[ He'd meant it about helping, even if it was phrased blunter than he might've done at any other point in time, but Claude also doesn't wait before going to retrieve yet another something to stack on the growing makeshift quasi-staircase. There's a second where he has to press his lips together in a line again to restrain from saying something somewhere on the spectrum of unkind as an immediate reaction. It won't help anything, especially if they can't actually get out of here and have to be trapped together for even longer since this already feels like an eternity.

On top of that, finding himself reaching for his temper around her over and over is proving to be exhausting on so many levels both noticeable and not. As much as he doesn't want to stay barely on just this side of nice, the alternative's worse. For everyone. Claude inhales and lets it out in a soundless sigh to shake off any defensiveness. ]

Good news. The sooner you help me stack up things so we can get outta here, the sooner we can go right back to being not in the same room. Or even the same building, apparently.

[ Impassivity's the key there in keeping it from growing too pointed since what's said is merely a proven fact at this point as far as he's concerned. He returns from a couple feet away just in time to see her drag one of the stacked items away, resulting in a raised eyebrow from him until she explains. Upon a closer look out of curiosity - now that it's not interrupted by finding something to say back to her like before - he can see the subtle splits in the wood he'd missed. That would've been deeply unfortunate to find out when any farther above the ground. ]

Alright. [ Before setting the one in his hands down, Claude holds it out for her inspection. ] Is this one any better? It came from the same area.