Laefiren > Laefiren's Quotes

“Will looked up angrily, shaking his head in disbelief.
Will you shut up? he said tautly.
Horace shrugged in apology. 'I'm sorry' he said, I sneezed. A person can't help it when they sneeze.
Perhaps not. But you could try to make it sound a little less like an elephant trumpeting in agony; Will told him. ”
― John Flanagan, The Siege of Macindaw

“Any sign of them yet? he asked. Will looked at him. 'Yes', he said. 'A party of fifty Scotti came though just twenty minutes ago'.
Really? Horace looked startled. He wasn't fully awake yet. Will rolled his eyes to heaven. 'Oh, my word, yes', he said. 'They were riding on oxen and playing bagpipes and drums. Of course not,' he went on. 'If they had come past, I would have woken you-if only to stop your snoring'.
I don't snore', Horace said, with dignity. Will raised his eyebrows. 'Is that so?' he said. 'Then in that case, you'd better chase out that colony of walruses who are in the tent with you...of course you snore.”
― John Flanagan, The Siege of Macindaw

“Ah, Signor Halt,' he said uncertainly, 'you are making a joke, yes?'
'He is making a joke, no,' Will said. 'But he likes to think he is making a joke, yes.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“How do we get there? How did you get here, by the way?' [Will asked].

He heard Halt's deep sigh and knew he'd done it again.

'Do you ever,' the older Ranger said with great deliberation, 'manage to ask just one question at a time? Or does it always have to be multiple choice with you?'

Will looked at him in surprise. 'Do I do that?' he asked. 'Are you sure?'

Halt said nothing. He raised his hands in a 'See what I mean?' gesture...

'Halt,' [Selethen said], 'I could be wrong, but I think you were just guilty of the same fault. I'm sure I heard you ask two questions just then.'

'Thank you for pointing that out, Lord Selethen,' Halt said with icy formality.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Now for God's sake, will you two start behaving like a princess and a Courier?" Halt told them. "If you don't, I'll have to think about sending Will home.'
'Me?' Will said, his voice breaking into a high-pitched squeak of indignation. 'What's it got to do with me?'
'It's all your fault!' Halt shouted irrationally.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“You've known him how long?" Malcolm asked.
"Since he was a small boy. I firs noticed him when he slipped into Master Chubb's kitchen to steal some pies."
"So, what did you have to say to Will when you caught him stealing these pies?
"Oh, I didn't let on I was there. We rangers can be very unobtrusive when we choose. I remained out of sight and watched him. I thought he might have potential to be a ranger." Halt said.

Horace joined in "Why?"
Halt answered carefully. "Because he was excellent at moving from cover to cover. Chubb entered 3 times and never noticed him. So i thought that if he could acheive that with no training, he would make a good ranger."
"No" Horace spoke. "Thats not what I meant. Why were you hiding in the kitchen in the first place?"
"I told you. I was watching Will to see if he had the potential to be a ranger."
"Thats not what you said. You said that was the first time you noticed Will."
"Does it matter?"
"Not really. Were you hiding from chub yourself and Will just turned up by coincidence?"
"And why would I be hiding from master Chubb in his own kitchen?"
"Well, there were freshly made pies on the windowsill, and you like pies, don't you?"
"Are you acusing me of trying to steal those pies?!?!"
"No, of course not. I just thought i'd give you the opportunity to confess."

After a pause, Halt continued. "You know, Horace, you used to be a most agreeable young man. Whatever happened to you?"
"I've spent to much time around you, I suppose."

And Halt had to admit that was probably true.”
― John Flanagan

“[Will]'d barely been asleep a few minutes when Halt's voice woke him.
'Will? Are you asleep?'...
'I was,' he said, a little indignantly. 'I'm not now.'
'Good,' Halt replied, a trifle smugly. 'Serves you right.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Without thinking, [Will] spoke.
'Halt? Are you awake?'
'No.' The ill humor in the one-word reply was unmistakable.
'Oh. Sorry.'
'Shut up.'
He pondered whether to apologize again and decided this would go against the instruction to shut up, so remained silent.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Get rid of their mast, knock holes in the hull, then get back on board."
"You want us to sink her?" Gundar asked, and Halt shook his head.
"No. I want her badly damaged but capable of making it back to port. I want the word to go out that the strange ship with the red falcon ensign"—he gestured to Evanlyn's ensign, flying from the mast top—"is manned by dangerous, hairy maniacs with axes and is to be avoided at all costs."
"That sounds like us," Gundar said cheerfully.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.' [said Halt].
'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked.
Halt glanced at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus, 'You wait and see if you win.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“But...what if I mistime it?"
Gilan smiled widely. "Well, in that case, I'll probably lop your head off your shoulders."

Horace and Gilan”
― John Flanagan, The Burning Bridge

“Will raised both eyebrows. 'Well, you learn a new thing everyday,' he said reflectively.

'In your case, that's no exaggeration,' Halt said, completely straight-faced.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Horace, who had been trying to find out the meaning of Kurokuma for some time now, was pleased to hear the translation.
"Black bear," he repeated. "It's undoubtedly because I'm so terrible in battle."
"I'd guess so," Will put in. "I've seen you in battle and you're definitely terrible.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Butterfly?" Will said. "Why Butterfly?"
"I believe it's a term of great respect," Selethen said gravely. He was very obviously not laughing. Too obviously, Will thought.
"It's all right for you," he said. "They called you 'Hawk.' Hawk is an excellent name. It's warlike and noble. But....Butterfly?
Selethen nodded. "I agree that Hawk is an entirely suitable name. I assume it had to do with my courage and nobility of heart.
Halt coughed and the Arridi lord looked at him, eyebrows raised.
"I think it referred less to your heart and more to another part of your body," Halt said mildly. He tapped his finger meaningfully along the side of his nose. It was a gesture he'd always wanted an opportunity to use, and this one was to good to miss. Selethen sniffed and turned away, affecting not to notice.”
― John Flanagan

“Easy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.'
'Not on your life,' Horace said... 'That's what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock walls and crawl along narrow, slippery ledges. I'm a trained warrior, and I'm far to valuable to risk such shenanigans.'
'We're not valuable?' Will said, feigning insult.
Horace looked at him. 'We've got two of you. We can always afford to lose one,' he said firmly.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Gundar, seeing Halt upright for the first time in two days, stumped up the deck to join them.
'Back on your feet then?' he boomed cheerfully, with typical Skandian tact. 'By Gorlag's toenails, with all the heaving abd puking you've been doing, I thought you'd turn yourself inside out and puke yourself over the rail!'...
'You do paint a pretty picture, Gundar,' Will said...
'Thank you for your concern,' Halt said icily...
'So, did you find Albert?' Gundar went on, unabashed. Even Halt was puzzled by this sudden apparent change of subject.
'Albert?' he asked. Too late, he saw Gundar's grin widening and knew he'd stepped into a trap.
'You seemed to be looking for him. You'd lean over the rail and call, 'Al-b-e-e-e-e-e-r-t!' I thought he might be some Araluen sea god.'
'No, I didn't find him. Maybe I could look for him in your helmet.'
He reached out a hand. But Gundar had heard what happened when Skandians lent their helmets to the grim-faced Ranger while onboard ship...
'No, I'm pretty sure he's not there,' he said hurriedly.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“What is this Chocho business?' Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment.
'It's a term of great respect,' they chorused, and he glared at them.
'Oh, shut up,' he said.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“But I wasn't happy... when I heard you two had assaulted Castle Macindaw with just thirty men,' [said Halt].
'Thirty-three,' mumbled Horace...
The Ranger gave him a withering look. 'Oh, pardon me... three more men does make a lot of difference.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“George!' [Horace] said, the relief evident in his voice. 'Are you all right?'
'No! I am not!' George replied with considerable spirit. 'I have a whacking great arrow stuck through my arm and it hurts like the very dickens! How could anybody be all right in those circumstances?'...
'You saved my life, George,' Horace said gently...
George grimaced. 'Well, if I'd known it was going to hurt like this, I wouldn't have! I would have just let them shoot you! Why do you live this way?' he demanded in a high-pitched voice. 'How can you bear it? This sort of thing is very, very painful. I always suspected that warriors are crazy. Now I know.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Will saw the first Senshi officer release and instantly knew where the arrow was aimed. 'They've spotted Shigeru!' He was about to turn and shove Shigeru to the ground, but as he did so, his eye caught a flicker of movement and he spun back.
When asked later about what he did next, he could never explain how he managed it. Nor could he ever repeat the feat. He acted totally from instinct, an unbelievable piece of coordination between hand and eye.
The Senshi arrow flashed downward, heading directly for Shigeru. Will flicked his bow at it, caught it and deflected it from its course. The arrowhead screeched on the hard, rocky ground and the arrow skittered away. Even Halt took a second to be impressed.
'My god!' he said. 'How did you do that?”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Will had been taken aback in his confrontation with Arisaka to discover that his name- Chocho- meant "Butterfly"... He was puzzled to know why they had selected it. His friends, of course, delighted in helping him guess the reason.
'I assume it's because you're such a snazzy dresser,' Evanlyn said. 'You Rangers are a riot of color, after all.'...
'I think it might be more to do with the way he raced around the training ground, darting here and there to correct the way a man might be holding his shield, then dashing off to show someone how to put their body weight into their javelin cast,' said Horace, a little more sympathetically. Then he ruined the effect by adding thoughtlessly, 'I must say, your cloak did flutter around like a butterfly's wings.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Halt eyed them balefully. They were all being so obvious about not mentioning his sudden reappearance that it was even worse than if they had commented on it...

'Oh, go on!' he said. 'Somebody say something! I know what you're thinking!'

'It's good to see you up and about, Halt,' Selethen said gravely...

Halt glared at the others and they quickly chorused their pleasure at seeing him back to his normal self. But he could see the grins they didn't quite manage to hide. He fixed a glare on Alyss.

'I'm surprised at you Alyss,' he said. 'I expected no better of Will and Evanlyn, of course. Heartless beasts, the pair of them. But you! I thought you had been better trained!'...

'Halt, I'm sorry! It's not funny, you're right... Shut up, Will.' This last was directed at Will as he tried, unsuccessfully, to smother a snigger.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Who are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?'
'I'm called Chocho,' Will said...
'Chocho?' Arisaka shouted, goaded beyond control. 'Butterfly? Then die, Butterfly!”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Gundar isn't so much a ship's captain as a reformed pirate and a heathen." [Evanlyn] looked apologetically at Gundar. "No offense, Gundar."
The skirl shrugged cheerfully. "None taken, little lady. It's a pretty fair description. Not sure about the reformed part," he added thoughtfully.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Mikeru was still puzzling over Horace's last remark. He frowned. 'Kurokuma, these shenanigans... What are they?'
'Shenanigans are what Rangers do. They usually involve doing things that risk breaking your neck or your leg.'
Mikeru nodded, filing the word away. 'I will remember this word,' he said. 'Shenanigans. It is a good word.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“The two girls disappeared into the stern cabin once more. Will watched them go, then asked Halt, 'Anything you'd like me to do? Grow a beard? Learn to walk like a rooster?'
'If you could stop asking facetious questions, that'd be a start,' Halt told him. 'But it's probably a little late in life for you to do that.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“S'mimasen," Alyss said repeatedly as they brushed against passerby.
"What does that mean?" Will asked as they reached a stretch of street bare of any other pedestrians. He was impressed by Alyss's grasp of the local language.
"It means 'pardon me,'" Alyss replied, but then a shadow of doubt crossed her face. "At least, I hope it does. Maybe I'm saying 'you have the manners of a fat, rancid sow.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“What the devil is Chocho?' Will whispered.
Horace's grin broadened. 'You are. It's what the men call you,' he said. Then he added, 'It's a term of great respect.'
Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. 'Great respect,' he agreed.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“Fighting positions, please, ladies...'
'That's debatable,' Halt said in an undertone to Will as they stood watching...
'The 'fighting' part or the 'ladies' part?' Will replied with a grin.
Halt looked at him and shook his head. 'Definitely the 'ladies,'' he said. 'There's no debate about the 'fighting.''
Will shrugged. He knew there was an edginess to the girls' relationship and that it had something to do with him. Why that should be so was beyond him.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“There was a roar of delight from the forward bench, and then the bearlike figure of Nils Ropehander came lumbering down the deck, bellowing congratulations.
"What's that? The General? Engaged? Well General, here's my hand in congratulations!"
The expression here's my hand turned out to be a loose one. Nils scooped Horace up in a massive bear hug of delight. The hug, unlike the expression, was not a loose one. When he released Horace, the young groom-to-be crumpled, moaning breathlessly, to the deck.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja