This isn't surprising, and Dimitri nodes a bit. "He can bit a bit reserved, at times - in that, perhaps you and he may get along." Sometimes, all one need do is sit in silence with another person, and that's enough. Dimitri sort of gets it, in a way.
"But while we are from the same world, our homelands were neighbors - my Faerghus, his Duscur. Whereas Faerghus made its home in the harsh and could mountains along the coast, Duscur found some more prosperity with the waters turning a tad warmer and their earth plentiful with various minerals. Yet despite the fact that they had no obligation to do so, they did many a kindness for us. Kindnesses that stretched long before I had been born, in fact.
"But men are men, at the end of the day, and there were some in Faerghus who said we should be more demanding in trade, perhaps take lands for our own." Dimitri's lip pulls back, teeth bared in disgust as he swipes a hand through the air dismissively. "My father disagreed and could not be swayed. Said it was easier to regain resources than the trust of a good ally. So, one day, he took me, my mother, and many other warriors to travel to Duscur, for diplomatic reasons."
And this is the part he hates to remember. To think about. But it feels fair, to trade a personal story for a personal story, so, as he has many times in the past, Dimitri works past the feeling.
"But our traveling party was ambushed... and by people far stronger than we could have ever prepared for, in a land far from known enemies." Dimitri's eye narrows. "The entire party was slaughtered - my father included, and a dear friend who had been assigned to guard me, as I was but a child when this all happened. Yet still they managed to do one thing, and that was keep me safe and hidden. A survivor.
"I will never forget the appearance of those people who attacked us. Yet even for all that I was the only survivor, none back in Faerghus would listen to the words of a child and what he had seen. In the end, the blame ended up falling onto Duscur's feet, and a war was declared on them.
"So I did the only sensible thing, and stole a steed to make my way to battlefront."
He actually stole, like. a lot of horses, honestly. Or else they'd faint on him in the middle of the road.
That's not an important detail.
Dimitri hisses a breath out through his teeth. "Although it was hardly a battlefront at all... Merely ruined towns and villages. I made quite a nuisance of myself, and no introduction to the men of Faerghus that I passed, only did childish things such as chase them off and stolen armaments as I ran to see who of Duscur I could find."
Because he may have been a child... But he was a child with super strength and in the midst of a panicked breakdown. With both berserker strength and mentality, along with the absolutely bewildering sight it must have been to see a random child on the front, he made it a surprising distance into Duscur.
"In the end, I did not find many.... But I did find Dedue, in the end. A boy only a few years older than me. It took some scars, but I managed to pull him out from the mess..." Dimitri manages a huff of some grim amusement. "And that was when everyone else finally managed to catch up with me - including a dear friend of my father's. I wish I could say that I made a good case for myself, and Dedue, but I am afraid that, as a child, I could only throw a tantrum."
He might have threatened to bite someone. Or worse.
....Likely worse.
"But it was thanks to Rodrigue - my father's dear friend - that Dedue was technically brought into my service, despite the climate being what it was. But it was exactly because of that climate that, on paper, to the rest of Faerghus, that he could only be seen as my retainer. In my eyes, however... We have always been partners."
His fingers twitch just a little bit, gripping his carving knife tighter, and his voice goes low and dark. "Because those who slaughtered my father, and all of our men - there is no doubt in our minds that it was they who used Duscur as a scapegoat.
"So, together, we will bring Duscur back to its own people and, just as importantly... We will find those responsible, and bring justice cleaving straight through them, even if I must do it with my bare teeth."
It wouldn't be the first time.
Still, all that talking, and he finally lets loose a long breath, letting the feelings at least settle in him instead of rattling out from his body. He sets the carving knife down, just to be safe, and leans back. "In truth, I do not tell that story often. The general idea of it was well known back home, and I am not sure how to speak of the details here, in most cases. But you told a personal story of your own family, so I thought it fair to tell one of mine."
And, well, if there is one gold thread to be found in that entire miserable and bloody tapestry... Dimitri smiles just slightly. "And I cannot be anything but glad, that Dedue and I met. It has taken many battles by his side, and arriving here in this place... But he and I are lovers, to which I cannot be happier or prouder."
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"But while we are from the same world, our homelands were neighbors - my Faerghus, his Duscur. Whereas Faerghus made its home in the harsh and could mountains along the coast, Duscur found some more prosperity with the waters turning a tad warmer and their earth plentiful with various minerals. Yet despite the fact that they had no obligation to do so, they did many a kindness for us. Kindnesses that stretched long before I had been born, in fact.
"But men are men, at the end of the day, and there were some in Faerghus who said we should be more demanding in trade, perhaps take lands for our own." Dimitri's lip pulls back, teeth bared in disgust as he swipes a hand through the air dismissively. "My father disagreed and could not be swayed. Said it was easier to regain resources than the trust of a good ally. So, one day, he took me, my mother, and many other warriors to travel to Duscur, for diplomatic reasons."
And this is the part he hates to remember. To think about. But it feels fair, to trade a personal story for a personal story, so, as he has many times in the past, Dimitri works past the feeling.
"But our traveling party was ambushed... and by people far stronger than we could have ever prepared for, in a land far from known enemies." Dimitri's eye narrows. "The entire party was slaughtered - my father included, and a dear friend who had been assigned to guard me, as I was but a child when this all happened. Yet still they managed to do one thing, and that was keep me safe and hidden. A survivor.
"I will never forget the appearance of those people who attacked us. Yet even for all that I was the only survivor, none back in Faerghus would listen to the words of a child and what he had seen. In the end, the blame ended up falling onto Duscur's feet, and a war was declared on them.
"So I did the only sensible thing, and stole a steed to make my way to battlefront."
He actually stole, like. a lot of horses, honestly. Or else they'd faint on him in the middle of the road.
That's not an important detail.
Dimitri hisses a breath out through his teeth. "Although it was hardly a battlefront at all... Merely ruined towns and villages. I made quite a nuisance of myself, and no introduction to the men of Faerghus that I passed, only did childish things such as chase them off and stolen armaments as I ran to see who of Duscur I could find."
Because he may have been a child... But he was a child with super strength and in the midst of a panicked breakdown. With both berserker strength and mentality, along with the absolutely bewildering sight it must have been to see a random child on the front, he made it a surprising distance into Duscur.
"In the end, I did not find many.... But I did find Dedue, in the end. A boy only a few years older than me. It took some scars, but I managed to pull him out from the mess..." Dimitri manages a huff of some grim amusement. "And that was when everyone else finally managed to catch up with me - including a dear friend of my father's. I wish I could say that I made a good case for myself, and Dedue, but I am afraid that, as a child, I could only throw a tantrum."
He might have threatened to bite someone. Or worse.
....Likely worse.
"But it was thanks to Rodrigue - my father's dear friend - that Dedue was technically brought into my service, despite the climate being what it was. But it was exactly because of that climate that, on paper, to the rest of Faerghus, that he could only be seen as my retainer. In my eyes, however... We have always been partners."
His fingers twitch just a little bit, gripping his carving knife tighter, and his voice goes low and dark. "Because those who slaughtered my father, and all of our men - there is no doubt in our minds that it was they who used Duscur as a scapegoat.
"So, together, we will bring Duscur back to its own people and, just as importantly... We will find those responsible, and bring justice cleaving straight through them, even if I must do it with my bare teeth."
It wouldn't be the first time.
Still, all that talking, and he finally lets loose a long breath, letting the feelings at least settle in him instead of rattling out from his body. He sets the carving knife down, just to be safe, and leans back. "In truth, I do not tell that story often. The general idea of it was well known back home, and I am not sure how to speak of the details here, in most cases. But you told a personal story of your own family, so I thought it fair to tell one of mine."
And, well, if there is one gold thread to be found in that entire miserable and bloody tapestry... Dimitri smiles just slightly. "And I cannot be anything but glad, that Dedue and I met. It has taken many battles by his side, and arriving here in this place... But he and I are lovers, to which I cannot be happier or prouder."