Being able to bark and snarl all he wanted was probably one of the biggest bonuses that a person could give him. That leniency went a long way with Collins. (However, the hard part was then drawing the line and, for Collins, not hurting someone was rather hard even when he liked that person. He would have to be careful with Aerith lest he finally cross that line and create a rift that could not be mended with time.)

The fingers of his hands twitched at the contact but again there was no indication that he wanted to pull away. Instead, after a hesitant moment, his fingers curled slightly as if to quietly accept. "I do like you, lass. You've a mettle some men on tha battlefield don't even have and a temperament fit fer an angel." He said with a faint smile. "And tha music is always sweeter when yer around."