Septimus knows that look, knows what it feels like to be lost in the past. Internally he winces, hard--no child should have that expression on his face, not ever.

But thinking about it pushes him too close to actively dwelling on his own past, and while it is easier, it is not forgotten. "And you've learned those? If you have, then I'm sorry I don't know enough about your home's forms for fire to help you with them.

Fluid, circular--do you know what nature fire forms tend to have as a rule?"

This is really interesting.