I Lived, Grinch! [open post]

[summerdude]

The first thing Magnus does -- with Alex's help -- after fully healing is board up the hole in the side of the greenhouse where the cheetah ran through. The second thing, once he learns the full scope of Dark (it's different at camp; he'd already taken out a ton of camp-appropriate food for when Galahad and Laertes couldn't make it out there, and so he and Alex have been fine on the eating front) is go to the greenhouse again to figure out what plants in there yield edible produce. (Also, he tries to scrub his blood off the table. It... partially works?)

Partly it's that he's still feeling weird after the whole affair. The season doesn't help, but he does feel closer to his own mortality than pretty much any point since he died for real the first time. Being around growing plants helps that. Mostly, though, it's because he doesn't want anyone to get, like, scurvy living on bushels of rice alone.

He doesn't want to overtax any of the plants, but some can be cajoled into fruiting. Right now, he's got his hand on a kumquat tree, and he's trying to convince it that it can speed up the growth process by a few weeks. Drosera is with him, 'helping:' she's found a dead leaf, and she's chasing it down the pathway between some plants. If anyone shows up -- either because they've heard of his near-death experience and want to check in on him, or just to hang out, or even because they're drawn by the way it looks like sunlight is coming from the greenhouse itself -- he'll be glad for the company.

Comments

[summerdude]

As long as you don't mind someone else knowing the cipher, Magnus says, knocking his shoulder against Galahad's.

[onthewillowsthere]

Since it's Alex, it's all right, he decides.

[summerdude]

Cool, Magnus says, and furrows his brow, trying to think of a really good meme.

He's taking Galahad the long way around to camp -- the most direct route takes them past the churchy-thing he's trying to make for Galahad, and while he doesn't plan on it being a total surprise, it's still rough enough that he's shy about Galahad stumbling across it. As they enter the treeline, he says, "The meme... it should probably be something we can do with one hand, in case the other one is... um. Out of commission. Or just a short word. Right?"

[onthewillowsthere]

He nods. Teach me some.

[summerdude]

"Um." Magnus can't remember any meme ever, suddenly! "Press F to pay respects. That could be turned into something pretty easy, maybe."

[onthewillowsthere]

Press F actually is a sign that can be made one handed, and he does. Press F.

[summerdude]

"The other one I can think of off the top of my head is This is fine," Magnus continues. "'Press F' is a video game reference. Kind of like when we played Smash with Shen Yuan. it became a meme because it's kind of wild to just press an F button to, like, acknowledge there's an intense scene going on? And 'this is fine' is this comic strip of a dog in a room drinking tea saying 'this is fine,' but the room is, like, actively on fire."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Is the joke because it's not?"

[summerdude]

"Exactly."

[onthewillowsthere]

"That's a good cipher. Because it isn't straightforward."

[summerdude]

"Cool, let's run it past SecUnit," Magnus says, as they enter into camp. Drosera, who has been lopping along behind them, beelines for her little cave underneath the trampoline. It looks like Alex has gone off to explore, which means Magnus is about 50% less embarrassed to start rummaging for the book of tasteful erotica holding his condoms tucked under all of his clothes in his cooler.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad sits to watch; he is, as usual, perfectly straight-backed and still, more like a statue than a living person.

[summerdude]

Magnus pulls out the whole shebang and takes out a condom packet, flipping it to Galahad. "It says it's lubricated but from what I, um, understand, from my, uh, research, it's not usually, ummm, enough lube," he says, carefully.

[onthewillowsthere]

"Lube?" He runs his finger along the ridged edge of the packet.

[summerdude]

"It makes things, um. More slippery?"

[onthewillowsthere]

He flushes slightly. He does, in fact, get the idea -- it's just in the romances he reads it's usually oil or tallow or something of that nature. "I understand."

[summerdude]

Oh good, they're both red. Magnus does, in fact, have a little thing of lube hidden in a sock with a hole in its toe -- he hasn't gotten around to mending it, which he does know how to do -- from his, uh, research before Alex showed up. He retrieves this, too, very specifically not acknowledging that it's been clearly used more than once, so Galahad knows what it looks like, and passes it over, too.

[onthewillowsthere]

It seems impossible that Claudius would not have his own source, considering how much sex he has, but Galahad takes the bottle and inspects it. At least when he cracks the cap there's no smell.

[summerdude]

"You can, um, open the condom. If you want to see what it looks like."

[onthewillowsthere]

So he does, tearing the packet open and holding the condom in his palm. "How--"

[summerdude]

"You, like, uh, Roll it on? When you're, like. Uh. Um. Hard."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Oh." They are now equally matched in embarrassment! "Have you-- tried?"

[summerdude]

Magnus gives Galahad an indescribable look in the key of red. "Yeah," he admits. "I don't, like, want to, like, embarrass myself, if Alex ever, you know. Wants that.... It feels, uh. Weird. Different. But not, like, bad."

[onthewillowsthere]

He nods. He and Claudius have not discussed sex in this kind of logistical way -- they've only gone over the list of acts and desires, and Claudius has murmured dizzying words about what he'd like to do with Galahad, but the practical aspect of lubricant and condoms has gone unmentioned. Galahad wonders whether he ought to expect it at some point, or whether Claudius plans to show him if the time comes. When the time comes.

"Thank you," he says gravely.

[summerdude]

"Yeah, of course." Magnus pulls his t-shirt out, away from his chest, and releases it. It feels so hot out here? Like maybe winter ended suddenly? But the snow isn't melting.

Oooh, snow. He does a sideways dive to flop down in it. Ahhh, that's better.