hadriel | Two | Video

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[The video opens to view Amos perched on top of a mostly-crumbled building. He’s grinning widely, but it’s the kind of guilty grin that suggests while he finds this funny, he knows other people won’t be happy. There are several jabberjays around him, pecking at crumbs he’s scattered around on the rooftop.]

Ya’ll, I am so, so sorry. I really wasn’t thinking.

[See Amos has this bad habit of trying to teach all animals he comes across tricks, as one does with treats and too much time on one’s hands. Little things, like teaching a parrot to wolf-whistle, a dog to shake paws, a squirrel to bow...all in return for food. He’s slightly more successful at it than your average trainer, simply because he can explain the desired nonsense behavior.]

[As for the jabberjays, only two actually like him, so he’s been playing with them and teaching them small things, different phrases in different languages, a Latin prayer or two, and the occasional children’s song.]

[This was probably not the song to teach them, in retrospect.]

[Amos points at the nearest bird, and it happily starts singing in a lovely woman’s voice:

This is the song that never ends…!
Yes it goes on and on my friends!
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was!
And they’ll continue singing it forever just because…!

[The rest of the birds take up the chorus, in the different voices of the inhabitants of Hadriel, and Amos doubles over with laughter. People are going to kill him for this but Lord help him it’s hilarious. This is what he gets for having watched that singalong puppet show with the farm animals as a child….]

NOTE: Most of the birds will only repeat this once or twice, but the two that hang around Amos will repeat it back if you sing or hum it or offer them breadcrumbs.

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[What? Teenagery is totally a thing.]

Ah. Well at least it ain't stunted your growth. S'what my grandmother always told me about staying up late.

[Amos is quite used to being shorter than everyone else. He's not bothered, and shrugs a little.]

Yeah nightmares ain't no fun, even when you can sleep.

That's exactly my thinking. I'm glad it seems to be over.

[ At least, it seems that way for Gansey. He's hoping it's the same all around. ]

Over for now.

[Who knows what might happen again? Or what might come next? Amos is sure their lives will get interesting again, no doubt about it.]

I see why Adam was glad there's no bugs here, though.

[ Gansey’s shoulders tense a little. Christ, the dream with the hornets. It’s one of his worst, and now it’s been shared. ]

Yes, I’m allergic. Wasps and bees both, actually. Very unusual. I’m not sorry about the lack of them here, myself.

[No worries, Gansey, Amos doesn't judge. Fears vary and Gansey's got good reason if he's allergic. Amos nods.]

I can see why, if you're allergic.

I find the lack of all critters here damned unnerving, pardon my French.

It's too quiet in my head these days.

You can control them, can't you?

[ Gansey's memories of the dreams are imperfect, in part because he was internally dying during the part where Amos had actually done that. He does remember, though. ]

Just like with birds. Is it all animals?

Not 'zactly.

I can talk to animals, hear them talk, but I can't control 'em.

I can ask or demand, though askin' gets better results, an' some decide to help out or listen.

[Amos shrugs, then mimes tapping a fingerdown a list or the rungs of a ladder.]

I'm best with mammals, then birds, reptiles, fish, insects. Bugs are hard for me to hear or understand, but bees're organized. So they're a little more...uh, how'd you say...what they got is closer to thinkin' than most bugs. Hive mind, they gotta communicate with eachother more'n most.

[ All this talk of hive minds and multiple bees makes Gansey shudder.

The rest is fascinating, though. He needs to concentrate on that. ]

I understand that. Wanting to ask and not demand, I mean. It's...well, I think it's like what I do with magic.

Or what I sometimes do, anyway. It's complicated. And new, but the point is, I see what you mean. The hornets in my dream almost listened to you.

Oh, so you've got magic? I guess it makes sense, if Noah's a ghost.

[One strange thing means other strange things might exist. Amos is unperturbed by the idea that Gansey might be magic, or the idea Gansey might not know what he's doing with said magic.]

Yeah, with dreams it's tricky. It don't always work, or work right. So I'm kinda surprised I had any effect at all.

I've...

[ You know, Gansey really wishes he had a straight answer to that question. He smiles. ]

I can ask. Sometimes, it seems to work. Most of the time, I think I'm just like everyone else. It's complicated.

[ He's not a Magician. Regardless of what he's done, he still doesn't feel like one. ]

It's the thought that counts, anyway. I appreciate that you tried.

When is magic not complicated?

[Amos says this breezily but as far as he's concern it's true. All instances of outright magic he's run into have been very complicated. Whether pros, cons, costs, or end results, well. Very few things in life are actually simple.]

[But he'll remember that Gansey can apparently ask things and get results somehow. Further explanation is needed, but Amos can pursue that at leisure.]

You're welcome.

That's a fair point.

[ A pause. ]

Yours is all right, though. Talking to animals. You know, Glendower could do that. They used to say he could talk to birds, especially ravens. It's why he came to be associated with them.

It's fascinating, meeting someone with the same power as him.

Who is Glendower?

[Ooooh Amos, what a can of worms you have opened now.]

[ You should probably make yourself comfortable, Amos. ]

Owain Glendower. He was a Welsh King who lived in the Middle Ages, and fought for freedom from the English. He's a Welsh national hero

They said he could talk to birds. It's not a very normal power where I'm from. Glendower was special.

[ And from Gansey's ton, it's clear he remains special, at least in some quarters. ]

[All Amos knows about Wales could fit on the head of a pin and roll around like a BB on a six lane highway. He listens with interest, though, and says, blandly ignorant:]

Not the same as King Arthur, then.

Just birds?

Similar to, but Arthur was English. And Arthur’s not unworthy of fascination, for the record, but as far as dedicated obsessions go, mine is Glendower.

[ Gansey smiles. ]

Birds are what the stories say. They also say he could control the weather, though. He wasn’t really your average King.

A very magical kind of king, then.

Pardon me for sayin' so, but you don't sound Welsh. Caught your eye in school?

[A more northern Southern accent, not around the lowlands or swamps as Amos is used to. Slight regional differences, to Amos's practised ear. In this modern day and age, well, any kid could pick up an obsession from any part of the world. But Amos is curious.]

[ It's true, Gansey's particular accent would make him stand apart in most crowds. To anyone who's familiar, he sounds like Virginian old money, his accent tinged with just a slice of the South. ]

No, I'm not Welsh. Someone once mentioned his name to me, along with word of something called a ley line. I started to research, and never really stopped. I've been studying Glendower for years, actually.

Ah. Everybody needs a hobby, I guess.

[There's a little bit of friendly teasing there, as Amos grins. Researching dead kings doesn't sound fascinating to him, but from Gansey's enthusiasm and animation, it's definitely something the teenager enjoys. Amos likes hearing people talk about things they're passionate about.]

He got a lotta legends about him, your Welsh king?

[ Gansey just smiles. He's had all kinds of responses from the people he's told. Derision is one he's heard often enough. ]

You could say that. I won't bore you with them, though. The one about his powers is probably the most relevant.

Where do yours come from, may I ask?

Hey, I'm sure they're not boring. Most stories ain't.

[Amos grins encouragingly.]

I was born with it, though. Where I'm from, some people are born with a li'l extra; telekinesis or super-strength or pyrokenetics. So mine's talking to animals.

[He gestures with his hands as he talks, idle motions to go along with his words.]

They're not boring to me.

[ Gansey clarifies gently. ]

So you're saying powers like yours are relatively common, where you're from? [ He pauses, considering. ] Do you think of it as magic?

Not really common, but not unheard of? S'only a small percentage out of everybody.

[The second question is harder to explain and Amos frowns briefly for a moment, catching the top ball of his tongue piercing between his front teeth as he considers how to word his answer.]

I don't. Some do.

I don't 'cause it's...something that's part of me. Magic, I tend to think of that as something people learn. But there's people who think otherwise.

There's a lotta people who argue 'bout those definitions, dat's for sure.

An' then there's a lot of people who say magic don't exist noways! I think that's the most common view, worldwide. I've run into more people who roll their eyes at the idea than believe.

Yes, well. On that front, so have I. It doesn't mean they're right. Maybe your world is more like mine than I thought.

[ He smiles faintly, and then shrugs. ]

I'd probably call it magic, but it's yours. I'll call it whatever you like.

Could be, could be.

You can call it what you like, don't bother me none. I usually just call it a talent.

[Other people have different names for it, and Amos has never minded. He rolls a shrug.]

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