Howl is hardly above indulging in violent fantasies to soothe himself. Nor does he spare a second to consider whether he should voice those fantasies aloud, or even whether it might come across as whinging at a certain point. Had Estinien not changed the subject, he'd probably keep muttering threats, mostly to himself.

But he does. Howl is silent for a beat, letting his words soak into his brain. He has no idea what he's talking about with "aether"; still, it's easy to assume the gist of what he's getting at. By now Howl knows that the others here are not from Ingary, much less even heard of it, and this man is unlikely to be any different, with his pointed ears and inhuman size.

"Do you think it's true? That our various homes..."