Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oliver was in the middle of texting someone a half-serious joke about getting him out of the infirmary when someone unfamiliar poked their head in and said his name. He didn't look nearly as bad as he did before the new year, bruises had faded and stitches had been removed thanks to the weapon bond working double time to heal him up.

Perhaps the most visible sign he had been in a fight was the long cut that crossed his nose, now a healing scab that ran from above his right eyebrow to his left cheek. Surely there were more wounds covered, but the dark-haired, freckle-faced boy looked like he could have left the infirmary any day now.

At the introduction, Oliver smiled. "Ah, nice to meet you! Did you find the good coffee machine yet?" He eyed the thermos that was placed on the table, unable to draw a conclusion for himself without opening it. After all those months fetching coffee for Jack, he could probably have smelled the difference between the regular stuff and the good stuff.

But as Horace asked his question, Oliver's smile faltered. "Um... I-I didn't..." The teen seemed to stare past the end of his bed for a second, whatever he was thinking, or not thinking, seemed to cause a drastic shift in his mood. Suddenly he looked more pale than he had a minute ago. "... Horsemen, Famine," he finally finished, swallowing hard and rubbing his head.

Then the smile came back, a little sheepishly. The memories haunting him had been re-buried. "I-I'm supposed to be out soon, but they won't give me any details."

Oliver had heard that as well, and had long since concluded that he was in the safest division on the island. Not that it was without it's risks, but at least they were more along the lines of what the timid teen could handle.

The close examination of his face wound brought some colour back to Oliver's cheeks as he blushed and looked away. It was still a sensitive subject, his very first 'disfiguring' injury, and with a self-esteem that approached rock bottom there was no way he could see it in a positive light. "N-nah, I'll just look pitiful or something," he stammered back. "I d-don't think I could pull it off, or make it look cool or anything."

He caught the thermos and hesitated without opening it. "I-it must be a Life Division thing. I've never been chased away before, maybe they just don't want it to break again."

Finally he cracked open the lid of the thermos, sniffed it, and then nearly spilled it in his haste to cap it again at arms length. It was almost comical the way he recoiled. "What... Where did this come from? Is this even coffee?!"

Oliver was not keen on the blushing, yet somehow it happened anyway. "But I don't want to be protected. A-and I don't take risks either." He didn't know what to say in response to that last bit. Was this what Finn was talking about, having girls, and maybe even guys, find him attractive? Oliver wasn't sure whether to be flattered or terrified.

"I-I d-don't think they knew what they were doing," he muttered with regards to the coffee, an attempt to focus on something else despite the stubborn blush on his freckled face.

"Please don't- N-no I'm not going to!" He interrupted himself with a startled expression. "I d-don't even drink regular coffee! Can't you just... um, flush it down the toilet or something?" Oliver suggested unhelpfully. But it was safer than the other thought that crossed his mind, giving it back to the techs so they could investigate the foul purple liquid. It might help them improve their coffee makers, but he didn't want to know what the brew would do to minipets. Or unsuspecting hunters.

"Oh... they might like some feedback then. A-all sorts of things clog the drains in the labs..." Oliver trailed off in thought, and then shook his head. "Nope, that sounds like a really bad idea, I wouldn't want to see them in here the next day. It just wouldn't be very nice." Not to mention unethical, asking hunters to drink something that might very well be poison. Or stomach-eating acid.

Perhaps he should have stayed on that topic as Horace wandered back to unfamiliar territory.

"Um, I... uh..." Oliver stammered, unable to quite comprehend the choices presented to him. He was in so far over his head... His pale eyes didn't meet Horace's blue ones for a second. "I-I like... cookies?" He offered. It was kind of like a girl who cooks? "I-I n-never really thought about it..."

Oliver felt a little discouraged at the 'compliment'. There were often ethically questionable experiments performed deep in the Life labs, but Oliver was still young, and still new, and he had not yet been worn down to the point of not caring. If anything, he cared too much for what happened behind those doors. He had been in tears because of his strong ethical sense once before, and no doubt it would happen again.

But now was not the time for worrying about science.

"N-no, I... I mean yeah, but..." Oliver was thoroughly flustered the thoughts that crossed his mind were jumbled and awkward. "I'm not- I-I'm sure it doesn't matter anyway..."

The boy had never considered himself attractive, or even date material. Before his survival required complete physical fitness he had been a shy, mousey boy, thin, but soft from an indoor lifestyle and the lack of athletic ability. Guys like him didn't get dates, and didn't get kissed. Even though he had lost that softness through strength training and exercise, the shy attitude had persisted.

"I-I've... um... M-maybe been kissed once, b-but it d-didn't count." Oliver finished, looking very much like he wanted to run away and hide somewhere.

"They don't!" Oliver protested, growing increasingly flustered by the topic of their conversation. "I-it was a dream- I mean, i-in a dream state lots of hunters shared! I-it wasn't a real kiss at all, that's what Finn said-"

Oliver covered his mouth with one hand. In his attempt to clarify what the exact nature of the ALICE stuff was, he suddenly realized he might have said too much...

Oliver slumped with relief. Horace seemed to understand it wasn't just a dream-dream, like he actually had dreamed of kissing another guy. But that wasn't all, somehow it had gone over the other teen's head that it was Finn who had kissed him. And... married him. And left him trapped in a giant bowl of jello to await his return. It had been a very, VERY bizarre alternate reality dream.

He nodded, yes, it was that kind of dream, and then shook his head. No, he definitely wasn't saying who it was. Nor was he going to reveal he did contact Finn post-dream, and that was how the nickname Princess stuck.