o1. spider | audio; both courts.

[debts]

I keep thinking of this story.

[ There's nothing particularly guarded about the way Natasha sounds. Lazy, maybe; a little mildly amused. ]

Once upon a time, there was a proud and warlike tsar— [ A short pause, then a correction. ] —a ruler. His name was Dadon. When he was young, he invaded and destroyed neighboring lands, taking them for his own. When he grew older Dadon wanted peace, but now his enemies sensed his weakness and it was their turn to wage war on him. He asked for help from his court magician, who gave him a golden cockerel. If any enemies approached, the bird would crow, and because the tsar was pleased he promised that he would give the magician anything he asked for.

Dadon's people lived peacefully for two years. The bird did its job whenever there was danger. One day, the golden bird cried out louder than ever before, so the man sent a great army under the command of his eldest son. Eight days passed. When the bird crowed again, his son and their army weren't back, so he sent out his younger son and another army. There was no news again for eight more days.

He was worried. The bird crowed again, so he went to go investigate this personally, with an army of his best warriors. After several days, he came across a battlefield where both armies and his two sons lay dead. At the edge of the field, he saw a tent with a woman of stunning beauty inside. Her name was—

[ A beat. ]

—you know, I don't think I remember. Her title, though, was the Queen of Shamakha. She invited him inside his tent and Dadon fell in love with her. He took her home, back to his kingdom.

When he did, the magician was waiting for him at the gates. He asked the tsar to pay for the golden bird by giving him the Queen of Shamakha. Angry with the request, Dadon hit the magician with his sword, wounding him fatally. At that moment the bird swooped down and pecked Tsar Dadon to death. And the Queen of Shamakha disappeared, as if she had never been there.

[ Natasha huffs out a laugh. ]

Sorry. Maybe that was too obvious a moral. [ And just like that, the audio abruptly ends. ]

Comments

audio.

[amplified]

( there are a number of morals to this story, lydia thinks. the words 'trust no bitch' pop into her head, and she chuckles to herself, but the way this woman ceases her storytelling so suddenly is too much for her to simply ignore. ) I'm not sure there's only one moral tangled up in that story. There's something to be said for ruthlessness and greed, for selfishness, and for trusting too easily in something... Mm- shiny, so to speak. I'm curious to think which moral you consider most prominent.

audio.

[debts]

I think they're all important.

[ There's something simple in her tone that's directly at odds with the fact she chose to tell the story at all. ]

Or I wouldn't have said it.

audio

[wipedclean]

I don't understand.

[Not the story. He kind of gets the story. Why is she telling a story like this to the network?]

audio

[debts]

You know what a tsar is.

[ She knows that he's not talking about that. But still, her response. ]

AUDIO.

[selfimage]

Deciding to quit your day job for a career in storytelling?

[ tbf, he's a little more curious as to the replies than the story told itself. ]

AUDIO.

[debts]

[ Without missing a beat: ]

Yes.

[ That's always the most interesting part, Loki. ]

Audio, Permaprivate

[gordianknots]

Perhaps obvious, but sometimes allegory gets through people's heads better.

Audio, Permaprivate

[debts]

What allegory?

[ The smile in her voice is pretty obvious. ]

I'm talking about a magic bird.

voice;

[thebreakingwave]

Do you know what happened to the bird?

voice;

[debts]

[ Mildly, off-handedly: ]

Lived free, probably.

audio.

[aeipathos]

The moral of most stories does tend to be blunt.

[ easier for the masses that way, tbh. anyway, the morals are blunted as the stories are passed on and overused, just like anything that once held value or sharpness. ]

audio.

[debts]

There's a difference between blunt and obvious, don't you think?

[ She sounds thoughtful, but not completely disagreeing. ]

audio;

[fulminants]

Don't be led around by your dick, and always keep your promises?

[ that's what he got. ]

audio;

[debts]

[ She doesn't even try to hide the dry, not entirely unkind bite in her voice. ]

Yes.

voice.

[snipers]

... Well, that was morbid.

[ she got the moral all right, but eh. let everyone else talk about that. ]

voice.

[debts]

You think?

[ Natasha's barometer for morbidity is probably a little different. ]

audio;

[vaccinations]

I never liked these kinds of stories.

They always end like that.

audio;

[debts]

I could tell you a different one, if you want.

audio

[starspangled]

Why did he send his sons instead of just going himself in the first place?

[One of many things that makes him frown at that story.]

audio

[debts]

[ A short hum. ]

I don't know. Maybe he wanted to give his sons a chance. Maybe he was cruel.

audio; private.

[vrykolakas]

Mn. Met a few Tsar Dadons. Met a few golden cockerels, too.

Cunts, the lot of them.

Want a story in return?

audio; private.

[debts]

[ There's a smile in her voice. ]

Yes, please.

audio.

[semiurge]

It's a fairy tale, right? The moral's supposed to be obvious in those.

[ He'll sigh at this point. ]

He kind of brought the whole thing on himself, from the beginning.

audio.

[debts]

The most dangerous enemies are not without, but within.

[ It sounds like she's parroting the phrase. Like she heard it a long time ago and she's retelling it, but that phrase is something she made sure to remember. ]

Yeah. I guess he did.

audio;

[boutant]

But did the bird crow before pecking him to death?

[ Ariadne, you're being a shit. ]

audio;

[debts]

[ I think you misspelled best friend material. ]

Probably not. Too bad, huh?

video;

[bethany_hawke]

Is it the recent war that reminded you of the story or something else?

audio;

[debts]

[ Mildly: ]

I don't know if people could think about anything else and not think about the war, too.

voice;

[notyetlegend]

Sometimes arrogance an' pride can blind someone to th' curse they're placin' on themselves.

[debts]

Do you think Dadon could have avoided his fate?

audio.

[detoxifying]

[ The story was clearly an allegory, much like many tales he'd heard as a child. All the same, it does bear a passing resemblance to the recent history of his home kingdom and its neighbouring empire. ]

Don't invade neighbouring lands because you think they're weak. The ones you underestimate and take for granted will ultimately be your undoing.

[ If (when) he returns to Thedas, he makes a note to tell that story to the next Orlesian he comes across, with a few alterations (it certainly needed a dog). ]

audio.

[debts]

[ Naturally, the point of an exercise like this isn't the story but the responses. Words only mean as much as what the listener puts into them.

Case in point. ]

That's one interpretation.

[ She sounds a little thoughtful, a little curious. ]

Do you play chess?

video | locked

[uneulogized]

Nice story. Do you think you'll be hitting anyone over the head with a sword anytime soon?

[Locked because of the nature of the communication.

And because of their conversation before. It's better to skip ahead.]

video | locked

[debts]

[ Video works. The fuzzy little image of Natasha quirks a brow — amused about the circumventing rather than annoyed. ]

I've already been attacked by one giant bird during my stay here.

[ Sort of. Anyway, it's not something she's keen to repeat. ]

audio;

[merelychewed]

[ Definitely one or two big "not to do" moral signs pop up in her story, but Draco opts for the one he finds funniest (and more applicable than it might initially sound). ]

Never buy a magical bird unless you know what you're paying for it upfront, I imagine.

audio;

[debts]

[ Well, finally. ]

How'd you guess?

audio;

[cockade]

The more I listen to this locket, the more I'm finding people have a morbid sense of humor.

[This coming from a Frenchman who uses humor to start conversations. Oh, the irony.]

Still, it's a good story.

audio;

[debts]

Good? I was hoping for useful.

[ In a way, anyway. ]

audio;

[bird_brain]

Perhaps I'd like to hear the moral you got from that in your own words.

[Yes, he can get his own lessons from it, but that's not nearly as fun.]

audio;

[debts]

Don't trust a woman all alone in a tent.

[ :) ]

audio.

[chivalrist]

The wiles of women, [ she remarks, and there's something conspiratorial in it, like she could be sharing a secret. the point of the story is far from that, of course, and yet it always sticks out to her, how frequently such a thing arises. ]

Most stories about the ruination of rulers seem to come from overreaching, don't you think? A shame it never teaches them anything.

[debts]

Some might have called it a false sense of security. Others--

[ And Natasha huffs out a laugh, the shrug somehow noticeable even though it's strictly audio-only. A telling beat, maybe. ]

I like overreaching better, anyway.

audio

[psalmed]

It is a Russian story?

[She recognizes some of the words. The story, not so much. But somehow she likes the familiar words.]

[debts]

Yeah, it is.

[ A beat. ]

Do you know it?

audio

[stickseller]

I've always preferred stories that end on a note of hope.

[debts]

You don't think it's hopeful?