Kneeling to set up the fire, he glances up at his name, and gives a bashful little smile at the touch on his beard. "You... might not like the place, I suppose. Stone and steel indeed, and the vault and library buried deep under layers of that... but it's home."

He lifts a hand to run over his mustached and beard, a little amused, then sits back and lights the fire with a vague wave of his hand. It's a cheat and he knows it, but he's feeling a little lazy. "No offense to my old master, but I'd prefer not to wind up looking like him. But you're allowed to touch me with or without it." Another beard-stroking, as he looks thoughtful. "I do wonder what Bel will think, when I come home hairy and bearing a feast." The latter, he definitely won't be expecting. "...And don't tell him I said he's scrawny? Three days should be fine. Perhaps the girls will be on speaking terms with me again, by then. Especially if I share some of the food."

((fuzzybeard.))