[As Jesper explores, Nikolai follows at an easy pace to avoid giving the sense that he's hovering over his shoulder. He attempts to answer the barrage of questions, but soon falls two questions behind ‐ especially when Ponchik starts to whine at the closed door, and Nikolai concedes to let the dog in. There's less trouble for him to get into when Nikolai isn't actively working on one of his projects. So now Ponchik, trotting and snuffling all around, provides a mirror of Jesper's enthusiasm.

Altogether, he couldn't ask for a more attentive— Well, maybe not attentive, but he couldn't ask for a more excitable audience. A grin lights his face, his ego sufficiently polished.]

This will be an airship come spring. [Gesturing to the large skeleton of metal and wood, finally returning to a question asked minutes ago amid the flurry.] A small one, I'll concede. My ambitions can measure only as tall as this space.

[Although he's never explicitly confirmed for Jesper his connection to the identify of Sturmhond, leaving him with these hints is unavoidable at this juncture.]