#scarsdale

"Zara." Firmly.

"yes?" She doesn't look up.

"You a nocker again?"

She inhales through her nose, jaw clenching briefly. "No. I know I can't help."

"Not what I mean. I mean, you didn't do something perfect the first time. Didn't know that was a sluagh issue. I thought you were just quiet and, you know, secret-stuff. Nocker makes a mistake, nocker isn't perfect, well.... Hirim here made a mistake once, look at him now. You want you should end up like that?" He point his thumb at Hirim.

"HEY!" responds the nocker in question.

"So maybe it wasn't perfect." Ratchet pause, then tries this out. "So who cares?"

"Except I put Mama and Papa in more danger."

"Nah." Ratchet waves that away, threatening Hirim with a table-knife haircut as he does. "You got 'em outta here, and on a nice time for them, together."

"He's still here and I can't stop him."

A nod at Ratchet's words

"So you couldn't. And now you let us know, and we help. What, you think I want to -live- with those two? I have enough Himmelfarb trouble, thank you. You go live with them, I'll just help set wards. Feh."

Hirim grunts. "Zara, we're all in it now. Verschtay? So quit sulking already."

A pause, "Would it be possible to- De Treasure Rudy's tattoo? Or change the nature of the magic?"

"Yeah." Hirim chews. "You gotta Namer in your pocket there, boychik?"

Softly. "Aye."

"Yes. Maybe." He says

"I can affect treasures."

A nod to Zara, thoughts occurring to him. "It doesn't stop the others, we'd still want the wards up, but... it's something."

"Undo a treasure, you'd probably need to be able to re-weave it."

"I can't do that."

A low whisper, "But if you were to..nickname it 'friendzone'? or..stinky?"

"Maybe. For a time. I thought of that.. but... access. Too delicate to do through soothsay, I think."

"And doing so would reveal to him what arts I have."

"Ugh" He makes a face, "I see the problem"

a mutter "too bad we don't know an overly aggressive Mohel"

The nockers exchnage looks. "Say that again, slowly?"

"My Uncle Emmit is a namer"

Another exchange. "Uncle like.... Uncle? Or like us?"

A soft hiss. "Names, Earl!"

A wince, then "He's more and more out of the closet about it so to speak." He says

She shakes her head. "Still. It's a dangerous thing to be, for a commoner."

"I know" He says, "But they're your family, and I trust them." A nod to her uncles

Pokes at her brisket. "Aye."

"Oy vey....." They look stunned.

"Boychik, your people.... not exactly on the grid, nu?"

"Well, try to keep it under your hats, please" He says to both "And no, they aren't...or weren't. Increasingly word has gotten out though. "

Synchronized face-rubbing.

Hirim frowns. "Zara.... you said.... what?"

"I can speak to him. Was going to see if he would ward them against cantrips, anyhow."

"No...." Hirim narrows his eyes. "....you said you.... Zara, you been studying?"

"Emmit can probably help. I can't."

Earl nods to Zara "Okay, since you were going to speak to him anyway. "

She shrugs.

"Zara!"

Hirim barks for attention. "You been studying Arts?"

"Nothing that helps."

"If she knew something that would help she'd have handled it herself" Earl nods

Her face screws up in a knot and she shrinks further.

Hirim grumbles, eating.