[He'd just made it to the shadow of the pillar, glad to get away from the crowd...when suddenly there's a person slamming into him!! No, not slamming into him...hugging him! And in the confusion of the moment his patience is short and his emotions running wilder than he likes, and he doesn't notice the tears or the sobs, not with how noisy the hall is and how he only sees the top of her head when he looks down.

So that's how he ends up shouting at her. #greatfirstimpression]

What on earth do you think you're doing!? Have some sense, young lady!!

[His hands are going to grip on her shoulders to push her away, fingers digging perhaps a little too harshly into her flesh. An angry scowl will greet her tear-stained face...before it melts away into shocked, and then shamed realization, that she's crying. Immediately his hands let go, and his voice dies back down with shame.]

Young miss. I, I am terribly sorry. I did not notice your distress.

[But his distress is clear in the strain in his voice, the worry and guilt etched on his face.

And in the harsh sting at the back of her neck.]