Two Birds, One Stone

[Harper Beckett]

Harper Haven Hatchitt was a busy woman, and so when she needed to buy supplies for her animals, she didn't like to go to two different shops. Most of the time she didn't have to pick anything up for Winchester since Noah was obsessed with owls, but when she did she still came to Beautiful Beasts Boutique so that she could combine the chore with picking up supplies for Kirk.

As she moved around the pet shop trying to find what she needed, Harper wished that she could do this faster. She didn't have much down-time, and she ran errands for work and didn't much like the idea of doing it outside of work. Vesta couldn't do everything, though, and so Harper ran her own errands.

When Harper turned a corner a little to quickly, she ran into a display that had not been there the last time she had come in and scattered packages of dog bones across the store. "Merlin!" She did not have time for this.

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

Ianto preferred to buy his supplies for Stevie from Beautiful Beasts Boutique, rather than the Owl Emporium. Both of the shops mostly had the same things, but Ianto found the former slightly… cleaner, he supposed. He had noticed that most owl supplies were more expensive in Beautiful Beast Boutique and, well, expensive always meant better. Even if it was for literally the same thing.

He was trying to decide between two types of owl treats, when he heard the noise of things scattering on the ground and a young woman seemed to be the reason.

“Oh, let me help with that!” Ianto offered cheerfully as he approached the young woman. He had always been taught to help ladies in need. “Better pick them up before one of the dogs escapes and eats them!”

  

[Harper Beckett]

Harper glanced up at the redheaded gentleman who had stopped to help — and smiled. He just was the sort of person where you had to smile, or you were being unreasonably grumpy. Harper was definitely not the cheeriest person in existence, but she did not like being unreasonable.

"Thank you," she said with a warm smile. "You would think they would manage not to put displays out in the isles where they're easy to run into."

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

“You are so right!” Ianto agreed enthusiastically. “But then, it’s a new shop, so I suppose they didn’t know better!”

Ianto didn’t seem what was so difficult to having a shop, but then, he never really had to have a job. Everything looked so much more simple in his eyes.

“Or maybe someone cursed the display so it can disturb people in such a way!”

  

[Harper Beckett]

His optimism was positively infectious, and Harper smiled brightly at him. "I'm certain it was just an accident; I can't imagine why someone would want to curse the display."

The entire idea, and her earlier annoyance, was practically laughable. "I'm Harper Hatchitt, by the way," she said warmly, and she offered her hand for the redheaded gentleman to shake.

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

“For the same reason they made that amortentia tea, Miss Hatchitt!” Ianto commented rather quietly, as if they were discussing government secrets. “Conspiracies! And strange people!”

He laughed a little and then looked around, as if he expected some weird magical spy to jump out of a corner. “And I’m Ianto Lloyd. Pleasure to meet you!”

  

[Harper Beckett]

"It's very lovely to meet you as well," Harper said. Her smile seemed like a permanent fixture on her face; she had never met anyone whose good cheer was so very contagious. "You have pets, I take it? Or at least a pet? I have a shisa and a northern saw-whet owl, myself -- both males, Kirk and Winchester." She stopped suddenly, clamping her mouth shut. Oh, Merlin, she was babbling.

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

He listened with interest about her pets. "I have an owl too! Stevie!" He always felt slight pride whenever he mentioned his owl. They had been best buddies for many years, after all!

"And a shisha, you say?" he added then. "I have a feeling I must have seen one, but I cannot quite recall what it is now. Is it a type of fish?"

  

[Harper Beckett]

"Oh, it's a magical breed of dog," Harper said with a shy smile. "They were the mascots for the Japanese team, and I bought one from the fair that was here with the World Cup."

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

A dog. Of course! Ianto could recall the Japanese mascot, now that he thought of it.

"I always wanted a winged horse!" Ianto said happily.

  

[Harper Beckett]

"Isn't Hogsmeade a little tightly packed to keep a winged horse?"

  

[Ianto Lloyd]

Ianto stared thoughtfully at the girl for a bit, before saying enthusiastically. “Not if you hide it, of course!”

  

[Harper Beckett]

The idea delighted Harper in a way that made her feel younger than she had in a very long time. "I suppose you could start by making it invisible," she suggested, "and then disguise the stable."