Byerly's cheery spiel about the fundamental uselessness of Riftwatch's raison d'etre and all of the people silly enough to throw their lot in with it does, miraculously, result in the tiniest of little smiles quirking upwards at the corner of Octavius' lips. He unexpectedly puts Octavius in mind of another indefatigably cheerful man in a position of some authority over him from his past, which is, perhaps, why his smile is a wistful thing, too.

Then: "If I untie your hands, will you set me on fire?"

Wait, what? Startled, Octavius eyes Byerly dubiously. "No?" A beat. Then, "...Aren't I under arrest, or something?"