Jack Puts Me Through My Paces [open post]

[summerdude]

"Señor, you really should practice more," Jack says, as Magnus rearranges his mental notes and sighs.

(Anyone else might think Magnus is just lying back on a bench on the grounds, staring at the sky, lost in thought. And technically, he is. But he's working hard!!! He's trying to sort out everyone he's encountered so far!!!)

"You're right," Magnus groans. Being in a weird Mansion with no way out, no established Battle Practice, and no pressing quests to go on is not an excuse to let his limited fighting skills fall by the wayside. He hauls himself upright and shoves his (still largely blank) notebook into his backpack.

Twenty minutes later, he's secured a practice sword from some random closet or another in the Mansion. It's dull steel, not sentient, and heavy in his hands.

"Perfect," Jack decides, so Magnus tramps back out to the spacious lawn, one sword in each hand. Checking to make sure no one is directly in harm's way, he releases Jack and brings the dull training sword up, ready to parry whatever attack Jack decides to throw at him.

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[summerdude]

"I feel that," Magnus says. He decides to take a seat on the grass. A moment later, he lies down entirely, head propped up on his arms. "Honestly, sometimes I'm like, it's kind of nice to be here? I've been on so many quests over the past few years in so many weird places that now, being here? It's like... a breather." He sighs. "I just wish some people from back home were here, too."

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad doesn't lie down, but he does sit. "Me too," quietly.

[summerdude]

"If you want to talk about your people, you can," Magnus says. He means it, but it also feels like the only decent thing to say, since he hasn't really shut up about Alex once since arriving at the Mansion. "You don't have to though."

[onthewillowsthere]

He draws his knees up to his chest and puts his arms around them. "There's only Percival. He came a year after I did. We were always together."

[summerdude]

"Percival, huh?" Magnus asks. Off in the distance, Jack starts singing, to try and woo Galahad's Sword in another way. He ignores this and twists his head so he can see Galahad. "Alex came a year after me, too." He blinks once, slowly. With a self-deprecating little laugh, he says, "I miss him so much. What do you miss about Percival?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"He always understood me." It's the first time he's talked about Percival in the past tense, as if he might not see him again. "He always knew what I meant. He didn't mind that I'm-- like this. Me."

[summerdude]

"Like what?" Magnus asks, genuinely confused. "Awesome?"

[onthewillowsthere]

This time Galahad looks over at him, blankly. "What?"

[summerdude]

"What?" Magnus asks, also blankly. "Do you prefer 'cool'?"

[onthewillowsthere]

He studies Magnus, as if by staring intently at him he could figure out whether this is a joke at his expense. It feels like it might be. After a long cautious silence, he says, "I'm not well-liked."

[summerdude]

Magnus stops himself before he can ask Galahad why, even though he doesn't understand. It feels like a rude sort of question; one which might invite painful introspection. "I like you," he says, instead. "You remind me of my other friends. Back home. Not just because of that," he adds, quickly, lest Galahad think himself just a replacement for others Magnus wants to be around. "You've got great vibes."

[onthewillowsthere]

Another long silence, during which he relaxes by degrees. "I like you too," he says finally.

[summerdude]

Warmth swells in Magnus's chest. He shoots a grin Galahad's way. "Cool," he says, and turns back so that he's staring up at the sky again. After another long silence, he adds, "I'm sorry your -- I'm sorry Percival isn't here."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Your Alex, too."

[summerdude]

"She's the best," Magnus agrees, dreamily. "Really makes me think that becoming an einherji was worth it, you know? Like, we ran into each other at shelters once or twice before we died, but we didn't get to know each other until she landed in Valhalla, too."

He sighs, sappily. "The first time she kissed me, we were freezing to death on a quest to prevent the end of the world and I really think it warmed me up long enough for us to get to safety. The second time, I was covered in chocolate? From a, um, chocolate fight in Valhalla. He skipped that party. He's not really into big social things. But he's really fastidious about his clothes and he didn't even mind that I got the chocolate all over his shirt. Actually," he adds, and rolls over onto his side so he can look at Galahad again. "So, Alex is a shapeshifter, right? Does a really good cheetah, for example, but she's got all the animals. I bet it would be really cool to watch you two fight, since instead of a sword, sometimes she has claws and sometimes she just flies away. Among other things. And you're so good. I bet you'd be really evenly matched." He says this as if it is a great compliment that he is bestowing upon both of them (which it is!) and, in some small way, a brag, for knowing both of them.

Man, he really misses Alex. He doesn't want the next time he sees her to be them both dying side by side in Ragnarok. That would suck.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad listens attentively. He feels as if he's missing things, but he often feels as if he's missing things, and he thinks he has the main thrust in any case, which is: "You love him."

[summerdude]

"Yeah," Magnus sighs. "I do. I really do. I just - I gotta find a way to let him know. Somehow." It's okay. He has a plan.

[onthewillowsthere]

"How?" because honestly, figuring out how to tell someone you love them is something he wonders about too.

[summerdude]

"Dude, that is such a good question," Magnus says. "I mean, first of all I have to find a way to get hold of her. I have some ideas for things I can try to reach past the Mansion's boundary, and I'm going to try some of them tonight, but... hm. And then... well. I'm not that good at, like, romance, you know? Maybe I find her some cool rare clay in one of the Nine Worlds and give it to her as a token? I'd like to not stumble over my words until she laughs at me and tells me what I'm trying to say, which is my usual bulletproof strategy. Maybe I'll just blurt it out." He sighs. She'll probably laugh at him either way. He can't wait. "Do you have any ideas?"

[onthewillowsthere]

A shake of his head. "What does she like?"

[summerdude]

"Pottery. Artistic pottery. Beheading wolves. Privacy. Being respected. His friends. Me. Pink and green, which bro, let me tell you, I'm not a big fan of color? I find it kind of overwhelming. But on Alex it looks so good. Uh, she likes Sam? Her sister, by Loki. She likes all of her chosen family, really; it's just her parents who -- never mind. Flaunting her weirdness. Camping. Magic. Chocolate. Cutting my hair. Shapeshifting. When I do dumb things he can tease me about. Anticapitalism. Uh, when we had our soda tasting party? Before? Most of the ones I got were ones Alex introduced me to. Living in the moment. Being cool as hell." He shrugs and, with a self-conscious sort of laugh, adds, "I could keep going but uh, I'll spare you."

[onthewillowsthere]

That little, there-and-gone smile again. "You know her. That's-- that's romantic."

[summerdude]

"She's my best friend," Magnus says, with a little shrug, and his heart thuds in his chest with the truth of it.

[onthewillowsthere]

He chooses his words carefully, looking out across the lawn. "It matters to be known."

[summerdude]

"It does," Magnus says. He's thinking of Hearthstone and Blitzen now -- his good friends, his mentors, his models for a committed relationship. Carefully, looking sideways at Galahad, he ventures, "Is, um. Is that partly why you miss Percival?"