Lukas and Sorcha

Lukas was escaping the realm of dreams, stirring from his slumber as he slowly began to awaken. A soft groan emanated from the teen who moved a hand to rub his jaw tenderly. The sting of the glaives shaft wasn't dissipating any time soon as he recollected on last night, half awakened for the most part. "The way that night went... I didn't expect things to transpire the way they did..." Frowning, the boy rolled up, before swiftly pushing himself up from his bed. Extending his arms skyward before bringing them back to his eyes, he slowly made it out of his drowsy state.

As his eyes opened, he was unpleasantly surprised to find that this wasn't exactly his bed... or for the matter, his bedroom. Shaking his head before stopping momentarily due to the lingering pain caused him to fume over if he was still asleep. Quickly, he gave his right cheek a quick, hard pinch that stung his face like a wasp. "Great, my face is sore, I possibly lost some respect that dragon had for me... if there was any, and I'm basically pitching a tent in... wait."

...!

Turning his head to where he previously was rotated for the rest of the night was... what. what. what. His jaw dropped almost instantaneously, his eyes grew wide out of sheer shock, and his face grew a bright crimson. The teens heart felt like it was going to explode any second with the constant rush of blood... As he sat there, Lukas stared at his night time companion - Sorcha Ó Maoilriain. "Wh-what?"

An inaudible whisper escaped his befuddled lips as he stared, noticing something distinct about her, yet similar to both of them - they had no clothes on. Turning his head around the place, he frantically sought out something to cover up since he just wasn't going to be able to obscure his manhood with just his two hands, especially in this state. This hold imminent situation was embarrassing to the core. Averting his eyes from the sleeping body of Sorcha, he bent over to the side of the bed, discovering the locale of his garments. Shoving on his underwear, he swiftly then turned towards the dragon, albeit closing his eyes as he pondered when she would be roused from her slumber...

However, as he pondered upon this, something else crossed his mind... something he neither of them underwent - it was morally incorrect, outstanding, and plain... Ugh! Lukas wouldn't be bothered by this as his right hand was raised to his forehead, palm spreading over his temple. Keeling over, his arm positioned itself on his legs as he went through the nightmarish machinations. "... d-did we do it? Please tell me we didn't, please tell me we didn't, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeeaaaaase!"

Lukas' whole visage was turning a bright shade of red, and as of now he wasn't calming down any time soon, flustered that he just slept with his crush on the first day of school... huh, that's a new record for sure.

Thankfully for Lukas, they had not in fact, done it. The dragon would never do such a thing with a human. Not with just any human that gave her a nice compliment, anyways. The reason for both of them lacking clothes were simple. Sorcha, never slept in her armor, or with any sort of clothes at all. She disliked clothing, and only wore such garments to shield humans from her blinding, radiant visage.

The reason he didn’t have clothes, was simple. She had made sure she didn’t seriously injure him in their fight last night, so she made sure he hadn’t suffered any serious, obvious injures.

Well, that and she wanted to mess with him a little.

As soon as Lukas left the bed, the dragon yawned, rolling over in the covers and pulling them tighter around her body, along with her wings.

“Already awake, my little fool?....” She sleepily said giving a slight groan of annoyance. “You humans always…wake at such earlier hours…I thought you’d sleep more,” She yawned again. “…especially after last night.”

Departing from his side of the bed after letting his fantasies freely control him, Lukas began to garner most of the clothes he wore. "Well, at least most of my stuff is still in one place," he denoted, glaring at his swords neatly stacked on the wall near the corner. Flexing for a few seconds of his time, Lukas snatched his shirt, slowly putting it on before listening to the sound of another rousing from the elongated twilight that beseeched them. His head was barely through the shirt as Lukas slowly turned around, shoving his arms through the sleeves as he tightly shut his eyes.

"L-Lady Sorcha," he exclaimed, rather anxious to listen to what the opulent dragon had to say. His head was still pounding, a metronome created between his own heart as he avoided staring at the unclothed woman. This only seemed to make matters worse form him as he struggled to get his pants on, responding with an unnerved smile that twitched every few minutes.

...

And now only despair was left as his teeth were clenched, his mouth forming a shocked frown as his cheeks remained red as it was beet. He tried to keep his orbs in his head hidden, but failure was imminent... so he looked elsewhere. What he heard was a revelation he never wanted to envision (for at least this predicament), something that shook the very foundations of his well-being. Slowly facing the woman, Lukas bent his head down, glaring deeply into his own clothing. "Pl-please tell me you're t-talking about the d-demonstration you gave last n-night..."

Lukas stumbled as he spoke audibly, still trying to develop in his head what transpired. His hands turned into fists as he softly thumped on his head in a rhythm-like fashion, praying to the realm that this didn't happen. "Uh, um, Lady Sorcha," he finally managed to ask after he finished gently banging his head like a bongo. "Wh-why were we both naked?! Please tell me we didn't do the deed Lady Sorcha!"

“Do the deed?” She replied. “Well, if we did then one would normally be honored to lay with a dragon.” She teased, a small chuckle escaping from her lips as she rolled over again, this time facing the boy, seeing his rather distressed demeanor. Wow. Really, was he that upset about the possibility of doing something with a dragon? She almost felt a little insulted.

“Aha, but no we didn’t do anything like that.”

Sorcha gave a final, rather loud yawn as she sat up in the bed, finally deciding that she might as well get up too. She had a fun little new toy to play with and she wasn’t gonna let it go to waste, so she had to go ahead and get starting playing with it.

As she rose, she tossed the covers off of her, stepping off of the bed and giving Lukas a friendly smile in greeting. She seemed to move in a way that emphasized her chest, just to toy with Lukas even more.

“So no need to be upset, little fool. We didn’t do anything to break some vow of Chasity or whatever you’re upset about.” She laughed softly, walking across the room, not even bothering to get dressed even though her armor was laying on the ground next to her bed.

As she made her way to the table that was filled with food the previous night, she turned around and leaned on it, giving Lukas a smile.

"Though it occurs to me that I haven’t heard your name yet, little fool.”

Bed a dragon? Yes, he... kinda would actually like to woo her one day, he wasn't going to lie... however, his own strict code and memories at this school would speak otherwise. Doing his best to slowly calm himself down, he let in small amounts of air before breathing out, dressing himself up once again as Sorcha proclaimed they didn't have any intercourse. A sigh of relief escaped him as he peered up at the... voluptuous body of the dragon, thinking she was fully dressed. His blush returned, Lukas tried not to think much of her nudity as a slight drop of crimson made its descent from the bowels of his nose.

Really? Oh, good..." He spoke, completely adorning himself with the same clothes he had last night. Looking towards his swords which were nicely displayed in the corner, Lukas brought them over at a much quicker rate than he did launching them last night. "I guess you could compare it to a vow, but chastity? Nah," he replied, carefully putting the swords back into place within the confines of his sheathes.

After adjusting himself and laying the weapons by the bed, not knowing if the dragon would care or not about his system, he decided to go on. "After all, just to bed a dragon or generally anyone with a sexy body for no other reason than to just plain fuck them is... empty, it doesn't feel right to me." There was some seriousness in his voice, an aloofness to his demeanor. "I mean, I will be honest with you if you don't mind - I would love to bed you, but I would like to meet the conditions of being in a... uhm, aren't you going to get dressed?"

Lukas seemed less taken back than before, noting that his fervent frets had been toned down to the same lax demeanor he heralded the other night. However, he question why Sorcha didn't bother putting on any garment she had before questioning on his name. Putting on a laid back demeanor, Lukas gave the woman a smile with tinges of red dotting his face. "Er apologies for me going off on that little spiel; my name is Lukas Kunze, Lady Sorcha! Apologies for not giving you my name last night." He gave the woman a fleeting, but polite bow before returning to the former, still holding an unwavering grin.

“Clothing?” The dragon sighed. “I’m a dragon, Lukas. I don’t normally wear clothing at all.” She laughed. “And do not be sorry, I did not exactly give you much of a chance to give it…little fool.” Fool, was probably going to forever be Lukas’ nickname now. After that, she fell silent, pondering Lukas’ words as she gave him a small smile that seemed to indicate approval.

“That is quite a…admirable trait of yours. Unlike that fool yesterday who would probably sleep with any woman who would let him, you actually have a bit of chivalry, don’t you? Though…you can be a little…overbearing.” She offered another laugh, though it quickly turned into a yawn. Ugh, normally she’d sleep in until noon. She wasn’t used to being up before classes even started for the students.

Oh wait, speaking of classes.

“Ah…I hope you haven’t forgotten about our little bet yesterday.” She said, walking over to a desk and picking up a folded piece of paper. “About how you’ll be my servant for twenty four hours?” She unfolded it, and read it once again just to make sure before walking over and handing it to Lukas so he could read it as well.

“You have permission from Headmistress Livia to skip all of your classes today and tomorrow morning.” As soon as he took the paper from her, the dragon offered him a somewhat mischievous smile, probably leaning in a bit too close for the boys comfort. “Which means…you are all mine until tomorrow afternoon.~”

"Er, yeah, right," he muttered, staring at the ground; yeah, she did have a point, although she was in her human form... hum, another question to pose for the day. Thinking once more, he found the woman laughing, eliciting a small chuckle of his own. Laughter was infectious to say the least. Lukas turned to look at the woman, his own body appeared relaxed, his heart however... "That's going to stick with me until the rest of my days now, isn't it," Lukas sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. She had been prominent in marking him as The Fool, and he hoped it would be stagnant with the passing of that singular night... but apparently it was here to stay.

Walking towards the table, Lukas kept his head down as the woman fell silent for a moment. He wasn't one to discern her feelings at the moment, since, you know, he wasn't staring at the iridescent lady in all her glory. As the teen approached the table, he dove straight into his satchel, producing eight more pieces of sushi orbiting around him. Procuring one and popping it straight into his mouth, he listened to the words of Sorcha, cringing mentally at the thought of another besides Alucard who might give the Radiant

Moving his head up with a slight smirk, he was often told this by some former companions that he was a bit... dramatic, to say the least. As a powerful yawn resonated from her Lukas moved his head up, taking quick heed of her body language. "I take it you aren't much of an early riser," he questioned, looking out the window. It was early - dawn was barely on the horizon; usually he would get up, got for a quick jog, and then dress up for classes and any other activity.

Speaking of the devil, the woman recollected the deal Lukas made with her. Eyeing the woman as she went about the bet, Lukas nodded as he wasn't one to back out now. "Hey, I made the deal, so I'm going to honor it through and through, but..."

Receiving the parchment, Lukas read over the whole deal, his jaw slightly agape, almost as if he was struggling to comprehend what he was even reading. This... he honestly did not expect this outcome at all. What he was staring at was a pass from Headmaster Livia, one which allowed him to avert attending any classes. Well... this was sort of respecting the time he had, he reckoned? Either way, he was spending time with Sorcha, so it worked. Swallowing his sushi, he then folded up the paper, letting it float into the recesses of his pocket, before finding his crush... barely brushing up against him.

It was stifling to say the least as his face remained a shade of crimson, shyly peering away as the woman conceived a perky grin. "I... honestly didn't expect something like this... best I adapt to your culture and get used to seeing you without armor in your human form, shouldn't I," Lukas spoke coyly, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated way, before tilting his head back, shining a gentle grin at the woman. "Either way, regardless of what form you take or what clothes you wear, you'll always appear heavenly Lady Sorcha." Closing his eyes as he spoke this, a small amount of ichor descended from his nose once again, crimson covering part of his lip once again. Lukas' heart began beating at an even swifter rate after that genuine quip, along with the magnificent creature near him.

"I should really get that checked out..." He quickly wiped away any of the remaining blood from his face with one fell swoop of his hand... hopefully this wouldn't persist throughout the day...

“Hmph. You flatter me enough, maybe I’ll let you even touch instead of just look.” Sorcha teased with a smirk, leaning back to a more appropriate distance. Not that it would ever actually happen just from flattery of course. So for now, she walked over to where her armor laid and started putting it on. She first put on her greaves, continuing to talk to Lukas as she did so.

“So, Lukas. I don’t normally leave my tower much. I prefer not to be bothered by the students, and Livia doesn’t like me causing a ruckus.” She finished strapping on her greaves, starting with the breastplate next, deciding to show him some mercy and not face him as she dressed.

“But today, I think I will. I also need to perhaps brush up on my skills since I haven’t actually done any serious fighting for…quite a long time.” After her breastplate was on, she turned to face him, finishing up with her bracers and belt.

“At any rate,” She said, walking over to him and giving Lukas a grin. “You are not to leave my side today. For any reason unless I tell you. Understand?”

"There's a difference between insincere praising and the truth," Lukas added as she mentioned him flattering, giving the girl a smirk. "Whether you believe it is genuine or not, it's up to you, however when talking to someone of such opulence like you, I mean what I say," he proclaimed confidently as he quickly plucked another piece of sushi from the air and chowed down. This might be the closest he would be getting to breakfast... and he really, really wanted some coffee.

Feeling the presence near him dissipate, Lukas opened his eyes to be greeted by the woman's back as she traversed over to her king sized bed to procure her armor from the looks of it. Noticing the pieces, Lukas kept to himself as the grandiose dragon began adorning her body with clothing from the previous night, continuing to give her input on the situation.

"So you prefer to not talk to any person then, making the Headmistress an exception, along with Ylva and I..." Lukas retrieved his swords from the bed as he swallowed the sushi wrap. Deciding to leave the rest for her, Lukas scattered the pieces among the masses of pizza and potato chips. It begged to wonder why she dined on such greasy and unhealthy items, instead of delicious meals that would keep a normal persons heart healthy. Shrugging, Lukas continued to lend a ear to Lady Sorcha, who explained that she might be a bit rusty in the art of war and decided to practice a bit.

"Preparation never hurts, especially with the beat-down you are gonna hand your opponent in a couple of days," Lukas commented, strapping his swords onto his well-being, as well as retrieving his bag. To be honest, as much as the teen wanted to attend the party, he would much rather watch the battle between Lady Sorcha and whoever that other person was... "Either way, I believe your abilities will be more than enough to best him... I feel like the dude would need a god-to-honest miracle to win."

As he finished his commentary, the teen noticed the woman in full gear once more, spared from being labeled as a pervert... the more he pondered upon this, he shouldn't be too worried at staring at another's body for the most part, especially if he had no intention of bedding them. Tapping on his lip with his thumb, Lukas tilted his head to the side, closing his head as he pondered... before returning to reality as she continued speaking.

Looking back at the shorter being, Lukas flashed the woman a mischievous leer as she stated what he was to do. "I wouldn't want to depart from your side regardless, Radiant Battle-Maiden." Nodding, Lukas left that coy smirk behind as he adopted his more friendly demeanor, with a simple smile. "I understand the conditions Lady Sorcha."

Processing further what she meant, that obviously signaled that it was going to be nigh impossible to hit on any random passerby instantly. Furthermore, it was hard to distinct between a compliment to flirting when it came to him which deepened the problem if she commanded him not to hit on anyone. Lukas honestly knew where this was leading and adopted a rather serious visage. That warm smile was replaced by an emotionless line, his eyes calculating per usual as he analyzed.

"Lady Sorcha," he spoke with the voice that could be compared to a corporate suit when presenting his own ideas. "Permission to tell you about my catalyst as we walk? I feel this might be somewhat important for you to know, seeing as the only entrance in and out of here is your window from what I've discerned."

“Confidence in ones abilities is good, Lukas.” She replied, walking over to the window and throwing it open. “But overconfidence leads to one’s demise quite often. A harsh lesson I learned ages ago…and had to relearn quite often.” She chuckled, leaning out of the window and looking at the ground below. Various materials of construction littered the ground. No doubt that cretin was going to be doing whatever he wished with her tower, but…that was fine.

“If I must confess, I am not entirely certain I can best him. I am strong, to be sure, but I am not at my best…I haven’t been in a long while. No amount of your needless flattery will change that.” She sighed, shaking her head but didn’t seem to wish to elaborate further on the matter. Instead, she stepped away from the window, and looked back towards Lukas.

“You may tell me if you wish, once we are on the ground.” She motioned for Lukas to leave first. “Please, do go first.”

Surprised by the sudden change in acting, Lukas took it upon himself to heed what she meant about her own strengths. The dragon displayed some sense of humility, which Lukas respected. "I understand that sentiment of yours, after all, I abuse overconfidence to learn about opponents." Walking towards the window where Lady Sorcha was, Lukas took a glance over the edge, noting the construction down below. "... or at least attempt to."

Turning towards Lady Sorcha, he was slightly frowning as he stared at her. Wanting to set some of the record straight, he decided to refrain from acting too relaxed to the point where she wouldn't take Lukas too seriously. "Lady Sorcha, it isn't flattery... I'm vocalizing my belief for you," he spoke, almost challenging her to prove him wrong otherwise. "Whether you are at full strength or not, I surmise you have the skill and willpower to take him on..."

Pausing for a moment, he stared over the edge, adopting that similar smile he always had, one of patience, one of tenderness. "Regardless of how things turn out, know this - I'll support you till the very end, whether you claim victory or garner defeat... if you choose to not believe me, you might as well strike me down where I stand." He nodded his head, staring at the academy from this height. "Anyways, I'm also positive the beaut with snow white hair will too, seeing as she isn't sharing a bed with us," Lukas chuckled as he made his final statement, stopping once the woman directed him to make his way down.

Looking over the edge of dawn, Lukas used his mind to bring over the remaining pieces of sushi as a snack along the way instead of leaving them here for now. Put both of his legs over the ledge, he sat there, before saying one last thing. "Either way, I look forward to seeing you in action... Master." He left the last part teasingly with a coy smile as he plunged off the edge, plummeting to the earth. Using what he could of his mind, he controlled the descent, the force he would feel upon landing. As he neared the bottom, he slowed himself down, nailing the landing. Dusting himself off as he confidently stood up, Lukas eyed the looming tower above, awaiting the dragons next command.

Sorcha simply rolled her eyes at Lukas’ continued flattery. That was what it was. She had full confidence in her abilities. That wasn’t what she was worried about, but there was no way he could possibly know such a thing. At any rate, however, standing here wasn’t going to get them anywhere. So, following after him she left the tower, closing the window behind her.

She landed gracefully next to Lukas, deciding to leave her glaive behind for now. It was unlikely she was going to be getting into any conflicts, and even if she did she was confident in her other abilities.

“Showing off, hmm?” She commented. “But it matters not…shall we head into town? I am finding myself wanting food. Perhaps something from the Mediterranean.”

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he winked at the woman as she pondered on where they should go.

"Hmm, well, I just dined at a seafood place the other day with my roommates," Lukas mused for a few seconds before responding. "Maybe Japanese?" He pondered for a moment before shrugging and looking back at Sorcha. "Eh, whatever, it's your choice for now Lady Sorcha, either way, I'll pay for the meal... just don't exhaust my funds, please." Well, he did have lots of money built up from over the years of missions he undertook... however, he had no idea what her appetite would be like, whether ravenous or mild.

As soon as the woman began to walk, he too would follow behind her. "So about my catalyst..."

"... so yeah, that's basically the gist of it; hit on about five to twenty different women or else I turn into a girl with limited abilities..." Lukas grumbled something additional that he was rather piqued about, but for now that didn't matter. Hopefully she would understand the predicament, the need to hit on any girl they passed, and- "She is definitely going to restrict me from flirting with any girls today from what I can deduct, especially with what happened this morning..."

Looking at the woman, she remarked that The Lecherous Band was quite troublesome catalyst to an extent... before demanding that the boy did not hit on any girl. Groaning in annoyance, he attempt talking Sorcha out of such a thing, saying things like how he would have a difficult time getting up or down her tower... but alas, it fell on deaf ears as he pouted, crossing his arms as he glared at the woman in disapproval. "Ugh, out of all the things... hmph, I understand Lady Sorcha." He nodded, displaying his obedience for Lady Sorcha, defeatingly groaning.

Lukas could only hope she would avert trying to mess with him on the other scale, because it was rather... stifling to say the least, unless they were in some sort of relationship. Obscuring his face with his hand, he shook it slightly before returning to normal, albeit disgruntled. "Can we at least stop by m-" Before he could finish his statement, he noticed a rather beautiful, but eccentric girl who was marching with some... dolls. Honestly, he couldn't say that was anything out of the ordinary, save for the facet that they were marching through town.

Even that wasn't enough to befuddle him; thanks Meredith.

In response to the dragons confusion, he stared over at the girl for a moment, marching her dolls along the pavement. The silence was a bit deafening as he swiftly formulated his thoughts, tapping his lip as he scanned the girl. "Alright, soooo her actions are a bit irregular, however I wouldn't say this is anything out of the ordinary and would classify her as one who relies on another for combat... mainly her dolls... she also has the age of someone who might attend Montagne Academy..."

Looking at the dragon briefly before looking back at the blue haired girl, he formulated another response based on this new theory. "Nothing out of the ordinary to me since some students act peculiar from prior observations... but there is the facet that she is marching around town instead of heading to class." Noticing the girl nearing the duo, Lukas' voice remained nonchalant, until he smiled again at Sorcha. "Maybe we should remedy this and talk to her, m'lady, after all, you only said I couldn't flirt with anyone other than you..."

Lukas gave Sorcha an impish wink as the blue haired doll approach, whispering something only the dragon would hear. "But with a beauty like you at my side, I don't actually mind those conditions for the moment," he said, playfully grinning at the Radiant Battle-Maiden. Eventually the doll and her army was within a few meters of the duo, which signified that he might make his move. Giving a relaxed wave to the girl with a warm smile, despite her inordinate actions.

"Hello Missy," he exclaimed to the young lady marching along in sync with her figures. He gave the girl a welcoming smile as he continued on, "Do you need directions for heading to Montagne Academy as you appear lost," he pushed forward the question, giving her a patient grin. Lukas honestly never saw this girl before, and decided to give the teen the benefit of the doubt and not denote her as a delinquent.

Warning: Fluff and blood sucking

Lukas shined a suave smile at the girl, ready to go in for the kill with a simple quip. Looking at the blue-haired gal with playful eyes, stated his response to the girls first remark. "What? Ignoring some one as bfffft-" Oh, right, is your memory that short? Lady Sorcha basically said flirt with no one besides her for the remainder of the day. His gears were grinding in annoyance as he stopped mid-sentence, albeit, looking a bit irritated, but remained the same.

"Er, they shouldn't of ignored someone who needed their help," Lukas remarked, eyeing the dragon after that comment with much annoyance before returning his glare to Katherine. "I mean is it really that hard to take some time out of their day to assist a lo-lady! Yes, lady out in her journey?" Ok, maybe this was getting a bit on his nerves now since he basically was adjusted to hitting with every woman in sight... or trying to anyways.

Then there were the comments over dragons, which the girl easily identified Sorcha as from what he could identify. It appeared to be almost as if she was fangirling over them as she recalled the stories... Eh, maybe... However, near the end, Lukas noticed something strange - no words, mouth was still moving. Before he could actually question what the woman said, she continued onward, stating her name and business, how she was late to orientation... which meant she failed to receive the piece of paper regarding where she would bunk.

Pleasure to meet you Katherine," Lukas replied, jubilant at the discourse of meeting a new, cute girl that he would look forward to probably seeing. "My name is Lukas Kunze, it's nice to meet you," Lukas replied, bowing his head as she gave the girl a pleasant look. "Katherine... such a ggguh..." Ok, this was getting downright idiotic to the point where Lukas wasn't enjoying this request... maybe he might have word with Lady Sorcha over this once more, since she more than likely ignored him the first time.

... great name; it's a pretty one, I'll say... anyways..." Lukas' speech pattern was seemingly awkward to anyone passing by, and it was blatantly obvious that he did want to say something, before abruptly cutting it off. With his name called, Lukas whipped his head to Sorcha who told the girl which building to locate Livia in, along with beckoning him to follow.

Looking over at the girl, he gave one last added detail that would most likely assist the girl. "Also, her office is on the top floor, find some stairs, take a left, then right, stay that way, then you should reach her office." Lukas slowly walked past her before waving and saying one last thing... "By the way you rrr... Uhm, see you some time later Katherine." Lukas did his best to hide his aggression in his voice as he jogged to catch up with Sorcha, keeping it plain and short.

Lukas did not at all appear to be a happy camper; his face was scrunched up, eyebrows were furrowed, and he had an irritated frown plastered on his face. Above all, he shot a dirty look at Sorcha with that statement of hers denying him the chance to hit on anyone else. Yes, he didn't mind, but after that minor spiel, he was brazenly irked that he couldn't comment or say anything to hit on her... And the worse part that she was really cute!

"Lady Sorcha," Lukas spoke with a hint of irritation, leering at the woman as he spoke, almost wanting to vent at this point. "Mind if we have a small chat over that ludicrous statement you said earlier about... you know, not flirting with any lady besides you? Because I think you might of ignored some of my previous statements from earlier..." While his voice remained the same, it now heralded tinges of annoyance.