[Adam feels a little guilty snubbing the tea, Maura worked hard on them. But he values his taste buds more than his manners.] Thanks. So, how have things been going with you and Gansey? [Said with all the maturity of a ten-year-old.]
[Blue would give him no hell about it, she'd ducked out of tea tasting ages ago. She pours him a glass of normal sweet tea, and has one herself, taking it to the table.] Really? Are you five? [Then she shrugs] Working on it. Seems to be getting better now that we know everything worked. What about you?
You're welcome. [She rolls her eyes with a good-natured smirk of her own.] Only sometimes. [Her voice is a quiet scoff.] It's good. It'll take time, but that's okay. We have time now. [She raises an eyebrow] Are you getting there?
You do. [He smiles a bit with that admission. It worked.] Of course I am. [Which is a lie.] It's slow going, but it's getting better. Talking to you guys is helping.
[She smiles back at him.] We're not going to lose him. It's good. It doesn't cancel out the rest, but it's good. [Blue watches Adam for a second. She wants to believe him, and doesn't have much reason not to, but she's worried.] You can always talk to me.
[The look Blue gives him out-and-out calls bullshit on that statement, but she doesn't push much harder than the look.] Point stands.
[And the universe changes the subject for them, when Calla comes through the front door. She comes into the dining room, looking at Adam, then at Blue, before she goes to unload a small bag hanging off her wrist, after tossing the keys onto the table in front of Blue.] Get gas, and don't push it above sixty, it's wobbling weird.
[Blue's mouth was open to ask, and she sighs.] It's really annoying when you do that.
Saves time. Be back by quarter past six, Jimi'll need the car early tonight.
[Blue grumbles something about showing off, then gets up and raises eyebrows at Adam.] Ready?
Don't encourage her. [Her voice is a joking admonishment, as she grabs her bag, the keys, and her coat.]
Like I need encouraging. Be safe. Don't let Alaina gouge you, we get a thirty percent discount and she knows it. [Calla's voice rings out of the kitchen as they head through the front door.]
Don't mock the driving. [Blue points at Adam as she unlocks the doors and gets into the driver's seat.]
You can't make me. [He laughs lightly and follows her out, getting into the passenger's seat without much complaint.] So you guys know the owners pretty well, huh?
[She gets in, arranges mirrors, adjusts the seat up nearly as far as it would go, adjusts mirrors again, buckles her seatbelt, and checks the mirrors one more time before she starts the car.] Yeah, they know most of the store owners nearby. Apparently my family is pretty well known outside Henrietta. [She shrugs her shoulders, then white-knuckles the steering wheel as she shifts it into reverse and creeps out of the driveway. She shifts into drive, and takes off.
At a leisurely, granny-esque pace.] She's one of the ones I like better. There's another store near the book shop downtown, but they overcharge and get all uppity with us, so the drive is worth it.
[Adam's a bit nervous when the car starts, but things seem okay as they finally pulls out and gets onto the road. This isn't bad. He relaxes.] That's pretty good then, diversify your providers. Gives you a bigger edge in a small market like this town.
[She pulls into traffic, and she's easily the slowest there, and Blue's a lot more hesitant now than she's been in the past, fingers gripping the steering wheel hard. She's glad it's an automatic. Trying to shift through nerves, without Gansey's distraction... probably too difficult a task to accomplish.] Yeah, well. Retail isn't exactly their game anyway. Jimi pretty much gives everything to her classes. Works out though, they tend to pay her better for things later down the line.
[She stops a red light, and uncharacteristic to Blue, she shoves a middle finger in his face. She's smiling, though] Shut up, I drive the speed limit. Mostly.
[Adam eyes her from his own seat but says nothing. He tried driving after the incident. Suffice it to say that Blue's own skill is better than his own at the moment. He nods along with her words.] I always wondered how you guys staid afloat. No offense in that, but I see how much they charge for readings. It isn't much. Or at least not enough to keep as many people as there are in that house where they are.
[Adam laughs.] Ten miles under isn't the speed limit.
[She shrugs her shoulders] Calla works for the admin offices at Aglionby, Jimi has the classes and all the seminars she does, Persephone gets some kind of stipend for grad school, Orla does the phone thing and has a data entry job she does from home too. And then the readings, which brings in a lot more than you'd think. And then I work at Nino's. It works, well enough.
[Blue scowls] The speed limit is the maximum speed you should be doing, Adam.
[Adam snickers a bit, and it turns into an actual laugh when he notices her speeding up a little, and he lets himself settle into the leisurely pace. There really isn't much anxiety here, and it makes Adam a bit happier with the knowledge.
It's some time later that they finally make it out to their destination. It's a little unassuming shop and Adam follows Blue in, almost overwhelmed by the smells coming from the place. It's as if it was dipped in every fragrant herb known to man.]
[Inside, and the familiar smells of incense and dried herbs and someone wearing too much patchouli smack Blue in the face, and she breathes deeply. She waves to the owner, then nudges Adam toward the crystal displays in the back, a huge bookcase with large examples of the crystal type, its general uses hand-printed on cards, and smaller versions in a basket nearby.]
[Adam takes it all in, and something else responds. Beneath it all the scent of mist and moss rises up, though Adam isn't sure why Cabeswater's responding to this place. He wanders from Blue and starts looking around the store. He ends up at a display full of supposedly charmed pendants and picks one up, contemplating the design found on it.
And then he understands. This isn't a place of power, per se. But the items, the energy. There's potential here.]
[She walks over to the rose quartz, the one she tended to be drawn toward. She liked pink sometimes. Adam's comment gets her looking over her shoulder at him, eyebrow up. She's forgotten her own comment about the crystals being symbolic. It takes a moment, then she nods.]
Everything is less symbolic on the ley line, I think. Energy is a physical entity here, instead of a concept like it is everywhere else.
Do you think that's why there's so many psychics in your family? A whole lot of you are born in Henrietta. Or are at least near the ley line.
[He knows its why they stay, so he doesn't ask about that. Instead he moves on from the pendants, instead grabbing the first book he comes across before heading over to where Blue is.]
Could be. But I think my mom is the first Sargent in a couple generations to be as powerful as she is. And we all know I'm something else entirely.
[She prods through the quartz, no intention of getting anything, just looking for the one that drew her the most.] What're you looking for? Made any decisions yet?
[Adam isn't even touching, his mind darting back and forth between the myriad shapes and colors laid out, each one giving off a different feeling, each one calling out to him. A part of him wants to scoop the entire shelf, because this has use. It'll be important when...when. He feels the tangle of vine and branch against his skin, and for once it isn't a comfort, or a reminder to do his job. It's something else.
Eventually he settles on what seems the strongest out of all of them calling, and at prices that aren't insane: A few smoky quartz, amethyst, jasper, tiger's eye, and clear quartz. He doesn't even know if this will help with his own problems, but they feel right. He doesn't question it.]
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[And the universe changes the subject for them, when Calla comes through the front door. She comes into the dining room, looking at Adam, then at Blue, before she goes to unload a small bag hanging off her wrist, after tossing the keys onto the table in front of Blue.] Get gas, and don't push it above sixty, it's wobbling weird.
[Blue's mouth was open to ask, and she sighs.] It's really annoying when you do that.
Saves time. Be back by quarter past six, Jimi'll need the car early tonight.
[Blue grumbles something about showing off, then gets up and raises eyebrows at Adam.] Ready?
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Like I need encouraging. Be safe. Don't let Alaina gouge you, we get a thirty percent discount and she knows it. [Calla's voice rings out of the kitchen as they head through the front door.]
Don't mock the driving. [Blue points at Adam as she unlocks the doors and gets into the driver's seat.]
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At a leisurely, granny-esque pace.] She's one of the ones I like better. There's another store near the book shop downtown, but they overcharge and get all uppity with us, so the drive is worth it.
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Even when it takes you all day to get there?
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[She stops a red light, and uncharacteristic to Blue, she shoves a middle finger in his face. She's smiling, though] Shut up, I drive the speed limit. Mostly.
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[Adam laughs.] Ten miles under isn't the speed limit.
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[Blue scowls] The speed limit is the maximum speed you should be doing, Adam.
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[Adam laughs.] You know, they can pull you over for going too slow, too.
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I'm not going that slow! [Her voice is a loud objection. She wasn't going that slowly. Just above granny pace now.]
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It's some time later that they finally make it out to their destination. It's a little unassuming shop and Adam follows Blue in, almost overwhelmed by the smells coming from the place. It's as if it was dipped in every fragrant herb known to man.]
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Here we are.
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And then he understands. This isn't a place of power, per se. But the items, the energy. There's potential here.]
I think...I think it's more than just symbolic.
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Everything is less symbolic on the ley line, I think. Energy is a physical entity here, instead of a concept like it is everywhere else.
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[He knows its why they stay, so he doesn't ask about that. Instead he moves on from the pendants, instead grabbing the first book he comes across before heading over to where Blue is.]
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[She prods through the quartz, no intention of getting anything, just looking for the one that drew her the most.] What're you looking for? Made any decisions yet?
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[Adam isn't even touching, his mind darting back and forth between the myriad shapes and colors laid out, each one giving off a different feeling, each one calling out to him. A part of him wants to scoop the entire shelf, because this has use. It'll be important when...when. He feels the tangle of vine and branch against his skin, and for once it isn't a comfort, or a reminder to do his job. It's something else.
Eventually he settles on what seems the strongest out of all of them calling, and at prices that aren't insane: A few smoky quartz, amethyst, jasper, tiger's eye, and clear quartz. He doesn't even know if this will help with his own problems, but they feel right. He doesn't question it.]
I think these ones should do.
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