If he is, he never saw it coming. No attacks, nothing out of the ordinary. For all he knows, he's asleep right now. This is a dream.

He hopes it isn't.

"A few months," he says, shaking his head a little bit, almost giving a laugh. Instead, he tussles a hand into Essek's carefully arranged hair--longer than he's seen it in years--and giving him a momentarily soft expression. "I came to visit."

But it seems there are other things to worry about, and Essek's casual switch to Common is not going to go unnoted, later. "Yes, no, I'm sure we can make space."