One of the cars was made available to the guests - which means, in this case, one of the big black Land Rovers. It took a little getting used to; right hand drive, left side of the road, ginormous car - but Pres managed to get the hang of it after one or two harrowing moments on the road leading out of Welshpool to the highway to Cardiff. It's a long drive; Pres makes it shorter by speeding imperturbably.
     Maddie's in the back seat, lazing on the cushions and staring out the windows. Both Wests are a little bit unusually quiet, but eventually Pres speaks up. "So, Mads. Loki. Magic."
     It's not something that can be eased into, right?

     Loki didn't bring a book along on the trip, though he's been making up for it by paying more attention to his RSS feeds than the scenery on the drive. At a comment like that, the phone disappears, and he looks up. "Could you rephrase that in the form of a question?" He finally looks out the window, and adds more quietly, "On second thought, maybe not. That'd imply I could answer any."

     Maddie jumps. "Magic? What?" Her eyes go enormously wide and round as she looks between her brother and their honorary 'cousin'. "...Oh. Um. You don't mean like Kriss Angell, do you."

     "I don't mean like Vegas, no," Pres agrees. "I mean like the whacked-out family we're all staying with in the castle. I mean, a castle, for god's sake. I should've guessed there was something weird."
     He changes lanes, ignoring the Prefect he cuts off in the process. He drives like he's from L.A. He's lived there long enough to pick up on that. "So. Who starts?"

     Can I call not it?
     Loki looks back to see how Maddie is holding up. No screaming yet, so she's probably handling all of this better than he did, as predicted. "I'm thinking that'd be me. Are we all clear on the basic 'Magic exists and that family is soaking in it' premise?"

     "Yes," Maddie admits, albeit reluctantly. "I mean... I don't know about the whole family, but ... Baz and his branch... yeah. I met his mom and his dads, and - they're really nice. But ... okay, yeah, it's kind of weird. Did you guys know he has wings?"

     Will not think about it. I won't. I... "Yeah," Pres answers curtly. He doesn't go into detail, pressing down on the accelerator. "And can fly and summon food out of nowhere and so on and so forth. I get it. The three of us seem to have landed in it hip first, so - I guess what now?"

     "I don't know," Loki says. He folds his arms to keep from twitching things into place around him. There aren't many things to put in better order anyway. "In my case, I have a job I don't actually know how to do. Fortunately, it seems to multi-task decently with the band thing. Somehow. I think all of this works differently for you two, but I'm not real sure on the details there either."

     "Job?" Maddie looks confused. "I'm just dating him. I'm not getting paid for it! Thank goodness. There's a nasty word for women who get paid to date." She crinkles up her nose. "I ... really, it's all a bit too big for me to take in. Okay. Magic's real. Now what? It doesn't change who he is, just - kinda - what he is."
     He has wings. He can fly. He's a magic, magic man. She shrugs a bit, and directs her attention back out the window with a gusting sigh. "I really like him," Maddie says wistfully. "But I - well, I kind of don't know where I fit into that. But that's not just because of him, you know. It's because of me."

     Pres concentrates on getting around a heavily loaded lorry stuffed with sawdust in grim silence for a few minutes. When he speaks, he answers, "I think my thing is a little more like yours, Loki. I've got a summer job. I don't know what I'm doing or where or how to do it. The magic crap just - yeah, I do know what you mean, kind of, Maddie. It's just so out of the blue, you know?" He turns his head to look at Loki. "It's like - any minute now, they could decide somebody else would be better for the job. Because what the hell do I know about magic? It wasn't covered in any of my classes. Nobody's given me a list of duties and goals for the quarter. And it's not like they need me for the money. They're all loaded, seems like. So I don't get where I come into it."
     "Maddie, for you it's easier to understand. You guys are dating. Pretty uncomplicated, if you ask me." Gruff, in the way only a big brother can be. Oversimplified, and he doesn't want to complicate it with facts. But he might not have a choice.

     Loki shrugs, because Pres really does have a point. He twists back to look at Maddie when he addresses her. "Your reading on it is probably the right one for now, Maddie. Your boyfriend being made of magical sunshine isn't exactly the same as him being a Duke or whatever, but it's along the same lines. Details, not changing the essential person he is or your relationship to him."
     He settles back in his seat, watching traffic now. "For Pres and me, it's different. If I knew what to suggest there, it'd be something I was already doing. I'm not used to getting a job that doesn't come with an employee handbook."

     "Actually, I think you're both being very unfair." Maddie folds her arms over her chest, chin jutting out. "Yeah, we're 'just' dating. I'm 'just' dating a guy - in love with a guy - who I want to spend a long, long time with, who says he loves me and wants to spend a long time with me. You guys have jobs? Okay, great for you. If it gets too weird for you, you can quit a job and walk away without much more bruised than maybe your egos."
     Her eyes snap with fierce indignation. "I'm talking about a man who I intend to spend a lot of time with. If it goes well, the rest of my life. And maybe who he is hasn't changed, but what he is does matter. What if we stay together? Am I the pet girlfriend, the one who can't keep up with him? I can't fly. I can't do much of anything. I don't even know what I'm going to major in and I'm dating the son of an angel! If we do stay together, what are our kids going to be like? Are we even compatible? I guess we are, but if we are, are our kids going to have wings? He's a duke and some kind of prince. Prep school did okay by me for manners, but what's going to be expected of me? I mean, look how well that worked for Grace Kelly. Not. And she didn't have to deal with concepts of heaven and magic and - and - and stuff. If I'm making light of it at all, it's because it's too big for me - it's so big, I don't know how to even begin to tackle it. But I can't really opt out without breaking two hearts, his and mine. So don't tell me it's easier."

     Pres clutches the steering wheel more tightly, clenching his teeth. "Fine," he mutters. "You're in love. We're not. Whatever. So far though he's not expecting anything of you, is he? Quitting's one thing. I don't want to get fired. I don't like feeling like I might not be good enough and like I can't be good enough because nobody's given me the damn checklist. Loki?"

     "I can't quit," Loki says, closing his eyes. This is not the time to go into the murky depths involved in how much of that is his own decision and how much doesn't seem to have ever been any choice of his. "I'm not trying to trivialize what you're dealing with, Maddie. Just pointing out that it's a different kind of issue. Some of this is just--being adult. The magic's a complication, but it's not that different of a complication from culture shock or any number of other things. One none of us were expecting, I'll grant. I don't think it's worth spending a lot of time freaking over the supernatural stuff when, if you get right down to it, it's a matter of...new jobs, and having a boyfriend."

     "So we should all just pretend it isn't weird and then it'll all be okay?" Maddie demands. "Look, I'm not saying my situation is harder than yours, I'm saying we're all in a weird situation, and we should try and make some sense of it! Why are you guys being so difficult?" She sits back with a glower at the back of her brother's head.

     Pres pulls off to an exit, the Land Rover rolling gently as it slows a little. "What do you want us to do, have them give us a 'How to Live With Magic: Your First Year' booklet? Because I'm pretty sure they don't have one, Maddie. It's weird. We can't tell people without them thinking we're crazy. At least it's not like they're trying to forcibly induct us into a cult."

     "Speak for yourself," Loki says in an undertone. He adds more hastily, "That's pretty much how it sums up. It's weird, we can't tell anyone else it's weird, what do you expect to do with it? It just--is what it is. At least now I can talk to you two about these things again."

     "Yeah, you can talk to us, but neither of you wants to actually talk about it. Pull over." Maddie sits up, giving the back of Pres' head a resentful look.

     Pres glances over his shoulder. "What, now? Come on, Maddie, we're almost to Cardiff, I'm not pulling over now." He gives Loki a weary, girls are so much trouble look. "There's nothing to talk about. What do you want from us?"

     "I don't want to talk about it because talking about it generally turns into a lot of I don't know," Loki says wearily. "Look, if you have questions, I can fail to answer them, but that's what it comes down to. I don't know. I've had my entire life rearranged because of a chance meeting with some guy in a bar and I still don't know how any of it works. Not even the things I can do, when I manage to do them at all."

     "I don't even know where to begin with questions. Okay. Here's one. Did you know about Baz before we went to Hawaii?" Maddie gives the back of Loki's head a turn with the glower. But only for a minute. Pres has dibs.

     Pres shrugs. "Does it matter?" Cardiff's scenery is passing by. He spots a parking lot and pulls in. "We should be able to find a pub now."

     "I didn't find out about Baz until well past the point when I should've figured it out for myself," Loki says. "But Pres is right. It doesn't really matter. It's not like it would have done any good to wander over and note that your boyfriend happens to be made of magic."
     He climbs out of the car, and looks around. "I need a drink."

     "Yeah, have fun with that," Maddie mutters. She climbs out of the car, flipping her hair back over her shoulders. "I'm going to go shopping. Catch up with you guys back at the car or at the pub later. You have my cell number."

     Pres looks for a minute like he's going to argue, then shrugs. Why fight it? "Okay. Don't wander too far. C'mon, Loki. I'll buy the first round." He locks up the car, grumbling to himself.

     Loki bites back a sigh, and shoves his hands in his pockets. He doesn't have much to say on the way to the pub.

Posted by rowan at June 11, 2009 05:55 PM