riverviewlogs | (closed) god, it’s been a hell of a week

(They agree to meet at the river's edge.

Lucretia, unnecessarily nervous about the whole thing, turns up twenty minutes earlier just to give herself a little extra time to collect her thoughts. Obviously she isn't going to tell him anything about the future (could she, even if she wanted to? It would probably static out, just as Taako had demonstrated), but she feels like she needs to think about exactly how she's going to act towards him. Being overly familiar might deter him, but he'll know that she's putting it on if she tries to keep a little distance there.

Eventually, she decides that she'll just figure everything out on the fly, and takes a seat on the riverbank to wait for him, knees up and arms locked around them.)

[Fifteen or so minutes later ~~and not 2 days later whoops!~~ Magnus trails along the river's edge, waving and calling out:]

Hey, Lucretia!

[He's actually incredibly nervous, but he knows she's going to be just as nervous. He feels kind of a duty to keep it cool for her sake. And, just like the case had been with Taako and Lup, he knows they'll get along just fine as long as they keep the conversation going.]

Hope I didn't keep you waiting long. How's it going?

Hey.

(It's so strange seeing him again and knowing she can't go right up to him, give him a friendly punch on the arm (well– it's still Magnus after all, so she probably could: the difference that with everything as it currently is, she wouldn't dare). She does at least wander over, trying her best not to seem apprehensive about the whole thing.)

No no, you didn't. I got here early, so. (Shrug!) It's going pretty well, all things considered. You?

I'm doin' great! I'm starting to like it here in Riverview. Everyone's been pretty chill.

[It's. Awkward to start. He's really not sure how to segue into conversation here. Taako and Lup did most of the work on their end, engaging Magnus first, but it's apparent Lucretia is the shy type. ...Ssssso after a moment of awkward silence, he jumps into conversation.]

So I know you research magic for a living. What about for fun, though? Got any hobbies?

[Great job, you big goofus!]

That's good.

(Gods, why is she so bad at this! She's never had trouble talking with Magnus before– but that's because he's the type to chat, always asking endless questions or throwing weird would you rathers into the conversation. He is a notorious silence filler. Even now, not knowing her as she is, he saves her from the silence by throwing her a little line, one that Lucretia catches gratefully.)

Um, I paint. And write. I've been doing much more of the latter– I keep forgetting to go on a quest for some new brushes and paints.

Ooh, neat! You're an artist! [He speaks in a combination of forced and genuine enthusiasm that only Magnus can accomplish.] I'm a bit of an artist myself. I carve little animal toys!

[He retracts, suddenly sheepish.]

Although I guess you probably already knew that, huh.

I didn't, actually.

(She seems surprised.) What kind of animals do you carve?

(It's probably dogs, but she's so pleased to have something to be able to ask him about.)

[He regains some of his confidence, actually having something to say that is new to her.]

Ducks, mostly! And bears. ... I'm not super good, but I'm really proud of my ducks. I mean, people seem to like them, I guess.

[The more he talks about his wooden animals, the more shy he seems to talk about them. Shy, but fond.]

(He carves ducks? That's so sweet; Lucretia hides her smile behind her hand.)

Do you have any here with you? You should show me, some time. Or perhaps we could do a collaborative piece? I'd love to paint one of your wooden animals.

[Magnus smiles, intrigued.]

I love that idea! I don't have any on me, but I'll bring you one next time we get together! I bet you'd make my stuff look less ugly.

Please, don't sell yourself short– you're a great woodworker.

At most I'll just make them more colourful than they were, but thank you. (She has a journal on her now, actually (always does), and pulls it out of her bag.)

Um, would you like to see some of my art?

I mean, I won't deny that. [He loves to boast.] But building furniture and carving figurines are kind of a different world from each other.

I'd love to! Only if you don't mind sharing.

Yeah, no kidding. Are they quite small animals?

(She's trying to imagine him working with such a small medium and it's a funny mental image. His hands are so big!)

Course not. (She moves a little closer to him as she opens the journal to show him, flipping past each page that only has writing on it, endless lines of loopy cursive. Most pages either have a little doodle or sketch somewhere on them: eventually she finds her double page watercolour of the river and stops there so he can see.)

About yae big? [He waves his hands in a circular motion that, honestly, does not provide a solid visual of any particular size.

He leans over to get a good view of her notebook. He's impressed.]

Whoa, that's good stuff. How long have you been painting?

That wasn't– how big is this, in exact terms?

(She waves her free hand around in the air, copying him, but she's laughing while she does it. She's missed this.)

Thank you! It's not finished yet, but it's coming along. I've been painting for almost... (she puffs her cheeks out, then exhales in a rush, eyes wide,) fifty years, I guess? Oh, wow. That's a long time.

Edited (wup code) 2017-09-01 06:31 (UTC)

Like, uh... [He puts genuine thought into this very obvious answer:] About duck-sized.

Fifty? There's no way. You're not that old.

Oh, so true-to-life. (She likes that. It's a very Magnus answer.

His confusion has her sniggering into a fist.)

You're right, I'm actually... sixty-three. Not bad huh.

Sixty-three? [He laughs.] You're pulling my leg.

Oh—unless you're part elf or something. [Suddenly he's worried he may have offended.] I just assumed you're a human. Because the... ears.

(It takes her a moment to answer for laughing; she can't wait to tell Taako and Lup this.)

No, I'm not part-elf; it's the mission that I'm on. (She actually still has her little IPRE logo lapel pin fastened to her bag out of habit: she shows him now.)

We're stuck in a year-long loop and have been for around thirty-five years now, so add that to my body's age and you get sixty-three.

[What he hears is more like: I'm not part elf; it's th---------'m on. We're stuck in a y-------dd that to my body's age and you get sixty-three. He can see that there's a design on her badge, but the image doesn't even seem to register. He ends up staring at the badge for a moment after the exchange, trying to figure out why he's so confused, but gives up.]

So you were definitely talking just now, but, uh, I don't know how kshckhkshh is supposed to make any sense. ... But I'm not the best at math.

(Aw dunk, she's an idiot. Lucretia, unsure of how exactly to proceed, simply closes her fist around the little lapel pin and looks at him helplessly.

Maybe she can just bullshit her way outta this one, hold on.)

... Where I'm from kshckhkshh is a unit standard measure of about thirty-five.

(CLOSE ENOUGH)

[With this information, Magnus actually attempts to calculate this equation with the thirty-five factored in. He gives it an honest-to-god Try, but ultimately fails and laughs it off.]

Yeah, I am very bad at math. Oh well. I believe you about your age.

For now. [He casts a (joking) suspicious look on her.]

(Oh, he bought that? Bless him. Lucretia nods slowly, and while he's busy with calculating everything she quietly takes the pin off of her bag and stores it in her pocket.)

Thanks. It's just a magic thing, you know?

(She casts a shower of sparks in the air with prestidigitation, and shrugs.)

(closed) god, it’s been a hell of a week

for ohhmrburnsides ♡ (action)

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every time u use that icon i

does it Hurt You

:')

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