"They don't. I recall the first time that was flung at me as an insult. I was confused as to why they seemed to think it would bother me. If I had a dog, it would just make it more pertinent but still not insulting." He shrugged. Who could explain the Marcher mindset, and who really wanted to other than a Marcher?

"Give me an order I won't want to obey, and you'll know that I'm not." His answering smirk was very similar to hers. "As for the cooking? I'm following this to the letter. If something goes wrong, I don't want it on my head."