“No need to worry about me, Oz!”

The sentiment was flattering, and even made Armin’s chest flutter a bit. To know that Oz genuinely cared about his well-being, it was quite nice.

“I wish I could say its been boring without you, but it’s been super busy. I’m just glad I had time to come back and see you. And how are you holding up?”

“You have very interesting friends here.” 

The diversity in this place was astounding. It seemed to Oz that he’d met someone from every walk of life and of every kind of mindset. As out of place as he’d originally felt the first time Armin had brought him to this semi safe place, he’d easily gotten used to the surrounding groups of people. They were all different, in a way, which made them each the same as the rest. 

“I haven’t had such fun conversations in years.”

Vincent had played countless games in his lifetime, but none with this boy. Playing with someone new was always interesting. Everyone’s mind worked in different ways, and seeing their different moves and their patterns was like glimpsing into their mind.

                     | ♚ | “ Very well, I’ll make the first move. ”

Every move in a chess game was telling. From the very first agreement to play, everything was part of a strategy. Uncle Oscar had told him once that everything had a purpose and a place, even if the one making the move wasn’t aware of it themselves. Oz didn’t think that Vincent was so invested in a game his host had suggested on the spot, but the Duke couldn’t help but try to observe everything. “Did Gil play this with you before?” Oz wasn’t even sure if Gilbert knew how to play. 

Both hands rubbed over his eyes in order to wake himself up. He really, really didn’t want to fall back to sleep since he could finally spend time with his nice master. After doing this, he hopped off the bed and trotted over to the blonde child. “N-no… No… Almas toootally up. .”

Oz laughed. Alma was as awake as his master was every other day that included meetings and audiences with spoiled nobility. Which was to say, not very awake at all. Oz had a feeling that the boy would go back to sleep if he gave him half a chance. “I see that. Let’s see if we can’t get you even more at attention with some food. Cook does a mean omelette. Sound good?” 

chained-off-memories

“Hey, you! You ain’t busy, are you? My friend bailed on me. I’m taking you to the beach instead.”

“What, beach? Wait--” Oz wasn’t properly dressed for a day out in the sun, which he could deal with just fine because clothes were just clothes, but this was incredibly unexpected. “Really?”

Black Thorns

redheartsqueen:

He was hoping she’d just forget she asked. He already hated the fact that he’d given Kelly his name, and he didn’t want everyone around knowing who he was. “Call me what you want. I don’t feel too comfortable giving out my name so easily. Plus, your sister made fun of me for it when I had no choice but to tell her.”

chizards:

Black Thorns

redheartsqueen:

“No problem.” She and her sister definitely shared some similarities. For one thing, they both seemed less than talkative. Though he wondered if it was just this girl’s character in general or if she inherited the bored attitude of her younger sister. He hoped not, but as he followed this sibling as she began to walk, he was relieved that at least this one was more polite. “Consider it payment for helping me find my way.” 

gqa1:

Black Thorns

redheartsqueen:

“Let me help you with those.” Oz reached out his hands, motioning to the various items in her hands. Those were no doubt heavy to hold onto, and things would be much easier if they shared the weight. “And then you can lead the way to the kitchen. I’ll try to pay better attention this time.”

Hush, Hush

lieateer:

Oz would need to have a talk to head of security about this later on. 

“Are you okay?” If there was one thing Oz hated to see, it was a child crying or cowering in fear. She shouldn’t have to be shared of anything while on his property. “They didn’t scare you too much, did they?” She seemed to have recovered from it quickly enough if they did. He had to smile at her energy. “I’ll get them to say sorry later. They can’t go around making guests feel unwelcome.”

Black Thorns

redheartsqueen:

His stomach growled at the mere thought of food, and he found his throat was a bit parched as well. This place was messing with his senses more and more, but it was a comfort to see basic things like hunger and thirst hadn’t been messed with. “Can you point me in the right direction? I didn’t pay enough attention to the way this manor was laid out, it seemed.”

Hush, Hush

lieateer:

“I saw a stranger dash that way.” he sounded frightened, a bit of an actor in his own right when he wanted to be, and pointed off some out of the way direction. “You didn’t let anyone slip past you, did you?” They didn’t dignify him with a response, instead dashing off to where he had pointed. He waited a while before ducking down and checking to make sure that girl was still there.”You can come out now.”

Shake It Off || Closed

tenacious–quaintrelle:

Pandora agents were an anomaly to Oz. The way some spoke you would have thought he was the worst thing to ever pop back up into the world, someone to be respected but more so for a cautious air than a trusted presence. Others seemed to worship the ground he walked on because he looked like someone who saved an entire country years back. Neither group of people looked at Oz for Oz, but because he was a husk for some idea they stubbornly held onto. 

That made it hard to trust a lot of them. Unfair as it sounded, one personality in that organization could sometimes be too much like another for his tastes, and it was often better to avoid being around them too much. they asked too many painful questions, expected too much out of him, and that was a pressure he couldn’t always handle with a smile. Sometimes his expressions cracked and it felt like showing off a weakness they would scoff at. 

Oz didn’t know how to take her kindness. “Thank you for the offer,” Was it sincere? Was she trying to get something more from him? “I guess I am a little hungry.” He averted her eyes and took a long look at the floor. He scratched at the back of his neck and tried not to look too awkward. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything important, however,”