Where Schmendrick was from, talking animals were not an ordinary occurrence. Magical beasts were another story; when magic was involved, anything was possible. Once? He'd even accidentally enchanted a tree.
...which had ended badly, come to think of it.
So, instead of passing by, the magician - who had politely purchased a sweater and coat from the store Zoe had indicated, and then cheerfully gone back to his old cloak when he'd gotten home - halted a few feet up the sidewalk from Wes and JiJi.
"I'd always wondered in the fur would be enough in the winter," Schmendrick mused aloud. "Question answered! Tell me; is it your feet? I've always felt that animals needed fur on the pads of their feet. Since they don't wear shoes, you know."
With that absurd pronouncement, Schmendrick smiled a greeting. "Is everything alright?"