There was a certain sort of impishness tucked in the corner of the young woman's features, a look that he knew far too well That idle comment on how Sterling had handled that gypsy woman caused a soft snort to leave his nose. There was no denying his mood was generally sour as it was and yet, Harley had a way of wiggling past that dismal outlook upon the world to find that bit of the man that was still nestled somewhere amongst all that dejection that weighed him down. He regarded the woman with a small simper, "I might." He uttered simply, willing to allow her teasing antics and, in turn, rising to them, even if his efforts were feeble. His suggestion that the gypsy woman surely wouldn't have seen anything quite like Harley coming, should they decide to return that object, was regarded as a nearly highly praised compliment. Harley was, after all, an entirely feisty woman - one that he never hoped to find himself crossing. That grin of pleasure that crossed her features caused a small like minded one upon his own. He hardly doubted her capability of getting anything done that she put her mind to, even if it made her enemies in the process. While he was never a large fan of conflict, even he had to admit he was almost curious to see how the gypsy woman would handle his arguably closest companion.

The man was altogether oblivious of the effect that his announcement that he intended to stay had upon her. He was, for once, lost within the halestrom of his own life's latest events to consider, even for a moment, all that surely must have plagued Harley in return. Usually, Sterling tried to put himself in another's shoes, to be open and understanding that the events in their world were surely far worse than his own. After all, before this singular moment, Sterling would have argued his life was hardly awful in any measure, beyond the death of his mother...but that had been kind of inevitable, hadn't it? He had been expecting it for months before. Now? Now, he found himself entirely on the opposite end of the spectrum, the man almost selfishly centered in his own melancholy. Rather, his attention turned briefly to the aging canine, providing the dog with a glimpse of affection as his fingers scratched the fur on Ace's head. Even he could well see that Ace was getting to the end of his own timeline. It was depressing...but then again, so was everything else to him. There was a part of him, however, that still considered those encounters he had with the dog before now - that still wanted to craft some sort of cooked substance for Ace...if only so someone could appreciate that cooking.

Any further thoughts of what he was capable of making for the dog, however, was distracted by the comment of the manifestation of his newfound ability, prompting to admit exactly what he was. He was certain she remembered with fondness those nights they'd spent within those junkyards with bottles of booze in hand and his fire at their beck and call. She had enjoyed it thoroughly then and he had been entirely honest of what he had been capable of. She hardly seemed phased when he mentioned it to her. That insistence that they needed to practice those gifts he'd only barely just began gaining control of saw his eyebrow raise ever so slightly and yet...would it not be a good thing to do that? At least to protect them both from the darker sort of creatures that stalked the night, even if it was little more than a last resort. His lips pressed together in consideration before, slowly, the man nodded. "All right, so it might be nice. I guess I could start practicing...but maybe not..you know...throwing fireballs at people." Just the idea of the simple smell of burning flesh was enough to make the man shudder, much less the sight of all the damage he could do. He would never forgive himself if he irrevocably hurt someone like that. Maybe just to scare them but....to permanently ruin their lives? Hell...like his had now been ruined? It was out of the question.

It was almost as if that fiery young woman knew the thoughts that largely preoccupied his mind, the girl asking after what had happened in the wake of those comments of his affinity. His explanation certainly left a large part of that true story out - like the fact that he knew the man who had attacked him or that it was his very own significant other...or even that Henry had been absent since then. All of those little factors made up the true tragedy of the tale and yet, he was content to simply gloss over them for now. His head shook ever so slightly at the young woman's sudden concern for his transformation. "Nah, the were disease only attacks humans. I should be okay since I'm not one." It was the only saving grace to the whole affair and yet...even Sterling had to wonder if it really even was that. After all, he could have changed and been the same thing a Henry. Maybe things would have been better that way? Maybe the two of them would still be together then? He tried to push those thoughts from his mind as he focused instead upon that notion of a were-chihuahua. "Thank god, no. It was like...some kind of jungle cat...a panther I guess?" He was large and black and his claws had sliced through his skin as if it were mere butter. The sheer memory of it made his hair stand on end and yet, he tried to play it off nonchalantly, the man quickly latching onto that far better idea of utilizing his new found affinity for plants to turn his cooking creations into something more.

In truth, he found himself almost at a loss of where to even begin. Sterling had never crafted something magical with his affinities before. He knew well his kind had an aptitude for creating potions but...he'd never quite tried. That idle suggestion that he start with something he knew caused his head to nod in ready agreement. "Okay....we can do this..." He spoke, more to himself as he slowly made his way towards the fridge, opening it only to stare at the rather slim contents. Food hadn't been appealing to him for weeks now, in fact, the man had hardly eaten much of anything the past few days alone. Maybe some food would do everyone some good. Harley's insistence that this would be fun brought a smile to his features as he glanced back towards her. "Chicken or steak? I think I have enough to whip us up something too...." He added with a small shrug, even if he hardly believed in his abilities to heal her dog, much less his own leg. Frankly, Sterling's goals were set much lower.

STERLING TENEMBRAGE