Howl blinks under the Hythlodaeus' gaze. His vibrant eyes seem to bore into him, as if he were... inspecting him. Studying him? No, not quite that. The wizard squints back at the beautiful man, and then he feels it: a distinct sense of curiosity that is not his own, open and calm and confident, in a playful sort of way.

And then, realization strikes. Howl's squint reverses into a wide-eyed look of barely contained panic. His eyes dart down to Hythlodaeus' neck, where he saw his Shard and (most critically) a white Aspect mark when he first came to the door, but now it's covered by the cowl of his outfit. But, even then, as the seconds pass, he does not need to see it to know what is going on here and be thoroughly flustered.

"Uh, yes, very much!" Howl finally blurts as he rises from his seat after an uncomfortably long pause. His desire to leave wrestles with his desire to not make his embarrassment so obvious, but he knows he has already failed the former in both Emet-Selch's eyes and within the bond he (unwittingly, up to this point,) shares with Hythlodaeus.

"Anyway, I'll — leave you two to enjoy your morning, yes? So sorry to bother you! Don't forget about breakfast in the dining hall!"