His wide eyes narrow, focused for a second completely on her.

"Of course I can," he snaps, derisive, frustrated at a question that seems to him to come from out of nowhere, and be relevant to nothing. "Haven't gone deaf. Can you-"

The ground's reached out, wrapped its calloused fingers around his hand. That's why he's stopped. He's watching it. He stops pulling, lets it pull instead, and watches it.

"Can you..." His voice isn't sharp now. It's soft, distracted, and it takes him a moment to remember he isn't finished using it. He breathes, recites the words with which he thinks he was going to finish. "Can you find something better to do than asking ridiculous questions?"