[ Zel doesn't seem terribly interested in Mercy. Although he thinks of himself as Maddie's guardian, he tends to focus more on things that might be a threat, and Mercy neither radiates magical power or seems keen on picking on Maddie. Still, from an outsider's perspective, the fact he doesn't seem at all intimidated by a human getting down on his level - or even wary - might be a little odd. ]

It's short for Zelnothoglys, actually. Which is a mouthful, but it's from an audio book I had been listening to, so it was kind of stuck in my head at the time. [ Maddie, meanwhile, has had to use this excuse often enough. ]