If Mort had eyes, he would have been rolling them. "Really, Belias? You've nearly died for the girl more times than I can count on one hand and you still think you're not good enough for her." He made a brief mental note to tell Belias about Zari's teenage years at the circus.
"I understand. Be careful, though. The circus can be... odd sometimes, if not frightening. I don't want to hear that you've broken any of my performers because they worried you." He was very close to being part of the family, and Mort expected him to act like it.
As Belias stood up to walk away, Mort nearly said something. Personally, he'd wouldn't have dared interrupt Zari's conversation with her old teacher, but each to their own.
"So, you've brought him back to the circus after all this time. I thought we were just going to be hearing about him for the next few years." There was a familial tone to the voice. Drucilla was a tall woman, standing a good few inches above Zari and with a much more willowy frame. Where Zari was stocky and broad-shouldered, Drucilla was delicate and petite. Her ashy brown hair was clipped into a very short pixie cut. There was something very regal about her, with her high brows, strong cheekbones and large roman nose.
Zari looked down, a very faint blush coloring her cheeks."I'm not worried about it, if that's what you mean."
"Even after what happened last time?"
Zari frowned. "That was a very long time ago in a completely different part of Evelon. I'm not worried at all."
Drucilla remained unimpressed. "You're about to go and ask Norma about it, aren't you?" Norma was the circus' resident fortune teller.
"... Yeah."