Does This Count As Arts and Crafts? [closed]

[summerdude]

In the wake of Dark, Magnus takes a day or two to dig camp out from the snow drifts with Alex, then presents himself, finally, for lessons with Hanguang-jun.

They've been talking about it for a while, him and Hanguang-jun and Galahad — since Magnus first got weird about Galahad becoming Hanguang-jun's student. By now, he pretty much knows he's not going to stop feeling weird about stepping into a lesson with the two of them — even one totally unrelated to sword stuff — so he might as well rip off that proverbial bandaid.

He's a largely punctual guy, a trait recently intensified by Sunny's interest in making plans to hang out in one week and Magnus's role in keeping her calendar, but there is still a lot of snow to fight through to get to the Mansion's doors. He's a little breathless when he sweeps into the agreed-upon room, raking melting snow out of his hair with his fingers.

"What's up, my favorite comedians?"

Comments

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad looks up curiously. He knows Nina has some power over death, but how that intersects with the talismans on the wall is a mystery. The priest who visited the nunnery to teach him scripture never liked it when he asked questions, but Lan Wangji is a different sort of teacher, so he asks. "What did she do?"

[summerdude]

"Wait, do her language skillz," and of course Magnus pronounces the 'z,' "extend to, like, language magic? ...I mean, science? Of the itty bitty variety?"

[lightbearinglord]

"She has a good sense for the parts of this mansion where the translation spell is weak, along with enthusiasm for allowing lengthy experimentation."

[onthewillowsthere]

Nina does have a great deal of enthusiasm and patience, as he knows from their occasional adventures in the kitchen. He nods and assumes his attentive pose again, a student waiting to learn.

[summerdude]

Magnus gives Galahad a curious look -- he's seen him in a bajillion different kinds of contexts, but he's never really seen him as a student, outside of the few times he's met up with Galahad right at the end of training. And swords make things a little different, vibes-wise. Is this what it means to be a respectful, attentive student? Is this why so many of Magnus's teachers hate him? There's no way he's going to sit up that straight and be that quiet and focused, even for someone he loves as much as Hanguang-jun. He shifts around, trying to find a comfortable position.

[lightbearinglord]

After a beat, when it becomes evident that Magnus is, surprisingly, not going to ask further questions, Lan Wangji asks, "Do you know how to grind ink?" He suspects not, but who is he to say what his two students from their disparate backgrounds may bring to this lesson?

[onthewillowsthere]

He shakes his head. He knows how to make ink from galls from his years in the nunnery, but the mansion has always provided him with ballpoint pens, which seem just as effective and less potentially messy.

[summerdude]

"Do what now?" Magnus asks, going on an entire mental image journey of Hanguang-jun grinding and shredding on a rail. Hanguang-jun would probably kick ass on a skateboard, is the thing, but he's fairly certain that this is a different kind of grinding (and it's probably not a dancing kind of grind, either, though he's willing to try out an ink dance, so that the ink rains will arrive, if he has to).

[lightbearinglord]

"Grind ink." Lan Wangji comes around from behind his own desk, then kneels again before Magnus and Galahad. "I have given you each an inkstone and an ink stick. You need to prepare the ink itself before you can write."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad looks at the inkstone and immediately understands. The ink must be added to liquid, like the oak galls would be, and presumably ground down in some fashion for use since it comes in the form of a solid stick. "Will you show us the technique, Hanguang-jun?"

[summerdude]

Magnus, thinking about all of the colonial history activities and camps he was exposed to as a kid, adds, "So we're not gonna be, like, boiling walnut shells."

[lightbearinglord]

"No," Lan Wangji says with a flicker of amusement. He retrieves his inkstone and a fresh ink stick; he lays them out in front of him. "A small amount of water is sufficient." From the little pitcher he's brought up, he pours water into the well of his inkstone, just enough to partially coat its flat surface. That done, he demonstrates picking up the ink stick and grinding it in precise circular motions through the water. "The weight of your hand is enough. No more force is required." Indeed, the water begins to turn black with the ink almost at once.

[onthewillowsthere]

It's elegantly done. It seems made to suit Lan Wangji: his deliberate way of doing things, his care and attention to the act of writing. Galahad picks up the pitcher and pours a measure into the well of his own inkstone, then passed it to Magnus.

[summerdude]

Magnus has a feeling he's not going to be very good at this, but he's still taking cues on how not to piss teachers off from Galahad -- when to speak and when to listen -- so he just does his best to pour an appropriate amount of water into his dish, and knows immediately that he's definitely poured in way, way too much. It's full enough to spill. "Um," he whispers, looking up.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji doesn't bother saying aloud that Magnus has overfilled his inkstone; this is evident, and Magnus clearly knows it. He shakes back his sleeves and reaches to pick it up, exceedingly careful to keep it level such that it doesn't spill before he can pour its contents back into the mouth of the pitcher. "Try it again," he suggests as he sets the inkstone back down beside Magnus.