His words, as annoying as they are, seemed to calm her ever so slightly, but she still eyed him wearily, waiting for the punchline to his little joke.

And then, suddenly, he was behind her. She had to supress the urge to sigh or even bat his hands away. Instead, she closed her eyes and frowned. "Yes, thank you for telling me what I already know, Alucard."

Finally, however, she did reach up and lightly nudged his hands away from her head. She could feel a headache coming on, nothing a little glass of brandy wouldn't cure. "I'm going inside now," she announced, standing up.