itinere | Network

[Blue has only been here for a day now. Or nearly a day, if being accurate. Though her sleep in a strange apartment had been uncomfortable the night before, it hadn't stopped her from getting out to explore as soon as the next morning came around. She's on the beach when the PDA interrupts her walk. Blue has never seen the ocean before. She never thought that she would.

It's amazing.

But not nearly as amazing as the voice that plays in the message. There's no mistaking that voice. A voice that belongs to his president cell phone self. It might not be one of Blue's favorite Ganseys, but right now, she'll take anything she can get. Maybe it's greedy. She has Adam and Ronan here, which means that she's not alone. But it's different not having all the raven boys in one place. And not in a good way.

The smile is clear in her voice and the way she says, relieved,] Gansey.

[ Oceans truly are amazing and should be something that everyone sees at some point in their lives. At least this place can give Blue that?

They make one feel quite small, don't they?

Oh, Blue. He's not certain whether to be flattered or offended. He'll go with grateful, as he's equally as grateful to know he's not here alone either, but then he doesn't know about Adam or Ronan, not yet.

There's an almost unnoticeable way he relaxes at the sound of her voice. He lets the 'President Cell Phone' self slip and it's replaced with something that's much more every day Gansey, the Gansey that she knows a bit better. Perhaps still not her favorite version of him, but a better version than president cell phone. A smile just tugs at the corners of his mouth. ]

Jane! I see you've beaten me here. Already got the layout of the place, have you?

[It has given Blue that. There's a lot more of Itinere she has yet to explore but the beach had been one of her first destinations as soon she found out it was here. When else will she have a chance to see the ocean again? She wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

It turns out that the ocean is every bit as vast and wondrous as the stars in the night sky.

Despite herself, she smiles when he calls her Jane. Is it wrong to be happy that he's here?]

Starting. [Though she can already picture it: Gansey, charting out the city streets in that notebook of his.] Where are you?

[ Good for her! After all, if they're stuck here they might as well take advantage of the opportunities this experience affords them. That's important no matter where one finds oneself.

He's pleased to hear it didn't disappoint (as if he had anything to do with it).

Not at all. He's happy that she (and the others) are here as well. He smiles in response to her, in response to that smile he can hear in her voice. She's pegged him, or she will have once he finds Monmouth and his notebook inside on the desk. ] Wandering down Main street. They've got a main street. It's a proper little town. There's an ice cream shop. Care to meet me for a cone and we'll compare notes.

[Oh Gansey. Accidentally condescending, even in narration. But she's slowly (very slowly) starting to learn that this is a part of who Gansey is. He says things without thinking and, most of the time, he doesn't mean any offense. It's just Gansey being Gansey. In celebration of his arrival, he gets a free pass. For now.]

I know where the ice cream shop is. [And meeting for a cone sounds innocent enough. The sort of thing that friends would do, especially if Blue pays for her own cone. Which she will insist on doing.] It shouldn't take me long to get there.

[Itinere is, after all, a proper little town. And she had awoken to find a bicycle much like the one she has back home in her apartment unit that morning.]

[ Accidentally is immeasurably better than purposefully, isn't it? Actually, Gansey is very aware that his words are weapons of mass destruction and he tries very hard not to say things that will detonate the moment they're out of his mouth. However, Gansey, being Gansey, doesn't always properly gauge how a person will take his words. Surely he can't be held responsible for the narration though? Because in that case, Blue will always be offended. He's quite fortunate that she can't read thoughts the way (it seems) some of her family can. She would be offended by him. He does appreciate the free pass. ]

I'll meet you there then. [ She'll be quite surprised (and probably offended) that nothing costs in Itinere. There's little need for money when residents can simply wish things into existence. Of course, Gansey hasn't figured that bit out either so he'll be surprised as well.]

[There's such a thin line between love and hate. Blue had never realized how true that is until she met Richard Gansey III. For however often he irritates her, she just as often finds reasons to admire him and even maybe fall in love with him. He wouldn't be Gansey, she knows now, if he didn't offend despite meaning all the best.

Sometimes, she still wishes that Adam could have been her true love. Wouldn't that be easier?

She doesn't bother replying to his last statement and instead slips her PDA into her small bag and hops on her bike. It really doesn't take all that long to find the ice cream shop Gansey had referred to. She leans her bicycle against the building and walks inside.]

[ You wound him, Blue. He is aware of his ability to offend while having the best of intentions though. He's tried to minimize the damage since she made him aware of this. He's not sure how successful he's been. He tends to say a good deal less around Blue in any case.

Easier. Yes, but Gansey thinks he would still find himself in love with Blue regardless of who her true love might have been. He wouldn't have ever declared himself, not if she were in love with Adam, but it wouldn't have changed his feelings.

By the time she arrives, Gansey is perusing the case of flavors and questioning the poor boy behind the counter. ] Yes, but is is made real strawberry or some sort of sugary strawberry flavoring?

[ The boy behind the counter looks gobsmacked and answers 'there are bits of strawberry in it?'. Gansey looks up, smile racing across his face. ] Jane, come help me decipher this strawberry sorbet. I'm trying to decide if it'll provoke an Anaphylactic reaction or if it's safe to have. It looks quite good, doesn't it?

Edited 2015-06-12 04:33 (UTC)

[Don't worry too much, Gansey. The effort hasn't gone unnoticed. They haven't spent much alone time together, not since the night of that not kiss beneath the stars, the twinkling lights of Henrietta in the distance. But she had called him once. It had been late and the conversation brief but it had been memorable.

Not loving him would be so much easier. But fate and curses don't care about easy, or about fair. If that were the case, she wouldn't feel shivers go down her spine when she sees that smile on Gansey's face.

She smiles back, unable to keep herself from doing so. But that smile is brief. Blue hadn't known that he was allergic to strawberries too, but now that she does, she simply won't take any chances.]

We'll take two cones. [She says this to the boy behind the counter, ignoring Gansey's questions and desire. He can't always get everything he wants.] One vanilla and one chocolate.

[It's now that she looks up at him.] Or will one of those provoke an anaphylactic reaction as well?

[ He still thinks about that phone call and that not kiss far more often than is probably healthy.

It had been much easier when Gansey had only had his town and his quest to be in love with. However, he's not entirely sure he could (or would) go back to simply being in love with his town and his quest. He finds he likes the way his heart thuds a bit faster when Blue smiles back at him that way. ] I quite like the sugary, chemically-proudced without any real strawberries strawberry ice cream.

[ Its' a weak protest, but a protest all the same. ] No. Both are entirely safe as houses.

[Someday, they'll get to have their first and last kiss. In Cabeswater, before Gansey's death. She'd like to keep him alive long enough to be able to experience what it's like kissing Richard Gansey III. She'd like to keep him alive much longer but that's the thing about curses. They're like a well kept promise and not easily broken.

She saw his ghost on St. Mark's eve. She knows that he'll be dead within the year.]

And I quite like you alive and without need for epinephrine alongside your ice cream. [All the more reason to keep him alive now. For however long it is possible. She looks sharply at the ice cream boy again.] One vanilla and one chocolate, please. There will be absolutely no strawberry for either of us. Not even a hint.

[ Yes, he'd rather not think about that. Yes, he's got a bit of a death wish, or at least a fascination with his own death, but he doesn't like the idea of kissing Blue only once.

That's the bit he doesn't know about. He only assumes that she loves him and that's why she won't kiss him.]

Strawberries don't cause quite the violent reaction in me. [ He'll only swell up a bit, break out in hives and have a difficult time breathing, but he'll survive long enough to get to the hospital, or at least that's what the doctors tell him. The ice cream boy doesn't have the spine to argue with Blue. He nods and starts scooping two cones: one vanilla and one chocolate. He hands it over without any mention of payment (becuase there isn't any). Gansey being Gansey though...]

How much do we owe you? [ He's aware that Blue will probably try to pay for her cone, but he's getting his wallet out for his cone at the least. The ice cream boy grins and shakes his head. ]

You guys must be new here. Don't cost anything. Nothing in Itinere does. I work here 'cause I like the job. Got bored doin' nothin', you know? Enjoy the ice cream. It's on the house.

[ If the house is the trio of creatures that run this place. Gansey gives him quite the stunned look, blinking. He has a difficult time processing a society in which money won't fix problems or create them. ]

[Oh, his assumption isn't so far off. It is her true love that’ll die should she ever kiss him. She’s never loved any other boy. Blue’s supposed to be sensible and love is about as far from sensible as you can possibly get. It stands to very good reason that he might be her true love. At least, she suspects that she might be falling in love with him now. The thought saddens Blue when it should excite. For years, she’s known of the curse. She never realized how hard it could be to live with once love becomes a reality.

As the ice cream boy finishes making the cones, she waits patiently. She notices Gansey reach for his wallet and is about to stop him when the boy answers for her. She’s learned by now that money isn’t a thing that exists in Itinere. Blue’s never been rich but they weren’t the poorest family in Henrietta. She’s not sure what she makes of this currency-less society quite yet. But Gansey had been born into a rich and prestigious family. Money is everything for him.

Gently, she places a hand on top of the one holding the wallet and pushes it back towards his pocket. Then she nods towards the cones.] Chocolate or vanilla, Gansey?

[Gansey doesn't know when he fell in love with Blue. He thinks maybe he has always been in love with Blue even before he knew her and he knows that's ridiculous and illogical. He thinks it just the same.

Gansey's brow furrows at the boy's explanation. How can it be possible that this place functions without money? Ideas of barter systems and trading occur to him. He'll have to do some research, and as simple as that his mind is back on the quest. He will have a difficult time with a society in which money isn't something he can use to manipulate, control, buy and smooth things over. Money is how Gansey communicates much of the time, how he deals with problems and issues. In any case, that's a problem for another moment.

He gives Blue a confused look and puts the wallet back into his pocket. ] Vanilla [ He responds, realizing that he's not certain if Blue likes chocolate or not. ] unless you'd prefer it. [ He'll accept which ever cone she hands him. ]

[There's nothing logical about love. There's nothing that isn't ridiculous. At least, that's what Blue is learning about love. That and that it was worth the wait. Gansey, for all she sometimes still wants to roll her eyes and scoff at that president cell phone persona, has been worth the wait.

She rolls her eyes now as she snickers at Gansey's confusion. To be fair, Blue had been doubtful herself when Adam explained how everything is free in Itinere. Though it still puzzles her (how can any complex society function without so much as a barter system in place?), she's accepted it and moved on. Money isn't something she had a lot of growing up. Not having it now isn't such a horrible fate.

At his request, she hands him the vanilla cone. She'll have taken either flavor easily enough.] You don't always have to be so chivalrous.

[ Gansey is learning that as well even if he refuses to acknowledge it because he believes that ultimately it won't matter.

It's odd and it's going to take gansey a little while to get used to it.

He takes it and licks around the edge of the cone to keep it from dripping, eyebrows shooting up at her words. ] Honestly. It's chivalry that separates us from apes, otherwise known as the larger population of Aglionby. [ He points out so helpfully. ]

[There's nothing incorrect in his statement though Blue suspects that wild apes behave better than the the larger population of Aglionby. But once again, it seems as if Gansey missed the whole point of what she had been trying to say. Blue doesn't want chivalry in her life. She's a capable girl and doesn't need a man to hold the doors open for her or offer her a choice in ice cream flavors. She can make her own decisions.

She ignores her own cone. The chocolate ice cream drips on to her hand which makes her glance down for a second. Then her attention is back on Gansey with a stern look on her face.] I believe it's less than a percent of difference in DNA that separates us from apes.

[ That is an unmistakable voice even before Adam hears the introduction. His insides feel like they twist and he feels fear. Fear that things are going to change now. Fear over what Gansey will think of him here. Fear of what Ronan will be like now that Gansey is here. It's just a lot of worrying going through his mind. So it takes him a bit to flip on the video on his phone.

Adam's face is eventually on Gansey's screen. ] Hey.

[ Eventually is good enough. In fact, Gansey isn't surprised that Adam isn't the first to greet him, that it takes a little while for him to come forward. Even without everything going on, Adam is the one that hangs back and takes stock of things. The relief on Gansey's face when he sees Adam is so very obvious. ]

Adam. You're all right.

[ He's so glad to see Gansey. He's also scared to see Gansey. Adam had no idea where he'll stand with Ronan now that Gansey's here, now that Blue's here. It feels like what was so steady and sure just a few days ago is now cracking and crumbling beneath his feet. It's so selfish to be focused on himself and Ronan when Gansey is probably confused, just as they had been when they first came to Itinere. ]

So are you. [ It's his way of saying he's glad to see him. ] So did the door lock behind you when you came in? [ The door back to Henrietta. It had been locked for some time now. ]

[ Gansey is simply relieved, but he's in an entirely different situation than Adam is. He's simply grateful that he's not alone in an entirely foreign place, that his people haven't abandoned him. As for Ronan and Adam, he's not terribly concerned as long as his friends are happy. He's known about Ronan's sexuality for awhile though he hasn't had to deal with Ronan and a boyfriend up close. ]

Is it common for people newly arrived not to be all right? [ He's a little worried now, but abandons that concern for Adam's question. ] It did. I was in the caves previously. [ he doesn't sound pleased about the door, but he does sound curious. Clearly, Gansey is going to make Itinere his quest if he's stuck here. ]

No. [ Adam answers that question quickly. People usually arrive in Teleios right as rain. He has yet to see anyone arrive injured in any way. Not that he's been paying super close attention in that regard. But he thinks he would have noticed such a thing even if he's been terribly distracted by Ronan Lynch lately. ]

Well this is... Itinere. Best I can tell, it's a pocket dimension that pulls people in from... anywhere. Any time. [ He wants Gansey to know that he's been trying to figure this place out too. ]

[ Gansey nods. That's good to hear. He'd rather not be in a place that harms and injures people. It is something that he would probably notice regardless. Gansey thinks that Adam rarely misses details.

He nods a little at Adam's summation of this place. It's clear that Adam has been doing some studying and he appreciates that. ] Ley lines?

[ Does this place have them? Unlike Ronan and Adam Gansey can't just feel the damn things though he wishes he could sometimes. ]

[ There's a certain amount of relief and pride to sense that Gansey might be proud of him for researching this place and forming theories on how it operates. He secretly hopes Gansey is proud of him. ]

There are ley lines. I can even feel Cabeswter here. [ Which should make Gansey happy, he thinks. ] I've been keeping up with the lines. [ For Ronan, mostly. So Ronan can dream any damn thing he wants. ]

[ Gansey is proud of Adam, but then Gansey always has been. Adam doesn't have to do anything in particular except be Adam. That's quite enough on it's own. He knows that Adam doesn't see that though. He nods a bit at Adam's comment. ]

Good. Excellent even. Can we get to Cabeswater here? [ He grins at that. He's got no idea, no thought even that Adam might be fixing the ley lines for Adam. Back home, he's fairly certain Ronan has a crush on Adam, but he doesn't think anything will ever come of it for a variety of reasons. ] Good man, Adam. Do they behave like the Henrietta ley lines?

[ Adam isn't used to people liking him simply for being Adam Parrish. Blue certainly hadn't no matter how much Adam feels he had bared his soul to her. Sometimes he believes Gansey does, but that's very rare. Noah, he isn't always sure what he feels about Adam. And Ronan is complicated. Is attraction the same thing as liking a person for being who they are? ]

I think so. I feel it, Gansey. I can feel Cabeswater. Ronan can still dream things. [ That has to mean Cabeswater is here. At least he thinks so. ] The ley lines are the same. I have to repair them. [ A lot. Because Adam wants Ronan to dream. Either way, Adam is still the Magician here. ]

[ Gansey is accustomed to Adam's insecurities and while he may not like them, he's learned to expect them. He hopes in time that Adam will believe and trust in Gansey.

Gansey runs the pad of his thumb over his bottom lip as he considers that. ] Do they seem to deteriorate at the same rate?

[ Gansey knows all the right questions to ask. Adam had missed that about him, that he kept Adam on his toes in this regard. Not that Ronan didn't keep him on his toes. Adam fixed ley lines constantly to keep up with Ronan. But Gansey was one a quest for knowledge. And that was one thing that he and Adam could bond over.

They both seek knowledge. ] They do. It's the exact same thing. I can keep up with them fine though. So far. This place, it makes things appear if you think too much about wanting something. It's almost like dreaming. But not quite.

[ Gansey nods, wishing he had his notebook to jot these things down in. He's yet to find Monmouth and the journal, but he'll be writing down everything he can remember about this conversation when he does.

It's what drew him to Adam more than anything. They seek knowledge. That and Adam hadn't balked at the conversation about Glendower that Gansey had led off with. ]

Really? [ Now that is interesting. ] And one needn't be a dreamer in order to do this?

I haven't seen anyone exempt. Yet. [ Don't worry, Gansey. Adam has copious notes you can copy. Meticulously done, color coded even. ]

It's like they can read your mind. Which is... creepy enough for me not to overdo it. [ No one deserves to hear Adam Parrish's thoughts. He wouldn't wish it on anyone. And on top of that, he didn't like the idea of anyone else in his mind. ]

It's how I got my garage though. Where I work. I thought I needed something to keep busy. And the next day there was Parrish's Garage. [ And he hasn't asked for anything else since aside from a part here and there when he's working on something. It's just too strange. ] No strings attached so far either.

Fascinating. [ Gansey will be so grateful for those notes. He will copy them in detail and ask Adam questions and transcribe those answers in detail. ]

That is...creepy. Yes. And it would make one ponder the things one thinks, which still gives the 'they' plenty of fodder. [ Gansey is lost in a perpetual loop of thinking about what they might be hearing when he thinks. Adam's revelation about the garage pulls him out of it. ]

Indeed? And did they accurately depict your fondest wishes for a garage? [ This alone could consume Gansey for a while. ]

It's a garage. [ Adam hadn't been too specific, just picturing the shack of a garage he worked at one of his jobs in Henrietta. What they came up with was just fine. No more than Adam needed. And no less. It was very Adam Parrish. Not at all flashy. Dirty, in fact.

But the miracles that happened on the inside didn't measure to the shabbiness of the outside. Mabe they had gotten it just right. ]

Just... when you're wishing for things, be careful. [ He thinks of the glass walled shower in their apartment that Ronan had cooked up. That had to have been a very specific wish on Ronan's part. Not that he was complaining... when Ronan was the one in the shower. ]

The Barns are here.

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