Fortunately, the frustrated growl Alistair makes in reply gets lost under the noise of the shower.

"There's no point to insulting you, you'll just insist it's all true even if it's -- I don't know -- " The sound of the water changes subtly as Alistair steps into the spray. "I'm too tired. And you're an idiot."

Say one thing for fighting in the Fade: it produces less of a mess than fighting in the real world. There's no dirt to wash off. No blood that isn't his own. He rubs a handful of water through his hair in the hope it'll clean off some of the sweat.