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.

Comments

[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."

[summerdude]

"...Huh," Magnus says. That seems kind of rude of Arthur, to him -- just thoughtlessly letting a horse go to stud, or whatever. "Well, if it becomes relevant... I can talk to pretty much any animal, but I don't know if I can heal anything but humans. But horses are, like, my dad's whole thing. Besides, of course, the summer stuff and peace stuff and stuff like that. So I could try. If there's any non-human animal I could heal, it would almost definitely be a horse."

[sagramore]

"That's useful to know. We can check on the gelding later if you like -- the wound stopped bleeding as it should, but it would be good to make sure it doesn't fester. Qi Yan is going to look after Fenyes while she's carrying."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, sure! It would probably be good for me to find out if I can heal them, if there's gonna be three here. Including a baby." He makes a tiny little face. He knows nothing about baby animals (or baby anythings), a fact which has become more urgent since he and Galahad found that griffin.

[sagramore]

"Had you mentioned you can heal things when we met? --Actually, no, that's not the important question. You met Arthur while he was here?"

[summerdude]

"Didn't I? Well, I can. It's why I switched to being First Aid Guy at the zombie attack. And... yeah! I gave him a, um, portent?"

[sagramore]

"Did you indeed?" much pleased by the idea. "Was it a bad one?"

[summerdude]

"Oh, it was stupid as hell," Magnus laughs. "I wanted to tell him to find my buddy Halfborn while he was pillaging York, or whatever, but the timelines super didn't line up. So I told him to find this guy I did a report on in seventh grade instead. Robin Hood? I don't think those timelines lined up either, but who can say!" After all, one of the Merry Men is here now, so.

[sagramore]

"Well, perhaps it will keep him busy for a while and out of trouble."

[summerdude]

"One can only hope," says Magnus, who didn't particularly dislike Arthur but who has a broader problem with authority.

[sagramore]

"I've lost my taste for kings," Sagramore says, as if to commiserate.

[summerdude]

"I have problems with authority," Magnus shrugs. "I think most people who want to be in power shouldn't have it."

[sagramore]

"I think that's an eminently respectable position."