[They recognize that kind of careful phrasing immediately, moreso than Dimitri's deliberate attempt to reduce his looming stature. It prickles irritation up their spine, the insult that they can't just be talked to, and their words burst out before they can think about it.]
I'm not a baby, you don't have to--
[But like a bubble in a boiling pot that flash of anger quickly fizzles into nothing, and Chip winces inward again. Stupid, stupid, shouldn't yell like that--]
no subject
I'm not a baby, you don't have to--
[But like a bubble in a boiling pot that flash of anger quickly fizzles into nothing, and Chip winces inward again. Stupid, stupid, shouldn't yell like that--]
...'m sorry.