Bragi looked at the entry with new eyes and realized “suitably” probably hadn't been accurate. There were no books on the floor. Idun liked open spaces so that she could dance in any room she pleased, and Bragi liked open spaces because they provided much better acoustics, more area for movement, and Idun could dance in any room she pleased. Besides, putting books on the floor or leaving them completely disorganized disrespected the words. Bragi respected the words. He had them absolutely everywhere else.
There were stacks of books arranged neatly beneath all the vases, and stacks on shelves beneath stands and tables. There were shelves for books under each step in the staircase, and shelves in the side of the staircase, and above the staircase. The rack that held winterwear during the cold season held books during the spring and summer. Bookshelves lined the entire left wall, and half of the right, and reached all the way to the ceiling. And the ceilings in their hall were exceptionally high. Acoustics. Some of the bookshelves had space left, but Bragi couldn't put any of the unshelved books there because doing so wouldn't comply with his complex organizational system. If they were all on the shelves, Bragi wouldn't be able to find anything. Elegant chaos would become simply chaos.
Sigyn offered a stunned interjection, and when she looked at him, Bragi sighed , and looked around. “Idun hates uneven table legs” he replied. He set the flute down next to the kantele on the table near the door, and took his guest into the parlor. The parlor was a bit worse, but it did have a set of comfortable chairs next to a free table, which they desperately needed since the dining and kitchen table were currently out of commission. There were actually many rooms at that point that didn't have any books in them at all, but they were much deeper into the hall, and Bragi didn't really use them. “I pick up some of them whenever we go on trips to the other worlds,” Bragi said once he'd finished joking. “I get some from the skalds. I make the rest. It adds up eventually.” The Norse believed in an oral tradition, which Bragi loved. It also made him want to document everything he possibly could. There was that, and there was the fact that most of the great storytellers were either illiterate or didn't write. Bragi pulled out a chair for Sigyn and then excused himself politely. Ten seconds later, he quickly reappeared with the apple wine and poured Sigyn a glass to go with her oatcake.
Once he had properly attended to his guest, and Sigyn seemed comfortable, Bragi took the seat across from her, and tried the oatcake. It wasn't as warm as it had been originally, but it was still warm enough and the honey glaze melted on his tongue. Bragi had a terrible weakness for anything with honey, and knowing the effort it took to procure cloudberries somehow made them taste even better. He didn't know that he'd had cloudberries in oatcakes before, but he liked the combination. He probably preferred apples overall, but that was mostly bias. Bragi had a much harder time tasting than most, and he could still tell Loki had made the wrong decision that morning. Bragi should not have been the one to eat that oatcake. He enjoyed it anyway. “This is incredible,” Bragi said with equal parts enthusiasm and awe. He smiled at her. “It's entirely wasted on me. The next time he doesn't show up, you should just take these straight to Valhalla where they belong.”