[it DOES take him a few minutes to actually get a little fire going--even when you know how to do it, it takes some dedication. but he nods as he works, finally coaxing up a flame and feeding it some kindling.]

Yeah, you could say that. I do a lot of traveling and exploring, so I learned how to do stuff like this when I was pretty young. It only takes one time being stuck at the bottom of some dark ruins to not want a repeat experience.