Zach tried not to make a face when the priest smothered his pancakes in syrup, but he was pretty sure he was not succeeding. His owm pancakes held even less appeal now, but he soldiered on and even made a pretence of enjoying them. There was not much to answer, but did his bed to nod and make affirmative noises every once in a while. In his experience humans enjoyed a confirmation that the other was listening, even when there was nothing else he could possibly focus on at that moment. 

When the priest offered up his books, he summoned a light blush onto his cheeks and poked into the remnants of his breakfast morosely. "I'd love to sit in the garden for a bit, but I can't...I mean, I won't need your books," he said quietly. "And you don't have to be afraid I'll go out and do something stupid. I know I need to be healed up a bit so I can avoid them once I go out. Besides, they probably won't carry too much of a grudge." Not even a gullible old lady would be convinced by that last sentence.

"I just... I really don't want to be any more trouble to you than I already am," he finished, unable to look the priest in the eyes. He was still pushing the last pieces of pancake around on his plate, but he figured feeling down was as good an excuse as any not to have to eat them.