chiseler | We drown traitors in shallow water [post t5]

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!the cradle project

We drown traitors in shallow water [post t5]

[There are a lot of things Luke could have said about the trial and the way things played out. There's a lot of things Luke could have said about someone like Kazuma fooling all of them and the anger people felt...but he won't. He won't say anything about it to just anyone.

He won't talk about how he gets it. How he knows first-hand what that's like. How he's hardly affected by this at all. It's a pretty fucked up situation, but...over the course of the last week he's come to find there are people on this ship that are a little more delicate and need to be watched over. It's sort of like watching kids back at Camp again before everything went to hell.

Adam Parrish is one of those people. He hadn't stuck around for most of the after trial, but later in the evening he continues to think about the fact that Adam was genuinely upset about the betrayal.

...gods, why did coming back mean having to feel things again? Uggggggh. So maybe he feels bad. And maybe he's a little worried but Adam has other people to look after him, doesn't he? But what if they're busy? What if they also have problems and he's left alone and it turns into bitterness and angst and anger and--

--yeah he doesn't get much time to think on all of that before he finds himself in front of Adam's door. So he pauses, scrubbing a hand over his face before curling his hand into a fist and knocking.]

Parrish, you in there?

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[ Adam chuckles at whatever Luke must be thinking in regards to betrayal. He really isn't sure what he would do with everything he just learned. Write it on the whiteboard? ] Look, if the scythe gets used, you know enough to get me killed. For sure. [ It makes them a little more even but still, Adam pays close attention to debts.

The hand lotion is much nicer subject to move onto anyway. It's next to his bed, so he grabs it. It's just a plain white container, no label or anything. There's some writing on the bottom but that's it. ] Not helpful for killing, no. It was a gift. [ It makes him smile. ] My hands get dry and it's pretty painful... This helps pretty well and it never runs out. Because it came out of a dream.

[Someday he'll stop being paranoid. Today probably isn't that day. There's a sound that's probably meant to be agreement but nope off the scythe subject onto dream lotion. ...neverending dream lotion. He tilts his head out of curiosity, examining the bottle from his place on the floor and also subtly studying Adam's hands.]

So...whoever gave it to you has the ability to interact inside their dreams and bring back whatever they feel like? [Considering the fact that demigods have been known to be able to see each other's dreams, he's not too terribly surprised. If anything, he sounds fascinated. If they were still partaking in #dildogate he might make a joke, but this seems more important on a different scale.] Or is the dream thing something you can do too?

Yeah, that's it. [ He is somewhat surprised Luke got it right away because when he first heard about it, he was not having it. Really, Luke's definitely seen weirder. ] He can take out anything. Even people. It's pretty god-like, right? [ But he always compared it more to the Christian god than what Luke's dealing with. ]

I probably wouldn't have the gift if I could do it myself. No, I can't. I'm not a dream-thing either. You might be surprised, but I'm fairly normal.

Guess so. [Even by demigod standard it's a little weird even if he can understand it. Then again, he just told Adam that his daughter-proxy was born from Mr. Chase's brain.] Can't think of anybody who can actually do something like that. How did someone fairly normal get wrapped up in things like this? There's always a story to that.

[ Adam takes a moment to think about it. There's really no story to it. ] They're my friends. I met them at school. When I met my best friend, Gansey, he said he wanted to find the dead Welsh king Glendower and get a favor from him. I didn't really believe in it at the time, but he's one of those people. Always has followers.

The guy who can take things out of dreams, Ronan, well... I was sort of forced to be friends with him. Since he was friends with Gansey. None of us knew about it until he told us that he brought his pet raven out of his dreams. [ This is all sounding weirder than it was at the time, but. It's still not gonna beat Luke's story. ] And... none of us knew that our other friend was a ghost, even though he kind of kept telling us. It all sort of happened that way.

[Wonder what that's like, going through a normal school system and making friends. It sounds normalish, but.]

Three things. Why was Gansey looking for this king? Why did Ronan pull out a bird? And how do you not know your friend is a ghost especially if he actually kept saying "I'm a ghost"? […actually it kind of just sounds like dumb teenage boys and that makes a lot of sense to him.]

[ Adam seems to enjoy talking about his friends, anyway. He's much more talkative than he would be about himself. ] There was a legend about Glendower not being really dead and that he was somewhere on the east coast, being transported from Wales secretly. If you found him, you could ask him to grant you a wish. That's why Gansey came to my town in Virginia, because it's the center of a lot of magic.

Probably mostly because of Ronan. He just... likes animals? A lot? Her name is Chainsaw. [ She is a member of the family. ] He grew up on a farm and now he runs that farm. I guess it's also a dream farm since his dad could do the same thing as him.

[ Now he looks a little embarrassed. ] And Noah never said ghost. He'd say things like, I've been dead for seven years and we all laughed. It was only in hindsight that... he never ate or went to school and was always cold. You really don't consider these things, alright?

[He's noticed that Adam doesn't like to talk about himself and that alone makes him wonder why that is. What is Adam Parrish hiding that he doesn't want to share with the rest of the world despite the fact that Luke just told him he tried to destroy the world and he's a zombie? Instead, he's committing all of this to memory instead. There's a small "heh" that comes when he learns all of this takes place in Virginia.]

Used to have a safehouse in Jamestown that the three of us would go back to from time to time. [The three, of course, being Luke, Thalia and Annabeth.] I don't think I've ever heard of this king but I'll take your word for it. Must have worked…if Gansey ever found the king. Did he?

Can't say I've ever heard of a dream farm either or ravens named Chainsaw. [He lets his lips twitch a bit in a smile.] So the dream thing's heriditary. That answers that. Ronan's gotta have limitations though doesn't he? And I still stand by if it looks like a ghost and acts like a ghost it's probably a ghost. [By now he's chuckling to himself.] So you have a magic hunter, a dream creator, a ghost who hasn't moved on yet, and you as the straight man. [Hm.] The tarot cards come from one of them?

Huh, never been to Jamestown. [ Adam has barely ever left his small town. He doubts Luke would have heard of it, but he almost suggests that they could have met up once in the past. But no. How weird is it to have so many different Americas?

When it comes back to the king, Adam frowns and shifts. ] We found him. He was dead. No magic. No wish. But things worked out anyway. [ A shrug. ] I've never seen him have limitations, except what the—uh, the leyline can withstand. That is, the magic energy that exists everywhere. I'm not joking when I say he can make real, living people. His father dreamed his mother, and he accidentally dreamed his little brother when he was three. [ He wonders if Ronan would get angry at him for spilling all his secrets. Probably. ] But a person is considered a big thing for the leyline, it took a lot of energy out of me when— [ Alright, maybe that's too much. ] Well, when he did it again.

[ The cards hit a sore spot now that they're gone and he hunches over. ] No. They came from a psychic named Persephone. She taught me how to use them, and then... she died. So we have some psychics too, and a not-quite psychic. The girl who's half tree.

Not a bad place. Kinda wish we had more time to explore…we were in Richmond for a while, too. That's where we found Annabeth. [It is strange to think of how many versions of a world there can be, especially worlds with magic. He's not sure how something like that could work out, how a dead king you're searching for could still make things okay. But then again, Luke's always been all or nothing.] Can't say I know much about leylines either. We have powers and everything but it's not really the same as traditional magic…unless you're one of Hecate's kids or some of the others with those kind of powers. If a person can be dreamed up in a dream…how can they keep living? [He narrows his eyes.] …and what did he do to you?

[But he sits up, watching Adam closely.] …so that's a pattern. Alice grabbed a bunch of stuff we received from people who're now dead. Why doesn't that surprise me? [He makes a face.] We don't call them psychics. They're people with the gift of Prophecy. […and why are there also multiple worlds with tree girls?] Let's back up for a sec. This goes back to the tree-lights thing you told me a little while ago, doesn't it? Didn't realize it was really that personal.

[ The subtle differences in magic and other fantastical things is weird. Sure, there are a lot of different forms of magic in legends but Luke's obviously talking about something entirely different. He kind of wishes he could study it all, but he doubts his college would have a course on that. ] Well, that's the problem. The dream can only stay alive if the dreamer is. So, when Ronan's dad was killed, everything he dreamed fell into a deep sleep. Including his mom. [ And what's with that expression and question, Luke? Adam laughs. ] He didn't do anything to me. Well, not directly. I was sort of connected to the leyline. Fixing up the leyline made it stronger and Ronan could do more. But that also means I feel when he takes out something like... a little girl.

[ He thinks about his psychics and the prophecies Luke told him about. ] I guess they're about as vague as you mentioned, yeah. And Blue—I mean, it's not that personal. She's my friend. She comes from a family of psychics, but she's not one. She just amplifies magical energy.

[Take a mythology course, Adam, it'd be the same thing sort of. In all seriousness he nods solemnly. That makes sense. If the dreamer isn't around to dream, then the dreams can't take life of their own. He wonders if it's possible for someone like Ronan to be able to take on the dreams of others to sustain them but now that's overly complicated.]

Now that was the piece of information that was really missing. [If Adam's connected to a leyline, he's directly connected to magic. It's hard to imagine being able to feel "magic", and though his eyebrows raise when Adam mentions a little girl he doesn't press. He wants to, but he's giving him a look just to see if Adam will supply the information on his own.]

You're the conductor of the leyline and Blue is a catalyst. [A beat.] What happens to the leyline if you're not around? Anything?

Oh, really? [ Just going to pretend like he's forgotten to mention it before. He sees Luke's look about the girl and he doesn't mind talking about it but it's more personal than any of this, so he's going to put it off while he clears things up. ]

It depends, I guess. When I—took on the responsibility, it was in really bad shape. People kept using it. There was another dreamer and he took things out recklessly, which really weakened everything. He wanted to destroy the world. But he died and I got back to fixing things. Now that it's just Ronan, everything seems to be the way it should be, so I think my job is done. [ He could just leave it at that, but well, he owes Luke. ]

The tarot cards were how I communicated with the leyline. Or—the forest, I guess, that was the center of it. So yeah, that's the whole tree thing.

[A flat look. Yeah, really. He's onto you, you little shit. But this is different and he's finding he's actually enjoying hearing about all of this. It's different. It's like listening to stories about people who weren't doomed from the start. It's also all the more reason he's interested in keeping Adam alive whether Adam knows it or not. Luke's motivations have shifted slightly just from the last hour or so.]

There's always at least one person who wants to destroy the world. [He sounds vaguely bitter that the other dreamer was killed and yet everyone else lived, but that's his own issue. And then, ever so casually:] You guys killed him? Or something else?

[…and suddenly it all makes sense.] The tree thing. [A sage nod.] So it was like…you'd speak to the trees and do a reading, and the reading was how you interpreted what they were saying. Something like that? [And then before he can even stop talking:] Wonder if there's a way we could communicate with the ship itself with something like that. [There's a wary little grin.] At least when you get back, your trees will talk to you.

[ Adam looks surprised at that question. It's also a little funny because the people who were there would never kill someone. Adam just wasn't there. ] He killed himself. [ Oh, that's probably a little awkward, huh. ] Not heroically or anything. He wanted Ronan to join him in destroying the world and when Ronan said no, well— [ he scoffs ] he went even more insane. Kidnapping and murdering sort of insane. I was busy with the leyline so Ronan could fend him off, so I wasn't there. [ And his group of friends refuse to talk about anything important ever. ] But from what I felt... he dreamed something really big, and it took him out.

[ Adam nods at Luke's interpretation, glad it doesn't sound that weird when it's coming from him. ] They could speak Latin, but usually they wanted more complex things than I could understand. Also, I'm pretty sure ships aren't living like trees are. [ There's a sort of awkward pause. ] The forest is gone now, though.

[He doesn't let his expression waver when Adam says "he killed himself." There's a difference between killing yourself and sacrificing yourself and while he's not sure sometimes which he did, he can at least understand the difference in this case.]

Taken out by his own creation. Sounds about par for the course. [He moves past that though, more focused on the other pieces.]

Never was good at Latin, but then again we're hardwired for ancient Greek. [It's about as weird as listening to a shriveled up old corpse give prophecies, or getting hit in the face with a blue hairbrush or following a magical goat. He has no room for judgment.] Even if the ships aren't living there used to be a crew here…makes you wonder if maybe their ghosts are around. And what about the people who've already died? Where are they? [Now he's just talking about a seance but who knows? Maybe the spirits are infused with something else now.] …what happened to the forest?

[ Adam raises his eyebrows, impressed that Luke might know ancient Greek. He kind of wants to learn, but he's always heard Greek was harder than Latin and Luke is already teaching him enough. ] I guess I never thought about it. My experience with ghosts [ what a way to start a sentence ] is that they have to really want to show themselves to you. Persephone used to talk to me after she died, but it was hard for her and I'd have to scry for it. I can try scrying here, but the spirits would need to be in on it.

[ Does he really want to talk to them though? Half of them are murderers. When it comes back to the forest, he takes in a breath and look elsewhere. ] It's a long story. [ A beat. He decides to continue. ] Remember how I told you my friend got the Death card? That was Gansey. My plan was to ask Glendower to save his life, but you know how that turned out. And then... there was a demon attacking Ronan. It wanted to destroy him. [ It's harder for him to get the words out here and he's staring at his hands, flexing them a bit. ] It possessed me. To make me kill him. Ronan was dying so Gansey sacrificed himself for him. Then Gansey was dead, so I told Ronan to get the forest to sacrifice itself for Gansey. It worked, but the forest is gone.

[Greek's a bitch, but he's been reading it since he was a kid. Maybe it'll come up later…at least that would be safer than teaching him how to wield a weapon, but not as important either.]

I'm gonna pretend I know what scrying is beyond "summoning ghosts." But that sounds about right…I haven't had a lot of experience with ghosts. Sort of creeps me out a little to think about. [But talking to a tree is totally fine.]

[It's totally fine, really. It might be surprising that his eyes widen a bit when Adam explains about the demon. It's a little weird, actually, how much the kid understands even if it's not exactly the same. He doesn't say anything…no wisecracks or snarking. Just listening.]

Kronos was using my body to fight Annabeth and Percy. I would have killed both of them if Annabeth didn't crack through and get to me. So…the forest revived Gansey from the dead in its sacrifice but now the forest is dead and the leyline's no longer needed to communicate with them. [Sheesh.] Was the devil in relation to the demon that possessed you then? [He's too curious not to ask...]

[ Adam can't help but smile at the fact that ghosts creep Luke out after all he went through. He'll have to keep that in mind, just for fun.

He knows they both have possession in common, which is awful but also... nice. In a way. The possession was one of the worst things in his life and Luke can probably understand that. Besides, it's not like Adam is a stranger to going behind his friends' backs. Luke had it a lot worse than him, he knows, but it's still comforting to know that he isn't the only one. ] It was like the world was ending. [ He wonders if Luke felt the same way when he was about to kill someone he loved. ]

Yeah, it was a devil. But there were some other devils, which made it hard to find when I scryed. It's just tuning into energy, by the way. Scrying. I've been told it looks creepy, though, so I probably shouldn't try it.

[Congrats, Adam. You now know Luke's weakness; people making fun of him. But it's nice. It's not something he thought non-demigods could relate. Even most demigods couldn't relate.]

Sometimes I still can't believe they forgave me in the end. [It's not something he's had a lot of time to think about since returning from the dead, but it still haunts him.

Naturally because Adam said it looked creepy, Luke wants to know more about it. He doesn't know if he wants to see it in person, but it's another part of Adam that he feels is important in understanding who he is and how he functions as a fighter. And they're friends, or something like it. Friends usually tell friends about stuff like this.]

But yeeeeah I think I'll pass on the scrying demo. Guess that answers just about everything on your profile card.

[ Adam really knows what that's like. His friends never blamed him for what happened, but he blamed himself enough for all of them. Then again, Luke has a lot more to blame himself over. That self-hatred can be overwhelming. ]

It wasn't you. [ That's what everyone's told him, not that it really makes a difference. He was aware of what was happening the whole time. ]

Are you keeping a checklist? [ Alright, time to get off the depressing topics. He tries to remember back to Luke's card. ] Yeah, I guess we probably know a little too much about each other now. Is this the part where we exchange blood?

[The half-hearted grin is enough for him to express that he doesn't entirely believe that. It may not have been him, but he still caused this. There is a lot of self-hatred that's grown in the five weeks he's been alive again, but he's doing a good job keeping a lid on it. It's for that reason he shakes his head, laughing under his breath.]

You sure that's something you wanna say on a murder spaceship? And who knows. Maybe I am keeping a list.

Well, I guess you can blame me if we end up mangled in the next few days. [ Joking about murder is the only way to get through this. ]

... Thanks for coming, by the way. I don't know if this partners thing means sleepovers, but you're welcome here whenever. [ Since he's looking mighty comfortable on the floor there. ]

[He and Clover make shitty jokes about murder, too. This is bonding. ] Trust me, I'm great at blaming other people.

[Thats meant to be a joke, but there sure is some seriousness in that. He looks a little surprised when Adam thanks him, nodding slightly. He is comfortable, but he shouldn't stay long.] ...likewise, man. You'd think I actually like having my own space but before...everything...I was used to sharing a cabin with a bunch of people. And even before then it was always the girls. [An admission of being lonely? Maybe. Let's not dwell on that.] Just let me know it's you? It's a pretty stupid idea to open the door without knowing who it is.

[ It isn't too hard to recognize loneliness when he's feeling the same thing. He'd felt it even before arriving here, but now it's amplified. ] I lived alone for a while. But even then, Ronan would come by unannounced and sleep on my floor. [ Now he's just sharing unnecessary information. That's weird. But it's a similar anecdote to convey the same message. ]

Just don't leave your underwear here and I think we're good.

We drown traitors in shallow water [post t5]

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