[ VIDEO / killed the radio star ]

[supercilious]

[ Arthur is seated on the crumbled base of a statue, one leg drawn up and his chin on his hands on his knee. It's grey with pre-dawn; the fire that's lit just offscreen casts golden shadows over his features. ]

[ He is pensive and silent for just long enough that this could be an accidental piece of video - but then he yawns, stretches his arms

Comments

Text | 5/6

[iwithoutaname]

She had drawn close now, too close to get away. "Grandmother," she said, "What sharp teeth you have!"

"The better to eat you with, my child," said the monster. And there, in the warmth of her dead grandmother's bed, he ate her whole.

Text | 6/6

[iwithoutaname]

A variation on a very old tale. Perhaps one of the oldest.

I wonder if it is true, in some form.

Of course, in some of the others the girl is rescued, or escapes. Strange how the endings always change.

[ Voice | SCREAM gtfo johan this isn't creepypasta. ]

[supercilious]

[ Arthur listens politely, though he is silent well past the length of the tale. ]

I've never heard a nursery tale to end so abruptly. It's certainly an... interesting choice. You tell it well, however.

[Text | LISTEN. ...it could have been creepier. Maybe. ]

[iwithoutaname]

Do you think it's a nursery tale?

It probably is. In generations past, children had a higher tolerance for darkness than those today.

Still, I think it's greatest benefit is as a cautionary tale. We should all be wary in a new and dangerous situation.

You can never really know what lurks beneath the skin.

[ Voice. | YEAH. OF COURSE. :| XD ]

[supercilious]

Most nursery tales are cautionary, and fantastical. Though it's perhaps a little more gruesome than any I was told.

If that's your interpretation, then I find it even more interesting that you should choose to tell it. Do you caution me?

[shinra_finest]

Can't sleep?

[ Voice. ]

[supercilious]

...Mm.

[ Voice. ] 1/2

[shinra_finest]

[... Hm.]

[ Voice. ] 2/2

[shinra_finest]

Homesick?

[voice]

[marked_songbird]

[she keeps her voice low and soft and gentle]

Once, long ago, sorcerer-children with strange powers were born. No one knew how or why, but their powers were evident and this frightened some people.

The government took it upon themselves to gather all these sorcerer-children to study them. These children were called "Clovers". Depending on the strength of their powers, they were rated anything from a one-leaf Clover, who were the weakest, to the four-leaf Clover, which was the most powerful.

Regardless of their rank, all these children were branded with a tatoo of a Clover.

[voice]

[supercilious]

What did the government do with them?

[voice]

[marked_songbird]

Some they released back to their families, the one-leafs and the two-leafs, those whose powers didn't threaten the stability of their kingdom.

The others, the few three-leafs and the only four-leaf Clover, they kept hidden away, cut off from everyone else because they feared their powers.

[her lips curve into a sad smile]

But the story isn't quite about them. It's about a one-leaf, a girl whose only ability was to predict when she would die.

[voice]

[supercilious]

They imprisoned them? Wouldn't it have made more sense just to execute them?

But I'm interrupting, I'm sorry. Please, tell me about the one-leaf girl.

[Voice]

[sucker_punches]

You're as demanding as ever, I see.

[No particular bite in Sakura's tone. Yet.]

[Voice]

[supercilious]

And you're as pleasant. So, are you going to indulge me?

[Voice]

[sucker_punches]

Maybe.

[Pause.]

Any specific kind of story?

[Voice]

[supercilious]

I don't have anything particularly in mind. True, make-believe... as long as it's not deadly dull.