"Oh, well," Ignis said, after a very short pause that seemed to still fill a lot of space, "I'm sure we all deserve quite the round of applause for our various efforts to the cause."

But what had started as a subtly sarcastic drawl in response to Jace's indelicate attempt at flattery found itself settling into something far more genuine.

"Truly," he added, "I owe you all a great debt of gratitude, and I apologize that I could not properly express it when we parted ways, given my state of being at the time.

"Particularly you, Jace."

The cool lift of his eyebrows served as the only hint that the lines of sincerity might be blurring again.

"As you were the one to bring this blight to my attention in the first place."

Though....would anyone care to remind him why there had been a threat to Innistrad to begin with? Anyone?9