Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Darn it Howl..." Zee complained as he looked to the playpen he'd just set his toddler in a moment ago. It was empty, again. His son had a certain knack for escaping, and even more of one for getting into trouble. The dark elf gave instructions to his oldest nephew to keep an eye on Devin, and headed outside.

"Thophie! Where are you? Thophie!" Howl was doing just what Zee had expected. Looking for someone who apparently didn't exist in Gaia. He was toddling down the block when he caught sight of a familar face. One of his friend's parents, how strange. Why was Noel here? He'd never seen him here before, the times he'd escaped from his father's many attempts to keep him inside. "Mr. Noel!" He cried, dashing over to the man. "Hi!" He looked up at him with a smile so bright, one would wonder if he actually worried about Sophie at all.

"I lookin' for Thophie," he explained. "You know where thee ith?" He tilted his head ever so slightly, and gave the man an innocent smile. Before... Uh-oh.

He was scooped up by an irritated looking Zee. The dark elf swore in elvish, before glaring at the blonde. "You know you're supposed to stay inside. I only turned away for a moment and..."

"Look Daddy, Mr. Noel here!" Howl decided to distract his father by pointing. It worked; Zee looked up, and forced a smile at the man. "I didn't know you lived in Barton," he commented.

Howl sniffled slightly when he heard Noel hadn't seen Sophie, but then it seemed he'd spotted Alome. A small smile appeared on his face, and once his father set him down, he toddled over to her. The tiny wizard still didn't have much of an opinion of her. He went by Calcifer, and since the firedemon seemed to like her, Howl assumed she was alright. He considered her his friend in any case. "Oh... You no thee Thophie eiffer?" he asked, with another one of those looks a toddler should never have on their face.

Zee sighed, before giving Noel a more genuine smile. "Oh, you just moved here? I shall have to tell Thali. I'm sure Sammi and Reiya will be thrilled to have you as neighbors." He paused and shook his head. "I don't know when Stasia and I are planning to have the wedding... I think around the same time Matth and Risa are having theirs."

"I'm sure Stasia wouldn't mind if you came," Zee said cheerfully. "I've never been to a Gaian wedding myself, either," he confessed with a slight frown. "I'm rather nervous about it, actually..." But he would never admit that his nervousness was due to having been left at the alter so many times in the past. He smiled at Noel, and nodded. "Well, if you're going to invite me to lunch, the least I can do is help you with the bags." He put his arms out to recieve one.

Howl returned Alome's hug, and forced a small smile. It didn't make him feel any better, but it helped to know that Alome cared enough to try cheering him up. "Kay. I thmile."

Zee gave Noel a smile as he took the bags. He wasn't exactly eager to help, but it was only polite to offer. He didn't like seeing anyone struggle with groceries. "Sure, always glad to help," he said with a smile. He looked at Howl, and nodded. It was obviously a gesture to let the toddler know he expected him to help Alome as well.

Howl took Alome's bag from her, but not in the polite fashion Zee had. He did give her a smile, though. "I carry thith," he informed her. "We have Thtirfly, play and look for Thophie," he agreed easily. Though, he rather thought they'd do more looking for Sophie than playing. It was his goal in life, to find her.

"Looks nice to me," Zee said with a polite smile. Wasn't as big as he was used to, but it was nice. "Do you want me to help with lunch while the kids play?" He asked. Not many people knew that the dark elf could cook; and he was good at it, too. "They can play in the back yard, or something. I don't feel safe letting Howl out in front by himself, even if Alome's with him." He leaned in to whisper in Noel's ear. "You know. He's still looking for S-o-p-h-i-e," he spelled the name out carefully, just in case the toddler was listening. "I'm afraid he'll run off if I'm not watching him constantly."

Howl smiled as they set the bag down on the kitchen floor. "We play now?" he asked, with an adorable tilt of his head. Blonde hair fell to one side in such an artistic fashion that it had to be intentional. He smiled at her sunnily.

"And Noel? I'd be careful. Howl's doing that thing again," Zee warned his friend.

Zee nodded, and gave Noel a small smile. "Yeah..." he said, the smile fading. "Poor kid. I don't like to admit it, but I'm worried about him. Toddlers aren't meant to be as unhappy as he seems to be. His ears twitched for a moment, before a frown appeared on his face. "Let's wait on the cooking for a moment, alright? I think there's going to be a---" Was it elven instincts, or the father ones just kicking in?

Howl's face crinkled as Alome said garden. He looked like he was trying not to cry; he remembered flowers and gardens, he and Sophie'd had one. A beautiful garden, he'd even gotten her a house with one to make her happy. He missed Sophie--he missed... The toddler began to sniffle, and then cry. "Thophie..." He whined. "I luv her."

"Tantrum." Zee finished with a sigh. "Flowers, you know. Every time."

Zee sighed, but headed out into the garden. To his surprise, he found Howl at the door. He scooped the sniffling toddler up and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Flowers again, huh?" He asked, though he knew the answer. He spotted Alome watering her flowers and shook his head. "Howl, you know... You're never going to get a girl if you keep being reminded of Sophie."

Howl glowered, which was impressive. His eyes seemed to go another shade of blue entirely, a darker one. "I don't want anudder girl!" He declared, glaring up at his father. "I want Thophie! No other girl detherve my--" Before he could finish, Zee put a hand over his mouth.

"I know, Howl," Zee said with a sigh. "But you won't be able to make very many friends behaving like this either. You've already made Alome upset." The dark elf rolled his eyes, and took Howl into the kitchen. "Come on, if you're not going to be polite, you can at least help Noel and I make lunch."

Howl looked up at Noel, and gave a small smile. He was a good cook, Noel was right. Well, he would have been if he had been able to remember how to cook in the first place. "I help," he said with a nod and a genuine smile. He really was adorable, even when he wasn't putting on his charm. "I thorry, Mr. Noel... Flowerth... Make me thad. I gave Thophie flowerth." At least he seemed to be calming down. "I thorry... I no mean to make 'Lome thad," the apology seemed sincere enough.

"I'll go cheer Alome up," Zee said with a nod. "Can you handle Howl for a bit?" He asked, but before waiting for an answer, he walked out into the garden. He sat on the ground, next to Alome. "I guess you overheard," he said, looking at her with a forced sort of smile. "He didn't mean it, you know. Howl really is... Just a sad, lonely little boy. I'm sure he didn't mean to make your flowers sad, Lome. Are they alright?" He looked to the flowers, and tried to see a difference in them. It didn't work. "You know," he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Howl's a pretty good gardener. I'm sure if you ask him, he'll help you with yours. We have a rather nice one at home, with lillies, daffodils, and a bunch of flowers I don't know the name of." Zee wasn't an expert on plants. "But I'm sure he'd give you some flower bulbs if you asked nicely."