It's been a little stressful, walking a bizarre tightrope around Seifer and Nida with their understandable reservations towards him, while still maintaining a strange, new, and amicable friendship with them (not to mention his ever-constant rivalry with Seifer). It's a lot to take in alongside settling in in a city he doesn't want to be in. So he's just really happy to see her. She's a familiar presence he's come to treasure even if he's working on expressing that better when he's not excited or emotional.

He looks down between them as his own smile fades along with hers, awkwardly but carefully taking her hand in both of his. He keeps his eyes down and shakes his head slightly.

"Nothing bad happened yet but it will." He's sure of that much. "A bomb went off during a festival to try and kill the mayor. There's a group fighting the city but they're in hiding." He frowns. "I don't know what's going on yet but we're stuck here for now. And I don't have my gunblade or my GFs." He sighs before another thought brings the frown right back. He looks at her with some confusion.

"You didn't know I was gone?"