Open: Well young lady, have you been good to your mother?

[biteybaby]

Sunny Baudelaire has been having quite an exciting time lately. For once, "exciting" means "filled with fun" and not "filled with terror, pain, panic, and an inordinate amount of running and hiding". Without the threat of Count Olaf and his associates finding her in an attempt to steal the Baudelaire fortune, Sunny has had more time for her studies. "Her studies" is a phrase which here means, "catching up on learning how to do things most people take for granted".

She has finally learned how to walk. She thinks the amount of words she is now able to say has increased. Magnu has even taught her a few things in sign language, which she finds is a little easier than speaking. The biggest news is that she now has five very sharp teeth, as opposed to the four she started with when she arrived.

Shortly before she arrived, Mr Poe had told the Baudelaires about an aphorism: It takes a village to raise a child. She wonders if that is why she has had so much time to grow. Her days are spent rotating around between several different guardians, babysitters, and friends, and it has been lovely. She hopes her siblings are having just as good of a time in the village of V.F.D.

Unfortunately I must report that her siblings are not having just as good of a time in the village of V.F.D., nor are they even still in the village of V.F.D. Sunny does not know this. It would probably be for the best if nobody tells her.

Comments

[biteybaby]

“Puwdestee,” Sunny says, which here means, “I’m not terribly hungry right now, so unless either of you needs a snack I should be fine without it.”

[summerdude]

Magnus translates this for Galahad, and then puts a bag of pretzels in his backpack anyway. And a juice box. And an apple and some carrots. He's learned that it's best to be prepared in case the hunger situation changes. He doesn't bother asking Sunny if she has a fresh diaper; they've worked out a signal for him to stumble across someone who can handle that if she doesn't and she hasn't given it. "Okay," he says. "You wanna walk or you wanna piggyback?" He purses his lips, mock-thoughtful, and winks at Galahad. "You could teach Galahad how to give you a piggyback ride."

[onthewillowsthere]

"You could."

[biteybaby]

"Yeah!" She runs behind Galahad and starts reaching up, as if she's planning on just climbing his back by herself.

[summerdude]

Magnus catches each of their eyes in turn. "Are you asking Galahad to crouch down so that you can climb up?" he asks, signing as he talks.

[onthewillowsthere]

The translation is helpful. It reminds Galahad of how much easier it is to understand what someone is saying when they sign it, as if being able to see the words instead of merely hearing them makes them quicker to resolve from sounds to language.

He kneels down on the ground at a more accessible Sunny height.

[biteybaby]

"Oh thanks," she says as she climbs on Galahad's back, her arms wrapping around his neck to hold on with.

[summerdude]

Magnus watches for a moment, wibbling, as his best friends get situated. Then he grins and says, "Last one to the dragonfly room is a rotten egg!" and takes off running (in very slow motion) back toward the Mansion.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad's endurance has built up a fair amount under Lan Wangji's training, but he's never going to be as fast or unflagging as Magnus is. On the other hand, Magnus is running in very slow motion. Galahad keeps pace for now.

[biteybaby]

Sunny is very happy. She hasn't often had friends, and historically speaking her friends tend to get kidnapped by Count Olaf, which does cut down on the amount of time you can spend hanging out with them, among other things. So getting to hang out with both her best friend Magnu and her new friend Galahad is great!

[summerdude]

Magnus wants Sunny to win the race, obviously, so he keeps an eye on Galahad and maintains a pace that is plausibly -- to Sunny, at least; probably not to Galahad -- between one and three paces behind Galahad's the entire way to the Mansion -- though he does pull ahead once or twice, just to make it feel like a real nailbiter. (He's held Sunny a bunch. He's pretty sure Galahad can manage this, even without his, like, superpowers or whatever. But he keeps an eye out just in case.) It's harder, in the halls, since there's doors to open and stairs to navigate, but he tries his best.

[onthewillowsthere]

It takes him a little while to understand exactly what's going on -- he almost asks why Magnus is running so slowly before he realizes -- but once he gets it he also tries to lend some verisimilitude to his efforts, speeding up whenever Magnus starts to pull ahead.

Sunny isn't heavy, but she's weight he's not used to, and he's definitely starting to flag by the time they're clattering down the stairs.

[biteybaby]

"Go go go!" Sunny giggles, cheering Galahad on.

[summerdude]

Luckily, there's not much farther to go. Magnus makes a great show of almost getting his hand on the door first, and then lets Galahad take the win in the last segment. It's a good thing he packed all those snacks... he's getting the sense that Galahad deserves a juice box.

As soon as the door is opened, though, he sighs, "I guess I'm a stinky rotten egg," sounding very aggrieved indeed, and then says, "Sunny, cover your eyes while we get situated in here? So that it's, like, a surprise or whatever."

[onthewillowsthere]

"Very stinky," Galahad says, in his most solemn voice, although he definitely sounds winded.

[biteybaby]

"Shoo," Sunny says, covering her nose with a giggle. She then very carefully covers her eyes.

[summerdude]

Magnus signs, Want me to take her? Do you need something to drink? Some summer? It's too many questions, and he knows it, but Sunny won't keep her eyes closed for very long, and he wants her to be surprised and delighted by all the bugs in here. Maybe by setting her down in the middle of gently-sloping hillside, so they can rise up around her when she opens her eyes.

He tells all this to Galahad, too, fingers flying quickly.

[onthewillowsthere]

It's too many questions, but Galahad understands that the important part is pressing through to the surprise. He can answer questions after.

He has one hand behind himself to support Sunny's body, but he signs back open door with the other.

[biteybaby]

Sunny doesn't know any of this is going on, of course, as she has her eyes covered and cannot see.

[summerdude]

Magnus holds the door open for Galahad, and then follows him inside the room. ("Room" is a word which here refers to a mid-sized open field with a gently sloping hill, a small pond at its base with flowers crowding down to its edges and frogs leaping about, and so many insects, especially dragonflies. The sun is shining brightly and, once more, it feels like Frey might show up at any minute.)

[onthewillowsthere]

Very, very gently, he sets Sunny down in the grass by the pond. Immediately dragonflies begin to settle onto her head; the air is noticeably warm and humid. A pickerel frog leaps next to her foot and sits there.

Galahad collapses to the grass beside her, wiping sweat from his forehead.

[biteybaby]

Something is tickling her, but she keeps her hands over her eyes anyway! "Asflaudge?" she asks, which here means, "Can I look yet?"

[summerdude]

"On the count of three, okay?" Magnus says, quickly signing to Galahad, too much? Sorry. She's tiny I thought it'd be fine. Need anything? and then slowly saying "One... Two... Two and a half... Two and three quarters..."

[onthewillowsthere]

It's okay, he signs back, equally quick. I will drink after she sees. He's winded, but it will be worth it if the surprise delights her.

[biteybaby]

Sunny cannot count very high, but she does know how to count to at least three. There are three Baudelaire orphans. She is one of them. There are two Quagmire triplets, but there used to be three. She is not one of them. Sunny might be a very patient young lady, but she is still roughly 20 or so months old, so her patience only extends so far.

"Three!" she finally shouts, and uncovers her eyes. She gasps as she looks around. "Wow!" she says, which here means, "Wow!"