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]

"It's okay. It's holy in a different way."

[summerdude]

"So it's churchy enough."

[onthewillowsthere]

"It's good," he says again, more firmly, the tone he would use with Claudius to make him listen.

[summerdude]

Okay, okay, Magnus believes him! His spine straightens. "Great!" he says. "I can do whatever changes you want. Well, almost whatever changes you want. If you want this to be an inside thing we'll have to find someone else to help."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Outside is good. Will you help me get the icons from your room?"

[summerdude]

"Yeah, of course! Now?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"Is that all right?"

[summerdude]

"Dude, you have me for the entire day. I'd love to help you get the icons from our room."

[onthewillowsthere]

"And the votives."

[summerdude]

"And the votives." Magnus is grinning, thrilled that Galahad is taking ownership over the process. He's been trying so hard to make this church for him, but he's been way out of his depth. "And anything else... I still don't really understand what a tabernacle is?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"It's all right. I'll show you."

[summerdude]

"Okay, cool." Magnus takes Galahad's hand again. "Candles, icons, tabernacles... What else does it need?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"You already brought music."

[summerdude]

"You said something about bells," Magnus says. Right? Or was that Magnus who said something about bells? Someone brought up bells at some point. "Up until today I only had wind chimes."

[onthewillowsthere]

"I saw them. I like them. They look like part of the tree."

[summerdude]

"So music is, like, covered."

[onthewillowsthere]

He nods. The record player, after all, can't be outside.

[summerdude]

"Okay. What else?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"A chancel flame."

[summerdude]

"What's that?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. It is an eternal light."

[summerdude]

"Oh!" say Magnus, making the only connection he can. "Like the Olympic torch!"

[onthewillowsthere]

"What's that?"

[summerdude]

"I think it's, like, eternal-ish. They use it to start the Olympics, which is, like, a worldwide athletics competition."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Is it Greek? Laertes knows about Greek things."