Jonah had owned these bones for so long, the bones of his dearest friend. He had stroked his fingers along the edge of the pelvis so many times it was almost muscle memory, had pressed his lips to the top of the skull and whispered his dreams and aspirations into the worn bone like he had once whispered them into Barnabas’s ear when he had been alive.
And while Barnabas’s bones were the ones he cared for the most, and his only full skeleton, they were not the only ones he had picked up in all his years.
Jonah Magnus has traveled to visit his friend in Bavaria. Unfortunately he ans Albrecht have a bit different idea about how they should spent their time togerther.
To say that Jonah Magnus is not very fond of traveling would be an understatement. Even occasional rides between his Institute in Edinburgh and London are highly annoying and serve only as a confirmation that moving the Institute to more convenient place is a necessity.
However it can still be called a relaxation in comparison of making a trip abroad. Unfortunately Britain happens to be an island and so only way to travel outside of it is on the sea. Jonah hates the sea – not only the constant swinging of the ship on tides keeps making him sick. The knowledge that the hull of the ship is the only thing standing between him and the deep mass of salt water is also not helping him to feel comfortable. How could some people choose boat as their preferred means of transport and not only as last option is a mystery to him.
Although to be honest Jonah never understood the appeal of traveling in general. He won’t be persuaded no matter how much Barnabas is always urging him to join him on his vacation to explore the world. Ah, was urging him actually… it is still easy to forget sometimes…
End of Something Old, Start of Something New || Day 4: Bones
(AO3 Link in replies)
There was no body in the coffin when they buried it. Given it was sitting in the Panopticon, this wasn’t much of a surprise to Jonah, who was watching the event from the far back pretending to be an assistant saddened by the death of his employer.
Really, this ought to have been a funeral for young William rather than him, but given whose body was standing here Jonah supposed everyone else could be forgiven. After all, it’s not that anyone knew he was still alive. He suspected no one knew, at least; a few of his once-closer acquaintances gave him odd looks.
He was perhaps a bit put out by how few people attended. True, he had lived to an exceptional age and most of those he knew had already died, but he had thought he’d known a few who were still alive.
Rating: G (I mean…arguably, yeah) Fandom:The Magnus Archives Characters: Jonah Magnus, Barnabas Bennett (Mordechai Lukas, briefly) Ao3 Link:archiveofourown.org/works/32766208
“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” -Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
“He retrieved those bones sadly enough when the time came. Bones that you can still find in my office, if you know where to look.” -Elias Bouchard, The Magnus Archives, “Nothing Beside Remains”
In the end, Jonah Magnus does find use what’s left of Barnabas Bennett.
Written as part of @jonahmagnusweek for the prompt ‘Bones’ (though it works equally well for ‘Possession’ in a fashion)
