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 Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:02 pm
How Reiya had convinced her sister to go ice-skating was beyond even Sammi. Reiya was the graceful, perfectly balanced one. Samantha tended to be clumsy on dry ground, and even worse when she was on the ice. She prefered to watch, but there she was hanging onto the rail of rink for dear life. Enviously she watched as her sister spiral across the rink. It wasn't fair! How had Reiya gotten the talented genes?
Reiya sighed, looking towards her sister. "Come on, Sammi!" she called. "It's not as hard as you think it is!"
No, Sammi silently agreed. It wasn't as hard as she thought it was. It was harder. She could only hope that no one would arrive and see her fall. She hated not being the best at something.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:12 pm
T'were it not for Adrian's persistence that Sophie have a 'normal' life, she would be safely cleaning this or scrubbing that. However, here she was, inching her way along the rink with Gertie skating backwards infront of her.
"Just glide, Soph. Like this," The maid turned around to skate easily up to the turning bend and spun.
Sophie's mind was reiling. Oh yes, she thought, if it were only that easy! To keep herself balanced, the young witch grabbed her skirt at the knee and followed Gertie's example. She was shaky, but seemed balanced until she leaned to far backward and whiped out. Luckily, she grabbed the reiling in time before she really hurt herself.
She looked down at her skates. "You ought not to let me do that. If I look bad, so do you!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:47 pm
Samantha spotted Sophie holding onto the edge of the rink as well, and started to make her way towards her. She seemed to be having the same kind of trouble. Her friend or whoever was with her seemed to be much better at skating. She clung to the reiling as she moved closer. "Hello, I'm Sammi, what's your name?" she asked. Gray hair? That was different. It must have been a fad. Or maybe she was secretly old and pretending to be young? She had heard stories where the witches often did that.
"Excuse me, but did I hear you talking to your skates?" Sammi asked. Had she had the good fortune to meet up with a witch or a fairy? It reminded her of a certain book. She paused, and focused on the girl's face. No, it couldn't be. The person she was thinking of had red-gold hair and blue eyes. It couldn't be. Could it?
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:40 pm
"Hello!" Sophie smiled and looked the other girl over. Pointed ears? And her hair! Thats what her own was supposed to look like. She openly gaped for a moment before closing her mouth, blushing lightly. "My name's Sophie, and yes, I was talking to them. They tend to do better under pressure."
She leaned up on the railing with her legs stiff as logs. Gertie skated past, looking curiously at Sophie and her new friend before going on her merry little way. "Everyone needs a pick me up! Come on, you can skate with me. We'll have better luck of standing up in a pair."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:01 pm
Sophie? This was Sophie? Samantha could hardly believe her ears. She stared in utter disbelief for half a moment, before blinking and shaking her head. It was rude to stare, she had to remember that. Good Lord though, Howl was going to have a fit! If this was his Sophie--she had certainly changed more than he had. "I'm sorry," Sammi apologized. "It's just--I expected you to be a bit taller. With red hair. From the way my cousin described you." That was good, she didn't think it was wise to mention that Howl was her cousin; just in case Sophie was angry with him and decided to take it out on her. Still, she seemed friendly enough.
"I'd like that," Sammi said with a smile. "I'm not good at skating, though. My sister is," she looked pointedly towards Reiya, who was clearly focused on making figure eights on the ice. "So if you're Sophie--have you seen Howl? He's been looking everywhere for you."
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:24 pm
"Do I know your cousin?" She asked curiously and bluntly. Honestly, she didn't know what to believe anymore now that she was in Gaia and things were all topsy turvy. Alot of things are different, she though, least of all being me!
Sophie looked over and slipped up just thinking of doing that! "I picture her flying when she does that." She tentatively ventured out onto the ice and held her hand out for Sammi with a smile. "I saw Howl just last week. But how did you know about us? Are you a witch?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:13 pm
Samantha smiled; so Howl hadn't had time to tell Sophie about his cousins. Maybe he had avoided the subject altogether, something she had to admit was rather wise. "Howl's my cousin," she started. "Not my real cousin, really. My mom and his dad are friends--so his dad decided to be our uncle or something like that."
She looked at her sister enviously, taking Sophie's hand. "I thought you didn't like flying," she teased. "Aren't you afraid of heights?" She paused, and thought about Sophie's question. She giggled. "Nah, I'm not a witch. Calcifer likes me, though. He talks to me sometimes. All I can do is light fires. It's not really anything magical." Or was it? Maybe she was a witch in a way--with control over one element. "But yeah. I've known Howl since he was a baby--well, this time around anyway. So I wondered if you'd seen him--because I remember all the tantrums he had when he couldn't find you. There was slime everywhere!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:03 pm
"Oh." Sophie's eyebrows rose and she nodded. What a family!, she thought. The more she learned of it, the more it seemed to expand. Still, she didn't think ill of it, and rather liked thinking that Howl hadn't been alone.
"I don't," she laughed. Her eyes drifted over to Reiya, then to Gertie and realized that the two would make a wonderful skating pair. Maybe even awards. "If you can light them without matches, then it's magic or else Calcifer wouldn't talk to you." Or so she assumed. So much had changed. Sophie skated cautiously with one leg going out infront of the other, gripping onto Sammi's hand.
"And the howling?" She asked vaguely, keeping eyes on her skates. Don't slip up!, she mentally chastised. "He's so fickle."
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:34 am
Sammi paused in thought. Was she a witch? She had never considered the possibility of being one. "I suppose it's magic," she muttered. "It just happens though--sometimes I can't control it, like when I'm mad. She had set people's hair on fire on more than one ocassion.
She glanced towards her sister and sighed. "Reiya's so shy," she commented. "Maybe we can convince her to skate with your friend? I know she'll be excited to meet you." She didn't mention that they had been plotting to keep Howl away from other girls until Sophie arrived.
She grinned suddenly. "Yeah, Howl howls," she said. "And so do his shadows. Those are scary!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:03 pm
"That is bad," She pondered and nodded. "You should go to Mrs. Fairfax and have her teach y- Oh wait." Sophie had to remind herself constantly that she wasn't in Ingary anymore, let alone Wales or Zanzib. She huffed at herself. "Get a hold of yourself," she muttered.
Gertie passed by with her skates matching the rhythm of the music pumping through the speakers. Sophie smiled. "She's a coworker, but a friend all the same and I think she would skate with Reiya if asked. Why don't we go talk to her? Then you can tell me all about the nasty things Howl has been up to."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:02 pm
"Mrs. Fairfax?" Sammi repeated with a smile. "Didn't she teach your sister, Lettie? Before she went and married Ben Sulliman anyway..." She hoped Sophie wouldn't ask her where she had learned all this. She didn't think the silver haired girl would be up to reading the books. After all, the first one described her as a shrewish nosey long nosed old woman for most of it.
"Co-worker? Wait. You work? At your age?" Sammi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't your parents worry about you acting too--" Then she remembered. Of course Sophie would act like an adult. She was one! Or she had been one. "Sure. I'd like to meet your friend." But what to say about Howl? Sophie seemed to be asking for all the bad things he'd done.
Reiya paused in her skating when she finally spotted Sammi and Sophie skating towards Gertie. What were they up to?
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:53 am
"She did." Sophie nodded. "But how did you know?" At first she figured it was Howl giving her all the information, but now she was beginning to question that logic.
"Oh, don't worry. It's just chores." Adrian wouldn't let her work too much, anyway, no matter how much she nagged. He was stern on these 'child labor laws'.
Gertie performed a perfect double axel just to show off before rounding about to Sophie's side. She looked down at Sammi with a smile, then turned to Reiya. "Found some friends, have ya, Soph?"
"Better." She grinned. "Sister-in-laws that aren't Megan."
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 10:15 am
Sammi paused; Sophie had asked the question she'd been dreading. How to word this... It had been easier with Howl; the wizard had been quite willing to believe that someone would write a book about him. "Well, you see... There's books all about you--you, Howl, Michael, Lettie, Martha, everyone you know. They're all in the books. Maybe Howl will let you borrow his--his let him hear everyone's voices as he reads or something. He won't let me touch them."
Reiya looked over at Gertie rather enviously. "How'd you do that?" she asked. "Can you teach me?" She looked over to Sophie, paused, and stared for a moment. "Sophie?" She asked. "Howl's Sophie?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 8:48 pm
Sophie paused. Someones written books? About me? She couldn't believe it! Heroines were beautiful princesses or exciting women, but she was so very ordinary. "I suppose I'll have to believe you; how else would you know so much?"
Gertie nodded. "Sure thing! It's not so hard once you practice enough."
Sophie looked at Reiya, then back to Sammi. "Yes. And golly-lolly, your twins!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:21 pm
"Maybe I'm making it all up and Howl's told me everything," Sammi teased. "Nah. If Howl told me things, I wouldn't know half of it." After all, Howl hadn't been in any state to tell them much of anything; especially after his memory lapse.
"I love skating," Reiya started. "I've been practicing a lot, but... I haven't straightened all the kinks out yet." Maybe she and Gertie could skate together.
Sammi leaned closed to Sophie to whisper, "She means she still falls. How'd you know?" she asked, when Sophie said they were twins. She grinned. "Mom says we're absolutely nothing alike--but we are. We just haven't told her."
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