In Strangia
"Come on, Sophie! Hurry!" Laughing and running -- not hand in hand, she's a girl and holding hands is disgusting -- Howl races on little legs through a field of purple flowers. They smell so good!
"Achoo!"
(They're supposed to sneeze a lot, just in case anyone's watching.)
"I bet I can fill my basket before you do!" He's teasing; they have to act like children. He knows they're not and hopefully Sophie knows they're not. The main difference is that everything's so tall in comparison to his usual height, but this isn't as bad as being a dog for that. Bumping into Sophie, he whispers. "This is the field they avoided. Grab as many of the flowers as you can." It's simple lavender, but he imagines it must not grow further north where it's cooler. And there are different varieties. With any luck, they'll have this charmed up and spread round the boundaries of Ingary in no time.
Sophie's clearly decided that his challenge is worth rising to, however; she gives him a little-girl oh really? sort of look before gathering up handfuls of lavender, laying them in her basket. She's adorable at this age: nowhere near as cranky as she was when she was old, but neither is she as complex and engaging as she is at her true age. She may be taking advantage of form to stick her tongue out at him, but she laughs and runs and fills her basket with the choicest ripest stems. She knows flowers far better than he does; it's easy for him to follow her lead.
Both baskets are almost full by the time they look up to see a Strangian soldier standing by the edge of the field waving to them. "Oi! You! You can't play there! Go... achoo!... home before I... achoo!... come chase you... achoo!... off!"
That, of course, is their cue. This time he does reach over and grab Sophie by the hand, and they start to run. She knows how this goes: they run and run on little legs, but the wind that picks them up once they're out of view of the soldier is just as strong as the one that stole them away from Zanzib.
Fortunately, they don't even lose too many of the flower stems along the way. The walk up the path from the flower fields near the castle is much more arduous on little legs; Howl makes mental note to appreciate all the times he ran Michael around back and forth when he was younger. Of course, he probably won't ever say a word about it, but don't they say it's the thought that counts?
"Achoo!"
(They're supposed to sneeze a lot, just in case anyone's watching.)
"I bet I can fill my basket before you do!" He's teasing; they have to act like children. He knows they're not and hopefully Sophie knows they're not. The main difference is that everything's so tall in comparison to his usual height, but this isn't as bad as being a dog for that. Bumping into Sophie, he whispers. "This is the field they avoided. Grab as many of the flowers as you can." It's simple lavender, but he imagines it must not grow further north where it's cooler. And there are different varieties. With any luck, they'll have this charmed up and spread round the boundaries of Ingary in no time.
Sophie's clearly decided that his challenge is worth rising to, however; she gives him a little-girl oh really? sort of look before gathering up handfuls of lavender, laying them in her basket. She's adorable at this age: nowhere near as cranky as she was when she was old, but neither is she as complex and engaging as she is at her true age. She may be taking advantage of form to stick her tongue out at him, but she laughs and runs and fills her basket with the choicest ripest stems. She knows flowers far better than he does; it's easy for him to follow her lead.
Both baskets are almost full by the time they look up to see a Strangian soldier standing by the edge of the field waving to them. "Oi! You! You can't play there! Go... achoo!... home before I... achoo!... come chase you... achoo!... off!"
That, of course, is their cue. This time he does reach over and grab Sophie by the hand, and they start to run. She knows how this goes: they run and run on little legs, but the wind that picks them up once they're out of view of the soldier is just as strong as the one that stole them away from Zanzib.
Fortunately, they don't even lose too many of the flower stems along the way. The walk up the path from the flower fields near the castle is much more arduous on little legs; Howl makes mental note to appreciate all the times he ran Michael around back and forth when he was younger. Of course, he probably won't ever say a word about it, but don't they say it's the thought that counts?