I Lose All Sense Of Reason [open post]

[summerdude]

Magnus is walking down the front steps of the Mansion, freshly-loaded bag of food in tow, ruminating on a few of his most recent and devastatingly embarrassing conversations, when he hears footsteps behind him.

Well. He did tell Galahad he'd ask everyone. Might as well start now. "Can you explain the birds and the bees -- I mean, sex -- to me?" he demands, even before he sees who it is.

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[sagramore]

Sagramore's tone gets a little more neutral. "I don't think Galahad would really enjoy having me there, although I appreciate the offer."

[summerdude]

Oh right. "I think mostly he thinks you don't like him," Magnus remembers, tone making it clear that this is doubly confusing to him: that anyone would dislike Galahad, and that Sagramore would dislike anyone.

[sagramore]

"I have no quarrel with him, but-- when we first met, in Camelot, I may have come on a little strong, and I'm not sure we, ah, we're well-suited to each other." He fiddles with the chain again. He doesn't dislike Galahad, although he also doesn't see what Claudius sees in him -- perhaps just a beautiful boy who's pleasant to instruct in bed, although Claudius doesn't strike him as quite that shallow -- but their meeting at the dance went poorly enough that Sagramore had decided he wasn't going to make another effort to get to know him. Laertes likes him; it's fine for Sagramore and Laertes not to have every friend in common.

[summerdude]

Magnus nods. "You don't... vibe," he says. "Gotcha." There's plenty of people Magnus doesn't vibe with. Roughly three-quarters of Valhalla, for example.

[sagramore]

"I don't think we do, no. But you can tell him I don't dislike him, if that's been weighing on him at all."

[summerdude]

"Sure thing," Magnus says. He decides to drop the issue, but can't let it go fully without: "I could bring you some cake after, though?"

[sagramore]

"You can absolutely bring me some cake afterwards."

[summerdude]

"Hella," says Magnus, peaceably, and eats the last bit of kibbeh.

[sagramore]

"Now then, we have business." He takes out his copy of the Poetic Edda.

[summerdude]

"Yeah!" Magnus wipes his hands -- he has a dedicated handkerchief for such things now -- and says, "Most of what I learned I learned in a Skaldic Poetry to the Death class in Valhalla, but it turns out I really like it. Poetry. Not poetry to the death."

[sagramore]

"What's the difference? I'm very interested."

[summerdude]

"In Skaldic Poetry Recitation to the Death you gotta dodge a bunch of spears while you're learning and listening to and reciting the poems. Your poetry recitation at the talent show was a lot calmer. I liked it a lot more."

[sagramore]

"I think I would have too, to be honest with you. I imagine one's form suffers somewhat under those conditions."

[summerdude]

"Some of the other einherjar really like it. I'm not convinced. I wonder if that's why Bragi stopped going to Valhalla?"

[sagramore]

"Bragi?"

[summerdude]

"God of poetry," Magnus clarifies. "Odin's son. No one's seen him in centuries. I, um, grievously offended a certain, um," he stage-whispers "talking sword," making a mental note to teach Sagramore some sign at some point so they can talk about Jack without him clocking that he's on-topic. Luckily, Jack is off somewhere else right now, probably seducing some blade somewhere else, per Magnus's promise to let him fly free for a week, but it's good to keep in practice of saying things sotto voce in case he's flying free somewhere nearby. "By not mentioning him during a certain flyting after Peace of Frey-ing him without warning. So I had to promise him to get a Bragi-penned epic about himself as an apology. I... was gearing up to start that particular quest when I ended up here. Oh, and Bragi Boddason was the first skaldic poet. I think that was a coincidence, actually? But I know a ton of his stuff. Very popular in Valhalla. Very violent."

[sagramore]

"Ahh, I see." Magnus lives a truly bewildering life. "So what do you like about Norse poetry?"

[summerdude]

"It's mostly what was available to me when I decided to give poetry a shot," Magnus admits. "And I didn't really know where else to look? Besides, like, the classics. But I've been learning more stuff here. Qi Yan quoted some great stuff, and Gu Xiang has written some awesome things."

[sagramore]

"Ah, I knew about Gu Xiang's poetry, but I didn't realize Qi Yan. We've mostly just spoken about horses."

[summerdude]

"I don't know if he writes it or just knows it, but he's got a lot at the ready!"

[sagramore]

"I'll have to ask him next time I see him. We were fairly busy the last time. We gelded the new horse."

[summerdude]

"Oh," Magnus says, and crosses his legs reflexively. "Wait, new horse?!"

[sagramore]

"Aye, Arthur left it behind him, the ass."

[summerdude]

"Oh right, he did have a horse with him. Huh. He didn't take it back with him?"

[sagramore]

"He did not! He left it stabled with Fenyes, and now Qi Yan thinks she's likely to foal, which made the gelding particularly pertinent."