( It had occurred to Dimitri when he'd arrived that if he'd been brought here, it could have been possible others were as well. He had no way of knowing if that were true or not, let alone who else might be the victim of such circumstances. And he had considered for a few moments that it could be someone from the Alliance, or worse yet, the Empire. He'd braced himself for that inevitability. He'd told himself he'd do his best to handle it with as much dignity and grace as he can manage, something he hadn't given the others months ago when they'd met on the battlefield for a real rematch of their mock battle in school.
Even so, he isn't prepared for this moment.
The fair skin, the scarlet top, and that pale hair - Dimitri is certain he'd recognize Edelgard anywhere. It's a realization that hits him violently, makes his breath catch in his throat, eye widening slightly. There's a sharpness in his chest, a sudden tension in his muscles, and his hands ache from how hard they curl into fists. It's hard to fight down that voice in the back of his mind that urges him to do more than just sit there, to lash out, to hurt her in all the ways she's made the people he cares for suffer. And if he'd been brought here a week earlier, he's sure he would have listened to it. That he would have given into that beast that lurks beneath his skin that aches to see her head from her shoulders.
It's the lack of recognition in that purple gaze that stills him, though, that helps the air return to his lungs. He recognizes the look in her eyes - it's the same one she'd given him at the academy when they'd been introduced. The look of someone who didn't recognize him, despite their meeting long ago. There's nothing there that says she seems him for who he is, and he tries to hold onto that. Though he finds it strange that she doesn't see who for who he is, brings too many questions that he can't make sense of in that moment.
He takes another breath, and finally, he nods. )
I will help as best I can.
( His voice is still careful, awkwardly polite, but he manages to fight down his feelings of uncertainty. He can.. do this. He can make himself rationalize this, find a way to keep the situation as calm as he can manage. They may be on opposite sides of a war, but that doesn't mean they have to fight. They can talk without the blood and violence.
But as his gaze lowers and he reads those words... Perhaps violence might be a better option.
Color blossoms across his cheeks, gaze flicking away as he bows his head as if to hide behind the shaggy bangs in his embarrassment. He clears his throat, nodding again.
Fantasies of those sorts have been lost on him, truth be told. They'd been a passing thing in his teen years, an unfortunate product of being a healthy, growing young man, but never something he'd allow himself to indulge in. And after he'd learned the truth about the flame emperor, when his mind had splintered that day, those sorts of feelings and thoughts have never been able to pierce his thoughts. Lost to a blood lust so deep that the only thoughts of closeness was not to find intimacy but to inflict pain. )
I... ( He starts, forcing himself to lift his head, to meet her gaze. ) I haven't thought about such things in some time.
okay I am here finally!!
Even so, he isn't prepared for this moment.
The fair skin, the scarlet top, and that pale hair - Dimitri is certain he'd recognize Edelgard anywhere. It's a realization that hits him violently, makes his breath catch in his throat, eye widening slightly. There's a sharpness in his chest, a sudden tension in his muscles, and his hands ache from how hard they curl into fists. It's hard to fight down that voice in the back of his mind that urges him to do more than just sit there, to lash out, to hurt her in all the ways she's made the people he cares for suffer. And if he'd been brought here a week earlier, he's sure he would have listened to it. That he would have given into that beast that lurks beneath his skin that aches to see her head from her shoulders.
It's the lack of recognition in that purple gaze that stills him, though, that helps the air return to his lungs. He recognizes the look in her eyes - it's the same one she'd given him at the academy when they'd been introduced. The look of someone who didn't recognize him, despite their meeting long ago. There's nothing there that says she seems him for who he is, and he tries to hold onto that. Though he finds it strange that she doesn't see who for who he is, brings too many questions that he can't make sense of in that moment.
He takes another breath, and finally, he nods. )
I will help as best I can.
( His voice is still careful, awkwardly polite, but he manages to fight down his feelings of uncertainty. He can.. do this. He can make himself rationalize this, find a way to keep the situation as calm as he can manage. They may be on opposite sides of a war, but that doesn't mean they have to fight. They can talk without the blood and violence.
But as his gaze lowers and he reads those words... Perhaps violence might be a better option.
Color blossoms across his cheeks, gaze flicking away as he bows his head as if to hide behind the shaggy bangs in his embarrassment. He clears his throat, nodding again.
Fantasies of those sorts have been lost on him, truth be told. They'd been a passing thing in his teen years, an unfortunate product of being a healthy, growing young man, but never something he'd allow himself to indulge in. And after he'd learned the truth about the flame emperor, when his mind had splintered that day, those sorts of feelings and thoughts have never been able to pierce his thoughts. Lost to a blood lust so deep that the only thoughts of closeness was not to find intimacy but to inflict pain. )
I... ( He starts, forcing himself to lift his head, to meet her gaze. ) I haven't thought about such things in some time.