Lottie returned the hug with enthusiasm. Many people, most people really, were unaware of how much they could communicate with touch. Friendship was not one of those people. She was exceptionally fluent in the language of hugs, and in fact, it was one of her favorite methods of having a conversation. So she could tell-- Ninkasi was a hugger.
Not all those that professed to be open to physicality were actually, truly huggers. Being a hugger required an openness and honesty, both within one's self and with those being hugged. Not everybody was capable of that sort of sincerity of thought and emotion. Oh there were plenty of people that embraced one another, clasping each other close. There were even those that claimed they loved cuddling close. But they were not huggers.
Bast, for example, Lottie pondered, was very tactile and enjoyed being close to others. But she always held something back. She was not a hugger. Thor, on the other hand, was a hugger through and through.
Speaking of their mutual acquaintance...
"Thor doesn't know that you bake," she queried, "does he? Because if he doesn't, don't tell him. It took like four years and an actual war to get him out of my kitchen after the first time I fed him. I love him, I do. But ohmigods, he eats like a black hole. He could bankrupt small countries by stopping in for lunch. So don't let him know if he doesn't already. It's for your own safety."