Saint or sinner? (Molly)
The last time Sam could remember staying in one place this long had been college, which had literally been a lifetime ago. That had been trying to step into someone else's life and Sam was a little surprised that the delusion of trying to be normal had lasted as long as it had back then.

Here, there was no normalcy to be had. There were moments of happiness, but there were also moments when he wasn't quite sure if he'd manage to hang onto the thin tendrils that kept his sanity in place.

Reading helped sometimes. It kept him grounded and gave him something to focus on. Belia, the leader of die Festung, guarded her library jealously. But Sam had managed to get a few books from the woman. Mostly they were books that had been published by conspiracy theorists ranging from the absurd (even for him) to the eerily accurate in hindsight.

He was currently sitting in a deserted courtyard on the edge of die Festung, poring over one of the more interesting books. He might appear at ease to the casual observer, but his posture was just a little bit too rigid, his muscles ever so slightly tensed. Even if he might seem to be engrossed in the book, he was still highly aware of his surroundings. He wasn't safe here. He wouldn't delude himself into thinking that he was. Really, nowhere was safe. He was almost always on his guard, and right now, right here was no exception.