Closed to the Gangsey | Boarding Up The Barns

[un_wir_greywaren]

Who: Ronan Lynch, Richard Gansey, Adam Parrish, Blue Sargent, Drill Bit, Kick Ass, Spitfire, Anvil, and Chainsaw.
What: The boys have been busy boarding up The Barns and getting things ready for the storm to hit, including getting Blue her own sleeping bag.
Where: The Barns, Noah Czerny Drive
When: Oct 4th
Warnings: Cursing. There is a goat named Kick Ass and Ronan has no mouth filter. Cuteness. Will add as needed.

~*~

Ronan, Gansey, and Adam spent the last day or so boarding up each of the barns on the property, gathering supplies in case they lose power and the ability to heat food, setting up bedding and food for the goats and Anvil. Chainsaw already has her own special, no furry beasts play zone. They don't own any furniture yet so it's sleeping bags and mattresses on the floor. There are plenty of candles and instead of flashlights Ronan has dreamed up some floating fairy lights and few a glow balls that look like it could be the solar system.

~*~

OOC: Feel free to have your own thread starters anywhere in the house doing anything you'd like with anyone who wants to join.

Comments

Main Room | OTA

[smudging]

It wasn't as though Blue was afraid of the suddenly appearing Tropical Storm and weathering through it alone in her apartment, it was simply safer for all of them to be in one place in case things got too crazy -- and if the weather alerts constantly buzzing on her phone were any indicator, it was going to be a rough one.

(Okay. And maybe all those had made her a little... nervous.)

With a bookbag full of various craft supplies and notebooks, Blue claimed a spot on the floor as her own and began spreading out her sleeping bag, various candles, snacks, and whatever other things she pulled out of the seemingly never-ending bag.

"How long do you think it's going to pour like this?"

[affection_for_research]

Gansey split his attention toward the window even though he couldn't see the storm and the piles of necessities that Blue had somehow managed to stash in her backpack. He'd been able to put an impressive amount of items in his messenger bag during his travels, but this made him wonder if Blue did have some sort of magic. Maybe the backpack was something Ronan had dreamed that was literally bottomless?

"I'm not sure. The weather reports are making it seem like days, but I don't know how reliable they are." Even in their own reality, he didn't know how reliable newscasts could be. The weather wasn't something easily predicted, and this storm was going against the earlier forecasts. "I'm sorry that the living arrangements are so bare. Ronan and I didn't see a need for most furniture when we first arrived."

Their attention had been on the animals and getting the Barns ready for more of Ronan's dreams.

[smudging]

Eventually, after what was probably another five minutes of pulling various things from out of her bag, Blue finally zipped it back closed and set it off to the side. "Considering they didn't even know about the storm until it was only a few days out, I'm not very confident."

Getting up on her feet, she crossed the room to look out the window, her head tilted to the side in an attempt to look up at the sky -- which looked just as dark and ominous as it had all morning and afternoon. "I like it." She said simply, looking over her shoulder to give Gansey a wide and lopsided grin. "You should keep all the mattresses in here and just have an unconventional layout."

[affection_for_research]

"Maybe predicting the weather is more difficult in pocket dimensions." It was something he could add to his list of research topics, but that list was already far too long. Unless there seemed to be a trend in storms occurring regularly, there was no need to spend time on that subject.

The smile seemed strange, did strange things to him that he didn't understand. He thought of what Adam had said about the future. How different Adam was than expected. Mellower. Blue was like that as well. Maybe familiarity had blunted some of the edges to their words and actions. "I assumed you disliked unconventional layouts. You didn't seem impressed with Monmouth." Most people weren't, but he still loved the space. It was his, completely different than where he grew up in DC that he could feel comfortable there instead of feeling like there was a chance he would always be thrust into the spotlight at any moment. "Other than the goats and calf, this version of the Barns is basically normal."

[smudging]

"All those years of studying, only for the weather to do whatever it wants anyway." Blue smiled at the idea -- she'd always wanted that kind of freedom too. To go where ever she wanted, to do whatever she wanted without fear of the consequences. She'd spent so much of her life trying to be as sensible as possible that the wild reckless teenager in her was constantly begging to be set free.

(Maybe she could do that here. Would that be selfish of her to worry about creating herself a new life instead of figuring out how to return to their old one?)

"Hey, it eventually grew on me." Which couldn't have been more truthful. Blue might not have been outwardly impressed with Monmouth upon her first introduction, but after spending enough time there with the other's, it felt as much a part of her as her Raven Boys did. "I had to get past the layers of dust to see its true beauty." She laughed, looking between the baby animals with a content smile. "You guys picked good company to start out with. Are chickens coming next? Fresh eggs would be nice."

Re: Main Room | OTA

[un_wir_greywaren]

"Why? You planning to build a flowery paper Ark to float away in if it looks like another 39 days and nights?"

Ronan eyed the bag suspiciously and then had a brilliant idea that could go horribly wrong if he wasn't careful when he dreamed.

[smudging]

"If I have to." She shrugged, looking up to give Ronan a shit-eating grin before returning to her task of unpacking. "You can round up two of every animal and I promise we won't set sail without you."

(Her tone, however, clearly said otherwise.)

"I'd just like to know how long we'll be boarded up for. What if this is some freak week-long storm?" It wouldn't surprise her, this place wasn't exactly normal to begin with.

[un_wir_greywaren]

It was that tone and her no-nonsense-won't-put-up-with-your-bullshit personality that started to warm Ronan up to having a Blue in the group. Not that he'd admit it out loud.

"It's a tropical storm and fuck if I know how freaky they can get. If you can't handle being trapped here with me I can always dream you a boat to sail around the island."

He casually leaned closer to try and get a look into the bag, just to see if it had a visible bottom.

[smudging]

"What's the difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane?" She mumbled the question quietly to herself -- and then paused her search long enough to pick up her phone and ask it the very same question.

"A Tropical Storm is a storm system that forms over tropical oceans and is often a precursor to a hurricane." The somewhat robotic female voice chimed up in response.

"I'm not worried about being trapped in here with you," Blue returned her attention to Ronan, her eyebrow raised curiously at his clear interest in her bag and it's contents -- which she eventually came to the end of, setting the bag aside. "I'm worried about this place holding up if it gets too bad."

Around the House | OTA

[forleaving]

A tropical storm wasn't the scariest thing he'd ever faced down and he had confidence that they were going to all be okay, but it was the being cooped up part that got to him. He didn't have any studying to do. He couldn't go to work with the storm outside, and he'd already helped board everything up.

He should maybe be taking it easy and resting, but instead he was pacing around the house, peering out the windows through the cracks between boards. The sound of the rain was comforting at least, but everything else that accompanied it wasn't.

When he got tired of squinting out into the rain, he could also be found in the kitchen, opening random cupboards to take stock of their food situation, just for the lack of anything better to do. He was also working on a mental list of things to buy when he could afford it, including some furniture for his room, at least some storage. Then after that was contributing food and other things to the household, since he didn't have any schooling to pay for.

Re: Around the House | OTA

[un_wir_greywaren]

"Hungry?" Ronan had followed Adam. Of course he had. There was a lot of shit going on between the four of them and being here verses back home. Time being fucked up, for starters. Noah being possessed. Which he hadn't talked to Gansey or Adam about yet. Emotions. Complicated emotions.

Past, present, and future emotions.

This shit could fuck with anyone's head. As if being capable of bringing anything he could imagine out of his dreams wasn't fucked up enough. Sometimes he wish Declan were here just so he'd have someone to curse and punch who would curse and punch back.

[forleaving]

"No. I don't know. Maybe? I'm just-" he closed a cupboard, gesturing vaguely as he turned. "Restless," he finished.

He had a lot on his mind and no outlet, and he didn't know what to do with himself. Even worse, he was torn between sharing the things that were on his mind and keeping them to himself because everything was so...weird.

[un_wir_greywaren]

"Want to sit on the porch and see how long we can hold on before we get blown away in the wind?"

He was serious.

"Think we can convince Gansey and Blue to join us? A competition. Whoever wins the game gets the house to themselves until we can all find our way back."

Okay. Maybe he was teasing a little.

[forleaving]

"And inevitably get sick?" Or injured. He kept a straight face for about five seconds before huffing out a laugh and shaking his head.

"Are there any board games or anything?" He suspected the answer was no, but asking saved him from pointlessly opening another cupboard.

[affection_for_research]

While Adam paced around the kitchen, he decided to do something productive that might draw his friend out of whatever thoughts were driving him to move. Sidestepping Adam whenever he was in the way, Gansey began gathering up ingredients for dinner. It might be dinner for all of them or something that he saved for later for nights when neither one of them wanted to cook.

Or would it be when the four of them didn't want to cook? He wasn't certain if everyone was going to live at the Barns or if this was temporary until the storm settled.

Glancing over at Adam, he wanted to ask, but he remembered how he'd been rebuffed whenever he'd offered him a home at Monmouth. All of his things in one place. He knew that Adam hadn't meant to hurt him, but the words still had razored edges that made Gansey worry that they'd start fighting again.

Shaking off that memory, he gathered up herbs and beans, root vegetables and pasta. He grabbed the large soup pot to set on the stove before starting to wash produce. When Adam opened another cupboard, Gansey smiled. "What's in them isn't going to magically change no matter what oddities are built into the house."

[forleaving]

Adam made sure to keep out of Gansey's way, watching him out of the corner of his eye as he worked. "I know," he said with a sigh. "Sorry." If he was being annoying, opening and closing the cupboards. "I'm just-" he shook his head. He was 'just' a lot of things right now, and sure of even less.

"I thought everything would be okay if this--this thing was just with you." Which reminded him he should talk with Blue about things, to see what else was wrong with his world. "But it's not." He resisted the urge to open another cabinet, instead focusing on Gansey. Not his face, but what he was doing, his hands, the running water.

[affection_for_research]

"Aurora used to tell Matthew that what was in the cupboards wouldn't change no matter how often he looked." He paused, looking down at the carrots he'd finished rinsing. "Knowing about the Barns now, I wonder if that was true." What might have been magic and what might have been mundane was ambiguous. Maybe the contents of the cabinets had changed if Matthew looked often enough or the contents moved from one to the other.

"Which thing are you referring to?" He started on the celery next, trying to remember what was next. He'd have to find the recipe he'd written down. It might be with the books he'd checked out the last time he'd went to work. Ronan probably wouldn't care if it wasn't quite like the recipe, but he didn't want the others to be disappointed. Usually carrots, onions, and celery went together as the base.

It was easier to think of those details than his voice on the tape and where that would lead. Better to think of how to make sure dinner turned out as expected than to think of what Adam had told him before. "We've been thrown a lot of 'things' lately."

BEFORE FLUXMAS

[un_wir_greywaren]

It was a dark and stormy night... Ronan was a dark and stormy personality. So he thought it was perfect to be trapped inside the house with his adopted family while a storm raged outside. The Barns 2.0 had been boarded up and while it was a piece of home, he knew it wasn't real, so he was being a little apathetic about the damage that might be endured during the night. it was easy, in a way, to not care as much because there was literally no life left in the house. It had been gutted. Everything that had made it home had been gone when he and Gansey arrived on the property.

Only the important things were left. He gazed over the book he was reading and as Adam paced around the house, unable to settle down, Blue unpacked shit he was sure to get glitter or glue or beads or scrap paper everywhere, and Gansey was followed and snuggled by his little goat-puppy. Ronan was actually propped up against Anvil, keeping her calm while Kick Ass and Spitfire did goat things and tried to not jump at every little noise.

He wasn't sleeping tonight, that was for damn sure. Not that he was afraid of a storm. He had a lot on his mind and that meant dreaming wasn't safe. Despite his drug induced lessons with K he was still working on control and with the things in his head he wasn't sure he could control his dreams. At least, not well enough to prevent the nightmares from taking over.

MORNING AFTER | FLUXMAS!

[un_wir_greywaren]

Ronan hadn't actually slept at all. He would insist on it because he didn't actually dream shit. Nothing. But there was an empty space between shenanigan's with the boys and Blue and realizing everyone was asleep and the storm had finally died down. The winds had stopped howling and trying to pry the house off it's foundation. So he was awake when the first morning light changed the sky from black to blue and then slowly brighter.

He was standing on the still wet front porch in sweat pants and tank, feet bare and a very holy shit jesus fuck look on his face when the sky turned orange and pink and a very distinctive silhouette of a city appeared. Tall buildings kind of city. He could almost hear the faint sounds of traffic and shit.

But the part that had him stepping off the porch and walking slowly around in the puddles and soft grass, hand stroking over the hood of a BMW that was parked next to a bright orange Camaro, was the arrival of two cars, a motorcycle and a bike. Just a bike. Blue's, obviously. but the motorcycle wasn't one he was familiar with.

[smudging]

Blue had been buzzing awake one minute, then out like a light the next. The storm rolled over, thunder and lightning raged on, and the boards of The Barns rattled loudly, but the four of them slept on soundly.

(Ronan included. Even if he'd deny it.)

And it was Ronan who Blue found first when she finally roused from her sleeping bag in the living room and decided to check out the damage left from the storm. Much to her surprise -- and suspicion -- as soon as she stepped onto the porch, she was met with the image of a city skyline in the distance. There'd been no city before, they were in some small beach town. How had that suddenly changed over the course of one night? Skyscrapers took longer than that to build, pocket dimension or otherwise.

"What the hell?" She confusedly grumbled, her eyes then drifting to Ronan circling the lineup of vehicles in the front yard. They weren't there last night either. "You did this?"

[un_wir_greywaren]

"Fuck no." He was glaring at the cars and the motorcycle. "But I think that's engineless abomination is yours." He gestured to the bike and then went back to glaring at the so called gifts.

"What do you think it means?"

[smudging]

She recognized every last one except for the motorcycle -- but was a random motorcycle really the strangest thing to have happened since they'd arrived? Not in the least -- and Blue moved in closer to inspect them along with Ronan. She didn't know if what they were looking at were the real things, or simply perfect replicas like the ones Ronan was able to create.

"I think it means that if you didn't put them here, then someone -- or something -- else did." She squatted down until she was eye level with her bike tire, trying to find some kind of imperfection that would give it, or its creators, away. "And, I think they also did that out there too." Blue motioned with her chin to the sprawling skyline in the distance.

[forleaving]

Adam was used to being up early for classes, and maybe he hadn't slept very well with the storm and everything on his mind. It was fine; he was used to living life exhausted. He'd originally just gotten up to use the bathroom, but then realized that everything was quiet and the storm had seemingly passed.

He made his way through the house quietly, easing open the front door and slipping out. He wasn't sure what was more surprising once he was out there; the sight of the vehicles or the sight of the buildings in the distance. Rubbing at his eyes, he squinted again at the buildings, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

Walking to the edge of the porch steps, he went no farther, barefoot, clothes rumpled from sleep, hair mussed. "Morning," he said eventually, turning his attention to Ronan as if he hadn't been watching him out of the corner of his eye the entire time. "You didn't dream these, did you." Which meant some other force had given these things to them. Including Adam's motorcycle, with his name stitched onto the seat.

[un_wir_greywaren]

"It is morning." Ronan grumbled softly, still trying to decide what this new gift was suppose to mean. Not to mention the fucking city behind him. But this place seemed hell bent on making them happy even if the prison had a quick and impossible make-over in the middle of the night.

"No. I didn't dream at all last night. Nothing. Not the fucking Pig, the BMW, the motorcycle, the bike. And I definitely didn't dream that!"

He threw an arm out in the direction of the city and then flipped it off.

[forleaving]

"Technically--never mind." Technicallys wouldn't do anyone any good right now. "The motorcycle's mine," he added helpfully. He didn't understand how it had gotten here, but here it was all the same.

The city was the same mystery, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He'd barely had any time to adjust to how the place had been before this, and now it looked like everything had changed. He already wanted to dig down to the how and why of this change.

"Maybe this place is a little like Cabeswater."