lanselos_du_lac | [Closed Post] ..lines we're leaving behind..

He doesn't really mean to, but Lancelot keeps to his rooms for a time in the wake of the latest mansion upheaval. He doesn't disappear for days, and he mostly keeps his routines -- he does spend a little more time riding -- but he is subdued and not idly floating about for socializing.

It could have been worse. He knows this. He knows, too, that no one did this on purpose; he's grateful for Susan and Nightingale's understanding. But none of that makes it easier to regain his emotional balance. Much like that day (which felt very long), he is still grappling occasionally with that sensation of being... just outside of himself, a step removed, dizzy and longing to be even further away.

Still, he does not want to punish Susan and he knows they should talk. So this morning after he puts up Rivelin, he goes to find Susan, wherever she might be.

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From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot accepts the robe, saying, "Hardly luck. Thou'rt a formidable planner, and hast given me little reason to be elsewhere. For which I am very glad."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"You've seen through my clever plot," Susan says. She pulls her own robe on, then turns to fuss at Lancelot's, ensuring that most of his chest is fully bared when the sash is tied.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

He chuckles, smiling and kissing the corner of her mouth. "It was clever, though, no question."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"You may call me Queen Susan the Cunning," she says, chasing his mouth for a moment before tearing herself away to go unpack the basket.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"So I shall," he settles into one of the chairs. "Another item for the list: thy cunning and skill in planning, organization."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"Oh, speaking of," says Susan, sitting in the other and immediately tangling their feet together under the table. As she starts unloading food and setting it between them, she decides to give him the best sort of gift a woman can give her lover: "I thought I might solicit your help in planning a competition of weapons skill."

From:

lanselos_du_lac

He looks up, a little surprised -- though now he recalls she mentioned this the day that she and Nightingale were... well. "Oh?"

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"Yes. You've ever so much more experience with that sort of thing than I." This - mightn't be true. She helped organize a fair few tourneys and demonstrations in her time as Queen of Narnia. But this is a gift that she's giving him! So she shall let him take a stab at it.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot laughs a little, "That I doubt, unless thy meaning is in participating -- or winning."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"I do like a man with skill," Susan says, slicing the baguette into quarters and placing one each onto the plates she'd packed up. She slides one plate over to Lancelot and makes sure the sides are arrayed between them. "Surely you've got some opinions about how such things ought to function."

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Oh, aye," easily, taking up the sandwich. "But it never fell to me to consider how they might be organized."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

Susan must be very fond of her dear silly friend indeed, because this strikes her as more charming than anything. "Having opinions about something is the first step in mastering it," she says. "Have you attended tournaments that were noticeably better or worse than others?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Sweet, I've not attended a tournament I didn't ride or fight in, one way or another, since I was a boy."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"Yes, I would assume so. I mean - whilst you were riding or fighting, did some strike you as more enjoyable or engaging than others?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

Lancelot thinks this over as he starts in on his sandwich. After a moment he says, "One thing that is probably a benefit is that, for competitors, what matters most is organization. Things generally happen much the same way, each time."

Another thoughtful pause, and then he goes on, "It is generally more enjoyable with an interested crowd. Here, though, we would have to be quite careful to prevent injury. And there would be no joust."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

Oh, this is terribly charming. He's going to be utterly useless with this gift she's giving him. Susan shall have to guide him along carefully so that he can have the delight of organization without mucking it all up. For now, she smiles at him encouragingly and takes a bite of her sandwich. After chewing and swallowing, she says, "Very helpful. We shall have to think carefully to allow for the differences in fighting styles, too; it seems few people have comparable training."

From:

lanselos_du_lac

With great interest, and about as animated as he gets, he says, "Aye, well-- we shall need help for that. I can organize a melee, which I suspect no one wants, or sword bouts. Archery, perhaps. But if we were to engage the skills of others -- fencing or single stick, or muskets -- I would defer to them."

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"Do you reckon that a melee might be an optimal way for everyone to get a good measure of others' skills?" Susan asks, genuinely curious. Obviously the point of such tournaments is to ensure that fighting abilities remain sharp during times of peace, but here she hopes that it might inspire folks to train together with more consistency, preparing for potential unknowns.

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Perhaps, however--" He thinks, "It is not much like sport. I don't think it suits most here." A beat. "Gideon, perhaps," he allows.

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"Oh?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

A laugh, "Gideon pulls no punches. She downed me when we sparred. I thought I told thee?"

From:

quote_gentle_unquote

"You absolutely did not. I learned about that particular incident from Laertes." Susan gives him an amused look. "I shall have to meet her when she doesn't look like Janet."