"oh, of - of course." heat creeped up alistair's cheeks. of course he'd been so distracted by his own frustration and by the crowded room and by his own embarrassment that he hadn't even spotted the right person leading, and -
"of course not the inquisitor," he corrected of himself. "just an agent. and would you believe that's not the first time i've done that? i'm going to get through your entire organization before i find the proper person in charge. but i will find them eventually!"
or perhaps he was just covering more embarrassment. he shrugged helplessly, but was grateful they at least seemed sympathetic. here he was, the king of ferelden, fumbling his was through diplomacy that he really should have been paying more mind to considering they were in the middle of dealing with a number of his own problems.
"case in point, though," he finally said, and gestured to himself. "on not getting it right. at least you seem to be on top of everything. i understand it may take a few days, and i'm grateful for the haste with which the inquisition is taking the request." he mentally stepped away from the self-deprecation, hoping to at least demonstrate some professionalism, or at least some recovery. "so you have my thanks for that. i wish… you're right, that we're all dealing with very uncertain times. i wish we didn't have to."