“What’s the matter with everybody?” my mentor demanded. “You all act like you never expected to see me again.”
“We… Aahz! I…”
“We didn’t,” Tananda said flatly, saving me from making an even bigger fool of myself.
“What little sister means,” Chumly put in, “is that it was our belief that your nephew, Rupert, had no intention of letting you return from Perv.”
Aahz gave a derisive snort.
“Rupert? That upstart? Don’t tell me anybody takes him seriously.”
“Well, maybe not if “your powers were in full force,” Tananda said, “but as things are…”
“Rupert?” Aahz repeated. “You two have known me a long time, right? Then you should get it through your heads that nobody holds me against my will.”
Somehow that quote sounded familiar. Still, I was so glad to have Aahz back, I would have agreed to anything just then.
“Yeah!” I chimed in eagerly. “This is Aahz! Nobody pushes him around.”
“There!” my mentor grinned. “As much as I hate to agree with a mere apprentice, the kid knows what he’s talking about… this time.”
Chumly and Tananda looked at each other with that special gaze that brother and sister use to communicate non-verbally.
“You know, big brother,” Tananda said, “this mutual admiration society is getting a bit much for my stomach. How about you?”
“Actually,” the troll responded. “I wasn’t hearing all that much mutual admiration. Somehow the phrase ‘mere apprentice’ sticks in my mind.”
“Oh, come on, you two,” Aahz waved. “Get real, huh? I mean, we all like the kid, but we also know he’s a trouble magnet. I’ve never met anyone who needs looking after as badly as he does. Speaking of which …”