[And there's that smile. It's smaller this time, little more than a faint upturn of the lips. His head shakes, blond spikes rustling this way and that over his forehead, and then flopping firmly into his face. He blows them upward before finally focusing back in on Basil.]

Aw, none of that, alright? Pretty sure none of this is on you. [He reaches out to pat the young man but... stops short. A brow lifts, a silent query for permission before he makes outright contact. With how vitriolic some of the locals seem to have been, he can't blame his newfound friend for potentially being a little wary.]

If anything, I should be thanking you. I probably would have stumbled around in the dark for another few days without you.