eachdraidh | A1. video. [ open to both courts ]

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A1. video. [ open to both courts ]

[ it doesn't immediately occur to thomas that he could probably just communicate through a text system--as far as he knows, the locket is a lot easier to use by video, and so he does. the network is presented with a pair of big, brown doe eyes before he leans backwards a little, revealing a face that could be rather familiar to some--dark hair, a button nose, moles like spots littering his face.

this is not the man you are looking for, however: this is thomas "murphy", and he clears his throat before he introduces himself. ]

Hi. I'm Thomas Murphy, and I'm--kind of a new arrival. I guess they'd call me a greenie if this was back home. [ there's no hint of humor on his face, but he did actually just try and make a joke, and his tone is a little lighter, for it. ]

Can anyone tell me about the Seelie and Unseelie--in your own words, if that makes any sense? What you know about it...you don't have to tell me any secrets or anything, but, maybe why you're there, I guess. [ he's not going to say which court he is (though it's obvious eventually, by the background of caer scima), but he just needs to know. ] Or, if you're okay with where you are. Not that I'm not, but...I don't know. Is there any reason why someone wouldn't be? They apparently brought us here for a reason-- [ again. ] --since we have these "shards", or whatever they are, but I don't have a lot of trust for anybody who says that, because it's usually a load of klunk.

I guess that's all I've got to ask. [ a beat. ] Actually, that's not true. Is there another map around here? Besides the one they gave me, I mean, it's not very good. [ ... ] No offense.

[ thomas is just going to shut his trap now. he almost physically winces and shakes his head. ] That's it, honestly. I'm just going to... hang up now. Thanks.

[ thomas does hang up, and the feed ends--for all of five seconds, before he snaps it back on. ] Oh, wait--also, I want to know if anyone here's ever heard the phrase "WICKED is good." It has to look like this. [ after a second, there's a typed out phrase that appears instead, with WICKED fully capitalized. ] That's really all this time. Um, thanks.

[ click! for real this time. ]

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[ thomas stares at teresa like she's got a second head--he doesn't even know where to start, doesn't know if he's agonized or thrilled to see her alive again. he could have saved her, could have pulled her through the flat trans because she deserved to live, needed their shucked up paradise as much as every single other glader did. for everything that had happened between them, thomas was left with complicated feelings on teresa, complicated feelings he doesn't know how to address now beyond a strange sort of happiness at the fact that she's here and alive. ]

How are you so calm about this? [ he says it desperately, because really, he doesn't understand how she could be. thomas's entire world is, well, crumbling under his feet, because people he got killed are living again, and one of them is teresa agnes, who is on this tiny locket with her beautiful, burning blue eyes. ] You--I watched, you said...

[ I only ever cared for.. ] This isn't a trick, is it?

What I said was true. And it's not a trick. [ but she doesn't blame him for thinking so ] I've been here a few days. I've had time to be- not calm. And I might be in shock, maybe. I guess I just thought- [ that she would have to start over. learn to live without him, without the ( questionable, awful ) guidance she had from WICKED for so long. start completely fresh. she didn't even have to be Teresa Agnes anymore, she could be anyone. she could be Deedee, even. it's a little weird how Thomas being here makes her rethink that, but it's not the time for that train of thought. ]

I feel like if I don't make myself stay calm, I might actually fall apart. [ but even saying that is making her eyes shine, her throat tight ] I really didn't know you would be here. [ her voice cracks on the last few words, and her exhale sounds like a laugh and an attempt not to sob all at once ] But you are, you're here. You're okay.

[ he is here, and a part of him wants to run to her. screw the different courts, screw the fairies, that is teresa, and she's alive again. thomas thinks he must owe her a million sorries, but...

but she owes him them, too, doesn't she?

in the end, thomas never understood why, could never imagine what teresa had done was anything but good. when she died he was distraught, her words echoing over and over in his head (I only ever cared for...) because that had been her final words, that she cared for thomas. they had so much to talk about and so many places to start, and thomas stares before he just...he has to. sorry, minho. ]

Where are you? [ he has to find her. ]

In my room in the castle. [ she doesn't know he's Unseelie yet, that they're on opposites sides of the country, or whatever they're calling the land they're all occupying ] I can meet you in the great hall, where they had the feast? That might be easiest. [ so she sounds all too excited, already picking up her locket so she can move to put her shoes back on, like she'll be heading out right now ] I can't believe I didn't see you there. I left early, though. I couldn't handle it. Too many people.

[ that sounds like her. thomas wants to smile, but he's not sure if he can--he's still not sure where he stands with teresa, but he knows that he wants to see her, maybe hug her, let her know that he's glad she's still alive.

but--something occurs to thomas, and he pauses, feeling his heart sink into his stomach as he considers the possibility that...no. they'd always been together, hadn't they? even though they made her go to group B, thomas found it hard to believe, because of what she told him about their lives before, what faint, little things he could remember... ] You're...Unseelie, aren't you?

No. Seelie. [ the question doesn't register, at first. she's just answering him while she tugs on her boots. but- ] Oh. No, I'm not. I was brought into the Seelie court. [ she reaches for her locket again, like she has to look at him properly ( well, as properly as one can over a video feed ) again to talk about this ] They split us up?

[ it's a rhetorical question, she can guess by the way he formed the question he assumed they were both in Unseelie, just as she assumed they were both Seelie. ]

They can't make me fight against you. They can't. [ a beat ] I'll defect. They can't really stop us from switching sides, can they? They can't make us do anything.

[ thomas's eyes go wide when she says "i'll defect" (remember when she did that the first time, his brain reminds him, reminds him that teresa's not someone to be trusted, no matter how badly he wants to run to her and hold her in his arms and apologize, beg for her forgiveness.) the thing is, thomas knows she would, and he holds up one of his hands, as if to try and get her to calm down. ]

Don't--don't do that. [ though maybe the punishment would be less severe on her side? thomas doesn't know. ] There might be a reason for it, like... [ he doesn't need to finish his sentence there. like last time. ] And if you're on that side and I'm on this one, maybe we can use it to try and learn something, or...something.

[ he sounds a little pained, a little frustrated. ] Teresa. [ considering his head is still telling him to run to her, he realizes he has to swallow a lump in his throat again before he can finish what he's trying to say. in the end, thomas's feelings for teresa are a complicated, complicated thing, but he fixes the locket with a serious gaze, mouth in a faint smile. ] I'm glad you're alive.

[ she's just giving him a look through all of that, like any reasoning behind it could overshadow the fact that they're on opposite sides of a war here. she won't push it, but she's pretty dead set on switching now. she'll find a way. she's not going to play into whatever possible reasoning they have for splitting them up, she can't. she won't. ]

I'm glad to be alive, and I'm glad you're alive, too. But what good is it if we're- pinned against each other? Again? [ her eyes are a bit wild, though it's more out of some kind of fear than anything else ] This can't be Group A and Group B again, I can't do that. I can't pretend, or try and play a part, just to keep you safe. It ruined everything last time, don't you get that? It ruined us.

[ she huffs a breath, like that could help her calm down, but her brow just furrows up again ]

If this is my second chance, I'm going to make it count. My way, my rules. And- maybe you don't trust me the way I trust you yet, but I know I can make it right here. Just... not if we're on different sides.

Teresa... [ he's not the type to whine, but if he were, he'd be whining about it. this attitude really doesn't surprise him at all, and it's making every single part of him that wants to run to her scream with joy, but he has to be responsible and not cut it and run. the last time he did that to teresa, she betrayed him.

and now that they're on opposite sides again, it's just a recipe for disaster.

"it ruined us", she says, and thomas's heart twinges at the thought. he remembers how inexplicably safe he felt when she was there in the glade, remembers the telepathy (maybe we were lovers--he could never forget that) but in the end, he'd been hurt. and though teresa tried to say that it wasn't her fault, he shouldn't have believed her, never should have. minho and newt made that all the more clear the more time that passed, but. but. a part of thomas can never let that go. they were the originals, the creators.

he sighs, gaze flickering off screen for a moment, like he has to tear himself away in order to respond. (he does; looking at her makes him just want to apologize and drop to the floor at her feet.) ] What if it gets you killed?

[ his voice is stressed and he doesn't need to add; what if I get you killed again? ]

[ hhhhm. ]

I'll figure something out.

[ she gives him a second, but the idea of him getting worked up over this- ]

Look at me. Thomas.

It's going to be fine. The fairies, or whatever it was that brought me here, they're harmless. And I don't know what you've heard about your court, but the people in mine are all about honor in battle, and doing what's right. I'm not going to fight, so I guess that just leaves me with doing what my gut tells me to. Like I always have.

[ and that... seems to be that, for now. on her end at least. ]

Did you come here alone, too, or are there more Gladers here?

[ he obeys when she asks because thomas always does, always listened to his father, always listened to teresa, and the hurt in his brown eyes is obvious the minute they match gazes, but he stays quiet and listens to what she has to say.

your gut got you killed, he wants to say, but he bites his lip. even still, a tiny bit of tension slides out of his shoulders, because maybe he can trust teresa at least to stay safe. (he can't, he knows he can't, but he can try and make himself believe it.) there's no budging with teresa agnes, never has been and never will be, and she never needed thomas to protect her. it's all he wants to do, though. ] You have to promise me you'll stay safe.

[ there's faint urgency there. ] That's the only way I'm going to agree--even if you're going to do it whether I tell you it's a bad idea or not.

[ that's the end of that conversation, it seems. thomas still isn't happy, feels cagey and ready to run across caer scima at a moment's notice, but it'll have to work. ] Minho's here. [ as if that were even a surprise. ] That's it.

Yeah. Of course.

[ it almost sounds like an automatic response, but her eyes end up narrowing in thought because okay, maybe she does need to be careful. staying safe is a hard thing to promise, but she can try. ]

If they went so far as keeping me alive, they must have brought me here for a reason. [ which makes her feel a little bit of deja vu, but she's not paying attention to that ] I'm not going to mess this up. But I'm also not going to hide away just because something bad could happen.

All I can promise is that I'm not planning on making any recklessly impulsive decisions here. Not unless I have a reason to. Which is my cue to make you promise to stay safe too, okay?

[ the warmth that blooms up in his chest is undeniable and thomas isn't sure if he wants to enjoy it or choke on it--the fact is that he still has a lot of messy and complicated feelings for teresa, and hearing that she cares about him (and certainly not on her deathbed) is enough to please a part of him like some content puppy.

it was your fault she died in the first place, is the other part he has to push down, try to keep his emotions off his face, so thomas stays stoic and nods his head. ] Yeah...I'll try. [ then, with just a faint hint of Thomas's Terrible Humor ] Minho's here, he won't let me die.

Since we can talk across the courts, we should... [ c'mon tommy, spit it out. remember what happened the last time you lost teresa for a long time? ] ...talk, a lot, I guess. So we don't lose track.

Thank God for Minho.

[ that probably could have sounded... way less deadpan, yes. oops. but anyway, more important things. like Thomas suggesting they talk a lot. it surprised her just as much as it pleased her to hear it. ]

What, like checking in before bedtime every night? [ said kind of like a joke, a friendly one at least, but she doesn't hate the idea ] I can do that.

[ he almost laughs when she says that, but it ends up being more of a wince, instead--thomas knows minho pretty much hates teresa, and he wouldn't be surprised if it would go the same way with her. it's not really his fault, but it's just. it's minho, he gets a little defensive of thomas sometimes. but, really, he's thankful for his presence in a way that he can't really match with anyone else (his closest friend and confidant--the last person in the world thomas trusted with all of his soul.) and they were just. they'd have to learn to get along, because thomas still loves teresa, even if he tries to pretend he doesn't, because in the end, he'd come right back to her. he's doing it now, hell.

she flusters him, though, and thomas turns red on his end of the video (checking in before bedtime)--his eyes go up in a faint eyeroll but he clears his throat. ] Something like that. Just...

[ it kind of hurts to say it, because he doesn't remember, he doesn't. ] ...like when we were kids. Right?

Maybe not just like it.

[ which is the nicest possible way she could think of to try to deflect from how much the comment makes her mind sort of swim, sad and hopeful all at once, even though she knows he doesn't remember. it's selfish to be thinking of what he lost with his memory Swipe as "his time with me" instead of "his childhood", but she is, that's where her brain goes. maybe because her time with Tom was her childhood. it's all the same to her. now that she remembers, she can't imagine not knowing. she's almost glad she was asleep for so long after she first got the swipe, like she had time to adjust. even if that time was spent slowly forgetting, instead of all at once. it's hard to say which is worse.

there's also some part of her that wants to mention that they weren't on opposite sides back then, but she can't do it. ]

But only because we used to say it up here. [ said with a tap, tap against her temple. ]

[ aaaaaand then she makes a very obvious "oh thinkythink I'm so clever" face ]

And because you used to sing me to sleep.

[ it's probably ..not funny to joke about making things up and trying to pass it off as reality, just something he can't remember, but she tries to make it clear she's just kidding. although maybe there's some truth to it, only it was the other way around. maybe. ]

[ he's wondering if she's telling the truth or not--how would he know? thomas chose not to get those memories back, and he doesn't regret it one bit, but now, there's a faint twinge of guilt twisting up in his chest, that he can't remember all the things teresa does. thomas thinks that he might not be able to handle it, if he did--maybe his opinion on her would be different, maybe it would be the same. whatever would happen, he'd look at her in a different light, a piece of his childhood and the only real connection to WICKED he had left, save for the tattoo on the back of his neck.

but, she makes a joke about singing, and thomas's cheeks flush, because he is in fact a huge weenie, and he huffs. ] I didn't do that. [ his lame attempt at a joke: ] I'm a really bad singer.

[ there's something lighter to this, something familiar--it's impossible not to fall back into this easy pattern he's had with teresa. thomas eats it up, to be honest. it feels like home. ]

Well maybe not anymore, but back then? Voice of an angel.

[ but she's already laughing, just a quiet one, but it's enough to blow her cover completely. ]

Then again, I have no way of knowing that for sure. Maybe you're still a great singer. Even better now.

You should sing for me.

Yeah right. [ thomas is clearly flustered, and he huffs a little, folding his arms across his chest. seriously, teresa, you're so embarrassing. ]

Maybe you were the one who did the singing, that doesn't sound like me.

[ but he's quiet for a second, because in the end, teresa gets what she wants, and thomas's gaze flicks off screen, face still red. ] Maybe when we get to meet up in person, or something. I don't know. You have to promise not to laugh.

Maybe.

[ she'd rather see him flustered than freaked out, so she'll take it. even if she knows she can't let herself get used to it, not really. it can't always be like this. he's glad that she's alive, she gets that. she gets that might be the only reason why he's talking to her right now. she won't let herself forget it. ]

I won't laugh, I promise.

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A1. video. [ open to both courts ]

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