Gideon couldn't help but laugh at the soot explosion (once a quick glance confirmed, at least, that it had done no serious or permanent damage to his shop). It was just such a mismatch, with the very slight motion that he'd done and the disproportionately large effect it had created. That, and he might have been subconsciously looking for something to lighten the mood after he'd just gotten done scolding the boy. He didn't really enjoy being strict or stern with children, if he could avoid it. In another life, maybe he would have traded places with Quin and run the candy store — but the fact was that wands could be very dangerous when mishandled. Raising his voice was sometimes unavoidable, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it, or that he wanted that sort of air to linger over the rest of the visit. This was the perfect transition back into a pleasant wand shopping excursion.

"What, you mean that wasn't what you wanted to happen?" he teased as he took the wand back from the boy. He replaced it in the box and then set about cleaning the soot up with his own wand as he contemplated where to go next. Chestnut was too changeable, he thought. Blackthorn was too aggressive for boy who had pointed his wand at Billie not out of any overt malice but rather, it seemed, as a ill-considered joke. Dogwood was a possibility — it was a mischevious wood, and would have enjoyed antics such as that, but with the wrong core a dogwood wand might have preferred to play tricks on Mr. Fletcher rather than with him. A good wand should be a co-conspirator, Gideon thought, not a competitor, and that was the challenge of finding a perfect match among so many opportunities.

"Alright, let's pull out a few," he suggested as he finished cleaning up and turned his attention to the shelves. "These are fun wands. You'll like them. Let's start with maple and phoenix feather," he said as he pulled it down and placed the box on the table, then opened it to put the wand on display. "This is an adventuring wand. It's getting fairly restless in the stacks, here, so I imagine it'll be quite happy to go home with you. And then... laurel and kelpie hair next," he decided, moving to remove that one as well and placing it out besides the first wand. "This wand might be a bit hard to please. It's quite ambitious. As long as you're doing right by it, though, it'll be a very loyal wand. I've heard of laurel wands actually striking thieves with lightning bolts if they try to separate them from their owners. And then last... dogwood and dragon heartstring," he said after a moment of thought. "Dogwood likes to have a bit of fun, but this one is paired with heartstring from a particularly fearsome dragon, which will make for an interesting combination. Let's see what these think of you, Mr. Fletcher."