It was always a little difficult to believe that humor but this time Nariko allowed herself to smile along with it. "It's a good reason." Not that her opinion counted for much in this exact situation, but it felt as if some kind of response was necessary. She was quiet for a minute and then added, "So if you had control over all of this, what would you have us do? So you can go back to being the stubbornly blind one."

And while it may not have been exactly the same as a smile there was a kind of relief in being able to talk freely. Bert was far better at talking than Kaine or Roland had been, though the latter probably wasn't anything to be proud of.