Hilda & Seteth B

Hilda
Oh, it's Seteth! I'd better slip away before he—

Seteth
Ah—I see you are indulging in a bit of reading. You are fond of books, I take it?

Hilda
Yes, reading's one of my favorite pastimes! I was just finishing up, actually, so I think I'll—

Seteth
That is most fortuitous.

Hilda
Um, fortuitous? How do you figure?

Seteth
Come with me. I have a story to share with you.

Seteth
Once upon a time, deep in the cold mountains, there lived a lazy fox and an industrious squirrel.

Seteth
The squirrel worked tirelessly, all day long, while the fox did nothing but lounge around and play.

Seteth
When autumn came, the squirrel hurriedly gathered up acorns for the winter. But the fox continued to play without a care.

Seteth
A biting winter fell upon the land. The mountains, caked in snow, concealed all nourishment from sight.

Seteth
The hungry fox went to the squirrel's dwelling, but the squirrel had locked up tight and gone to sleep.

Seteth
Every so often, the squirrel would wake, enjoy a nibble of an acorn, and then return to an easy slumber.

Seteth
The fox, on the other hand, with nowhere else to turn, was forced to scrounge for food in the bitter cold of the forest.

Seteth
Forlorn and hungry, he wandered in solitude all through the winter, until spring came once more.

Seteth
And so it is, to this very day, that foxes are denied the comforts of hibernation.

Hilda
Ah, I really learned something about foxes!

Hilda
Haha... I read lots of fairy tales like that when I was little.

Hilda
But the lazy fox and the industrious squirrel, huh? That one I don't think I've heard before.

Seteth
That is not surprising, considering I wrote it.

Hilda
Oh! You wrote it?

Seteth
I did. When Flayn was young, she loved fairy tales more than anything. I would read them to her often.

Seteth
This one, however, is a more recent creation. I wrote it for the benefit of the children in the monastery.

Seteth
So, what do you think? I'm curious to hear what sort of impression it made on you.

Hilda
It's so cute!

Seteth
Y-you found it to be...cute?

Hilda
I can just see it now, you writing fairy tales for your little sister! That's just the cutest thing.

Hilda
Honestly, to me, you usually come across as stern and overly perceptive.

Hilda
But now I know you have a sweet side too! I feel like I'm seeing you in a whole new light.

Seteth
That is...not what I was hoping to hear.