Even in Dimitri's least catastrophic, most lucid visions of the scenario, he'd expected to be laughed at. He knows that to people of Erin's time, his manners are beyond archaic. There is laughter, but it's warm, not cruel. Not even inadvertently condescending.
Dimitri is a good judge of people. He's had to be, in order to survive. And if this world were his own, Arthur would have won his loyalty for life.
He takes the drink and returns to his seat, flushing a sheepish pink. "I don't think it's something one can prepare for. I ... " His expression turns distant, and he flicks a faint panicked glance at Erin. "I simply have an interest in -- the question of authority, and how it can be wielded justly. If it can. In matters so weighty, where no matter how much or how wise the counsel you receive, you're left to make the final decision alone ... " His momentum fades, and he wilts. " ... it's no longer exactly relevant to me, but ... it preoccupies me all the same."
He takes a sip of his drink to distract himself. The bubbles go directly up his nose; he chokes, goes briefly cross-eyed, and somehow manages to swallow and set it down without coughing.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-05-02 11:13 am (UTC)Dimitri is a good judge of people. He's had to be, in order to survive. And if this world were his own, Arthur would have won his loyalty for life.
He takes the drink and returns to his seat, flushing a sheepish pink. "I don't think it's something one can prepare for. I ... " His expression turns distant, and he flicks a faint panicked glance at Erin. "I simply have an interest in -- the question of authority, and how it can be wielded justly. If it can. In matters so weighty, where no matter how much or how wise the counsel you receive, you're left to make the final decision alone ... " His momentum fades, and he wilts. " ... it's no longer exactly relevant to me, but ... it preoccupies me all the same."
He takes a sip of his drink to distract himself. The bubbles go directly up his nose; he chokes, goes briefly cross-eyed, and somehow manages to swallow and set it down without coughing.
"Um. What is that."