It took some time for the young woman to shift her attention away from Stargazer. Tobias was not surprised as many considered the mare's graceful charm to be of another kind. And indeed, as the tamer thought back, she was always unique, starting from her origins. Most of his animals were either purchases as in the case of Charles, or bred and raised by the circus itself like Sullivan. Stargazer however, was a gift.
The elderly owner of the circus was a well-travelled and well-connected man. One of his many friends from the northern parts of England one day gifted him and his establishment with a little foal only a couple months old. The filly garnered great attention and curiosity from the start thanks to her bright white coat, which has not been often observed in the Thoroughbred kind.
Though the sender assured the circus that Stargazer was already in human care and no longer relied on her mother when she was sent away, she still required extensive care and would sometimes exhibit loneliness even in the circus' small herd and stray away farther from them when out grazing. One of such occasions in the late evening ended up getting her the name Stargazer.

When Tobias joined the circus, she was already through that period and was growing into a strong and healthy horse. The tamer made sure this continued and also spent a lot of time with the Thoroughbred, establishing a very close connection. He knew how much she loved getting attention and care and had no objections to the lady staying with her as long as she wished.
“Believe me. Many say that and they are all correct,” he said with a smile. “She truly is special and I'm very glad I get to work with her so often.”

There was someone else who also seemed quite special to Tobias: the woman herself. A fine young lady she was, no doubt from the highest circles. Her fine features struck the tamer as vaguely familiar, she was most probably alike to someone he had seen before, though he could not recall who.
Her position, though elevated and dignified, was not what made her different as the circus was a favoured show for all circles of people and gladly provided entertainment for any who sought it. However, the fact that she was here all by herself without neither the company of fellow nobles—perhaps even a spouse—, nor the entourage of servants did stand out somewhat. She surely did not come alone—at least it was very unlikely for someone like her to do so. But if so, surely the others would have been on the lookout for her by now...

“Ah, thank you very much. I live to amaze and make people happy, and it fills me with joy as well to hear I've succeeded,” Tobias acknowledged the praise. “The animals feel it too. They...they understand more than we think they do. Once you figure that out and treat them not like subjects, but partners...they'll make sure to play along and give back the appreciation. In a much greater degree, too.”
He tried to explain to his best ability. He had received several curious questions about his performance before, even though most of it came all but naturally to him. Some went as far as to claim he had some sort of secret ability, something [i]magical[/i]—like all other Gypsies, they said.

Suddenly, a shout from behind interrupted the discussion.
“Tobias! The lion doesn't want to go back to the cage. Can you come and handle it?” It was one of the circus staff.
“Of course, I'll be there soon!” The tamer turned back to the woman. The tent was almost empty by now, he was needed at other places and he was sure she was, too. “You know... If you're interested, you can come back later today. In the evening, maybe. I should be able to show you around then. Perhaps even more!” It was a sudden offer, one that just sprung into his mind. It felt like a good idea. “If you can, of course.” he quickly added, remembering that not everyone had as much freedom to do as they pleased.