... and then he reached further, touching beneath it.
Adam didn't know what the lake was, anymore than they had before, and at the moment he didn't much care. All that mattered was that it had Ronan and that Adam was going to take him back. It's fierce determination, a green glow in his blue eyes, bending the ley line because he needed it to be here, because he needed to be able to reach him. Desperate and wild, his skin glowing faintly where power hums into the line between the two boys, and then--
Then Adam is gasping and stumbling, almost falling, but managing to catch himself, and catch Ronan. Because the energy of the ley line in his hands had been one thing, but Ronan's six-foot-two frame, wet to the skin, is another. For a moment, he lets himself hold him, lets his fingers find his chest, the beat of his heart. He almost kisses him, just so overwhelmed- a moment where he'd thought he was going to lose him, that everyone would- and no one would forgive him for fucking this up. And Ronan might be an asshole, but he's an asshole that Adam couldn't stand to lose, either.]
Ronan--
[But then Ronan is coughing, spitting out water and making a face as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.]
Shit, that's fucking gross.
[He wants to say something, but he doesn't know where to even start. So he just gives Adam a quiet look that he hopes looks... thankful or something. Which isn't remotely enough, and he knows it, even without really knowing exactly how he ended up there. But he had thought he was lost; that no one would find him. Drowning in slow motion. Had he even been dreaming?
Ronan is woozy and unsteady, and Adam ends up half-carrying him. Which is not an easy thing, although Ronan is lighter than the FTI automatic transmission he'd had to lift up onto jacks the other day. But Adam really isn't thinking about anything except getting the boy in his arms somewhere safe. And safe to him means pretty much one thing:]
Kavinsky!
[It's not on purpose, but right now he's still sort of glowing, and Cabeswater has its vines still pressed to his chest with a feeling that sounds like thank you. But somehow dreams become reality become dreams. The window becomes a door. Adam, cross-legged on the bed is instead off to the side with six feet of squirming Ronan Lynch leaning into him, and there's leaves and ferns on the carpet of Kavinsky's room. And Adam hasn't even had the chance to process that this is weird yet.]
comfort cuddles + magic weirdness;
But, he wasn't about to ignore Kavinsky who either hadn't fallen asleep in the first place, or had roused when Adam had startled awake. At least he wasn't Dreaming- that was the last place that he wanted him right now. He cups his jaw and gives him a quick kiss in lieu of an explanation, because he doesn't feel like he has time for the later. His voice is even and sure when he looks into his dark eyes.]
Something's wrong. Just- trust me, sweetheart. Make sure I come back -- that we both do.
[And then he's cross-legged in Kavinsky's bed, with a light shining into his blue eyes; trying to send himself far enough that he can find Ronan. Which is Cabeswater, because of course it is. And technically he's scrying into the space, but it feels real, feels solid under his feet- not like dreaming. But with the pulse of the ley line through him like this, pulled to the place that he'd bound himself to, pulled to Ronan, no wonder it feels so real. Usually he's more reckless, but tonight he's glad that Kavinsky is there to watch him. Briefly he thinks of his boyfriend, sure that he's worried about him, and worried about Ronan, but he pushes the thought away before he can get distracted.
He can feel Ronan, but he can't find him. At least, not at first. But he can feel Cabeswater, old and unknowable, and then he realizes why. That Ronan's under Cabeswater, pulled into the lake beneath it -- drowning. And oh, how he snaps at the forest to fix it, to fix this, to save its dreamer. It doesn't answer in words, but Adam understands the meaning: you are our hands and eyes. Which meant Adam was supposed to save Ronan, but he felt so small and alone. How could he possibly-- He wanted Kavinsky and Blue and he wanted Gansey; knew that they could do something, could force this into something they could solve just by wanting it to be so, by dreaming it. What could Adam do?
Outside of yourself, Magician.
Adam's breath catches in his lungs, and he doesn't know if it's actually Persephone, or just the memory of her voice, her words. But maybe it doesn't matter- especially here. And in a breath it reminds him of what he is, that there was a name he'd claimed for himself, something bigger than Adam Parrish. The stones, the lightning: a network at his feet.
The Magician was a card of power, of acting with your full potential instead of holding back, having the will to manifest your desires into the world. It was reaching and saying I will instead of I want. Months ago he'd taken his first steps, but this felt different.]
I'm going to save him. So please-
[He says it in Latin, but also in the language of thought and intention that he's been so slowly learning to speak to Cabeswater. But it's Ronan, who it loves best, so he hardly has to say the words. He needed power and this place needed a conduit, a connection. Vines threaded against his skin, cool where Adam was flushed, his heart racing with the nervousness of it. Letting this be on his shoulders, standing and being powerful rather than quiet or polite.
It feels like a strange sort of comfort, almost a sort of reassurance: like the forest believes in him.
Most of what he's done so far has felt like small things, small pieces that when he aligned them correctly, could knock the bigger things into place. But nothing about this felt small. It was Ronan, after all. And it was Adam, standing here on his own, but not alone.
He takes a breath.
Kavinsky can probably feel it, because the ley line surges, like lightning on a power line, the way they'd used it to distract the hitmen from the dreamers last summer. Maybe K can even see it, like Adam had seen Ronan all those months before, when he'd been correcting the line, like a window. Because there's that way that the power warps the line between reality and dreams, between Adam and Ronan. He can feel him, feel the beat of his heart, and with the power of the ley line running through him, like a glowing current in his human hands, he reaches for him, trying to wrap it around him. His palms press against the ground, the soft velvet of the grass, the dream forest that had wrapped itself around him ... and then he reached further, touching beneath it.
Adam didn't know what the lake was, anymore than they had before, and at the moment he didn't much care. All that mattered was that it had Ronan and that Adam was going to take him back. It's fierce determination, a green glow in his blue eyes, bending the ley line because he needed it to be here, because he needed to be able to reach him. Desperate and wild, his skin glowing faintly where power hums into the line between the two boys, and then--
Then Adam is gasping and stumbling, almost falling, but managing to catch himself, and catch Ronan. Because the energy of the ley line in his hands had been one thing, but Ronan's six-foot-two frame, wet to the skin, is another. For a moment, he lets himself hold him, lets his fingers find his chest, the beat of his heart. He almost kisses him, just so overwhelmed- a moment where he'd thought he was going to lose him, that everyone would- and no one would forgive him for fucking this up. And Ronan might be an asshole, but he's an asshole that Adam couldn't stand to lose, either.]
Ronan--
[But then Ronan is coughing, spitting out water and making a face as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.]
Shit, that's fucking gross.
[He wants to say something, but he doesn't know where to even start. So he just gives Adam a quiet look that he hopes looks... thankful or something. Which isn't remotely enough, and he knows it, even without really knowing exactly how he ended up there. But he had thought he was lost; that no one would find him. Drowning in slow motion. Had he even been dreaming?
Ronan is woozy and unsteady, and Adam ends up half-carrying him. Which is not an easy thing, although Ronan is lighter than the FTI automatic transmission he'd had to lift up onto jacks the other day. But Adam really isn't thinking about anything except getting the boy in his arms somewhere safe. And safe to him means pretty much one thing:]
Kavinsky!
[It's not on purpose, but right now he's still sort of glowing, and Cabeswater has its vines still pressed to his chest with a feeling that sounds like thank you. But somehow dreams become reality become dreams. The window becomes a door. Adam, cross-legged on the bed is instead off to the side with six feet of squirming Ronan Lynch leaning into him, and there's leaves and ferns on the carpet of Kavinsky's room. And Adam hasn't even had the chance to process that this is weird yet.]