Oliver Burton

Oh, if only he could understand what was going on in this woman's head! How quickly she seemed to flirt with him and the next sentence shun him with a surprising attitude very few would rarely have the nerve to give him. The once demure demeanour she possessed had crumbled and taken away upon turbulent winds. It could only leave the man wondering what had changed. His nutmeg-hued eyes narrowed upon her, his attempt to lighten the mood had seemingly failed. How moments like these only left the Englishman wondering... Which one was she? She certainly didn't seem like the demure woman he had met, that woman and the one that stood before him now hardly seemed one in the same. Or perhaps she was none of them or a collaboration of them all. "I can assure you, my faculties are well in check, Chizue." A self-assured statement in response to her curt reply.

How she seemed to change the subject at once, suggesting the pair window shop while they waited on the food. Well, that was unexpected.. Attitude in one breath and yet still willing to entertain his company the next. Although he had to admit that shopping was certainly not his norm, Oliver was willing to admit as much to the woman at his side. After all, he had a personal stylist for this. It made life.... So much simpler. With all the money a man like him possessed, why not use it to bring ease to something so time-consuming? Yet, Oliver's reply seemed to puzzle the girl who regarded him like he might have grown another limb from his forehead like she couldn't fathom that he did not often shop. Really? A man who disliked shopping was hardly a unique concept. She asked, disbelief clear as if to confirm. "Really." Came the firm reply as if she was looking for another answer hidden in the depths of the one he gave. What about online? Chizue seemed to press, unwilling to let it go. Why spend hours looking at photos of other people wearing those items? The were-bear frowned as he considered those words.

"Online? Is it supposed to be... better? I am almost inclined to believe that would be worse." He ran a hand over his jaw in contemplation before it fell to his side. "I know what I like... but it is far better when a stylist provides me with options. Do you enjoy spending your free time shopping, Chizue?" Was that why she seemed so baffled with his shopping habits? Oliver knew that people loved spending their time in shopping centres just like this. His sister lived for this kind of thing! All of it. She could spend hours sifting through the stores and be just as energized as she was when she first started. The mention of his sister seemed to grasp Chizue's attention as she asked if she lived in the city. "She lives in the UK, it seems to make her happy there. She does come to visit... Albeit, when I least expect it." In other words, his sibling liked to surprise him at his workplace, bags in tow, without so much of a breath of warning. His sister was very much a free spirit and how he wished to have her remain that way. Even if it was a bloody nightmare to keep tabs on her. Which in turn, made it harder on the people who wished to see his family line hunted to extinction, for a crime he did not even commit. He was a much easier target and he preferred it that way. He had managed to thwart the crazed man that wanted his head for this long and he would be damned to be reduced to some trophy on a wall. But the news was, the man had grown old and even more delusional at his growing age. Perhaps... it would naturally find an anticlimactic ending. If only he would simply just die in his sleep one night soon. One could only hope.

Oliver shook the thought away as he fell in step next to her, his pace matching hers as he accompanied her through the mall and those endless displays. She seemed to peer through the windows of each one, as he paused to let her look. He wondered if this truly interested the distracted woman who had fallen so silent. It almost felt like she had forgotten his existence entirely during their leisurely stroll. Now that was new for him. His presence, much like the polar bear he turned into usually made him hard to ignore. Part of him almost felt offended, wanting her attention for himself. Perhaps that was what possessed him to lean in closer and yet not close enough. But enough that his rumbling words seemed to startle her from her ensnared thoughts. A surprised squeak left the girl's lips as if startled by his sudden existence. He could hardly help his lips twitching with the threat of an impending half-smile. He didn't linger in the flustered woman's space for too long, straightening as she pointed to a peacoat that caught her eye before asking if he found something he liked.

"Hm.. Just one. I believe." He concluded definitively as he answered the question with a purposeful vagueness and yet his eyes were on her. "Why don't you try it on? Especially when it caught your attention so completely. Or does this defeat the purpose of window shopping?"