"Frustrating?" Claude places a faux offended hand over his chest. "It was playful! Tongue-in-cheek! Poking fun at the status quo! I thought you'd like that." He tuts, but there's a telling grin on his lips to make sure Dimitri doesn't take it seriously. Of course, there was an extra layer of the joke that Dimitri was never privvy to-- maybe Claude will let him know some day.

Now that the mood's been shifted to something much lighter, Claude leans back, looking Dimitri over. Now, it's been more than five years since he's seen him anything like this, but-- there is something different about him that's hard to place. "Are you still at the Oak & Iron?" It's a way to ask multiple questions at once-- has he been in town long enough to find alternate lodging? Work? From Dimitri's-- general way of being, he doubts he'll keep idle for any time at all if he can help it.