"Is this the right hook?"
Ladybug looked at the tool in her partner's outstretched hand, and shook her head. "No, that's a latch hook. You see the little hinged arm? Crochet hooks don't have those."
Chat deflated. "I didn't know what I was looking for."
"It's ok!" Ladybug smiled encouragingly. "I have plenty. Let me see your yarn, and I'll give you the right size."
Chat produced a skein of yarn from his backpack, and Ladybug fingered the end, testing the weight. "Is that good? Did I get the right kind?"
She giggled. "There's not really a wrong kind of yarn, Minou. Some are more difficult to work with than others, and some are better for certain projects than others. This is actually a good choice, because it's a heavier weight, and not that fuzzy. It'll be easier for you to learn on."
As she spoke, he looked first relieved, then proud of his choice. "So how do I know what yarn to pick?"
"If you're using a pattern, it will make suggestions. Otherwise, you can Google it, or just ask me until you get a feel for what works best." She pulled out a small pink and black case, and opened it to reveal about a dozen or so crochet hooks of different sizes and colors.
He blanched. "Good grief, how do I know what hook to use?"
She smiled soothingly. "It will tell you on your yarn. Look here, see?" She pointed to the label, pointing out a small box with a hook icon, a number, and a letter. Then she looked through her hooks, finally choosing the one she wanted, and found the same number and letter stamped on the hook.
"Oh. That does make things easier."
"Mm-hmm!" She unzipped the pocket on his chest, tucked the hook into it, and handed the yarn back to him, completely unaware of the way his breath caught at her cavalier touch. "Ok, before we start learning the stitches, let's get your yarn rolled into a ball." She dug through her own bag and produced two bowls with spirals cut into them, and a ball of yarn. "It's a lot easier to work when your yarn is in a ball, so that's how I always start. Once you're done, you just put it in the bowl like this and—Chat, no! Oh my gosh, you're such a cat!"
He'd snatched the ball from her hands, and managed to immediately tangle his claws in the yarn. He looked at her with chagrin. "Um…oops?"
She eyed the mess he'd made, and then his own pristine skein of yarn. She began pulling the yarn from his claws. "Perhaps we should skip the yarn ball thing, and just work from the skein."
He sighed. "Yeah, that's probably for the best, my lady."