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"You see, Puff? It's simple." Howl was disappointed in his apprentice. So far, the shadow had shown little magical ability. In fact, he'd shown no ability whatsoever, but Howl wasn't about to discourage his newest apprentice. Especially when said apprentice was even more sensitive than Howl was himself.

"Uff... uff..." Puff said sadly, shaking his head. His street light colored eyes were focused on the window overlooking the backyard.

"You want to play outside?" Howl guessed. He thought for a moment before closing the book they'd been working out of; Magic for Beginners. "Let's go," he said with a smile, offering the shadow his hand.

"Pu?" the shadow asked, not believing his luck.

"Come on, let's go play. I'll have you know that I'm the best seeker in Gaia."

"Pff!" Puff was the best hider, then. He knew hundreds of hiding places his host would never look for him in. As the two went into the backyard, a certain eavesdropping father left his place in the kitcehn. He watched the pair start a game of hide and seek from the window and smiled, shaking his head. "They're like father and son," he mused.

"They are," a voice agreed. Zee jumped and turned to face Miles.

"How did you--why are you here?" he asked.

Miles smirked. "You know, it's easy to get in when you leave the door unlocked," he said. "Mom dropped me off. She said you'd need help with Leyla."

Reserved for--

"Puff, I told you not to clean!"

Ghosts and a Haunted House

ORP. Puff and Howl go to Eve's birthday party.

"Puff, stop that!" An irritated--no, the wizard couldn't have been irritated, seeing as he didn't have a heart. Maybe angry would have been a better observation. "I told you, you can't clean my room. I like it just the way it is. This way I know where everything is, so I don't have to look for it."

Puff frowned. He hated messy places; he hated messes in general, especially if they were around his host. He shook a finger at the wizard in irritation before scolding him with a series of chirps.

"Pu! Uff uff uff uff uff!"

"I like it messy," Howl tried to explain. "Sophie tried to clean it once, too, you know. She didn't like my room being such a mess--"

Puff thought he would rather like Sophie when he got the chance to meet her.

Howl continued, "She's just as clean as you are." Was the complaint. The wizard certainly loved his wife; but the constant cleaning was absolute torture. Especially when she tried to get him in on it. Which was generally when Howl attempted to escape. With Puff, he didn't have that option.

The shadow had the ability to follow him anywhere and everywhere due to his uncanny ability to melt into Howl's shadow and appear when the wizard least expected it.

"It's not that--" Howl froze, staring at Puff. His eyes widened in horror.

"No, Puff!"

Too late. The shadow had commited his crime; eaten a certain book of spells Howl liked to use most often. The shadow chirped in triumph.

"Give it back."

"Uff!"

"Puff, I'm warning you--"

"Uff."

"Give it back!"

"Uff."

"Fine," Howl turned to face the wall, away from his shadow. "No cheesy poofs. I'm not going to speak to you until you give it back."

A thump sounded. Howl whipped around, a slight smile crossing his face when he noticed the book on the floor. Undamaged, too.

"Thank you."