The pet store door chimed as she entered, ringing a comforting melody for the young witch. It brought a smile unnoticed to her face, taking in the odors that seemed more pungent on the warm, summer day. Millie hadn't been about to spend it cooped up indoors, and was glad to accompany her family's housekeeper on market errands for the afternoon. While she might have rather taken an excursion to her familiar gnome glen, none of her family had found the time or willingness to accompany her. By this point, the young witch resigned herself to the idea that it would reflect poorly on Mum and Papa now if she went about unchaperoned, even if she was quite comfortable making her own way to the comfortable reading nook under the shady trees of the glen.
Seeing the sign to the pet store brought to mind all the oddities in Houstonia's behavior lately. Millie's cat was never one for staying cooped up, himself, and yet that was all he seemed to do lately. She didn't much mind him roaming free at the castle, when eventually she would find him back in her dorm room, curled up on her bedsheets with a coat full of briars and a belly full of mice. At home, he seemed the opposite, where Millie had left him dozing in the warm sunlight that cast itself onto the top of her bookshelf.
Millie expected to find the senior Mr. Hunter inside his shop. He was a wealth of knowledge about all kinds of animals, someone whom she sincerely believed should be teaching at Hogwarts. The young witch usually left his store toting some new toy or cat treat with her, something she considered a gesture of thanks to the shop owner. She could almost always find something to catch her eye in there, and was worth going back even when Millie didn't have a particular need for the day.
It surprised her to find her book-fellow friend working alone in the store today. The sight nearly made the young witch slink back into the ribbon-trimmed sleeves of her grey muslin dress. With her thoughts entirely on the market trip and, upon seeing the pet store, her cat, she had left aside entirely the idea of catching Benedict Hunter working at his family's store. And in the middle of something, Millie noticed at the sight of his exposed arms and dampened brow.
Hoping not to interrupt, Millie stood at the edge of his line of sight until the boy took notice of her. It warmed her heart when his eyes spotted her, or she was already warm enough from the day's temperature and walk that the shop's interior made her flush even more. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hunter. Is your father around, I have another question about Houstonia."
Seeing the sign to the pet store brought to mind all the oddities in Houstonia's behavior lately. Millie's cat was never one for staying cooped up, himself, and yet that was all he seemed to do lately. She didn't much mind him roaming free at the castle, when eventually she would find him back in her dorm room, curled up on her bedsheets with a coat full of briars and a belly full of mice. At home, he seemed the opposite, where Millie had left him dozing in the warm sunlight that cast itself onto the top of her bookshelf.
Millie expected to find the senior Mr. Hunter inside his shop. He was a wealth of knowledge about all kinds of animals, someone whom she sincerely believed should be teaching at Hogwarts. The young witch usually left his store toting some new toy or cat treat with her, something she considered a gesture of thanks to the shop owner. She could almost always find something to catch her eye in there, and was worth going back even when Millie didn't have a particular need for the day.
It surprised her to find her book-fellow friend working alone in the store today. The sight nearly made the young witch slink back into the ribbon-trimmed sleeves of her grey muslin dress. With her thoughts entirely on the market trip and, upon seeing the pet store, her cat, she had left aside entirely the idea of catching Benedict Hunter working at his family's store. And in the middle of something, Millie noticed at the sight of his exposed arms and dampened brow.
Hoping not to interrupt, Millie stood at the edge of his line of sight until the boy took notice of her. It warmed her heart when his eyes spotted her, or she was already warm enough from the day's temperature and walk that the shop's interior made her flush even more. "Good afternoon, Mr. Hunter. Is your father around, I have another question about Houstonia."
![[Image: uHwnE8q.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uHwnE8q.png)