Both sentiments are easily understood, easy to return a smile to, hanging back to give her a moment to greet the dog. "A friend got her as a gift, one of the boxes they leave people. She doesn't seem to know whose name was on her at the time, she follows me around as much as she doesn't."

It might just be the fact that he handles food more often than Casey, and Bodhi seems to get his afternoons with her by virtue of staying still the longest. "She's the first dog I've ever had, but she behaves, and that's all I really need."

"If you don't enjoy combat," he asks, heading around the front of the inn to the door that leads directly into the kitchen, "can I ask why you learned it? I'm...deciding if it's worth the time, I guess."