Howard has a minion!

Scat the Hydrabat

Howard is a moose. I mean you can definitely tell by looking at him, but were you to speak with him on the phone, you'd have no idea really. Because let's be honest, how many moose do you know that will talk to you on the phone? They cannot dial with those huge hooves and rotaries were even worse. But Howard is smarter than your average moose, he uses voice dial! The problem is that being smarter than the average moose doesn't mean too much. He is still rather thick sometimes. That is how his story begins. Deep in the dark recesses of the Arctic Frost, Howard lives in the woods with the other moose. There is something singularly different about him though...it really doesn't have a name. So instead of giving it a name, I will just tell you his story. You may call it an origin story.

One day in the woods, Howard was rustling around for some tasty bit of plants. Food was scarce this time of year and everyone had to fend for themselves. He happened upon this really nice looking green bush when the tiny shrub started wiggling. Howard, being the intelligent moose that he was, knew that shrubs don't wiggle unless there was a strong wind or something nefarious going on and the wind was as still as could be. He backed away so that he could turn and leave, but this monstrous creature jumped out of the bush and attached a huge pair of fangs to poor Howard's neck. He bellowed for help but none of the other moose knew English and his cries went unanswered. The weird being seemed to be injecting something thick and heavy into his bloodstream and he panicked even more. Finally, it let go and ran off into the forest. All Howard could see before he passed out was that the thing was wrinkled and hairless and had a big red maple leaf tattooed on its hide.

A few hours later, Howard awoke. He was so dazed that he had almost forgotten the events that had happened earlier. He jolted back to reality and in a state of alarm felt his neck for damage. Then he remembered that he was a moose and couldn't feel anything with his clunky hooves. Silly moose. However, he knew of a lake nearby that was frozen over and he went to see if he could use it as a mirror. Luckily the light was just right and he was able to see where the beast bit him. It looked pretty normal except for a bit of dried liquid...no blood to be seen! He was really amazed that he escaped with just a bit of dried goo. But the important thing right then was to get some pancakes. Or maybe some waffles...the the choices were endless! Howard could almost taste the sticky sweet maple syrup on his lips as he looked around for a Huddle House. Wait, do they have those around here? Wait, why is a moose craving breakfast foods? Howard was torn between confusion and hunger. In the end, his moose compatriots found him with a crazy look in his eyes, gnawing on a maple tree on the edge of a clearing trying to suck the syrup out. He really didn't have any friends before but this just made him even more of an outcast.

So I guess you could say he was a bit of a loner from then on. He always tried to fight the urge, but poor old Howard could never stop the cravings for maple syrup. Some say that late at night, if you leave your syrup taps out, the Vamoose would come and steal them for his own dark purposes. Some say that the Vamoose will filch your syrup bottles right out of your cupboard if you leave your house unlocked. And there there are those crazy people that leave out tiny stacks of hotcakes hoping that the Vamoose will leave them alone. But that is a silly name really. Vampires drink blood not syrup...don't they?

Overlay by Rachel
Everything else by me :D