This page may seem like just a quiet, sweet moment and a partial antidote to all the upsetting things about Chapter 8. And it is that, but it’s also a decision point. Two roads are diverging in a wood and Syr’Nj has to pick which she wants.

She begged Byron to stop and he didn’t. Only her potion-darts kept him from hacking her to bits. And while the berserker seems like a completely different person and time will prove this largely accurate, how much responsibility Byron really bears for it is more felt than known at this stage. If nothing else, he is responsible for not telling his brothers and sisters in arms what he knows about it.

So it’d be reasonable for Syr’Nj to take longer to get over all that than she does. Some people in her position wouldn’t get over it at all. As it is, there’s a flicker of fear in her as she hears the echo of the berserker’s scream, and then she recognizes a man in mourning. She chooses what she sees. “Seeing what you choose to see” often means delusional folly, but sometimes the choice is a noble and ultimately wise one.

Oh, and just incidentally, by making this choice, she accepts Gravedust’s assessment that she is now de facto leader of the group, even if she’ll lead by following Best for a bit.

Originally, her dialogue in the last panel was a simple “All right,” but one of us (probably Phil) decided we needed a bit more clarity. I dunno, though: I think her body language here speaks for itself.