The Purple Hippo of Happiness

A malform that has become Jack O'Malley's constant companion and confidant.

Backstory
Who summoned the Purple Hippo of Happiness is unclear. It is first seen in Green-Eyed Monster, where it distracts Dominic Voss' henchmen at the Widdershins Brewery, Later in the book it heroically extinguishes the fuse to the gunpowder that is about to blow up the great and the good of Widdershins, as part of the summoning of Wrath.

In Curtain Call, the Purple Hippo warns Mal of the imminent arrival of the Seven Deadly Sins before fleeing Widdershins.

In Witch Hunt, the Purple Hippo appears to have become Mal's permanent companion, and accompanies him when he tries to flee his responsibilities - but a talk with it persuades him to return to Widdershins and become the Witch.

Books
Green-Eyed Monster

Curtain Call

Witch Hunt

Appearance
The Purple Hippo of Happiness is a small creature, approximately hippo-shaped and about the size of a small dog or a large cat. It has a long yellow feathery tail and large pointed ears. It is purple with blue spots on its back. It has heart-shaped pads on its hands and feet.

As a malform, it is invisible to everyone except Mal, although Ben Thackerey also saw it while 'gifted' with Mal's witch sight.

Skills
Unrelenting happiness and good humour

Relationships
Constant companion and confident to Jack O'Malley

Trivia
The Purple Hippo of Happiness loves biscuits, which opens the question of whether malforms and summons need to eat to sustain themselves in the material world. Perhaps the spirits do not need to eat, but the Purple Hippo of Happiness does it anyway because eating biscuits is something that makes people happy. It also raises the question whether physical biscuits remain visible after they have been eaten by an invisible spirit, and what happens after they have been digested, but perhaps we don't want to go there.

In comments on the Widdershins pages it has been pointed out that the Purple Hippo of Happiness is pink, rather than purple.

Although it is an embodiment of happiness, the Purple Hippo of Happiness has also displayed other emotions such as fear and worry.