"Of course I can cook," he responded with a frown. He wasn't sure if it was a joke or if she'd been trying to imply something, but decided it might be best to assume it was a joke — they didn't really need any more tension in the atmosphere. He'd already managed to make Jo explode like a volcano, and Zelda had cracked like a tree struck by lightning, so if he could just... refrain from having any arguments with Miss Urquart for the moment, that would be grand.

"Well, I can cook fish, anyway," he clarified, moving to the counter and picking up the knife to start cutting and cleaning the fish, now that they'd thawed enough to be manageable and the oil was ready. "I can't really vouch for the vegetables. I was just planning on boiling them," he admitted. "They'll be edible, anyway, but I can't really claim much beyond that."

He had fish on his hands by the time he noticed Zelda had appeared in the doorway, so he couldn't do much except glance her way, trying to gauge where she was. "Hey," he said softly, but that was all. He didn't really know what else to say.