No, the rest of you lot have not "got on my case" — that's just you. But they're all busybodies in their own right, not to mention the Pleroma Martyrs.

[ Oh no, will that passing reference to Abel upset you, Ciel? It's okay, Howl is confident you can manage.

Speaking of the Pleroma, however, the stranger's next question is perfectly timed. Howl ignores the rest of Ciel's jabs and turns his attention back to the fresh Aion. Narrowing his foggy blue eyes at him, he looks him up and down, as if there may be some secret clue to which side he might be inclined to join. The fact that Howl and Ciel are here to retrieve him almost guarantees that he'll become a future comrade, but there's no guarantee.

As fellow Celebrants, Howl knows they can sense each other's emotions and thoughts, if they want to (and sometimes even when they don't want to). Surely, he'll be able to feel Howl studying him so intensely, but he's fine letting his curiosity be known. He crosses his arms and pays close attention to anything he might be able to sense from the man, but otherwise leaves it to Ciel to answer his question. ]