[open -- nest]

[new_inglewoodblues]

The nest Ragnelle has been building in the woods needed a few more blankets now that the temperature has dropped a few more degrees, so this morning she was in the mansion raiding cupboards. Now she's outside in the lee of Nightingale's summer house with a basket of comforters, cutting them into pieces with a little knife so they'll be easier to incorporate, like leaves in a squirrels' nest. The time indoors has warmed her up, and her hands move quickly with the knife.

Comments

[new_inglewoodblues]

"'Tis like no wood I've ever walked, but it does. I have what I need. Thee? Thou art sufficient unto thy little camp?"

[summerdude]

"Oh yeah, I'm setting up a proper little lair," Magnus says, with an easy smile. After all, it's been a full twenty-four hours since he was huddled shaking on the roof. New day, new dude, that's what he always says!

[new_inglewoodblues]

"A goodly burrow for a goodly fox," she agrees. "I see the Men bring thee offerings -- thou must eat, or thou choosest?"

[summerdude]

"I -- actually, I'm not sure," Magnus admits. "I think I have to? I like food, though. I haven't really tried to go without since I died."

[new_inglewoodblues]

"Ay, I like it too. Men have their faults, but a roast capon is not among them."

[summerdude]

"What's a capon?"

[new_inglewoodblues]

"It is a cock that hath been unsexed, that it may grow fat."

[summerdude]

"Okay," says Magnus, rolling with this. He didn't know that could happen to cocks, and makes a mental note to do more research. Clearly the reading he's done to better understand bottom surgery and why people get it hasn't been enough-----

Wait. There's another possible meaning.

"Cocks as in... roosters?" he asks, tentatively.

[new_inglewoodblues]

Ragnelle lets out a shriek of laughter as she watches him process. "Ay, ay, thou hast the right of it now."

[summerdude]

Magnus gives her a Look. "Ragnelle, you're wicked," he says, smile breaking through.

[new_inglewoodblues]

"O, let it not be on my head that thou knowest not the language!" She's more or less finished with the blankets now, and she tucks the knife away into her gown and gets to her feet, brushing bits of fiber and down off her front and her skirts.

[summerdude]

He makes a mental note to look up if capons are anything like foie gras. "Okay, sure," he says. "Fair point. You got me there."

[new_inglewoodblues]

"Come, carry for me."

[summerdude]

He salutes her, and then bends to help gather all of the little pieces into one massive armload.

[new_inglewoodblues]

She looks very pleased with this demonstration of strength, and leads the way up the slope to the woods, and to the tree she's chosen. Halfway up, close to the trunk, there is a round nest like a squirrel's made of blankets and dry clean dead leaves and fallen boughs bent into a framework to hold them. It's the perfect size for one adult forest-thing, but the inside could definitely be cozier -- hence all the blanket pieces to be incorporated.

[summerdude]

Magnus cranes his head up to observe Ragnelle's nest. It's impressive, and extremely cool. "How can I help?" he asks, politely. He wouldn't dream of approaching it uninvited, but he's willing to pitch in however.

[new_inglewoodblues]

"Climb up with me, and I'll go within, and thou canst hand me pieces through the door."

[summerdude]

Magnus hitches his grip on the blanket scraps, shifting it more to one arm. "Lead the way!"

[new_inglewoodblues]

She scrambles up the tree -- it would be easy for someone to look at her thick body and assume she'd be slow or incapable, but she moves efficiently, like a wildcat, pulling herself up the limbs closer to the trunk until she reaches her nest.

[summerdude]

Magnus, meanwhile, relies heavily on his einherji strength and reflexes to make his way up behind her, springing from limb to limb and catching himself with his free hand, careful not to drop the blankets. When he reaches the nest, too, he wedges himself on a nearby branch, drawing one leg up so he can rest the scraps on it. "Ready when you are," he says, once everything is well-balanced.

[new_inglewoodblues]

There's a spot in the front where the blankets can be rearranged to create an entrance, and she climbs through and then holds her hands out for Magnus to give her the pieces.

[summerdude]

Magnus passes them over by the handful. "This is a neat little setup you've got here, Ragnelle," he says, watching as she works. "Very cool. I didn't think about making a nest when I moved outside."

[new_inglewoodblues]

"'Twill keep me warm and dry when there's snow without," she calls from inside, as she pads out the nest. Down feathers are beginning to float around them like the aforementioned snow.

[summerdude]

"Smart," he calls back, angling his mouth and blowing a feather that's landed on his cheek away. "You want me to come by and melt the snow around your nest for you if it gets really thick?"

[new_inglewoodblues]

"I will be well. Before this place I had but leaves and managed well. But thou canst visit me still."