#ozeaux

[ozeaux]

Diary Excerpt - 4th Day of the 4th Umbral Moon, 1569

In an old basement in an old house, in an old and forgotten part of the Black Shroud, Wood Wailer agents discovered several dozen papers. No names, no signatures. No mark of whom they may belong to. The lettering is small, neat, printed by careful hands.

The first of these pages, dated 4/8/1569, is presented here in its entirety.

“Gone.

Done.

Over.

I can hope that they do not find me here, yet I pray that they do. Have I not left a dark enough trail for even their dulled senses to follow?

I don’t know.

Nobody can.

He might have, but he’s gone now.

Gone.

Done.

Over.

I have but two dozen pieces left, and no means to get more. I will use them. I must. I must know that I am still sane. That there is still some me that would manifest itself through my words. My actions.

I will write.

I will hope.

I will pray.”

The letters - or diary - are to be stored at the Wood Wailers headquarters in Gridania, to be used as evidence for a later date.

[everena-lisleth]

Maintenance day is drawing day! \ o / This is what happens when I want to draw detailed outfits but don’t want to put too much effort into it ... and somehow I didn’t have a ref picture of my own character xD

I wanted to do everyone of AI-RP but time was sadly limited :(

@camille-grinnaux @potluckbrigand

[theenigmaticwoman-blog]

Clouded Existence

Lera couldn't sleep. 

Try as she might after spending a wonderful evening with Chase for company, it simply escaped her. She should be content. She should be happy in the friendship and intimacy she'd found in Chase, but her thoughts still lingered on another whenever she was left to her own devices.

That fragile heart twisted with thoughts of Oz. She'd come to love him so swiftly and deeply that there had been no doubts for her in regards to him. It was a blind trust that had soon taught her the foolishness of such things. When he'd asked her to consider a relationship with him, she'd been ecstatic and eagerly agreed despite her fears on how his other partner might take the news.

It had all happened so fast.

 A couple one moment then, by the next morning, less than a day later, Oz leaving her a letter to state it had been a mistake. He was protecting her from his darkness and his past. He felt far too deeply to allow his touch to taint her. Tears swam in her eyes at the memory of that letter. He wasn't trying to hurt her but hurt her he had in his sudden abandonment.  Still, she could not bring herself to hate him, it simply wasn't who she was.

She slipped from Laurent's bed as he'd given up his room to accommodate her presence. Pulling her robe on, she moved to stand at the window staring up at the glittering stars as her mind stormed with wildly different thoughts. Ainieas didn't want her wandering alone thus the letter to Baelios Calidon, a man now charged with her protection whenever she was to be in the city alone.

                                                        "You'll never survive here."

"Are you daft? No one wanders in Ul'dah without a weapon." 

                                                                      "I give her a few weeks at                          most before she is found dead in an alley somewhere." 

"Sweet little fool."

Everyone thinking the best and the worst of her all at once. 

                                                                          Were they right? 

Was she a fool to choose to live as she does, with an open heart and mind? 

Was it idiotic to want to see the beauty in everyone and everything no matter the cost to her?

 Her head thudded against the window as her spirit remained burdened.

Perhaps they were right. 

Perhaps it was time to open her eyes to the harsh reality of the world.

But at what cost? 

That was the question. To change was to lose a part of one's self, was it not? But not to change is stunt one's growth in the universe. There had to a balance, a way for her to make the changes necessary while maintaining the truth of her real self. The ultimate question was.... 

how?

[Mentions: @calidon @ozeaux @chaseduval-xiv

[everena-lisleth]

Everena: Battle Quotes

♦ BATTLE QUOTES Battle Theme: Sun Quan the Emperor - Guzheng version Battle intro: “O-oh my, ehm, okay, let’s go!” Victory: “Haha, sorry, that’s why they say I’m no ‘lady’.“ Defeat: “Hmm, I need to get better!” Taunt: “That’s surely not all you’ve got!” Reacting to Taunt: “I have not been called a ‘tomboy’ my whole life for nothing!” Tie: “Aaah, that was fun, thanks!” Perfect Victory: “U-um? Okay? You … alright?” Final Finisher: “This is what big sis has taught me!” ♦ TAG QUOTES Assist: “I’m here, too!” Your character down during Assist: “Sorry to have hold you back …” Using item: “This will help!” Healing/Buffing: “Hear the sound of my people!” Tag Team Special:  “We’re always stronger together!” Tagged by: Same as my main, just saw @jlaweez doing it and felt like it! x3 Tagging: @kiztra @camille-grinnaux @ozeaux @kittykhetz @sea-blue-loom and everyone else who wants to do this!

[ozeaux]

Old Haunts

The sound of a deep voice somewhere near the floor woke him. The dream had been one of leathery wings, exquisite beauty, and steel-hard claws tearing the heart from his chest. “You look dead when you’re sleeping. Anyone ever tell you that?” Pyaro Kodoyaro Beaumont Valhoun stands next to Ozeaux, arms crossed, peering at him curiously. Ozeaux pinches the bridge of his nose. His head hurt. He’d fallen asleep in his chair once again. “I feel dead when I’m asleep. Did you need something, Professor?” Oz doesn’t look at the diminutive man, opting instead to close his eyes, lips working in tiny movements as they always did when he was thinking hard. Strange dream. “I found the book. Chained to a shelf in the very back recesses of Gubal. It wasn’t easy, but a few scrying spells helped me out. You’re welcome.” The tiny man hopped up on one of the cots in the new clinic, still staring with those big, golden eyes of his. Oz opens his eyes, finally meeting Pyaro’s gaze. “You did? I owe you. Big. Where is it?” Pyaro twists his little mouth up. “I told you. It’s in the Gubal Library. I found it, but I couldn’t get it out. The wards on it are old. Really old. And they aren’t Sharlayan. You’re gonna have to go there yourself… but you’ll need someone versed in Void Magic, and brother that ain’t me.” Oz frowns. “Void Magic? How in however-many-hells-we’re-up-to am I supposed to find someone like that I can trust?” Pyaro shrugs. “That I don’t know. I’ll go back with you when you find someone, and I can keep these ears of mine open for you, but that’s dark shit you’re playing with. You sure you really need this book so bad?” Ozeaux stands, back creaking. He paces the room a little, one long finger on his chin, tapping randomly. Finally, he looks at Pyaro once more. “Yes. If I’m going to go back to where it all started, I need to be prepared.” Pyaro shrugs, but says nothing this time. Oz grabs his old hat from the desk, putting it on and heading for the door. “Thank you again. Can I call upon you if I find a way to get past these wards?” The lalafell hops off the bed, dusting off his ample rear and following Oz. “You know where I’ll be. And… be careful, huh?” Oz actually chuckles on his way out. “Why start now?”

[ozeaux]

Unfinished Business

A sharp knock on the Aldenard Industries’ Workshop door preempts Ozeaux’s entrance. He looks around, taking in the strange contraptions lining the walls, listening to the irregular noises coming from some.

A short, dark-skinned lalafell looks up from his work, buried elbows-deep in what looked to be a child-sized doll. “Wahey?” asks Pyaro, eyes invisible behind opaque goggles.

“Professor.” Ozeaux greets the man simply. He didn’t have a lot of contacts, but if he knew one other person who might be able to help, it was the company founder’s older brother. “How fare you, this evening?”

Pyaro extricates himself from the doll-thing, pulling the goggles up with grease-stained hands to reveal two bright, shining gold eyes. He grins, as he usually does.

“Oz!” He exclaims. “Hey, guy. M’alright. Trying to fix this damned mammett. Raven and I taught it how to sing the Gridanian National Anthem, but every time it’s supposed to say ‘Balance,’ it says ‘Shithead’ instead. I can’t for the life of me figure out why.”

Ozeaux chuckles, finding an empty stretch of workbench and leaning casually against it. “’Protect the shithead, uphold the shithead, defend the shithead?’” he asks.

Pyaro scratches his cheek, leaving a black streak under his eye. “Oh, right. You’re Gridanian, huh?”

“Barely.”

The lalafell shrugs lightly. “I dunno. They seem all right. Most of the time. What can I help you with? Or did you just come to chat?” He wanders over to a stool, grunting and swearing as he mounts it.

Ozeaux waits patiently for Pyaro to get settled before speaking up. “I had hoped to avail you of your expertise, and advice,” he says, eyes intense.

Pyaro manages to look a little shocked. “Wait... really? Huh. No one here ever asks me for that.” He chuckles. “Well, I’m listening. Need a drink?

The elezen shakes his head. “Thank you, no. This is not a time for dulled senses.”

Pyaro frowns, pulling the top off a thermos and taking a swig. “Fair enough. Go ahead, then, yeah?”

Ozeaux looks around, suddenly avoiding the smaller man’s gaze. “Camille came to me. Tonight. I just came from seeing him. He told me about... have you ever heard of Haukke Manor?”

Pyaro nods. “In the Shroud, yeah? Of course.”

“I was under the impression that it had burned down almost an epoch ago, but apparently, I was misinformed or misled, and I’d never checked for myself.”

“’Kay.”

Ozeaux looks back to Pyaro. “Camille was there. And he saw something. Something that should be impossible. Something I know is impossible.”

“And what was that?”

Ozeaux shakes his head. “He doesn’t know, but he said the aether was both malevolent and fearful. I need... an expert.”

The lalafell scratches the back of his head, looking embarrassed. “Well, I mean... I can probably help, but what’s your stake in this? Whatever it is, why not leave it be?”

Ozeaux fixes the man with a gaze, eyes narrowed. “I’d rather not say, unless it becomes necessary. For now, let’s just call it unfinished business.”

Pyaro frowns, his expression matching Ozeaux’s. Off in the nearby corner, a warbling voice says, “Shithead.”

[ozeaux]

The Only One.

Ozeaux was silent for a long moment. "The only one? Seems unlikely, but I suppose I'm not surprised. I want you to know, Sacha," he says, looking at the other man, "I will help these women if I can. I owe them that much, and so much more besides. After all, I'm the only person still alive responsible for what happened to them." He clenches and unclenches his jaw, arm still under Sacha, helping him along. "I will help them," he repeats.

[theenigmaticwoman-blog]

If a hunter shoots down a bird, you do not blame the bird for daring to fly.

Ozeaux Ferrand to Lera after she blamed herself for the attack on her.