video | un: oz

[swornto]

So~ How hard is to live alone here?

It seems like I'm just a bother at my current place... and really, no helping that! I have sort of been a thorn in their sides for a while now, huh? I'm just causing headaches left and right. Maybe some independence will sort me out and teach me to be less of a hinderance or something?

[And as a vileblood living with a bunch of darkbloods this month, Oz can't shake his paranoid when at home. He's mixed it up with his own identity issues and made a right mess of himself, actually.]

And completely unrelated~ What exactly makes a day your birthday? What if you aren't born like a human? Or didn't even have access to a calendar? Is there a protocol for those situations?

Comments

Video; UN: Filledwithsunshine

[onebadapple]

Oh, I find living alone to be very easy.

But I don't think you're a hindrance at all, Oz! I'm so sorry to hear you feel that way. Is there something I could do to tell you otherwise?

And a birthday is the day you were born. But I suppose, if you weren't born, you could pick a day where you became you! Because there had to be a time when you weren't around, and then you were.

[swornto]

[Ah, right. If he talks like that, it will only cause more people to worry about him. Oz knows it's rude, but he tries to sidestep the issue. Even though he's the one who brought it up.]

A lot must go into living on your own, hm? Cooking, for one. Especially in a place like this, that must be difficult...

["When you became you."

But which 'Oz' is that referring to?]

You make it sound so easy. I must be overthinking it, huh~ Whoops.

[onebadapple]

I could teach you to cook if you like? I've been cooking for myself since I was seven!

[swornto]

[He appreciates the lighter topic. Oz doesn't want Snow to start worrying about him too.]

Since you were seven? That's pretty impressive! But I'd hate to be troubling you. Isn't it difficult to cook when there aren't many ingredients around?

( video | un: duckling )

[danserai]

[ that doesn't sound right. ]

Uh, did something happen? I thought you had a really nice house!

[swornto]

[When she brings it up, Oz is struck painfully by the memory of how happy and almost normal his household was. If he turned off his worries, he could exist quite happily there.

But he ultimately shakes his head. He doesn't want to dive too deep into the specifics of why he feels the need to leave.]

I've... been in the way recently. So I decided to give them some space.

[danserai]

Oh . . . But it's only temporary right?

[swornto]

[... he has not thought that far ahead.]

Ahaha~ Well, I'd hope it would be! But I'd need to know what went wrong in order to go back, right?

... Welp. It's not a big deal. What about you? Have you found people to live with, Ms Ahiru?

[danserai]

I think it's the blood stuff. It's been weird all around.

[ but she secretly thinks it is a big deal. otherwise he wouldn't be smiling so hard. ]

And yeah, I have a really nice house with friends. They're . . . a little weird this month but that's okay.

[swornto]

Hmm~ The blood stuff, huh?

[That would certainly make sense, wouldn't it? Oz knows his blood type is quite different from the others' in his household. He was the only one to bleed green, after all. Though if that's the cause, then it seems like more reason to clear out for now.]

Are you handling it okay? Last month was your first here, wasn't it..?

[danserai]

I think so! That's what Luca and me figured out.

And I'm fine! Really.

[ despite the large bruise on her face! ]

video | un: Da Silva

[rosae]

( Yet another Young Person here... Rose is still relatively new to Trench, and each child and/or teenager she encounters makes the worry within her amplify more and more.

...Sorry, she's going to have to Mom a little bit here. )

This place seems pretty dangerous for someone your age to be living alone in.

( Her tone is soft and kind, not chastising in the least. Why would this poor sweet boy think he's a hindrance? )

What makes you think you're a bother....? Do you want to talk about it?

video; UN: seeingtheworld

[schoolingfish]

Did you hatch from an egg, too?

[...okay, caution over the network has just gone right out the window lately.]

I'm sure you're not a bother at your current place. Back home I had a friend who sometimes thought like that, but he was the most important and best friend I could possibly have.

For the birthday thing...I guess if you didn't have a calendar, you can pick whatever day you want.

[onebadapple]

How can it be troubling me if I offered it, silly goose?

And I stored up for winter last month for that exact reason!

[swornto]

Did you hatch from an egg?

[Oz isn't sure how to easily explain his origins. The birth of his soul and his body were separate events, and Oz isn't sure how to relate those to a birthday. Being born from an egg sounds easier than his birth story.]

I'm not sure about that, quite. They seem agitated by my being there.

[swornto]

[Oz isn't sure how to respond to such a tone. Truth be told, he's never heard anyone speak to him in such a manner. Even his Uncle Oscar leaned more into humor than this kind of soft approach. Distantly, he does recognize it as being a kind and almost parental approach.

He's stunned like a rabbit, but slowly breaks through the surprise. His instinctive response to something this new is to smile and act like it doesn't rattle him.]

Does it really? I guess the idea of stranger danger was dialed up to one hundred last month, wasn't it?

[Does he want to talk about it?

Oz knows he should. But will talking about it change it, or merely bring a stranger down?]

... They seem agitated by my being there. I can't fix what's bothering them except by leaving, so that's the best course of action, right?

[swornto]

[... yeah, that bruise isn't super convincing.]

So that's a fashion statement? [He points to his own face to indicate hers,] I suppose blood issues would explain it, wouldn't it? Everything is about blood here... aabsolutely everything. Even my mood now?

[wow, he hates it.]

[swornto]

You were quite busy, weren't you..? And despite your offer to help me learn to pickle things, I feel I only wasted food and materials with my efforts.

[He feels guilty for being such a useless noble.

But that is for another day!]

I never had to cook much before. Gil used to do it for me... Actually, he'd probably faint if he saw me near a stove...

[danserai]

That's just an accident.

[ bigby had no control over his memories and ahiru would never hold it against him. she, of all people, understands how powerful those can be. ]

And it . . . might? Everyone in my house started acting strangely.

Video; un: rosestorm

[thunderingcourage]

Depends on whether you know how to cook and do the basics really. There are some pretty safe places where staying alone wouldn't be too hard, but the biggest thing is cost.

As for a birthday, I guess you could really just choose whatever day. Probably when something significant happened. It could be whatever day you washed up if you didn't have one before.

[onebadapple]

Well, I don't know about here in Trench, but winters can be terribly harsh back home. So it's always best to be prepared. Besides, I don't really know how to sit idly. I was never allowed to.

I can teach you, if I can learn, so can you.

[schoolingfish]

Oh, um...

[...okay, he brought it up and practically said it already, there's no turning back at this point.]

Yeah.

And maybe it's not you. A lot of people have been acting weird this month, and I've noticed a lot of people are tense around me that usually aren't.

[swornto]

... Ah. Money is a concern, isn't it?

[He's reminded again of how spoiled his old life was. Oz never had to worry about money when he was a Vessalius.]

Do you think our squid day could be our birthday, then? I suppose that does make sense. It was a big day for us wiggly folk.

[swornto]

Oooh amazing~ Well, I~

[Oz holds out this word in a long, playful note. That second is filled with fast thinking. Saying he hatched from an egg can't have been easy. It would be fair to repay that with honesty of his own, right? Then maybe the air between them will lighten again.

The problem is that Oz is not used to being honest. Especially not about this.

He has to pause and take a breath again, finding the courage to continue;]

I was a stuffed animal. A rabbit, actually. [The words may sound easy, but Oz is internally panicked by having said them. Was that okay? Too soon? Too honest?]

Hmm. Seems to be the case for me too. Do you suppose it's a prank of the Trench's doing?

[swornto]

An accident? Does that accident get ice? [He may be worried, but Oz doesn't want to smother Ahiru either. If she's got it under control then he'll try to let it go.

He chuckles lightly,] Wow, how annoying! I hope that's not the case. If people are mad at me, I'd rather it be their choice, you know?