(no subject)

[alt_regulus]

A quiet evening at home is a lovely, decadent thing. Especially such a rainy one when inside it's snug and warm.

I've been working all week at sorting through the boxes from Aunt Prewett's, but I'm nearly finished. I've set the armour to stand guard beside my breakfast table lest anyone steal my toast of a morning.

Now I think of it, most of the items were actually Uncle's--a rather wicked-looking poignard, for instance, and a silver shaving set. (I've been pondering what might happen if its charms have gone wonky at all.) Best of all, there are a great load of books. Inspired Strategies of Death-dealing Duellists by Esme Meretriste seems the most entertaining of them, but there are some real gems in the lot--ancient, obscure, idiosyncratic and utterly ingenious books of history and spellcraft and theory. There's a bit of philosophy in the mix, a medieval navigational manual, and a set of Senecan tragedies with very fine bindings.

One of the boxes contained an interesting assortment of oddments that must have been left at the end of the divvying up:

item, one ball self-tying twine;
item, one murderous thimble that jabs poison into the wearer's finger;
item, one well-worn pack playing cards missing three of its four jacks;
item, one fruit bowl, unwashed;
item, one flask doxy venom;
item, one absinthe spoon inscribed 'Hotel Churn, Cirencester';
item, one long shoe lace (unless it's really a garrote);
item, one chipped desktop espial globe;
item, one bone or ivory cigarette holder etched with ivy design;
item, one lady's hat, chartreuse with peacock tail.

Oh, yes, and one silver button.

I believe I'll take Salazar's Sapience to bed with me; it's a page-turner so far.

Comments

[alt_regulus]

The giant squid in armour. Now that's a truly inspired thought. I suppose it would have to have a Never Rust enchantment on.

And I think the benefit of Slytherin's serpentine mail was that it did not require one to move like a toy soldier with pins for his joints. But I take your point. It might be best suited for someone who needed a full and fluid range of movement. Perhaps Slytherin was aiming to outfit an army of Veela.

The next chapter may be quite an interesting one!

[alt_pansy]

Well, maybe if the scaley bit were right around the elbows and shoulders and wrists, all the places you usually twist and bend, it would be more practical than if it was all over, maybe?

I don't think Veela need armour. But they would look brilliant in it. Even shinier than usual. Or, well, if he liked snakes so very much, perhaps he was planning on creating an army of cobras and pythons and such.

[alt_regulus]

Well, I will say that the right serpent can be quite a formidable weapon. They have a way of commanding respect.