It's a bit of a surprise how strongly the little girl reacts. Zach had expected her to push back a little, certainly, but from how softly he had to coax her out of her initial timidity, he hadn't quite expected a passionate rebuttal of his morose thoughts. He allows some of the surprise to seep into his eyes as he adjusts his already quite high opinion of the girl upwards a bit more. Kiel sure knows how to pick them, or perhaps his care just has a way of bringing out the best in people. His first instinct is to ruffly her hair, but since he doesn't want to spook her he just gently bumps his shoulder against her's.

"I don't think you can ever be 'just' anything to Kiel," he starts, but before he can finish his thought the priest calls out to them as he comes strolling up the path. [i]'Speak of the devil..,'[/i] Zach thinks by way of a private little joke, smiling gently at the way Sarah runs up to the man. He doesn't have to pretend very hard to care for the little squirt. Children have never been his domain, and most of them haven't yet picked up the nastier sides of humanity. That this one might help him work into Kiel's good graces is just the cherry on top. The smile is still on his face when Kiel asks to see his drawing, and he turns his sketch pad so the priest can take a look. It's still in the sketchy stage, with just a few of the flowers starting to take shape in the middle. 

"A little bit, nothing concrete yet," he says, "Did the work go well?"