i followed fires toward the sound, cold upon the mountain to which i'm bound.

[nightmarist]

WHO: Residents of the Meadows & OPEN to visitors
WHERE: The Meadows outside De Chima
WHEN: Throughout May
WHAT: Day-to-day encounters at the magical farm commune.
WARNINGS: Look to the subject headers.
NOTES: This is a mingle/catch-all log. Start your own threads! Tag around!

[The Meadows, being a place largely created from magic, has a subtle strangeness to it. From the outside, it could be taken for any old Appalachian farm: scattered barns and stables, a lakeside castle, a roomy wooden farmhouse, a 19th century stone chapel that some hoodlum graffitied. There's evidence that the farm is occupied by unsupervised teenagers, too, in the donut tracks that mar the grass and the remains of regular bonfires. As long as the monsters are out of sight, everything seems ordinary.

Once inside the farmhouse, however, the odd discrepancies become more apparent. The layout of the rooms doesn't quite match how the house appeared from the outside. There are windows where windows shouldn't be, stairways like vertical mazes to secluded rooms, and views from rooms that look into other worlds entirely. Half of the appliances work without any source of electricity, fresh coffee's always waiting in the pot without anyone having to brew it, and the refrigerator never seems to run out of leftover pizza. Things are simply wrong about the place, for all the cozy warmth of its design.]

Comments

the handsome explorer and the dead guy he dug up.

[admemoriam]

[Noah stretches his toes out in the sand, and pops another piece of prosciutto into his mouth, catching it on his outstretched tongue.]

Okay, but- [He speaks around the mouthful. His eyes are lively and curious behind expensive tinted lenses.] -if I spat in it right here, how long would it take to get to Africa?

[He punctuates the question with a finger in the air, pointed at his boyfriend. It's the continuation of an increasingly unserious conversation, getting more and more so with each glass of cabernet.]

[disentombs]

[He laughs at Noah’s ridiculous question, but feigns pondering over it, swirling his wine around in his glass. His parents taught him that was supposed to release the aroma or something like that.

They had needed some time together, away from the Meadows, to spend with just each other, away from the heartbreak that permeated their home. So a date it was.]

Hmmm...well it wouldn’t all stay together, some of it would get there and some of it wouldn’t, though the more important question is, why would you subject the fish to that?

[admemoriam]

[As one can guess, Noah doesn't swill his, he just gulps it like a pleb.]

I don't know, you don't seem to have a problem with it.

[He leans over and waggles his wine-tinted tongue at Gansey's cheek.]

[disentombs]

I consented to it. The poor fish did not.

[Of course he has a wide grin on his face as he dodges Noah’s tongue. He takes a good sip of his wine before using his free hand to force Noah’s face to the side, so Gansey can plant a kiss on his cheek.]

[admemoriam]

I'll send them a waiver first.

[He leans into the cheek kiss, and as soon as it's over turns quickly to catch Gansey's lips. It's short and chaste, and a bit crooked from their wide grins.]

[disentombs]

[Gansey leans into the kiss, and when Noah pulls away, Gansey chases after, free hand reeling Noah again in close so Gansey can get one more. He lets go of Noah, heart full and allowing himself to be happy and satisfied. This, he's happy with this, beyond content.

Gansey sits back and takes another swig of his wine before just leaning back on his elbows on their blanket, soaking everything in.]

[admemoriam]

[Noah doesn't lay back, but he scoots until he's about level with Gansey again, wine only sloshing a bit in the move. There's no sunset to watch on the east coast, but they can see the clouds streaking pink overhead, reflecting the sunset in the west.

It's as much peace as they've had this year, getting gently drunk on a private slice of Florida beach.]

Man, how is it May already? [It hits him as he swallows down his next sip, looking down at his freckled feet.] I'm almost twenty.

Matthew and Hange; backdated to May 2nd

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew likes Hange quite a bit. She's cheery and interesting and enjoys Ronan's dream stuff, all excellent qualities in a person! So he's happy to hang out with her when he can. The first time they rode together, Matthew shared his favorite horse but today he's got Lu and while Hange rides another mare with a bit more spunk. They spent a good hour clopping around the Meadows, taking turns pointing out anything of interest that they happen to pass, and the afternoon so far has been rather lovely and uneventful. It's only when they get back to the stables that things start to go sideways, literally. Lucy, who has never once shown the slightest hint of anything but gentle cooperation, comes to a halt just outside the barn, without any prompting from Matthew. ]

Hey girl, what's wro-- whoa!

[ The whoa comes when the horse sinks forward onto her knees, throwing off Matthew's balance in the process. It's more luck than skill that he manages to clamber off of her back just before she rolls over on her side in the grass, otherwise he might've gotten himself pinned. ]

What--?

[ He spins around to give Hange a look of wide-eyed alarm, just as her horse starts to go the same way as Lucy. ]

[disentombs]

[If Gansey had the power to freeze time (for more than 3 minutes), he would do it right here, right now, with Noah, this sunset, this beach. He sticks his feet into the sand, cool underneath the initial top surface as he flips his sunglasses up to sit on top of his head now that it’s dark enough to see without them.

He’s pleasantly buzzed when he looks over at Noah and grins.]

Old, [he teases, reaching an arm out to pull him in close.]

Although I would guess that you would get carded longer than any of us.

[aberrant_type]

[Hange immediately slips her feet from the stirrups and whips off the horse, getting clear of the falling animal. She's not unfamiliar with how dangerous a horse falling on top of a rider can be and is glad to see Matthew get safely clear.]

We didn't ride them that hard! [Because usually when horses founder, it's because they've been pushed too much, too long, and that's where her mind first goes. Immediately when she says it she realizes that isn't possible.]

Did they eat something poisonous-? [it might explain both of them falling ill at the same time, but that doesn't make sense either]

[admemoriam]

[Noah smiles, wrinkling his nose, and leans over until their faces are just inches apart.]

I'm just fun-sized.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew looks from one horse to the other and back again, stunned. A pit starts to open up in his stomach, growing wider as he kneels down next to Lu. He places a hand on her side. Her breathing is deep and steady, nothing the least bit unhealthy or distressed about it. That doesn't make him feel better. When he speaks, his voice is thin with anxiety. ]

I don't think that's it.

[ He strokes his other hand through her mane, willing her to wake up, but she doesn't. ]

We've gotta-- we should check on the others.

[ Then he'll know for sure. But he's too afraid, he can't even make himself stand up on his own. ]

[disentombs]

To be fair, you would be fun-sized no matter how tall you are.

[Gansey closes the gap between them with a brief kiss.]

What do you plan on doing once you turn 20? [His alcohol-hazed mind shuffles through the list of privileges bestowed once one turns certain ages.]

I don’t think there’s anything new you’re allowed to do once you’re 20.

[aberrant_type]

[Beside her own mare Hange is doing the same thing, checking her horse over, even pulling one eye open to inspect it. The eye is clear and unclouded and contracts when exposed to light, and everything seems normal, except for it all being clearly wrong.]

The others...?

[why would they be incapacitated? Ronan told her once that without him his creations fall into sleep, but she's too floored by the suddenness of all this to connect the dots at the moment.

She looks at Matthew, still kneeling next to her horse. Then she pushes herself to her feet and comes and takes hold of his shoulder, pulling at him.]

C'mon now, kiddo! Up we get!

[dreamkid]

[ When Hange grabs his shoulder, he reaches up to take hold of her arm for extra support, and pulls himself to his feet. It takes effort, but Matthew Lynch always always tries his hardest, even when his mouth is dry and his body feels heavy and made of butterflies at the same time.

He very much doesn't want to go into that barn, but he follows Hange when she does. A silence fills the place and the stalls are empty, or at least that's how they look at first glance. Matthew knows better. Abruptly childlike, he reaches for Hange's hand, his breath quickening. ]

Oh no.

[aberrant_type]

[Hange reflexively pulls away a little at the touch to her hand. She's not really a touchy person in most circumstances. Then she realizes that Matthew is upset, frightened even, and allows him to take her hand, which is warm and hard-callused.]

Asleep? [What... wait. Ah, wait.]

They're all... asleep? Just like that.

[dreamkid]

[ He would under any other circumstances realize they aren't close enough for him to grab her hand like that, but she's the only one here and he is quite afraid. ]

This is what happens. When-- [ His voice breaks, this time with sadness, and he has to try again. ] When Ronan leaves.

[ Ronan is gone, he's gone again and half the Meadows is leaving with him. Matthew included, eventually. ]

I don't know what to do. I should-- I should do something.

[ He doesn't actually know how much time he has. ]

[aberrant_type]

[He can hold her hand for now at least and... yes, she remembers Ronan mentioning that.

It'll be a shame if he's gone permanently. She'll have lost access to these horses and her specimen at once.]

We can't move those horses. Even the both of us won't be strong enough for that.

[Big boys she might be able to lug around. Not horses.] Matthew! [Squeezing his hand firmly.] Courage. We aren't being attacked. It's simply a natural event that occurs here.

[dreamkid]

[ For Matthew it's more than a shame: it's devastating. Ronan's his dearly loved brother, not a specimen, and he's gone, and Matthew's battery life is running out.

But Hange says courage! so he tries to think of all the brave people he knows: his brothers, Noah, Gansey, Lucy, Magnus, there are too many to count. ] Yeah, it's just-- it's just what happens. [ His hands are clammy, and he doesn't feel brave, more like he's pretending. ]

We can't lift the horses. [ Or the cows, they'll stay where they are too. But what about Ronan's other dreams, what about-- ]

Henrietta, [ he says suddenly, turning urgent blue eyes on Hange. ] Maybe we can find her, maybe we can bring her inside, before... anything else happens.

[aberrant_type]

[Hange simply nods encouragingly. Faking it is halfway to making it.]

... All right. Henrietta is large, and she'll be awkward to move. We'll get a blanket and roll her onto that. Then we can pull the blanket to a sheltered area.

[That's more feasible than taking the weird bird kid in a fireman's carry. Still allowing Matthew to hold her hand, Hange heads back towards the barn. There ought to be some larger blankets, to warm the horses on colder nights. One of those will be suitable.]

[admemoriam]

[Noah is flattered by his analysis, and grins into the kiss.]

I dunno. Nothing special, really. I was just thinking about, like... [He looks up at the clouds, tilting his head back.] I guess just doing some stuff that’s more grown-up. Like, less stupid stuff. More helping people.

[Theres a furtiveness in the way he glances down at Gansey, more anxitipatory than nervous.]

I’ve been talking to someone from the, um, the National Center for- [Hold on, he’s got this.] The National Center for Missing Kids. Missing and Exploited Kids, I mean. I’m going to start doing some stuff for them. Like, being a spokesperson.

[disentombs]

[His mild surprise shows on his face—he’s far more emotive when he’s drinking—but he breaks into another grin.]

That sounds marvelous. [Yes your boyfriend just said “marvelous”.

Noah, his sweet, happy-go-lucky, goofy Noah being able to relate to such an organization is a terrible reminder of everything that happened before—Before.

His heart swells with love for Noah, overcome suddenly by it as he leans over Noah and kisses him firmly. He pulls back an inch or two away from Noah’s mouth.]

I’m proud of you.

[admemoriam]

[Noah smiles, and finally leans back onto his elbows, copying Gansey’s repose.]

I want people to look up to me for the first reasons, not just because I can do skateboard tricks and shit.

[disentombs]

It’s admirable. Both your desire to help out and your skateboard tricks.

[He sits up and reaches behind the both of them towards the little basket they packed to pull out the second bottle of red wine he’s stashed. Uncorking it, he pours out another glass for himself and refills Noah’s cup without asking.]

[admemoriam]

Mmm. [Noah takes the cup happily, and pretends to waft it like a connoisseur.] I love you even more, now.