[ Just this once, he allows the contact. In truth, it feels good to have some sort of familiarity, and he sighs at the way he prattles on. ]

I don't want to hear you crying if you lose something important from being careless. [ He remembers all those ridiculous experiments back home. ] Your faith in me is severely lacking. I will always find you.

[ It's a strangely romantic thing to say, and given how close they are, it could easily be more if he pressed. But they haven't talked about that, and there's no time for it anyhow, turning his head to glance in the direction of the kitchen when Ciro comments on the smell. There's the slightest shrug in response. ]

I've been sampling the sage here. It's not exactly the same as what we're used to. [ A pause. ] I found one that glows. Do you want to see it?