( he gets the sneaking suspicion that "curse" is accurate enough. it seems a fair enough assumption that he had earned that creature's ire.
and, yes, it could have been far worse. but this is makoto we're talking about. something like this, which would steal from him the sanctity of his agency and force him to use his vital energy to heal others, which might later detract from his ability to harm others... it's a particularly nasty curse to bear.
he doesn't insult howl by saying something snide. there is only a soft feeling of affirmation. )
...No, not exactly. I do get an empathetic understanding of their pain, but it's not like I'm feeling it myself. It's more like... an echo. A phantom pain. ( which he is grateful for. otherwise, when he'd woken up in the hospital, he likely would have been immediately and completely overwhelmed. ) Once. Since then, my being aware of it has allowed me to try to be where others aren't, but it's not a tactic that will last for long.
[ Howl feels for him; it's hard not to think back on his own experience of being cursed, realizing how truly stuck with the curse he was going to be for the rest of his life, and then having to learn to live with that curse thereafter... The context of his sympathy does not phase through, but the sympathy itself does, more pointed and explicit than it was before. Even as Howl knows it's likely to offend the other demon, he does not hold it back. ]
Wizards cast curses. We don't break them.
But if there's anything I may be able to do to ease your frustrations and suffering, I can try. You only need to ask.
( he's done what he can to suspend feelings of helplessness or despair. he still doesn't truly understand what this is; though he can assume by its nature that it is a curse or something similar to it, he won't believe that there's nothing to be done about it until he's told so by a trusted source.
and given the fact that he can count the number of people he trusts on one (or zero) hands, he might still be doggedly searching for a way to rid himself of it for as long as he draws breath.
he is less averse to the sensation of this sympathy because... it at least feels as though it comes from a place of understanding rather than a place of assumption or pedantic pity. he accepts it, albeit ungraciously. )
I appreciate your offer, Howl.
If I can think of anything to ask of you and your manifold talents, I will not hesitate to do so.
no subject
and, yes, it could have been far worse. but this is makoto we're talking about. something like this, which would steal from him the sanctity of his agency and force him to use his vital energy to heal others, which might later detract from his ability to harm others... it's a particularly nasty curse to bear.
he doesn't insult howl by saying something snide. there is only a soft feeling of affirmation. )
...No, not exactly. I do get an empathetic understanding of their pain, but it's not like I'm feeling it myself. It's more like... an echo. A phantom pain. ( which he is grateful for. otherwise, when he'd woken up in the hospital, he likely would have been immediately and completely overwhelmed. ) Once. Since then, my being aware of it has allowed me to try to be where others aren't, but it's not a tactic that will last for long.
no subject
Wizards cast curses. We don't break them.
But if there's anything I may be able to do to ease your frustrations and suffering, I can try. You only need to ask.
no subject
and given the fact that he can count the number of people he trusts on one (or zero) hands, he might still be doggedly searching for a way to rid himself of it for as long as he draws breath.
he is less averse to the sensation of this sympathy because... it at least feels as though it comes from a place of understanding rather than a place of assumption or pedantic pity. he accepts it, albeit ungraciously. )
I appreciate your offer, Howl.
If I can think of anything to ask of you and your manifold talents, I will not hesitate to do so.
no subject
[ There's a vague notion of agreement, followed by a pause, before Howl's mind recedes and returns to the public discussion. ]