onepassingnight | Hansel and Lethel

The twists and turns of the forest are long, secretive, and closed. But in this one small clearing, there is a house made entirely of sweets. Gingerbread forms the walls, adorned with enormous pieces of candy. The pillars and lampposts outside are peppermint, while the bushes grow marshmallows and slices of pie and cake. Even the paving stones of the pathway are rock candy. A river of pure dark chocolate flows lazily alongside the house, hot enough to be molten.

It's clearly a haven for children. In fact, a girl with pink hair and wearing a soft dress sits comfortably amid the wafer candy grass and nibbles at a handful. She looks up and smiles at the newcomer. Something about the smile is a bit too cold for her greeting, but with so much candy nearby, there's plenty to distract from the expression.

"Come over and try some," she invites. "You can eat enough to have a full stomach." This is a rare and precious thing, in a poor kingdom like this one. "Don't worry, I live here with my sister."

(ooc: story can be looked up here. Lethe is working for the witch to lure travelers in return for herself and Mnemosyne not being eaten.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I only wish to speak with it, not to catch it. I am on a quest to find it, yet I have found no one who knows where it is.

[But he won't give up until he finds it.]

But I will stay a little while. I would like to learn more about your strange house, for it is like nothing I have ever seen before.

It's better to give up on something that won't be any use in the long run anyway. Even if you learned something, eventually it will be forgotten and fade away. Isn't it better to enjoy yourself without that effort?

[But even as she speaks, she leads the way into the house, which despite the outside, looks very normal - simple furnishings of rough wood, and a brightly burning fire for the oven.]

No, it will be useful to learn the truth. It can be applied to decision making.

[He was a little disappointed to see how plain and unmagical the house looked on the inside. Not very interesting at all.]

How long will your mother be gone?

She shouldn't be back until this evening. [This was a blatant lie; the witch would return within the hour, and Lethe knew it perfectly well. But the little boy might leave by then, if he knew.]

Oh. That is too long.

[He mainly wanted to know how the house as made and thought her mother might be able to tell him, but there was no need to stay so long to wait for the information if it was going to be hours.]

I should be going.

Don't go yet. [Lethe makes the offer as calmly as she can.] Mother said she might be early if her shopping in the village goes quickly, and she'll make bread and we might even have roast meat for our dinner since it's market day. Stay.

I'll stay to see if she comes back soon, but I don't wish to stay too long, so I will leave if she doesn't.

[He's very focused on his goal, as well as worried about the wizard who might come after him.

He glances out the window, thoughtfully.]

You keep looking out the window. Is someone else in the woods, too? A friend of yours? [If there is, she needs to trap them both, or at least be sure the friend won't find this place to help the boy.]

No, my only friends are the black bird and the white bird, but they have flown away, and I may never see them again.

[However, he is a rather honest young man.]

But there may be someone in the woods.

Who is it, then? Will they be expecting to eat from this house?

He is a wizard, and I do not think that he will.

[A wizard might be beyond her ability to trap or fool.]

I don't think I want him to come here. If he's not your friend, why is he coming here to you?

I also do not want him to come here. He has been following me since I left--

[He almost says "the palace".]

--home.

If he comes here, I'll hide you. [Quite possibly in the oven, but it's an over nonetheless.]

Hansel and Lethel

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