Howl stuff

April's chapter draft

This is not the actual chapter! this is only a draft, but we will be using this as a rough outline of the official chapter. I figured you'd want to read this so enjoy!

Nova and I are sitting on the floor in Lyra's living room while everybody talks. I sit on Nova's lap as she plays with my hair, neither of us saying a word. Quiet but peaceful. I occasionally listen in on the other's conversations, or close my eyes and let Nova stroke my hair calmly. We're all back in our human form and Lyra made some tea for us, so we're just chilling here. It's nice. I really like Nova and Esta, they're really cool people because of their heritage. They've started teaching me Norwegian and they have so many cool stories from where they used to live.

Esta walks over to where we're sitting and sits next to us.

"Nova?" She says.

"Hva er det?" Nova responds, she's speaking in Norwegian. She's fluent in English but I think she prefers Norwegian because she misses home. She only really does it when she's talking directly to her family, I guess because she knows we won't understand.

"Hvem snakket du med?" Esta says, cocking her head.

"Hva snakker du om?" Returns Nova, slightly defensive.

"Her om dagen! Den gutten!" Esta presses. I decide to zone out as they argue in Norwegian, and I notice the others staring uncomfortably. They're getting louder and I don't know what they're saying and I probably shouldn't ask.

"Ingen! Det betyr ikke noe!" Nova shouts, getting up but forgetting I'm there so I tumble onto the ground. Nova storms off outside and the room is quiet. I hit my head on the fireplace hearth, but it doesn't hurt much.

James, being my bigger brother, rushes over to me and helps me up and checks if I'm ok. "What. Just. Happened." Lyra asks. Esta shakes her head dismissively and goes into the kitchen. James hands me his phone and I play a game that involves a snake trying to eat mice. James rubs my head and lifts me onto the couch, then sits next to me. I Used to hate his company, but ever since our mum died, It helps.

"Well I really need to pee, so I'm just going to go do that," Lyra mumbles dismissively, getting up and leaving. I look over at James and see him staring off into the distance. I have no idea what just happened. Nova is usually so... Nice? I mean, she does have a bit of a temper but she doesn't snap this easily. I wonder if I should go check on her. I give James the phone back and walk outside to were Nova is sitting on the wooden loveseat in the garden. Her knees are tucked up to her chest and she's staring at the ground. She hears me open the flyscreen door and she looks up. I walk over and sit next to her. She smiles sweetly at me, but I know something is wrong. I don't want to press her for answers but it'll help if I know what's happening so I gently ask

"Is something wrong?"

She shakes her head.

"No, Esta was just wondering about a person I was talking to. She started bringing up how Solda doesn't do anything for the family because he found a girlfriend and stuff about dad dying and I'd just had enough."

I nod. It's pretty understandable. It really hurts when people talk about those things in that way. I rest my head on her arm, as I'm not big enough to lean on her shoulder, and she strokes my hair.

"Wanna go back inside now?" I query. She nods and picks me up, carrying me. She's like the big sister I never had. We go back inside to where Lyra is back and they've resumed the conversation, but there is no sight of Esta. When Nova sets me down, I walk into the kitchen to try to find her. She's not there. I go back to living room and sit next to James again, who's still on the couch but now talking to the Lyra. Nova is sitting on the coffee table with her legs crossed, talking to somebody on her phone through text. I lean back and let my body relax. The late afternoon sun plays across my face and it's warm and nice. The nice smell of cookies from the kitchen and the gentle hum of chatter is enough to make me fall asleep. The last thing I register is Esta walking back into the room.

******

When I wake again, it's dark. There's clattering coming from the kitchen and the only person left in the room is Nova, who is sitting on top of a cabinet and is asleep with headphones on. No idea how she got up there but that's her talent, I guess. I get up from the couch and walk to the kitchen where Esta, Lyra and James are all making something. I go up and sit on the kitchen counter.

"Whatcha making?" I ask nobody in particular.

"Dinner," Lyra responds bluntly. I suppose we're staying for dinner. Esta rushes over with a spoon that has some sort of sauce on it. She hands it to me and I taste it.

"Is it good?" She asks and I nod enthusiastically. It tastes like tomatoes and gravy, which is an odd combo but it doesn't taste all that bad. She goes back to the stove where there are numerous pots and pans with things cooking. I see sausages in one and get excited.

"Need help?" I say. James shakes his head. I hop down from the counter and leave the kitchen. Nothing to do, now. I could wake Nova, maybe we could do something. But she might want to sleep still. I suppose I could take James's phone and play something. So I race into the kitchen, grab his phone out of his pocket and make my swift escape. I hear them laughing as I race back into the living room. Nova stirs and growls. Oops. Woke her up. 

A/N props to anyone who can figure out what's being said in this chapter! Credit to @CreepyLilGhoul for this one, look forward to when this is re-written and published