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"I understand, and it has been noted." Even if his hearing didn't go well, it did not mean he was going to go through such extremes. Howl did not exactly need to share this fact with Marlo. Howl was not exactly going to pester a girl he was still so very fond of, even after all that had happened. She never wanted to see him again, and being the gentleman he was, he would respect her wishes as best as was humanly possible.

Turning his attention to the gift upon his lap, the lad began to turn the box about a bit, as if looking for something. It wasn't hard to imagine, but Howl was one of the meticulous gift openers. He was the sort who tried to unwrap a present without tearing the paper or ruining any of the ribbons. His fingers smoothly ran across one side of the box, allowing his short nails to lift up the tape holding the paper down. As if doing some sort of reverse origami, he managed to unwrap the whole gift without tearing a single portion of the paper. When he had finished, he simple folded the wrapping paper into a neat little square and set the ribbon to the side as well.

"If you would like, you can reuse this for any other gifts you might still need to wrap up," he offered with a slight chuckle. As his fingers set to opening the box carefully, he added "I am certain whatever is in here will be more than fine, Mr. Xanis."

With a slight laugh, Howl had to comment "I suspect I will not be handing you this box back then, Mr. Xanis."

When he managed to get the box open, the smells were the first thing he noted, and for a brief moment he paused, closing his eyes as he did so. The scent was absolutely beautiful, and the beautiful lad could not help but take in a deep breath so he could truly appreciate the smell. It was one of those habits he had picked up early in life, closing his eyes so he could get a better smell of any particular scent. Once he had identified both smells mentally, his eyes slowly drifted open as if coming out of a trance. It was only after that moment that he looked over the presents.

In all honesty, the cookies held very little interest to him and the toy car held absolutely no interest in him at all. However, the small bit of pine was the only thing he pulled out of the box for a closer inspection. Not wanting to be rude, he turned to Marlo and nodded his head towards the boy.

"Thank you, my friend, for these lovely gifts." With the formality out of the way, he drew the pine up closer to his teal eyes and looked it over. It wasn't exactly a casual glance, but a rather knowledgeable inspection, almost critical in a sense. It wasn't exactly a flower, but it was still a welcomed change from the dull atmosphere of the Hillworth dorm rooms.

Upon finishing his inspection, he offered a pleasant "This came from a rather healthy pine. Did you put this together yourself, or was it purchased?" He held out the pine, to make certain that Marlo knew exactly which item he was referring to.

It was a pleasant surprise to hear that Marlo had made the small pine ornament, but the pleasantry was not due to Marlo having made it himself. With such in mind, the dorm room's native inhabitant commented "I am quite surprised, since I did not think there were any sort of healthy plants on this campus."

Howl had been on gardening detail before, and the main problems he found with the plants on the school grounds were that the plants were either too heavily watered or too dry. That was what happened when a school relied too much on fertilizer making a plant healthy.

Howl gently tucked the pine back into his box and replaced the box's lid back onto the container. As he tended to such, he added "I will insist that you show me where such a tree is on the campus." There was a slight pause, in which he had turned to place his gift onto his desk once more and think over the words he had just spoken.

"Oh, I do not mean right now, of course. Since you are tending to your gifts right now, correct?"

Mentally, Howl tucked the little tidbit of information away, nodding his head as it was offered. He offered a small bit of commentary. "I see that the elder Mr. Xanis is still up to his usual shenanigans," he said with no ill tone to his voice. The effeminate lad's voice was back to normal, and once again, back to its usual casual, yet professional tone. His comment sounded like a mere fact as they passed from his lips.

Having been the one to close the door, it was only proper that the native of dorm 230 open it back up again. Pushing himself back up to his feet, he walked over to the door and opened it back up again. Fortunately, there weren't as many students around as usual, so perhaps the closed door would go unnoticed. Rumors seemed to be Howl's best friend at this school, always keeping him company no matter what the endeavor.

"I pray that there will not be an incident because of your visit. I know how eager some of our classmates are to label my friends as more than just friends." Howl casually brushed that long teal lock of hair out of his face, then waited for Marlo to approach the doorway before offering him a handshake (never mind the fact the boy's hands were full of gifts).

"Once again, I thank you for the gift and for the talk. I apologize for my behavior earlier."

[FIN]