"Lousy as it is, John, it's the truth," Eric replied. He paused, seeing that his tactic wasn't working the way he figured it might. That was a good thing, and a bad thing. But Eric wasn't too concerned, John would act whatever way he wanted to and Eric would deal with it as it came.
As if to prove his point, Eric faded away before John's eyes. It was a trick he didn't use very often in front of anyone else.
He peered down at the other man from the roof, glancing over the lip of the top at his friend, then he faded again and ended up back where he had been before.
"I know you're not alright because you don't usually act this way. And I'm not upset, I'm just confused. You're asking me to prove myself to you, demanding to know what I am. Why does it matter? Why does this display of power matter to you when it was never an issue before?"