[ Almost immediately, Aymeric shakes his head. He is, as Jonathan knows, considerably unhappy with the turn his life has taken, but that does not translate to a death wish on his part. ] It embarrasses me to admit it, but it was a failure on my part. There were no self-destructive thoughts influencing my actions, I assure you.

The dragon did surprise me, yes. As to my senses... [ He lightly shrugs. ] The field of battle is full of noise and clamor and distraction. But perhaps it is a case of my senses not being what they ought.

[ But when Jonathan's next words sink in, Aymeric's reaction is immediate. His hands clench into fists and his shoulders drop, and where he was speaking relatively freely just moments ago, a pointed silence takes hold instead. To speak aloud that he cannot answer would only bring about more questions, but questions will come regardless, he is certain.

And so he maintains silence, but he does not let his gaze shift away, as he feels that would only indicate that he has something to hide. ]