I'm About As Organized As Ran, I Guess? [closed post]

[summerdude]

"And then we realized Frigg was knitting with clouds. Actual factual clouds," Magnus says, passing another box that, as it turns out, holds nothing useful down to Galahad. He climbs up another rung on the little stepladder and starts in on the next shelf. "How many boxes of Legos do we have so far?" He knows it's certainly not enough for a bachelorette party yet, but surely there's something they can go on. He'd kind of tonight that this far after Dark, there would be... more? "Do you think we should find another room to look in? Maybe the game room isn't the best choice."

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[summerdude]

"I bet he'd love to be your maid of honor," Magnus says. "Um, but I still get to plan the bachelorette, okay?" He pauses. "He can help if he really wants to. But it's mostly all sorted out... He can decide the snacks, maybe."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Yes. That's still your job," firmly. "And you will walk me down the aisle and give me away."

[summerdude]

"Cool," Magnus says, grinning. He tweaks Galahad's nose a third time, for good measure. Then he sighs. "Wanna get back to it?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"We should get back to it."

[summerdude]

Magnus hauls himself up, dislodging an entire swarm of dragonflies. "I want to mark this door, too," he says, reaching down to offer Galahad a hand.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad nods; he'd also like to be able to come back here. It would be a good place for them to meditate together. He takes Magnus' hand and pulls himself up, and all the dragonflies lift off together in a glittering cloud.

[summerdude]

After the door is marked and closed and double-checked, Magnus picks one at random. The door opens into the center of a cross-shaped junction of big, sweeping halls with dim windows and a single, flickering light behind an exit sign to the right. The air is stale and mouldered, like the defunct air conditioner molded as it cranked out its last gasps of air. The anchors of this derelict mall are McAlpin's and Marshall Fields, and they're as dark as the rest of it. Even at this distance, it's clear the food court to the left still smells of old grease. There's a shuttered Waldenbooks that still has one display out with three dusty coffee-table books yellowing on the stand, and a shuttered Limited Too that's full of just bare wires. The Piercing Pagoda in the middle has a broken display case, and the Auntie Anne's has a bucket with a mop sitting on the counter.

[onthewillowsthere]

His head tilts. "What is it?"

[summerdude]

"It's a mall," Magnus says, glancing around. "An abandoned one. Usually all these stores are, like, full and functional."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Full of what?"

[summerdude]

"Stuff." Magnus points at the Limited Too, Hot Topic, dELiA*s, and the department stores. "Clothes." He then points at the Piercing Pagoda, Spencer's, and Claire's. "Jewelry and weird stuff. The bookstore had books. Some places had food, too."

[onthewillowsthere]

"It smells old."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, it sure does." Magnus takes a glance around. Some of the ceiling tiles are busted, and others are stained with some kind of liquid that drips into a larger stain on the floor.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad glances at Magnus, since the kind of place it is seems at least to be familiar to him. "Should we go in or leave it?"

[summerdude]

"It's your call," Magnus decides. "I'm happy to explore, but it does look pretty dead."

[onthewillowsthere]

"We can go on." If Magnus isn't enthusiastic, it's probably better to pass.

[summerdude]

"There's definitely not going to be a scabbard in there," Magnus says, and lets the door swing shut.

Thoughtfully, he heads down the hall, passing about ten more doors in the process. Maybe they should be working in a different area?

[onthewillowsthere]

For his part, Galahad is making mental notes about things he'd like to explore later but doesn't feel they can quite manage today (he's checking his watch!), and he stops outside a blocky green and yellow door, tilting his head.

[summerdude]

Magnus squints. "Hang on," he says. "I have a hunch."

Then he swings it open and gasps, delighted. "Dude," he says, and gestures at the Legoland that lies within. It's the part where there's a million different sculptures -- replications of buildings, superheroes, movie sets... everything. It's not one that exists anywhere Magnus knows of on earth. There's a lovingly-depicted Feast Hall of the Slain, for one thing, complete with little bloody Lego bodies. There's also what he assumes, from Annabeth's descriptions of her architecture projects, a Mount Olympus off to the other side.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad's eyes widen, and he grabs Magnus' arm. There's a forest clearing with a brick unicorn; a sea-cliff that plunges down to a ferocious Lego sea, covered with teeny tiny seabirds; the interior of the monastery at Caithness with all its portraits of the saints. In fact, it's all the places he went with Percival.

[summerdude]

Magnus looks over. At the unicorn, he smiles. "Tell me about it?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"When Percival and I were questing for the Grail. Animals always came to him."

[summerdude]

"So you've said," Magnus says. He nods at the monastery. "Is that where you grew up?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"No. It's a place we visited. These are all places we visited."

[summerdude]

"That's so cool." Magnus looks at the cliff. "North, right?"