WHAT. Ronan & Gansey fight a monster; Ronan gets some busted ribs WHERE. The Barns WHEN. Backdated to spiderfinger things WARNINGS. monster attack resulting in a dead monster + Ronan's injury STATUS. complete
“I thought for sure when I saw the cows go running that it was going to be Gasoline chasing them, but now I don’t see anything.” Most of the dreamed creatures at the Barns co-existed peacefully enough, but no one was immune to Gasoline’s buffs of farts. This had been different, though. They’d been spooked, and nothing smelled reminiscent of the large pig.
So Gansey had gone back to grab Ronan, and his sword, just in case. The protections around the Barns held up well in the past, but there had been a few times things had gotten through, and dismissing things wasn’t in Gansey’s vocabulary.
He was second-guessing himself now, though, as he overlooked the pasture with an exaggerated squint. “Maybe I need a new prescription? Do you see anything?” The cows were slowly meandering back to their spot, and he didn’t think any were missing, but Ronan knew best on that end.
“You probably do need a new prescription, grandpa,” Ronan answered unhelpfully. It had to be said, because he was Ronan Lynch and Gansey was Gansey, but anybody within fifty yards would’ve heard the affection in his voice or seen how carefully he was looking around. If Gansey sensed something or heard something, then there was something out here. Even if it was just a rattler or something. The animals had been spooked and they didn’t do that for just anything.
“Maybe stop looking out and start looking down. Could be something that went back underground like a snake or a fucking pissed off gopher or somethi—” Ronan tripped over a divot in the ground and caught himself after a stumble. His sword was still sheathed but that might have been a good thing “The fuck. There’s like a big dent over here.”
The big dent moved and something started to unearth itself right under Ronan’s feet. He scrambled backwards but it was too late to avoid getting knocked on his ass.
Gansey faltered slightly, though not because he was upset by Ronan’s words - he knew the tone was affectionate, and had always barreled on through the nicknames. “I’d like it put on the record that I would much rather tangle with a pissed off gopher than a giant snake.” He didn’t get much of a chance to finish that protest as Ronan was knocked off his feet and Gansey was lunging forward at the same time.
“Oh, fu--” What climbed out of the ground was a hand. A giant one, with more than the appropriate amount of humanoid fingers and far too much ornate jewelry. Out of instinct, Gansey stumbled back half a step, before realizing that Ronan was on the ground and he moved forward again to grab Ronan’s shoulder. “Are you okay? Up, up up. I think it’s obvious that it’s not a gopher like I’d hoped.”
Ronan was winded and fucking startled but he was fine. For now. He rolled to his side to get up as quickly as possible and started shoving Gansey towards the farmhouse way off in the distance.
"Yeah, no shit, Gansey." He sounded more worried than annoyed. He drew his sword from its scabbard on his back and watched the creature lurch up out of the ground. It moved like it was fast and all it needed was a moment to take off over the grass. That was the last thing he wanted. This was his home, his family.
The monster leapt at them, forcing Ronan to shove Gansey one direction while he went the other.
"Fuck, it's fast." He swung his sword, but hit on the ground where the creature was a second before. "Really fucking fast. Where's Gasoline when we need him?" He shot a harried look over his shoulder in search of a giant boar.
“Ronan,” Gansey didn’t like being shoved out of the way - he preferred to be the shover. But that was hypocritical of him, and now they were too far apart and Ronan was too exposed. “Are you okay?” He didn’t have the ability to conjure up any fire, but Gansey pulled power from the totem around his neck, and a blue shimmer overtook his entire body, sizzling in the air around him.
“I could be faster, but--” He could, if he’d pulled on the aspect of a cheetah, but that would have left Ronan behind and that wasn’t happening. Instead, Gansey focused on protection, and the giant hand lept at them at the same time as sparks of lightning shot out around him in an arc and zapped the fingers as they got close.
It only slowed the monster down for a few seconds, then it was leaping at Gansey again.
“Shit, Gansey, don’t—” Not for the first time, Ronan wished his powers were more instantaneous. He could do incredible things, sure, but he couldn’t do them in the seconds he had to protect his best friend. There was no napping on the battlefield. But what he lacked in offensive power, he made up for in reckless determination.
He tackled the spider hand at full speed, driving his sword through its side. They rolled across the grass like the world’s weirdest tumbleweed. The creature started to slow, as blood gushed from the wound and drenched Ronan’s clothes. It still had enough fight to fling him around like a chew toy, though. He felt exactly when the first rib cracked; the rest were less obvious between the pain and stubbornly clinging to the monster until it collapsed on top of him.
“Gross,” he grumbled belligerently, as he started to black out.
Now Gansey was yelling Ronan’s name instead of affectionately grumbling it. It was like a tug-of-war of who could protect the other and with Ronan being down and out, Gansey was losing that competition.
He could handle losing just about anything that didn’t matter, but not these people in his life. They were his life.
It only took a half second to fire up the spirit totem again, and a giant tiger enveloped Gansey in a blue glow. It roared and he felt every muscle in his body tighten and grow. Gansey was fast to dive in, and stronger now as his hands wrapped around a finger that was nearly dead. It probably would be by the time it landed, but that extra strength made it easy to pull the hand in two before throwing it.
The blood probably wasn’t the most pleasant shower Ronan had ever experienced, but at least it was just that. “Ro-” Gansey ended up on his knees at his best friend’s side, hands not touching, merely hovering over Ronan’s body. “Hey hey, stay with me. Give me a minute and I’ll get you back to a doctor. But you’ve gotta stay awake, okay? Hum Murder Squash for me.”
The blood shower was extra gross, but Ronan appreciated his view of Gansey being a badass. He fought to stay conscious and to not move an inch because every twitch of his midsection sent another fiery stab of pain through his ribs.
"Ugh. Hurts to talk, Gans. Just. Fuck." Getting up was going to be a bitch. "Make sure there aren't any more around, huh?" It was hard to get much of a view of their surroundings without moving a muscle. He tried anyway, rolling his head back in the grass and gritting his teeth. "Don't focus on me and get jumped by its fucking buddy." Every twitch of grass got his pained stare for a moment until he was sure it was just grass. At this rate, he'd be convinced there'd only been the one in about a week and a half.
That was easier said than done, as Gansey very much wanted to focus on Ronan. He stood as ordered, though, and made a short and quick sweep of the area, blue shimmering around him as he moved faster than normal.
It probably wasn’t the most thorough search he’d ever done in his life, but Gansey was hoping that Ronan wouldn’t notice. In a flash, he was back hovering over his injured friend, and reached down to gently lift him and cradle him in his arms with ease. Without the spirit totem, that wouldn’t have even been possible, but Gansey would have tried it anyway. He was headed towards the Barns without so much as waiting for a grunt from Ronan. “All clear. Just hang on, all right? I’ll get you back to Adam and to a hospital in just a few minutes.”
Ronan had been working up the will to roll himself to his feet when he was suddenly being fucking cradled. He really should've seen that coming.
"Goddamn it, Gansey. I'm not unconscious this time," he complained. "I could have walked." While that was probably true, it would also have hurt a hell of a lot. Even being carried was making him tense with pain, despite how gentle Gansey was being. He supposed this would at least be faster than hobbling back to the farmhouse clutching his stomach. Speaking of…
"Just put me down when we get close to the house, ok?" he grumbled. "Adam's gonna think I'm fucking dead or something." If nothing else, this encounter was a reminder that they always had each other's backs. That it was as instinctive as breathing. He knew it, of course, but his dumb brain didn't mind the extra proof. Knowing he'd sounded ungrateful, Ronan looped an arm around Gansey's neck and sagged into his hold. "And thanks. Big damn hero."