deernet | video; un: shiro

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video; un: shiro

[Oh hi Shiro, long time no see on the network. That's because this is a last-ditch effort. He looks pretty darn not great, despite the fact it's Sleep Season for Warmbloods. Maybe it's the Arena. Maybe it's the River. Something honestly, sincerely traumatic that's happened already.]

[His face is in his hands, hunched over the counter in his kitchen. The omni in front of him. Voice haggard and quiet. Like he has a migraine.]

I will pay... however much anyone wants. For coffee beans. Espresso beans. Don't even have to be cooked. Roasted. Doesn't matter.

[... Or it's caffeine withdrawl.]

Or tea leaves. I don't care.

[Please, he is Suffering.]

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She really did seem to know what we needed, didn't she? [One more reason why Shiro really can't hate her. Why he won't hate her. The things she gave people helped. She wanted to help...]

I kept the honey jar she gave me. I'll bring you some. [To trade - is implied.] It's good for injuries, healing. And since it's honey, it'll never go bad.

If you're not comfortable coming to where I'm living, that's all right. I'm usually at the Koz Orphanage, if that's easier to find?

It's not that I'm nervous. It's that I'm fifteen.

[Oscar gave that a pause for emphasis, although after everything that had happened with Julia proved that age was no measure of anything.

He was protective of the girl too, in a strange way-- clearly they both had that in common.]

Most of my friends are older than me, and I know it can make people feel weird to be with someone my age. And...

I did just kinda lecture a guy on making a bad show. It'd be silly to make one after all that.

But, we can meet wherever you're comfortable. I know where the orphanage is at.

I get that.

[He won't press the issue though. Shiro knows it doesn't bother him, being around younger people. Most of Deerington had, too. But that doesn't mean everyone would know. That everyone would trust.]

The orphanage is probably the best bet, either way.

[Nothing can happen to any kid, teen or otherwise, in that building, he's noticed.]

[How about teenagers with the memories of a millennia of lifetimes, thanks to cursed body hopping wizards? Oscar himself didn't entirely know where he stood on that front anymore.]

You're probably right. I'll bring the thermos and some extra cups. You can bring... uh, yourself, I guess. And that honey, and anything else you want.

[He shrugged. There was no reason to make this hard. With luck and the right props, they could even make it look like a little outing instead of an illicit deal.]

I'm in Gaze, so I'll be there as soon as I can.

We've got some extra mason jars here. I'll bring you one. And if you ever need more, let me know?

[This stuff never runs out, after all. It seems like a perfectly good thing to trade.]

I'll be there.

Okay. I'll see you soon.

[Everything was good to trade, if it had any value. With bartering as the rule of trade in Trench, Oscar was doubling down on making cool things-- everything from quick pickles to stringing together neat shells from the beach.

Medicinal honey had far more value than a warm cup of high grade hot cocoa, in Oscar's opinion. A part of him couldn't help but wonder if he should bring something to even out the trade... but he knew Shiro more by reputation than anything, and everything he had heard suggested that Shiro was reliable and trust worthy.

Though they were strangers, Oscar was willing to offer trust of his own.

Outfitting his black stallion, Shortcake, Oscar set off toward the orphanage. This wasn't the first time he was glad that one of his first friends from Deerington had safely made the passage across the sea. With the feisty horse going at a comfortable speed, they arrived quickly enough.

This was far from the first time the horse had been his partner in excursions to meet a friendly stranger, and it wouldn't be the last.]

[Shiro's already at Koz's Orphanage for the day. Because why not? He'll go back to watching the beach afterward. Someone is bound to come and berate him for all the time he's spending on it, anyway. Might as well be productive in between visits to the boardwalk and the shore.]

[Like keeping an eye on the gaggle of kids in the courtyard. They're running some complex game of tag - the kind only kids really ever understand. He's just here to make sure no one runs out beyond the gates, or scrapes a knee too badly. Occasionally he referees. A lot of rock, paper scissors gets involved in those situations.]

[He knows by now that nothing can harm the kids in the orphanage grounds. But that doesn't stop him from standing up a bit straighter when the sound of horse hoofbeats approaches. His sudden alertness has one of the kids noticing him, and latching onto his leg, to try and drag him over to their game.]

[... which is pretty much what he's in the middle of when Oscar gets near.]

[Oscar easily dismounted once they found a place to stop that was outside the general area that the kids were playing in, but it was obvious from the curious stares that the kids would quickly start to gather around. Not the first time Oscar counted his blessings-- Shortcake the Black Stallion was as imposing as a looming punk decked out in studs and docs, but he was a total softie as well. They had formed their partnership over sprinkle cookies, after all.

Oscar trusted the moody horse, and it was clear from the calm demeanor and curious ear flicks that the horse trusted him as well.

He would give it about fifteen minutes before the kids congregated. But even when they did, they would only be met with a very large beast snuffling their hair and nosing their pockets for sweets. ]

Um
... Hi.

[Oscar said with a shy smile when he approached, a jacket over his flannels to protect from the autumn chill in the air. He looked around-- just because he knew where the orphanage was didn't mean he knew his way around.]

Where did you wanna go? Caffiene headaches can be pretty bad, so we can go sit somewhere if you want.

[It's absolutely less than fifteen minutes. Kids and horses - you know. There's some quiet gasps, a few bright yelps of "Horsie!" Trench kids or no, some things are universal. The braver ones don't hesitate, shuffling over toward the new animal friend, offering their palms out for sniffs.]

[Even the kid attached to Shiro's leg approaches, shyly.]

Hi.

[Calm as ever, friendly as ever. That's Shiro. The bags under his eyes are thicker, and there's exhaustion in his eyes. He may be squinting a bit in the sunlight, but blame the migraine for that.]

There's a bench over there. [He nods towards a corner of the courtyard. Shaded, but easy to see the rest of the space from.] I need to keep an eye on the kids.

Oh. I didn't know you worked here!

[Oscar trotted along after Shiro, obviously slowed down by his still diminutive height and the limp that favored his left side but also bright and chipper enough to not let this so him. He had grown some in the year and a half since he left Remnant, but at only fifteen and still stringy, he had plenty more to do.

Truly, he was barely more than a kid himself.]

Well. Hopefully this will help you. Keeping an eye on everyone by yourself can't be that easy...

[He's like Pidge-sized... in a way. A familiar sort of way, as far as Shiro is concerned. He slows his strides automatically, without glancing down, or even seeming to realize it.]

I've been volunteering here pretty often. Vyng too, if you know him.

So I'm not always on my own.

[It's said with a smile, though the expression is strained, slightly. Just from the pounding in his temples.]

But thank you. Really.

Oh, you know Mister Vyng?

[--oops. Vyng had already asked him not to use the 'mister', but farmlad manners tended to override when he was babbling.]

He seems like he'd be cool to work with here. Never a dull moment, between all the kids and the jokes he makes.

[Oscar smiled back-- understanding the peculiar discomfort of caffeine withdrawal headaches.]

...There's a cup in my pack too, so you can have some cocoa now.

Yeah, I do. We've known each other a long time now.

[Ever since that weird video on the network - the one with the alligator head. Boy, that was a trip.]

He's good with them, and they all really like him. Pretty easy guy to get along with. [A good man, if you ask Shiro. As much as Vyng likes to say otherwise...]

Thanks again. I really do appreciate it.

Ruby seems to like him. That's always been good enough for me.

[Although Ruby's judgement could be questionable at times, considering there were reasons why he tried to monitor her use of cookware in the kitchen as much as possible, her judgement of people had never failed. Oscar trusted her with everything-- his life, his continued existence. He trusted her gut feelings on people.]

But, so is hearing that someone is having trouble.

[He filled the tin camping cup he had pulled out from his bottomless bag while he spoke, smiling as the steam and the warm aroma of cocoa caught the breeze. Still beaming, Oscar passed it off.]

Here. Julia has good taste in cocoa.

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