In The War Of The Pranks, You Ball Or You Die [closed post]

[summerdude]

Magnus has had an incredibly busy morning. The winter feels less oppressive in the wake of that totally insane blizzard the other day, so he spends the first few hours digging out camp with Alex (which does take some time, because they do take a couple of breaks for snow fights, make-out sessions, and snacks), and then digging out Galahad's church. In the process of tracking down a shovel to do said digging, he learns that the Mansion is making things again (thank gods), so he also takes advantage of that, once his home has been unearthed, to find another outdoor fireplace, a few candles and tiki torches, and a weird wooden chest thing filled with paper and markers. Plus some bells.

He takes all of these things back to the church, and works in earnest to continue setting it up. He writes TABERNACLE GOES HERE? on one of the papers, which he wedges in one of the slats of the box, demonstratively, and places it on his former reading branch, urging the branch to grow around the box a little more snugly. He threads bells through smaller branches, and then moves the branches like vines, securing them in place above the cross. The outdoor fireplace he puts next to the place where he imagines Galahad might sit or kneel or whatever, so he can stay warm; he places the candles on top of it, and then drags Dro's perch to the other side of the kneeling/sitting space. Finally, he shoves the torches into the frozen ground in a line leading up to the space.

Then, he decides, he can't do anything else without some sort of direction from Galahad. So he goes back to camp, gives Alex another big old kiss, and shoves his notebook into his backpack. "I'll be back by dinner," he promises her, "with dinner," and trots off to the Mansion to find Galahad.

Comments

[onthewillowsthere]

Despite the persisting cold of winter, Galahad feels so much less weighted down than before. He feels-- hopeful. He feels as if he can actually do something besides lie in bed and slip free from his body.

So, after making breakfast with Laertes and bringing it to Claudius, after watching him eat in bed while settled against his side, he's spent the rest of his morning carefully rearranging all the fruiting plants in the greenhouse. Nothing is in the place it was yesterday. He also picks all the fruit that's ripe and puts it in Dro's little cave under one of the shelves, where he discovers his missing charcoals.

By then it's close to noon, and he wants to eat again. He's not sure whether he's hungry, as usual, but he can eat, he can try the refrigerator again and see what's in it, so he's decided he will. He heads back towards the mansion.

[summerdude]

Oooh, there he is! Magnus does his best to sneak up behind him, quietly and quickly, before taking a running launch at his back. His aim? To land perfectly enough that he's -- if not riding on Galahad's shoulders -- at least being carried piggy-back for a few paces.

[onthewillowsthere]

It works, and Galahad is strong enough that this doesn't make him stumble -- he carries Magnus' weight perfectly well -- but he whips around at the unfamiliar feeling.

[summerdude]

Magnus cackles. "Hey dude," he says, adjusting slightly for balance. "What's up?"

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad relaxes, mostly. "Are you standing?"

[summerdude]

Magnus brings his legs up, hitching them around Galahad's waist. "Nope!"

[onthewillowsthere]

Oh. He's clinging, like a cicada. Galahad begins spinning in place, throwing his arms out to the side.

[summerdude]

Magnus whoops, delighted. "Don't make yourself sick," he warns, clinging tighter.

[onthewillowsthere]

He's too busy spinning to reply, but he increases his speed distinctly. It's unclear to him whether it's his holy power that is letting him do this, or whether he just has good balance, but either way he's going to keep it up as long as he can.

[summerdude]

"Dude, we have to play water chicken in the lake this summer," Magnus says, breathlessly, squeezing his eyes shut so he can feel the swoop of Galahad's spinning in his stomach.

[onthewillowsthere]

At the peak of his spin he suddenly hops into the air -- not very high, but enough for gravity and momentum to snatch the Magnus-weighted side of him and pull it down. He lands in a snowbank, Magnus beneath him.

[summerdude]

Magnus gives a little oof as the wind is knocked out of him, but that's only partly from falling and having Galahad land on him; the rest is from his gales of laughter. He sweeps an arm out, gathering snow and dumping it wherever he can get it -- it's fine; he'll warm Galahad later.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad attempts to squish him more thoroughly into the snow, rolling over for leverage.

[summerdude]

Oho! It is on! Magnus wrestles Galahad, trying to get enough purchase to roll him into the snow drift and flailing about rather extravagantly in the process.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad is better with a weapon, and he's strong, but on pure physicality Magnus is his equal if not his better, and it's a very contentious wrestling match. It takes effort to stay on top and the snow numbs his hands, and finally Magnus topples him.

[summerdude]

Magnus marks his victory by dumping a handful of snow down Galahad's collar while crowing his triumph, and then smacking a very loud and silly kiss to his cheek. "Gotcha," he says, springing up and offering Galahad a hand brimming with warmth.

[onthewillowsthere]

He takes it, smiling. "You win."

[summerdude]

"That was fun," Magnus says, doing a little stomping-dance sort of deal to shake the thickest bits of snow off of his body. Once he's relatively unencumbered, he grins at Galahad. "So what are you up to?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"Laertes is helping me make a ring for Claudius."

[summerdude]

"Awesome," Magnus says, and then, "Oh shoot, sorry, do you need to get back to that?" He wants to hang, but he doesn't have to monopolize Galahad's time.

[onthewillowsthere]

"No, I still need to make it smaller. I want to try with the microscope."

[summerdude]

"Cool." Magnus brushes snow off Galahad's shoulder. "Where were you headed before I jumped^* you?"


*Some might go so far as to call it a glomping.

[onthewillowsthere]

"Back inside. The refrigerator is making things again."

[summerdude]

"So it's not just the sheds and closets?" Magnus had kind of assumed, but he and Alex still have a surplus of stuff at camp and so he hadn't bothered to check yet. "Hells yes. I want doenjang jjigae."

[onthewillowsthere]

"What is that?"