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Mar. 30th, 2007 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
talkstohatsIt's been a very long day indeed; and Howl must be tired, because there's not one groan, cough, or shout for attention from his room above.
Sophie's tired too, and full of worry, and from looking at Michael she can tell he feels the same way. Why are they on the edge of the Waste? It seems the last place Howl should want to be, unless he really had given up and decided to honestly look for Prince Justin after all. But that does not seem likely. Far more likely - and more troubling - is the idea that the curse has perhaps been tugging on Howl without his realizing it.
She opens her mouth to ask what Michael thinks about it, and then realizes that he's asleep. She turns to look at Calcifer instead. But Calcifer looks almost more tired than any of them, and with more justification, so Sophie shuts her mouth instead and just watches him.
You wouldn't think that a fire demon could look tired, she thinks, absently, but then Calcifer is much more than just a drop of flame, or even just a fire demon - in fact, the whole shape of him reminds her of something, and she forgets her resolution to let him sleep for a moment.
"Calcifer, were you ever a falling star?"
Calcifer opens an eye to peer at her. "Of course. I can talk about it if you know; the contract allows me to."
"And Howl caught you?" Sophie asks, remembering Howl's anger when he'd heard that she and Michael had been out star-chasing.
"Five years ago," Calcifer says. "Out on the Porthaven Marshes, just after he set up as Jenkins the Sorcerer. He chased me in seven-league boots. I was terrified of him. I was terrified anyway, because when you fall you know you're going to die. I'd have done anything rather than die." He's talking in the disconnected way that people do when they are very sleepy; Sophie listens, fascinated, thinking that he would never have told her this much if it were not for the long day they've all had. "When Howl offered to keep me alive the way humans stay alive, I suggested a contract on the spot. Neither of us knew what we were getting into. I was grateful, and Howl only offered because he felt sorry for me."
Sophie nods. She knows about Howl's - well, soft-heartedness, for lack of a better word; despite all his flaws, he never can resist the urge to make a generous gesture. "Just like Michael," she says, at which point Michael wakes up.
"What's that? Sophie, I wish we weren't right on the edge of the Waste. I didn't know we would be. I don't feel safe," he says, sounding younger than his fifteen years, and Sophie moves over to go pat him on the shoulder.
"Nobody," says Calcifer, "is safe in a wizard's house."
Sophie's tired too, and full of worry, and from looking at Michael she can tell he feels the same way. Why are they on the edge of the Waste? It seems the last place Howl should want to be, unless he really had given up and decided to honestly look for Prince Justin after all. But that does not seem likely. Far more likely - and more troubling - is the idea that the curse has perhaps been tugging on Howl without his realizing it.
She opens her mouth to ask what Michael thinks about it, and then realizes that he's asleep. She turns to look at Calcifer instead. But Calcifer looks almost more tired than any of them, and with more justification, so Sophie shuts her mouth instead and just watches him.
You wouldn't think that a fire demon could look tired, she thinks, absently, but then Calcifer is much more than just a drop of flame, or even just a fire demon - in fact, the whole shape of him reminds her of something, and she forgets her resolution to let him sleep for a moment.
"Calcifer, were you ever a falling star?"
Calcifer opens an eye to peer at her. "Of course. I can talk about it if you know; the contract allows me to."
"And Howl caught you?" Sophie asks, remembering Howl's anger when he'd heard that she and Michael had been out star-chasing.
"Five years ago," Calcifer says. "Out on the Porthaven Marshes, just after he set up as Jenkins the Sorcerer. He chased me in seven-league boots. I was terrified of him. I was terrified anyway, because when you fall you know you're going to die. I'd have done anything rather than die." He's talking in the disconnected way that people do when they are very sleepy; Sophie listens, fascinated, thinking that he would never have told her this much if it were not for the long day they've all had. "When Howl offered to keep me alive the way humans stay alive, I suggested a contract on the spot. Neither of us knew what we were getting into. I was grateful, and Howl only offered because he felt sorry for me."
Sophie nods. She knows about Howl's - well, soft-heartedness, for lack of a better word; despite all his flaws, he never can resist the urge to make a generous gesture. "Just like Michael," she says, at which point Michael wakes up.
"What's that? Sophie, I wish we weren't right on the edge of the Waste. I didn't know we would be. I don't feel safe," he says, sounding younger than his fifteen years, and Sophie moves over to go pat him on the shoulder.
"Nobody," says Calcifer, "is safe in a wizard's house."
