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oh-heartlessman · 8 years

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The Arrival of Madame Suliman || Suliman&Kiki

In which the one person Howl fears arrives on his doorstep in the dark of the night. Howl, of course, now possesed by his demon side, is not home. But Kiki, Jiji, and Calcifer are...

tw for violence and injuries

SULIMAN:

Philomena Suliman was an incredibly patient woman. She thought herself of something of a farmer, planting the seeds in the spring and then waiting, watching over them, perhaps nurturing what needed to be nurtured every so often, but not tampering with the ground too much, not harming the seeds that she knew would grow. She waited. She was patient. She waited and waited and even when the fruit seemed ripe, she waited, because she knew that there was a perfect moment to swoop in and any second before would ruin everything.

So on the December night, when a blip of demon activity had been detected in Scotland, when a little speck of something had been detected in the little English town that she had been keeping an eye on, Suliman knew she had to wait, just a little longer for the final bloom.

And then there was a message.

A message from one Jiji Takayama.

And that was all Suliman needed.

She told no one on the Council where she was going, all of them deeming Howl Pendragon a problem that had been long solved, or at least filed away. But Suliman knew that Howl was both powerful and reckless, a combination that she detested. If he was not explicitly working for her, he was against her and unless he was under her control, he was a threat. Either he signed an oath that she made all powerful sorcerers sign, pledging their eternal service to Ingary and their loyalty to the Council, or he had to be squelched.

She left right after dinner, wearing a cloak sewn of midnight so that she could travel by shadows. It took only seconds to her, though hours had passed when she showed up on the edge of the forest of Enchantra. She had not been to Swynlake in years, the last time being when she had just secured the position of Head Councilmember and had been making a sort of diplomatic visit to other Magick-Friendly towns in Europe. Swynlake was no Ingary. It was small and kitchsy and they allowed all sorts of types into their borders--vampires, werewolves--and they had such a quaint fondness for trivial fairies and Gifted folks.

She walked silently, drifting through the shadows, a blur in the corner of people’s visions. Some turned, but she was always just out of sight.

Suliman had been prepared to concoct a spell to wear down Howl’s protections--using a strand of his hair that had once lain on her pillow, amongst other things--but was pleased to find, that once she turned down Main Street, the tracking spell still held steady. This was surprising, but she did not question her luck. Oh, Howell, I thought you were more careful than this…

The spell led her to a townhouse right in the hub of downtown and she almost laughed. How typical. He’d want to be right in the middle of the action, though how much hype this small town got, God only knew.

She was half-expecting some spell to throw her off her feet the minute she walked up to the door, or at least blur the house from her vision, or maybe even send her in the opposite direction. No such thing happened.

That was when Philomena Suliman knew that something was up.

Because Howl Pendragon was reckless and childish and impulsive. But he was not careless. He was so cowardly, that it rounded back to being extra careful and she knew that he would’ve covered up his house with all sorts of protection and defense, not leave it bare and ripe for picking.

She was curious. Curious, curious, curious.

Suliman gave one knock to the door, waited for about a three seconds, and then, plucked an unlocking spell from her pocket (she had packed it in case she needed to get in somewhere else, expecting Howl’s defenses to be stronger than what they were, but, well never question good luck) and with ease, opened the door.

The door swung open, winter air spilling in, and Suliman climbed up the familiar steps of Howl’s cottage.

“Howl, darling,” she said, suspecting full well that Howl was not home, especially considering Jiji’s message, but mocking the fact anyway, her hand resting on the railing, her other undoing the hood of her cloak. “I expected you to have a better alarm set.”

When she got to the top, it was clear that Howl was not present. What was present, though, was the surprised demon in the fireplace (yes, she knew), who instantly flared up to twice his size, a surprised Kiki Takayama at the dinner table, and a pleased looking Jiji. She expected those three though.

What she did not expect was the gleaming sapphire blue egg by the side of the hearth.

Her hood dropped, revealing her angular, ageless pale face, framed by fair hair in a sharp bob, cut just below her jaw.

“Well, well, well, Jiji...you told me there was something dark here, but you didn’t tell me it was this.” She did not walk over, just stared at the egg from across the room.

“You get away from here!” spat the demon, rising up to a great height.

“Oh please,” said Suliman and she glanced at him and all at once, a great waterfall started to churn over him. It was an illusion, of course, but her magic felt real and the demon gasped and tried to scoot away from the gushing waters that tumbled over him. He lowered his flame, cowering under a piece of wood, hiding from water that wasn’t there.

Suliman walked over to the egg.

“Oh, oh, oh, this is too good…” She gave Jiji a smile. “Very good work. I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you.” She paid no attention to the pathetic Takayama girl and reached a hand to touch the egg.

KIKI AND JIJI:

Kiki had been alone for several weeks now.

She’d walked into an empty, dark house, furniture overturned and a chill sweeping through the entire place. Cal had glowed low and meek from the fireplace, like an ember needing more firewood. She’d gone straight to the little sprite in her panic. What happened?! Where’s Howl?! Is he okay?

Cal had told her that Howl was having a bit of a magical quagmire. Nothing serious, he assured her, blinking his wide, friendly eyes at her as he tried to make his flames as warm and bright as always. It was just something Howl was stumped on and so he was going back to Wales in search of some rare ingredients. He’d be back, of course he would be back.

Kiki had smiled at Calcifer and given him another log to chew on. That makes perfect sense, Kiki said, lying to Calcifer the way he was lying to her. As she walked back upstairs to go study her wandwork, she saw the shape of the scythe ahead of her, plastered on the wall.

No matter what people thought, what Howl thought or Jiji or Calcifer, Kiki wasn’t entirely stupid. She knew her textbooks.

The scythe had been painted on the bottom of the teacup. Predicting the future through tea leaves meant that farther from the lip the farther the prediction was. She’d seen an egg near the lip of Jiji’s cup and a month later they had a dragon egg cooking on the stove, Jiji refusing to acknowledge its existence, its presence threatening his campaign. The bottom of the cup meant, usually, four months. She’d predicted this in August.

Four months later, Howl was gone and Cal was lying to her and Jiji had a grave expression on his face as he climbed up the stairs ahead of her, unusually quiet. The scythe was hanging over their house.

She’d sat down on her bed and stared out her window. Jiji climbed up next to her and put a paw on her leg. He purred, just enough to get her to look at him instead.

“Kiki-- I think it’s time we discuss moving back to Ingary,” he’d said.

Kiki jumped off the bed at once. “What? No-- no way--”

“Kiki,” Jiji sighed. He shifted on the bed, turning toward her before he took a seat, wrapping his tail over his paws. “You and I both know that something terrible has happened here. I can smell dark magic all over this place--”

“It’s the egg,” she blurted. “It’s nothing new--”

“Kiki, it looks like a fight happened here--”

“He could be hurt then! We should wait for him!” She shouted as tears crowded her eyes.

“Howl is not a responsible sorcerer, he’s not what’s best for you anymore,” he’d pressed on. “Kiki, listen to me, I have seen this sort of th--”

“NO, Jiji!” Kiki snapped at him. Her hand had clenched. “We will wait for Howl. You are my familiar and you will listen to me!” Jiji’s ears went flat on his head. Kiki’s tears brimmed and she quickly wiped her hand over her eyes, so they’d not get too far. “He’s the only sorcerer who hasn’t given up on me,” she told him. “We aren’t giving up on him.”

The witch and her familiar had faced each other for a tense few seconds, the silence overbearing. And then Jiji had hopped off the bed and left the room without a word. Kiki slammed her door after him, collapsed on the bed, and cried.

She’d dreamed of the scythe every night after that one, but pretended everything was fine. She took up breakfast-making duties like Howl was still here, making extra bacon for Cal and pancakes for Jiji. She clomped down the stairs every morning, plastering a massive smile on her face and greeting her boys with her brightest chirp. She rotated the egg, took its temperature and listened to its heartbeat with a stethoscope, recording all the stats in the little book Howl had been keeping. It was looking bluer and bluer these days, reminding her of a lapis lazuli. She recited to herself: Lapis Lazuli releases stress and brings deep peace. It brings harmony and deep inner self-knowledge.

She took deliveries, she collected ingredients, she studied. And every day she looked out the window and stared down the walkway before she closed up, getting quiet and contemplative, hoping that Howl would come home in a sweep of his dark cloak.

When the door opened that winter day, Kiki started where she sat at the table, her eyes jumping from the book she was hunched over. She thought for a second it was Howl-- Howl home for Christmas.

Then Madame Suliman walked in.

Kiki’s heart leapt to her throat. The room get chilly and crowded, Suliman’s magic spilling into the space and filling every nook and cranny. Kiki couldn’t feel anything else. It was heavy, thick, pushing her down. She couldn’t move for a second, just stare at the witch as her heart skipped a beat.

She’d met Madame Suliman just once before. When she was a very small girl, perhaps around five years old. The Takayamas were friends of Suliman, her Baaba Mei a loyal supporter. It had been her grandmother who introduced her to Suliman, made her bow low and say her name. The newest Takayama witch, Baaba Mei had declared proudly. Born on a full moon. We expect great things from her. She will make us all proud.

That was before-- before her string of failures and years of solitude and before her Baaba Mei had asked Suliman for guidance and Suliman had advised Kiki leave Ingary altogether.

Kiki knew she should be happy to see Suliman, but Howl had always clammed up at the name. And now all that magic felt like chains coiling around Kiki. It wasn’t dark the way the egg was dark-- but it was suffocating. Kiki couldn’t feel her own magic in its presence, as though Suliman had already sucked it all up.

And then she looked at the egg.

Kiki jumped up at once. “Don’t!” she said, her voice pitching high. Her hand grabbed for the wand that had been lying on the table, curling her fingers so tight around it her knuckles went white. “That’s-- it’s not dangerous! It’s Howl’s!”

Jiji fidgeted awkwardly from the armchair near the fire. “Kiki, it’s okay. I--” he paused, cleared his throat as his head ducked. “I--I called her. It’s been weeks, Kiki. Howl isn’t coming back and we can’t live with this egg, someone needs to take responsibility--”

Kiki flashed a glare his way. “Shut up!”

Jiji recoiled.

“How could you do this?” she cried at her familiar. “That’s-- we’re protecting it!” She whirled back at Suliman and steeled her gaze, gritted her jaw. She lifted her chin and extended her wand at the sorceress. Her hand trembled just a little, but she tried to steady it. She knew she was so match for Suliman. She was the High Councilwoman. She was, perhaps, the most talented witch alive today.

But Kiki was Howl’s apprentice and she had to try.

“You’re not taking that egg.” She said as boldly as she could. “I--I’ll-- I’ll hex you.”

SULIMAN:

She had not taken her eyes off the egg, had not paid much attention to the little spat the Takayama girl and her familiar were having. It did not concern her; sure the familiar had proved useful, but that’s all familiars were--tools to sorcerers who knew how to take advantage of them. Oh, yes she was well-acquainted with the beliefs that familiars had about their place in society, but ultimately, they would not even exist without their families.

She reached a hand out to the egg. It grew hotter and her hand had not even touched it. She could feel the anger radiating off of it--she could harvest it right now, right here, all this dark anger, this dark passion, but under it all...a dark fear.

Suliman had almost not even heard the Takayama girl speak.

She turned, finding Kiki with her wand outstretched, all this false determination and hope and pluck just oozing off of her. Oh this poor, talentless fool.

“You don’t know what you’re messing with, child,” said Suliman. “The spawn of two shadows is very dark magic indeed. You should listen to your familiar.”

She glanced at Kiki, her eyes steely and cold, and all of a sudden, it was as if the patch of floor Kiki was standing on was the tip-top of a mountain and any step in any direction was a straight shot down to the a bottomless canyon. Suliman even gave it a touch of a roaring wind, sweeping through Kiki, pushing her through one side or another.

“Kiki! It’s not real!” said the fire demon, but even as he said that, the waterfall illusion grew stronger and he cowered under the splashing water droplets that catapulted towards him.

“It’s going to hatch within the moon,” said Suliman, walking fully around the egg, watching how it caught the light, a deep, deep blue, like the depths of an ocean. Howl’s eyes were blue too--but never this deep. There was always something shallow about them, something glassy. Such was the result of a demon contract. Suliman flicked her own steely eyes back towards Jiji. “You did a smart thing calling me here. There’s no way the two of you--even with that thing--” She glanced at the fire demon. “Could’ve handled this.” Howl may have on his own, but even so it would take a lot of magic, a lot of power--

The other sorcerer.

Of course there was another sorcerer. This egg before her required the shadows of two dark sorcerers.

“Do you know who the other is?” she asked Jiji, delicately. This was not someone from Ingary, someone she had records of. Whomever this mystery sorcerer was (could be a sorceress, Howl did not discriminate), they were powerful, dangerous, and possibly just as much of a threat as Howl. She needed to get all her factors straight before sending the egg to the Chamber of Unknown Artifacts in the central citadel of Ingary.

A thought crept into her mind, a thought of a powerful young sorceress, just a bit older than Howl, who had gone missing some years ago. Vanished, without a trace, from Oxford.

Even Suliman could not repress the smile that slit across her features.

Oh, oh, oh, if this was what she thought it was...then this egg would hatch into something so powerful and if these two sorcerers were gone, this egg could be controlled. She would have leverage. Fight darkness with darkness, imprison and train the creature that hatched from this egg, give it no other life than hers, turn it into the ultimate weapon.

And if Howl returned? If he protested? Why she would leave him alone if she had this in her possession. What was one wayward sorcerer compared to a beast at her control?

She ran a finger down the side of the egg.

“There, there,” she said. “I’ve got you now.”

KIKI AND JIJI:

Kiki kept her arm outstretched and her wrist straight. Her fingers clung to the wand as though it were an extension of her arm. That was always what she was taught-- that her wand was the extension of herself, her spirit turned into silver. It could be many things. It could be a fishing hook, baiting the laughs of children and catching joy. It could be a lasso, dragging starlight from the night. It could be a knife-- slicing the sky open.

And she, Kiki, she was a fishing hook and a lasso and a knife. Her magic made her all these things.

She would not be afraid.

Kiki steadied her ground. Like any good witch, she had some charms already prepared. They weren’t big charms, nothing that would keep Suliman for long, but maybe just long enough for Kiki to figure out the next move, or for the water illusion to break, so Calcifer to help her, or-- or something, just something. It didn’t matter what the witch said. It didn’t matter if she was right or if she was wrong. She didn’t even need Jiji to be on her side.

Then the ground opened up, nearly swallowing her. Kiki yelped as the wind rushed her and she took a step back, feeling her heel teeter on that fragile, hairline ledge. Her arms flailed out-- wand still gripped tight in one though-- keeping her balance.

She heard Cal shout over the wind-- illusion magic!

Kiki’s textbooks, the ones she kept in her head, all flipped open, pages fluttering to the right one.

Illusions are one of the most complicated specialities a sorcerer may choose to study. While many can master a visual illusion, only those of great talent can become a master of the five senses. Illusion magic often times cannot be broken with any single spell-- simply overcome.

I’m not going to fall! Kiki said to herself, even as her heart pounded and her hair tickled at her cheeks. The wind was roaring, growing louder and stronger. It was fake, it was fake-- I’m not going to fall!

She thought she heard Jiji meow something-- K-Kiki! Stop, you’re scaring her! Kiki breathed heavily as she stared down at the canyon below, the sharp rocks just waiting to bludgeon her to death.

I’m not going to fall. I’m not going to fall--

She forced herself to look up and saw Suliman’s finger sliding over the shell of Mel and Howl’s egg. Her heart jumped in her chest, all her blood freezing inside her--

She couldn’t let her take it. She wouldn’t. She was Tsukiko, born on the full moon, daughter of Mizuki Takayama, granddaughter of the Great Mei, descendent of the First Onmyōji of Japan. She was Tsukiko Takayama, and her magic was great.

I’m going to fly.

“UP AND AT ‘EM!” Kiki shouted and her broom, which had been propped against Calcifer’s mantle, sprang to life. It heard her magic. It sliced through the air-- it was the fishing hook, the lasso, the knife. Kiki’s fingers curled around all that old oak, and she felt the spirit of her ancestors with her. Now when the wind blew, it was no illusion. It was Kiki’s magic, gathering the storm underneath her feet.

She leapt from the mountain and flew toward Suliman and the egg. She would save the egg-- find Howl, bring it to him safely-- and then deliver them home again.

SULIMAN

Before Suliman could process what was happening fully, the Takayama girl torpedoed straight towards the hearth.

The fire demon let out a great scream, a bellowing war cry and burst into a massive inferno, his flames blazing almost ten feet--shattering the waterfall illusion, which disappeared in smoke and mist as the flames of the demon shot out towards her.

Suliman was forced to duck beneath the stones of the hearth, sparks flying right at her and the egg slipped from her hands, only to be snatched up by Kiki Takayama, who had sliced through the air on her broomstick.

Instantly, the room became a storm--a howling, wild summer storm, dark grey clouds, pelts of rain, violent gusts of wind. A bolt of lightning shot behind Suliman so that her figure was illuminated as she rose up.

There was a clap of thunder, a rumble that grew into an echoing boom, as the wind picked up, gusting against Kiki, blowing through the fire demon, whose flames were scattered to the clouds, who clung onto the hearth.

“You insolent brat.” Suliman did not raise her voice, yet it sliced through the air clearly like a dagger.

She walked straight through the stormy sky. The illusion was hers to control and no gust of wind made her sway, not bolt of lightning could strike her down. As she walked to Kiki, the wind blew harder, tossing the young witch back and forth on her broom. Suliman knew that her grip would loosen--she could either hold onto the egg or to the broom and as the rain pelting at her fingers, making the handle and the egg slippery.

A dark cover of clouds slipped between Suliman and Kiki, concealing the older sorceresses from the young witch, though Suliman could see clearly through it. When the time was right, she would swoop in just as the egg toppled from Kiki’s fingers and then with a sweep of her cloak, she would disappear into the shadows.

“Kiki!” cried Calcifer, but the wind was too loud, the rain too strong. He had to try anyway. He could not see much, did not want to open his eyes, was trying to tell himself that it was not real, that it was all in his head. But magic was strong. “Kiki! Hold on! HOLD ON!”

KIKI:

Kiki Takayama caught the egg. Mid-air-- she caught it, swooping underneath just as it slipped from Suliman’s fingers. Kiki drew it close to her, tucking it right underneath her arm. For a moment she thought her own heartbeat was going wild in her chest from the exhilirating rise and dip of her broom, from the wind rocketing it to top speeds. The next she realized that was the heart of the egg. And as she lifted in the air, heading toward the ceiling rafters, that heartbeat got stronger and stronger, as though it was trying to speak its name.

It likes to fly, thought Kiki, and this made sense to her. Its mother had wings and so did its father. It was born to be in the air.

Just like me, thought Kiki next, and she gripped the little egg-- child of Howl, her Master Wizard-- even tighter.

The storm broke open in front of them, air dark, lights washed out in thick rolling clouds. The thunder roared louder than Suliman, speaking with all her fury for her. And Suliman’s wind fought against Kiki’s. It grabbed at her broom, tossing her back and forth as she struggled to see through the blinding sheets of rain that smashed into her one after the other. If only she had her goggles, or her rain coat on, or her gloves--she couldn’t see the window, her plan of escape.

Below, Jiji cried out to her. “Kiki, Kiki! Kiki please, you’ll hurt yourself! Just bring her the egg!”

She gripped it even tighter, even as her one hand on the broom handle slid toward the end of the broom.

“Kiki!” meowed Jiji again, as Cal cheered her on.

The clouds began to close in, above and below her, creating a dark, cold cage, so she couldn’t see either of her guardians, nor hear them. The winds roared and cackled. The thunder boomed like cannons shot through the air. The ground was far away now-- the window lost-- and Kiki was all alone.

Except for the heartbeat of the egg. No, she wasn’t alone. Howl was with her. Even Melaenis was with her. She held their magic and it was as big and dark and beautiful as the two of them, bigger and darker and more beautiful than this illusion of a storm. And that’s all this storm was, Kiki had to hold onto that. It wasn’t real. The heartbeat was real. The egg was real. She had to take it home.

Kiki squeezed her eyes shut against all the rain and leaned down, forcing the nose of her broom to dive through the clouds. She broke through all that darkness and appeared again, to the shouts and cries of Cal and Jiji. But she couldn’t look down at either of them. She had to fly straight for the window. She’d smash through it and leave Suliman in all that shattered dust.

“Kiki!” Jiji meowed again as she streaked and weaved her way toward the glass. The storm clouds grew up in front of her though, the illusion too strong. It barreled into her like a tornado.

There was a clap of thunder, a flash of lightning in the clouds.

Jiji watched as a body plummeted down. He let out a terrible cry of pain right before the splinter of wood, Kiki’s body destroying a chair on impact. Her broom clattered beside her.

Immediately the storm disappeared. Jiji darted toward the body of his apprentice, leaping over the tables and chairs and couch cushions that had been thrown into chaos. He paid no mind to Suliman, who had snatched the egg before it, too, had fallen. He danced his way over to Kiki, meowing his worry with every delicate pawstep. When he arrived at her side, Jiji pawed at her shoulder.

“Kiki, oh Kiki, sweetheart!” he sniffled. He pawed a little harder, then leapt over her body to put a paw on her cheek. “S-say something!”

Kiki’s body twitched, her eyes fluttering open.

Jiji attacked her cheek with little kisses of his raspy tongue. “Thank the moon! Thank the moon!”

Kiki groaned. “S-suliman…”

And it was then Jiji remembered. His heart grew small in his chest, like a splinter he wanted to dig out. He’d not meant for any of this to happen. When he’d contacted Suliman, he’d been certain then-- every instinct he had as an animal and as a familiar told him it was the right thing to do. He wanted, above all else, for Kiki to be safe. Without Howl, how could she defend herself? What if something happened? Who could they trust? And what if the egg had hatched?

But now his apprentice was lying in a pile of broken wood, her clothes and skin torn. She’d flown so beautifully. He had been so proud, even though he was horrified. But what if Kiki had snapped her neck on impact? What if she’d smashed her arm? What could still be broken? Suliman hadn’t cared about the life of his witch. She could have been killed.

And Jiji knew now. His instincts kicked up again, every hair of his trembling. Even though Kiki was a Takayama-- even though Suliman was supposed to help them--she would have been killed if Kiki had continued to get in her way.

Jiji had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

He once again hopped over Kiki’s twitching body, standing firm in front of her as he stared at Suliman, the mirth back in the woman’s eyes now that she had that foul egg. He bared his teeth at her. “There, you got what you wanted. Don’t come near us,” he hissed. “Leave!”

Kiki stirred behind him.

SULIMAN (and CALCIFER):

Kiki, predictably, had screwed up. The minute she torpedoed into the chair, Suliman swooped in, catching the egg and the storm disappeared. All that was left was the girl’s feebly stirring body, the pathetic cowering fire demon, and the familiar who dared bare his fangs to a full-fledged sorceress.

“I have what I came for,” said Suliman, her voice calm. “I have no need to linger here.” She glanced at the girl, her expression still hard, but a hand slipped in her cloak and she pulled out a vial, laying it on the side of the hearth. “Give her this and she’ll come to with no wounds. I mean you no harm--that’d be a pointless waste of my time.” The egg was warm in her arms, and she felt something beat within it. Oh the magic was dark and great and it reminded her so much of Howl--how lovely would this be, a little piece of Howl for her to lock up and use against him, should he ever do something stupid again (which, to be frank, was likely).

She fixed her gaze towards the fire demon, who had inched closer to the vial.

“Farewell,” said Suliman, sweeping her steely gaze around the room one last time. “Don’t follow.”

And with that, she walked into a shadowy corner, swept her cloak, and vanished into the shadows.

From the hearth, Calcifer crackled.

“We need to find Howl,” he said. “I can find him. I can tell where he is, we’d just need a spell to get me out of the fireplace. Howl has jars for me, we usually go out on Christmas.” Not this year, apparently. He remembered last year, Seph had wanted to help him see the Tree Lighting. He hadn’t left the hearth in so long, and now, he was finally going to, but it wasn’t to see the world--it was to find Howl. And Cal knew surely where Howl was, as sure as the heart beating deep within him.

KIKI AND JIJI:

“Hush!” Jiji snapped at once at Calcifer, despite his crackling flames, the embers spitting off his hearth and dying on the rug. He rounded on the demon with these words. His eyes were more yellow than green, fur fluffed, whiskers twitching. His entire body trembled as though he’d been the one tossed out of the sky.

And Jiji felt like he had been. And where Kiki’s body ached, he felt that pain twinging in his own muscles, their bond of magic guiding the two into one. The purpose of such an effect was to help a familiar locate, assess, and properly treat injuries. But Jiji-- with the twitch in his shoulder, the pounding in his head, the speed of his heart-- saw with more clarity than he ever had that the bond was much deeper that that. It was to ensure that he felt what his charge felt. That he knew what she knew. That he would suffer if she suffered. And Jiji’s regret was weighing heavier all the more for it.

And he would not put her in danger again. He would not scare her-- again. He’d taken an oath 313 years ago and he would not break it.

“Why do you think we’d go anywhere with you?” cried Jiji, continuing without a beat. “This wh-whole apprenticeship has been a-- a terrible mistake! From the second I smelled black magic in this place, I should have turned Kiki around. Howl wasn’t right for her. And now you think we should go spiriting off to find him-- whatever there is left to find? Don’t lie to me Calcifer, I know that Howl isn’t off on some errand! I smelled it!” he spat. “The only reason I’ve been keeping your secret was to spare Kiki’s heart but no more! Not when there are demon eggs and, and, storms springing from the ceiling! Not while my apprentice lays hurt and scared. Kiki could have died!”

His voice had risen to a wail. Cal stared at him. For a second, Jiji felt a twinge of regret, but it was too quiet underneath all the pain, all Kiki’s fear, and that awful truth. She could have died.

“No,” he announced, nose trembling. Jiji’s eyes hardened. “No. We’re leaving. We’re leaving as soon as Kiki--”

“Jiji,” came Kiki’s murmur from behind.

Jiji whirled around and saw Kiki sitting up. She was favouring the shoulder she fell on--it looked dislocated to him. Her cheeks were stained with tears. She was staring at her own hand on her thigh, fingers twitching every sporadic second or so. The room grew quiet, besides Calcifer’s fire. Jiji swallowed some of his anger down.

“K-Kiki, there’s a potion--”

“I know. I heard,” Kiki murmured again. Once again, the room got quiet. Kiki didn’t move. Her finger kept twitching and Jiji stared. Slowly, he moved a paw and took a single step forward.

“Kiki…”

“I’m going,” she said. Jiji stiffened back up, now frozen in stone.

“Kiki, I--”

“I’m going,” she said again. Not much louder. “Calcifer, I’ll find the spell for you. We’ll leave as soon as we can.”

Jiji watched, eyes growing as wide as milk saucers as she lurched to her knees, then wobbled to her feet. If he were gifted with tears, Jiji would cry. He let out a terrible, high-pitched meow instead, in his native tongue. It was a word that Kiki didn’t understand, a word that kits used to call their mothers closer.

Kiki stumbled a step, then leaned down and grasped at her broom.

“Kiki, you can’t,” Jiji finally said. “Y-you… you don’t understand. These people, they’ve been lying to you. Calcifer’s a demon, Kiki! Howl’s possessed of a shadow, he’s cursed--”

“I know,” said Kiki, voice still soft and tired.

Jiji’s ears flattened on his head. “Wh-what, you can’t know, if you knew then you would understand why these people….why I had to call Suliman-- I didn’t mean for it to go like this but I had to--”

“These people…” uttered Kiki, straightening slowly. She clutched at the broom and used it to help lift her. “...they’re my friends.”

“They’re dangerous--”

“YOU’RE DANGEROUS,” Kiki shouted then, whirling on him. And suddenly the wind was back, rushing around Kiki, whirling through her hair, rattling the dishes in the kitchen. “YOU. ARE DANGEROUS. YOU LIED TO ME, NOT THEM. YOU BETRAYED US. YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN ME. YOU, JIJI, YOU ARE DANGEROUS TO ME, AND I HATE YOU.”

Jiji shrunk all the way back, stumbling over the edge of the rug with a pitiful meow. All the wind died at once.

Kiki panted, wavering where she stood as though she’d fall. She tried to lift her hand and cried out, the pain in her shoulder too much. And so the tear escaped-- the one she’d been trying to catch and smear away. It streaked down her cheek and fell onto the floor.

She breathed deeper and deeper still, and then with ginger steps, she moved to the vial on the ground, letting the broom fall again so she might wrap her fingers around it.

Jiji cowered under the chair, softly mewling in Beast, wishing he could cry.

But Kiki ignored him. She popped the cork off the bottle with her thumb and raised it to her mouth, slinging the magic down her throat like it was a shot of alcohol. There was no sign that it took, unless you counted Kiki opening her eyes a second later the sign. She sighed and dropped the vial, let it roll into a crack in the floor. And once again, she rose, grabbing her broom and standing tall.

A soft wind fluttered through Kiki’s hair again. Perhaps it was from the still-open door. But Kiki wanted to imagine it was Howl, calling her name.

She heard him. She would find him. She would be better next time.

“Calcifer... I’ll be right back,” Kiki said to him. She turned to look his way and tried to offer a smile, but she was crying instead. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

She fluttered up the stairs to Howl’s study for the spell. When she returned, Jiji would no longer be curled under the armchair, but out the door and away. She wouldn’t check for him anyway. She would lift Calcifer into the jar and seal it as tightly as she could. She would hang him from her broom, like a lantern to guide her. She’d turn off all the lights and flip the magic lever to bring Howl’s fantastical home away from Swynlake for good. And then, flinging open the door, she’d mount her broom and fly off into all that cold, unfamiliar strange.

#wind wind #i guess lol #suliki #suliman #kiki #calcifer #jiji

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