Steve gave the kid a pout and stood up, "Well, I'm happy to walk with you, but I doubt I'm gonna be able to pretend very well it's mine. Look, it won't even float remotely close to me! How did you get such a smart, stubborn one? They're usually easy to catch and dumb as dirt!"

He may still have been pouting. More than a little. It wasn't so much the Coal Tar itself as the fact other people seemed to get them and he didn't. He sort of had an idea why, but it didn't make him any happier. He wanted a pet dammit!

"I think you've been telling tales to your imp about me. I think you've told it I'd try to steal it."