Here in the shade, as the light creeps through the streets, Goliath can appreciate the sun a little better. Under most other circumstances, he would be enthralled - the sun is a source of great curiosity for his kind - but he has seen the sun before, and the last time he could look into it directly without burning his eyes. And at the moment, he has no room in his heart for awe.

He barely has enough for patience, but the human speaking to him is . . . trying for politeness, he can see, and that is something novel enough for him to make an effort to be polite back.

"No. You have not."

The bitterness has gone out of his voice. Frankly, Jamie provides a welcome distraction at the moment.

A bit more adjusted to the sun, he looks up at the sky, still shading his eyes with his wings.

"I should be asleep right now, and I am not. But this is a false day, isn't it?"