(Always up early to feed the hungry heh heh heh. )
I can wait.
(He'll set Kiku down on the floor. She runs circles around his feet, as if trying to trip him as he walks but he just walks through her without much effort at all,)
(Of all the foods and drinks in the world, why settle for something bitter?)
Let's see...
(Settling in,)
"It was a long and cold winter many, many years ago. A hunter went into the woods to find food. What he found was a crane caught in his trap. At last, he could finally eat but instead, he felt pity for the creature and let it go. He returned home for the evening, cold, empty-handed, and hungry. Night fell, a great blizzard came, and from his door... he heard a knock.
When he opened it, he saw a beautiful woman dressed in wedding robes. She declared herself his wife and asked to be let in.
"But I'm poor," The hunter replied, "I don't even have food for us to eat."
"Don't worry," She insisted, "I will make sure we never go hungry." And she pulled out... a single bag of rice."
(Yeah, this is a fairytale and he'll stop to see if Nero is following along.)
He looks at the cookies and Kiku shifts from an otter to a small magpie that hops on the counter's surface and watches the cookies with interest,)
Only one.
(And he continues,)
"They ate rice that night and the next morning, the hunter realized the bag was still completely full. When they ate more for breakfast, the bag seemed to refill as if by magic.
His wife asked him for the second room in the home. When he asked why, she replied, "I wish to make you something beautiful. I want to surprise you. So promise me you won't look inside until I'm finished."
The hunter promised and for seven nights, his wife worked. When she finally emerged, she held a beautiful robe in her small, thin arms.
"Take this into the market and sell it," She said. So he did and he was able to sell it for a very high price."
(There's a pause as if he considers something in the story for a moment before continuing. There's something heavy in his pause, an impending "but" that will surely change the direction of the story.)
"... Well, they lived easily and happily for some time after that. As long as they were together, they never wanted anything but each other."
"Winter passed, spring came, all was well, but then one summer day, the hunter became ill. Though they were happy, they were poor. The money from the first robe had run out and they couldn't buy any medicine.
"Don't worry," His wife told him at his bedside, "I will always care for you."
Again, she went to the second room and worked into the night. As before, she made him promise to not interrupt her. After seven nights, she emerged with another, beautiful robe but now, she was pale and thin. She took it to the market and traded it for medicine. He recovered in time.
But it wasn't enough. The medicine ran out and he became sick once more. She returned to the room and worked again.
Again, and again, the same thing happened. Each time, she emerged with a robe more beautiful than the last but weaker than before. Every time, she bought him medicine and would return to work when it ran out.
The hunter began to worry for her. Curious and concerned, he got out of bed one night and went to look inside the other room…"
(The magpie on the counter goes still, no longer distracted by cookies but instead, listening to the story,)
"What he saw was not his beautiful wife, but a crane. To make the silk for her robes, she plucked at her feathers until her wings became bare. Even more, he recognized her; she was the crane he had saved before. He gasped.
It surprised her and she dropped the robe she had been working on. "I told you not to look at me!" She cried and took flight. He had seen her true nature and could no longer stay with him. "
(And...
.... That's it? That's the end. He doesn't continue and instead, just waits for the reaction.)
(They can just eat their cookies in silence for a moment. RIP Nero though because Tsurumaru has that Old Air to him where he just sort of watches Nero quietly for a moment. Nero is being perceived.
Then that feeling passes and he reaches for another cookie.)
You're still young. (And he's taking one more cookie. Three cookies total for Tsurumaru Kuninaga. He's a little spoiled but not quite greedy.) Don't worry, Nero-kun.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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(Always up early to feed the hungry heh heh heh. )
I can wait.
(He'll set Kiku down on the floor. She runs circles around his feet, as if trying to trip him as he walks but he just walks through her without much effort at all,)
It gives me time to tell a story.
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[story time!]
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(Of all the foods and drinks in the world, why settle for something bitter?)
Let's see...
(Settling in,)
"It was a long and cold winter many, many years ago. A hunter went into the woods to find food. What he found was a crane caught in his trap. At last, he could finally eat but instead, he felt pity for the creature and let it go. He returned home for the evening, cold, empty-handed, and hungry. Night fell, a great blizzard came, and from his door... he heard a knock.
When he opened it, he saw a beautiful woman dressed in wedding robes. She declared herself his wife and asked to be let in.
"But I'm poor," The hunter replied, "I don't even have food for us to eat."
"Don't worry," She insisted, "I will make sure we never go hungry." And she pulled out... a single bag of rice."
(Yeah, this is a fairytale and he'll stop to see if Nero is following along.)
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He'll pull out the cookies, but he won't move them off of the sheet just yet.
Nero's very clearly listening. A crane? Is the wife the crane now?]
Just one?
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He looks at the cookies and Kiku shifts from an otter to a small magpie that hops on the counter's surface and watches the cookies with interest,)
Only one.
(And he continues,)
"They ate rice that night and the next morning, the hunter realized the bag was still completely full. When they ate more for breakfast, the bag seemed to refill as if by magic.
His wife asked him for the second room in the home. When he asked why, she replied, "I wish to make you something beautiful. I want to surprise you. So promise me you won't look inside until I'm finished."
The hunter promised and for seven nights, his wife worked. When she finally emerged, she held a beautiful robe in her small, thin arms.
"Take this into the market and sell it," She said. So he did and he was able to sell it for a very high price."
(There's a pause as if he considers something in the story for a moment before continuing. There's something heavy in his pause, an impending "but" that will surely change the direction of the story.)
"... Well, they lived easily and happily for some time after that. As long as they were together, they never wanted anything but each other."
("For some time.")
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[wait, but this doesn't really conclude.]
It wasn't until the end of their days, was it?
[Witches/Wizards and humans usually end up with somebody feeling bitter.]
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(What is a direct answer.)
"Winter passed, spring came, all was well, but then one summer day, the hunter became ill. Though they were happy, they were poor. The money from the first robe had run out and they couldn't buy any medicine.
"Don't worry," His wife told him at his bedside, "I will always care for you."
Again, she went to the second room and worked into the night. As before, she made him promise to not interrupt her. After seven nights, she emerged with another, beautiful robe but now, she was pale and thin. She took it to the market and traded it for medicine. He recovered in time.
But it wasn't enough. The medicine ran out and he became sick once more. She returned to the room and worked again.
Again, and again, the same thing happened. Each time, she emerged with a robe more beautiful than the last but weaker than before. Every time, she bought him medicine and would return to work when it ran out.
The hunter began to worry for her. Curious and concerned, he got out of bed one night and went to look inside the other room…"
(The magpie on the counter goes still, no longer distracted by cookies but instead, listening to the story,)
"What he saw was not his beautiful wife, but a crane. To make the silk for her robes, she plucked at her feathers until her wings became bare. Even more, he recognized her; she was the crane he had saved before. He gasped.
It surprised her and she dropped the robe she had been working on. "I told you not to look at me!" She cried and took flight. He had seen her true nature and could no longer stay with him. "
(And...
.... That's it? That's the end. He doesn't continue and instead, just waits for the reaction.)
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That's the end of them, huh...
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That's the end.
(He smiles, a light sort of smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes.)
You don't seem surprised. Have you heard this story before? You should have told me!
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Nah. 's just... can't really trust anybody, huh?
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(Interesting.
He's going to take one and break off a small piece, offering it to Kiku first. She pecks at it,)
Tell me more.
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a moment. Nero is being perceived.
Then that feeling passes and he reaches for another cookie.)
It's natural to want to see the one you love.
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I guess... I don't know anythin' about that stuff.
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You're still young. (And he's taking one more cookie. Three cookies total for Tsurumaru Kuninaga. He's a little spoiled but not quite greedy.) Don't worry, Nero-kun.
(For now.)
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(Vague.)
Even things can love.
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Do they want to?
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Does not wanting something keep it from happening?
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Not in my experience.
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(Just, "hmm," a thoughtful hum as he feeds another piece of cookie to Kiku,)
I wonder what surprises await us here.
(Because something is going to happen.)
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[Gestures at TWO dead bodies people will find today.]
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Then we'll have to make sure to bring better ones.
(But yes. He's just going to gather up his cookies,)
You should share with the others. It would lighten their days.
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[Hold on, don't go roping him in!]
I'll think about it.
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