The Magic Hour

[littlsproutling]

     [wee!Dot] "YAY NAHCOW."

    [Senri] ...If you turn me into a cow then I will stampede you.

    [Senri] Just fair warning...

    [wee!Dot] !!

    [wee!Dot] "...how about ...um.... a dog?"

    [Senri] w-what...?

    [wee!Dot] "I could get you a dog! with magic! a magic dog!"

    [Senri] OH! Oh...

    [Senri] I don't have _room_ for a dog.

    [Senri] That's why I have a little cat.

    [wee!Dot] "Oh. ...I could have a magic dog!"

    [Senri] That... is possibly also a terrible idea.

    [Senri] A magic dog?

    [wee!Dot] "It would be great! a dog like the best dog ever that Lewis has!"

    [Senri] So... it is magic because you pop it into existence or...

    [Senri] It is a magic dog because it can _do_ magic?

    [wee!Dot] "Yes!"

    [Senri] :|||

    [wee!Dot] "It could carry the magic wand in its mouth!"

    [Senri] ...Only bad things can happen with that.

    [wee!Dot] "No! It would be a good magic dog!"

    [Senri] Who knows what dogs think! What in the world would it do with magic?

    [wee!Dot] "It would be good because it would be trained to be good! With magic!"

    [Senri] This is a lot of magic flying around!

    [wee!Dot] "...magic flying dog...."

    [Senri] ...It's getting out of hand.

    [wee!Dot] "Dogs don't have hands. Except..maybe it could..."

    [Senri] Why don't you just have a magic person with fur?

    [wee!Dot] "..that doesn't sound very exciting."

    [Senri] I was being sarcastic...

    [wee!Dot] "I don't know what that means!"

    [Senri] *mumble* But you still do it so well...

    [Senri] What's wrong with just a regular dog?

    [wee!Dot] "I can't have one of those yet. Mom and Dad say so." *hmph*

    [Senri] And so you think they'll approve of a MAGIC dog?

    [Senri] I'm pretty sure that would be a lot more work.

    [wee!Dot] "It will be really good and it won't cause trouble!"

    [Senri] What happens when it does some kind of magic that you don't want? That would be a big hassle.

    [wee!Dot] "But it _wouldn't_."

    [Senri] . . .

    [Senri] I have no idea how to talk to kids.

    [wee!Dot] "You use words just like you do when you talk to grownups!" *OBVIOUSLY*

    [Senri] :|

    [Senri] But the logic doesn't work the same waaay. *OBVIOUSLY*

    [wee!Dot] "The what?"

    [Senri] . . . Yep.

    [wee!Dot] "What is it!"

    [Senri] Or maybe it's because you are a girl ...

    [Senri] *:|a*

    [wee!Dot] "What does that have to do with anything?"

    [Senri] Nothing nothing nothing. I shouldn't have said that.

    [Senri] *siiigh*

    [wee!Dot] "But you did! So now you have to tell me what it means!"

    [Senri] No, I don't. It wasn't right.

    [wee!Dot] "Was it mean?"

    [Senri] It means I am not a nice person and you should stop asking me about it.

    [wee!Dot] "Maybe you need a hug? If you're feeling grumpy, it would be why you say mean things.."

    [Senri] *w-what? turning red*

    [Senri] I'll be fine, thanks though.

    [wee!Dot] "When I get tired, Mom says I get crabby. I don't know what she means, but she says it a lot."

    [Senri] *p-pfftheh*

    [wee!Dot] "So I thought maybe you were tired and thinking mean things, and then SAYING them before you could decide not to!"

    [wee!Dot] "And hugs are nice, anyway!"

    [Senri] I shouldn't be thinking them either.

    [wee!Dot] *pats* "Everybody has cranky days, Nahcow."

    [Senri] *ow my tsun*

    [wee!Dot] *can't read action text, luckily for you!*

    [Senri] *pats her back. the most awkwardly affectionate thing ever.*

    [wee!Dot] "See! Feel better yet?"

    [Senri] *shrug* I suppose.

    [wee!Dot] "That doesn't sound much better.." **hugs a leg because she probably can't reach much else*

    [Senri] *p--at pat ./////.*

    [Senri] Okay okay, that's enough.

    [wee!Dot] "Okay!"

    [wee!Dot] "...you know it's okay to _ask_ for hugs, right?"

    [Senri] I... know that!

    [wee!Dot] "Just making sure! Some people don't! What are YOU going to be for Halloween, anyway?"

    [wee!Dot] "....do you celebrate Halloween?"

    [Senri] I don't go around looking for candy but there are parties where you dress up, yes.

    [Senri] I have two costumes.

    [wee!Dot] "OOoooh what are they!"

    [wee!Dot] "Are you going to wear them both at the same time?"

    [Senri] One of them, I'm switching places with another person. They'll dress up as me and I'll dress up as them.

    [Senri] . . . . That may be genius, but no. I think the person I'm switching with would kill me.

    [Senri] . . . *contemplating this, actually!!*

    [wee!Dot] "What does the OTHER person look like?"

    [Senri] THey have terrible dyed hair, a mohawk, tattoos... *gesturing*

    [wee!Dot] *tilts her head, picturing this*

    [Senri] *yeeep.*

    [wee!Dot] *doesn't really know what any of that means but it sounds exciting*

    [wee!Dot] "...oh! What a tattooh?"

    [Senri] They're permanant pictures done in ink on someone's skin.

    [wee!Dot] "Does that hurt? How do they get them there?" *Lightbulb!* "I saw a lady there with pictures drawn on her face!"

    [Senri] How should I know? It's not like _I_ would ever get anything like that done. A terrible way to ruin good skin. --A lady at the Loft with tattoos? *thinking :|a*

    [wee!Dot] "She said her friend put them there."

    [Senri] Well I hope it wasn't permanant. That would be terrible.

    [wee!Dot] "I didn't ask!"

    [Senri] Hn. Anyway, my second costume is a princess~ Specifically, one of the 12 dancing princesses.

    [Senri] To counterbalance the first costume. :|

    [wee!Dot] "Dancing princesses?"

    [Senri] *nods* The fairy tale.

    [wee!Dot] "I don't know that one!"

    [Senri] ...Really? Okay, I'll tell it to you~

    [wee!Dot] "Princesses have to wear _dresses_."

    [Senri] Well, I don't think they _have_ to but in this story they do, yes.

    [Senri] Is that a _problem_? *eying you, child*

    [wee!Dot] "I don't like dresses, you can't _do_ anything in them."

    [Senri] Oh.

    [Senri] Sure you can! Granted, some are more comfortable than others but they're not terrible.

    [wee!Dot] "LIke what?"

    [Senri] I think the problem you're likely having is that you have to behave so you don't accidentally flash anyone.

    [wee!Dot] *blink*

    [Senri] ...What? Am I wrong?

    [wee!Dot] "Flash? Like a camera?"

    [Senri] . . . .

    [Senri] I'm not qualified for this conversation.

    [Senri] You have to behave so your skirt doesn't come up.

    [wee!Dot] "Ohhhhhhhh."

    [wee!Dot] "So people don't see my underwear!"

    [Senri] R...right...

    [Senri] _Moving on_

    [wee!Dot] "I just don't like them because you can't run very well or climb trees or anything!"

    [Senri] *someone rescue me...*

    [Senri] But still, they are pretty.

    [wee!Dot] " I guess! I am glad I don't have to wear them except at holidays!"

    [Senri] . . . *the little girl is more masculine than me :|*

    [Senri] I guess we are the opposite, then.

    [wee!Dot] "I know what THAT means!"

    [Senri] Opposite?

    [wee!Dot] *nods!* "It means ..um....if I say left, you say right! Those are opposite directions!"

    [Senri] Right.

    [Senri] Er, correct.

    [wee!Dot] *beams*

    [wee!Dot] "You have used a whole lot of words i don't know today, so whew! I finally got one right!"

    [Senri] Well you wouldn't learn if I used other words, would you?

    [wee!Dot] "I guess not! But ..do you have a workbook or something? That's usually how we learn new words in school."

    [Senri] Talking is better.

    [Senri] It's called ~immersion~

    [wee!Dot] "But .. immersion..."

    [wee!Dot] *sounds it out*

    [Senri] *teaching yesterday's youth~~* It's the best way to learn a language.

    [Senri] It's learning it by doing it, basically.

    [wee!Dot] "Like building something! Or washing dishes." *such a face!*

    [Senri] I suppose?

    [wee!Dot] "You'd like my mom -- she makes me learn things by doing all the time."

    [Senri] But like me, I learned the most English when I surrounded myself with people who only spoke that language.

    [Senri] And so you will learn _better_ English by talking to people who know more words than you do.

    [wee!Dot] "So if i wanted to learn Japanese, I should go to where a lot of Japanese people are?"

    [Senri] Yes!

    [wee!Dot] "...I don't think there is anything like that around where I live..."

    [Senri] *points to himself*

    [wee!Dot] "Oh! You! And your friend! The good guesser!"

    [Senri] ...Good gue-- Oh. Yeah, him too. *:( h*

    [Senri] But yes, that's the best way to learn anything.

    [wee!Dot] "Is he REALLY a good guesser or did he cheat?"

    [Senri] That depends on your definition of 'cheat'.

    [wee!Dot] "It does? I didn't tell him my name and he knew it! Did someone else tell him?"

    [Senri] How would I know?

    [wee!Dot] "Maybe he told you later?"

    [Senri] No.

    [wee!Dot] "Then I guess he really IS a good guesser!"

    [wee!Dot] "Does he enter a lot of guessing contests? Like they have for jelly beans?"

    [Senri] You would have to ask him.

    [wee!Dot] "I will!"

    [wee!Dot] "So, all I need to do is listen when you talk in Japanese and I will learn it too?"

    [Senri] That's a bit simplified but... sort of, yes?

    [wee!Dot] "You said talking is best?"

    [Senri] Learning languages is hard but it's better to do it with people who already speak it than trying to just use a book.

    [wee!Dot] "But you guys would help me, right?"

    [Senri] I can only speak for myself.

    [Senri] But if you wanted to learn then I would help you.

    [wee!Dot] "Why? Does your friend not talk much?"

    [Senri] . . .

    [Senri] Did you want to hear the story about the 12 princesses or not?

    [wee!Dot] "Yes!"

    [Senri] Okay, so there were 12 princesses and they were all very beautiful sisters.

    [wee!Dot] "..were they all the same age?"

    [Senri] They slept in the same 12 beds every night, locked in their rooms.

    [Senri] No, they were all different ages.

    [wee!Dot] "locked? But what if they wanted a glass of water or they had to pee?"

    [Senri] They were lo-- what? I don't know, maybe they went before.

    [wee!Dot] *listens!*

    [Senri] Anway, they were locked in their rooms because there was a mystery surrounding them! Every night they went to bed and then every morning when the door was unlocked, their shoes were always found worn out.

    [wee!Dot] "Maybe they had a secret tunnel to the bathroom!"

    [Senri] So the King hired people to figure out what was happening, why his daughters were always so tired in the morning and-- You have a bathroom fixation!

    [wee!Dot] "Well! You said they were locked in there!"

    [Senri] Why they were so tired in the morning and why all their shoes were worn out.

    [Senri] They got drinks and went to the bathroom before they went to bed to avoid all that!

    [Senri] *makes stuff up as he goes along to appease the child.*

    [wee!Dot] "Okay! That makes sense!"

    [Senri] Right? Okay. ...Where was I...

    [wee!Dot] "Maybe they were sleepwalking!"

    [Senri] Oh right. So finally an old soldier took the job.

    [Senri] Shh!

    [Senri] And one day he was walking through the woods and an old lady gave him a cloak of invisibility. She also warned him not to eat or drink anything the princesses gave him.

    [Senri] He agreed and thanked her and then went to start his job, solving the mystery. That evening, the eldest princess gave him a glass of wine while welcoming him to the castle.

    [wee!Dot] "Why'd she do that? What was he thinking? Gifts from strangers are usually bad!"

    [Senri] The soldier remembered what the old woman told him and secretly threw the drink out. Later he pretended to snore so the princesses would think he fell asleep.

    [Senri] It's just a story! Would _you_ turn away a cloak of invisibility? No. Just like you'd totally have a magic dog. Now, listen!

    [wee!Dot] *listens! again!*

    [wee!Dot] "Okay!"

    [Senri] Anyway! When the princesses were sure the soldier was asleep, they snuck out of bed and opened up a trap door in the floor.

    [wee!Dot] "I knew it!"

    [Senri] The soldier put on the cloak and followed them down a flight of stairs.

    [wee!Dot] "Secret door!"

    [Senri] IT'S NOT TO THE BATHROOM!

    [Senri] But he accidentally stepped on the youngest princess' dress *talking faster to get the story in before she asks more questions*

    [Senri] She yelled but got in trouble by her older sisters since no one could see anything.

    [wee!Dot] "See, dresses just get in the way..."

    [Senri] *ignoring her comment and continuing!* Down at the bottom of the stairs was a garden! The soldier wanted proof that all of this was happening so he took twigs from three trees -- one of them was gold, the other silver, and the last diamonds.

    [Senri] And on the other side of the garden was a lake. In the lake were 12 boats with 12 princes, waiting to greet the princesses.

    [Senri] The solider climbed in the last boat with the youngest princess and off they went.

    [wee!Dot] *opens her mouth to ask about diamond twigs, but changes her mind*

    [Senri] *SMART GIRL* On the other side of the lake is a castle and that's where the princes and princesses go to dance the night away.

    [Senri] This goes on for three days, the soldier watching the entire time.

    [Senri] Every night the girls dance until their shoes are completely worn out.
    [weeDot] *listens!*

    [Senri] On the third day, the soldier also takes a gold cup from the part, as proof. When he gets back he presents the twigs and the cup to the King, telling him everything he saw.

    [Senri] The princesses can't deny the story and so they agree.

    [Senri] And so for solving the mystery the King lets the soldier marry one of his daughters.

    [Senri] He choses the eldest because he's apparently not a very young guy himself and eventually becomes the heir to the throne.

    [Senri] THE END.

    [Senri] *lets out a woosh of breath, deflating some.*

    [wee!Dot] *claps!*

    [Senri] *curtsies in his seat, somehow*

    [wee!Dot] "That was good! Are you going to have worn-out shoes too?"

    [Senri] Yes!

    [wee!Dot] "WHICH princess are you going to be?"

    [Senri] I'll have to figure out how to make them look worn out because I don't own any and I'm not wearing _used_ ones.

    [Senri] The youngest _of course_.

    [wee!Dot] "The one that got yelled at!"

    [Senri] But she was _right_

    [Senri] She also complained about something being wrong with the boat when the prince was taking her over the lake.

    [wee!Dot] "Oh!"

    [Senri] *nods*

    [Senri] And because I am both youthful and wise~, naturally I should play the youngest.

    [wee!Dot] *giggles*

    [Senri] *side-eye*

    [wee!Dot] "I am youthfull-er!"

    [Senri] Show off.

    [wee!Dot] *makin' up wooooords*

    [Senri] But you're not going as one of the princesses so _there_.

    [wee!Dot] "But I don't want to wear a dress so I guess you can do it!"

    [Senri] Gee, thanks.

    [wee!Dot] "If the soldier had a magic dog I bet things would have been different!"

    [Senri] *headdesk*

    [wee!Dot] "Did that hurt? Are you okay?"

    [wee!Dot] "That WAS a pretty loud THUMP..."

    [Senri] Thank you, I'm fine. Yes, I'm sure the story would have been different.

    [Senri] The dog probably would have turned one of the princesses into a bone or something.

    [wee!Dot] "A magic bone, so that he could bury it and it would come back when he barked at it!"

    [Senri] That's a pretty terrible ending for a princess who just wanted to go dancing. I'm sure her father was a terrible tyrant that wouldn't let them go do anything fun and that's why they had to sneak out.

    [Senri] I mean, he even married one of them off to the guy who _found out_ about them.

    [wee!Dot] "The soldier was just doing what he was supposed to do!"

    [Senri] You're too young to have the 'I was just doing my job' argument perfected.

    [wee!Dot] "If he didn't, he would get yelled at! By a KING, and that HAS to be worse than your mom, even!"

    [Senri] He has an invisible cloak! I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to get away.

    [wee!Dot] "That is kind of dishonest!"

    [Senri] But what about the poor girls?

    [Senri] Should they have to suffer?

    [wee!Dot] "They were sneaking out! THAT is dishonest too!"

    [Senri] They just wanted to have some joy in their lives!

    [Senri] They were _locked_ in their rooms!

    [wee!Dot] "You don't know for sure that they didn't have any! Dad says that sometimes he wants to lock ME in MY room until I am ..thirty!"

    [Senri] ... *not touching that one :|*

    [wee!Dot] "But sometimes he takes me out for ice cream..."

    [Senri] But your dad _doesn't_ lock you in your room.

    [Senri] See, there's a difference!

    [wee!Dot] "He says that he wouldn't ever really DO it because i am too cute."

    [wee!Dot] "But then sometimes he talks about how nobody is good enough for me. He won't tell me what that means though!"

    [Senri] *d'aaaaawwwwww :')* Pushover.

    [wee!Dot] *blink* "Why would I do that?"

    [Senri] Nevermind.

    [wee!Dot] "Is this one of those things I am not supposed to ask you about because you are a horrible person?"

    [Senri] ...No.

    [Senri] *>:[*