He had plenty of time between the soft sound he gave in reply and Bariyan's emergence out of the gloom to catch his breath. Doing so calmed some of the jitters he'd gotten along the way, the strange wonderings and outlandish worries the imagination could jump to unchecked. It was all instantly silly, out of mind as he heard and felt the space near him fill up, the hand on his shoulder a welcome weight.

Matter? What would be the matter with that?

"I wanted to see you," he said, as though that were all. For a few seconds, it was, having forgotten his real mission in the moment. That tended to happen right away around Bariyan now; it was only natural to do so, given the quality of their bond, his existence there.

And so, his interests fell to the wayside as he focused more keenly on the man in front of him. In the gloom, he can only just make out features, but it's enough. It's him.

"Why are you down here?"