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Howl was wandering through a stationary shop, looking for quill pens. So far he had been disappointed. The spell for enlarging something called for stirring with a quill. Not that Howl had resorted to using apprentice level magic. He the greatest wizard in Ingary? Never! Still... He needed that quill.

There were pens and pencils of all kinds. Markers and gel pens, colored pencils, crayons. Not to mention the paper. Howl was amazed at the vast variety of paper the shop had. He knew he would have been even more impressed had they carried quills. The wizard was not so much out of the loop that he believed most stationary shops would carry them. He wasn't of the belief that quills were used for more than decoration in most homes.

Oh well. Maybe an ordinary feather would surfice.

Howl paused when he spotted the quills. Now that wasn't at all fair! Why hadn't they brought out the quills for him? Didn't they know that he could summon--he had just caught sight of Cookie. Forgetting his troubles with quills and clerks that insisted they had none, he made his way over to her. He thought that he had seen her at various parties. Something about her very presence seemed to cheer him up.

He looked from her to the quills. He knew that logically, he would still be upset if something wasn't interfering with his emotions. That something had a familar feel to it; almost too familar. "You know Sophie, don't you?"

Howl was rather surprised when hugged; he made a quick recovery and returned the gesture. "That's right," he said. "I know Sophie." He wondered how this girl had come to know his wife. Never mind that, she was absolutely adorable. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the toddler made him want to take her home.

"My name's Howl, what's your name?" The quills were all too pricey, he decided. It was worth coming shopping just to meet this girl.

Cookie, huh? A cute name for a cute girl. "Hi Cookie," Howl said, looking down at the toddler. "It's nice to meet you both," he added, glancing at the adult. "So you know Sophie, right? I recognize her charm."

He looked pointly towards Cookie's collar. "She spoke to it, didn't she? She brings things to life when she talks to them. She must have said something about being happy."

Pet stop? Howl silently wondered why his wife would be in a pet shop, of all places. Had Sophie wanted a pet? He gave Lam a smile. "Sophie likes cats," he said vaguely, glancing over at Cookie. He was uncertain as to whether this was true or not, really. They had had a dog, but it had ended up being two people at once.

Ah, so that's what Sophie had done. He'd figured it had been something to that effect. "It seems to be working," he added. "Sophie's my wife."

"She didn't like it so much when I turned her into one. She likes kids too, we have one--Morgan." Howl said with a shrug, before looking down at the toddler. "Hi Cookie," he said again, with a smile. "So you can talk then?"

He looked vaguely interested, even mildly impressed. As if she were a dog who'd just preformed an especially difficult trick. "You like Sophie, I bet. Did she tell you about me?"

Instead of being upset that his wife hadn't mentioned him, as he once would have been, the wizard seemed rather relieved. "That's good," he said. "Then you can make your own opinion of me." He certainly didn't want people knowing how selfish, sly, and wicked Sophie tended to describe him as. "Do you have siblings, Cookie?"

Howl nodded, pretending to understand. Well, until she said the word "wizard", or that was what he assumed she meant. "He's a wizard?" he asked, mildly impressed. "Does he have a specialty? Mine's divining."

For a moment, he thought it was strange that he was talking to someone who couldn't really reply. Just a moment. He reached out a hand to pat the toddler's head. "You're cute, Cookie. I see why Sophie likes you."