She's allowed to preen. He's encouraging it, even. Today has been a setback, in some ways, but he's doing better over all than he was when he first stumbled into the Nexus.

"It's... nice to not always be alone. I get to talking to the Quickenings in my head... forget where and when I am..." He finishes the rest of the glass a little more slowly, savoring the taste, but he's still definitely going to be refilling his glass first. She's not expected to keep up.