Briar is well aware it isn't a time for grinning, but the combination of a familiar face and reactions that make him feel like maybe they aren't such strangers after all is a relief. Sandry is still Sandry, even if they had all seemed far too different at first after years apart. "He'll be alright," Briar reassures her, with conviction that he can only wish for. Briar really likes Sandry's uncle. "So will everyone else." Tris and Daja, Lark and Rosethorn, Pasco and Evvy.

Nodding, Briar replies, "I've talked to him before," adding, "I'm on my way." He is already on his feet and moving as he speaks. He'd wanted to meet Party anyway, so the other man's presence is hardly a deterrent.