"Oh, yes. Thank you. You're very thoughtful, Alfred." He undoes the clasps of his cloak and hands it over to Alfred before settling on the bench.

"It's probably a bit tangled," he admits, sounding... a little embarrassed, perhaps. He doesn't take as good of care of himself as he should. Not like Herbert does. He stares down at his nails, realizing how clawlike they are. In bad need of some filing and shaping.

How long has he been like this? Too long, perhaps.