Lucrezia can be softer on others less inclined to dodge her questions and demands. Spike, on the other hand, she needs to be hard on, especially since that often yields something out of the man eventually. Persistence pays when it comes to him, perhaps when it comes to Joshua too. She thinks they are far more similar than they would admit.

His sudden appearance has her nearly jumping out of her skin and it takes her a moment to remember how to greet him with a smile when her heart is still racing from the surprise. She isn't afraid though, only shocked, but she knows how fragile he has been these days and how she should calm herself and soon. Laughter helps. She steps closer with a surer smile, reaching out a hand to frame his face but not to touch him yet. Not until she is sure it would not hurt him.

"I thought to ask him to break down the cellar door for me. Look at his muscle now," she spares an amused glance at Spike and his arms. "But turns out the tiger has achieved what I could not."