"I cannot argue that." Hal replied.

"Very well, I'll get the paperwork going." he told her.

"Make it so that you're legitimately legal to foster her." he went on.

"...shouldn't be too hard, but it might be tricky." he then said further. "After all, some more red tape needs to be crossed for a mage to adopt a non-mage." he continued.

"Regardless, you just make sure Lunet is okay."

"Bye for now." Hal replied as she left.

He then sighed, and shook his head.

"Lovely." he said.

"I hate when things like this happen in the building." he grumbled.

"But at least Lunet is truly safe now." he reasoned, before searching for the paperwork he needed.

"Need to tell Hollie about this, too." he then told himself, making a mental note to do so.

She was there for about 20 minutes, before someone approached.

"...Angela." Hal said.

"Falling asleep again, eh?" he asked.

"People have been noticing that you're taking a few more extended breaks than usual, and have told me you've becoming inattentive, or you seem to be distracted." he continued.

"Care to talk?" he asked.

"Explain yourself a bit?"

"Half days?" Hal asked.

"That's doable." he said.

"But that means half-pay." he went on.

"And we'll need to do a little bit of renegotiating on benefits and such." he continued.

"How long do you want to try and do that?" he asked.

"And can you financially AFFORD to do that?" he asked further.

"Yeah, see, that's a problem." Hal said.

"It's been like this for a bit now." he went on.

"And it's all coming down to Lunet, isn't it?" he asked.

"She's draining you of your financial resources, as well as your physical and mental ones." he went on.

"And eventually, you're either going to lose your job... or Lunet."

"But it's taking a toll on you." Hal said.

"A massive one, and it'll all come to a head soon." he told her.

"So you need to make a hard decision, and you need to make it NOW." he went on.

He then sighed, and shook his head a little.

"...I'll discuss it with Hollie." he then said, seemingly going off on a tangent.

"But what would you say about MY taking in Lunet?" he asked her.

"I know your intentions are good." Hal said. "It's why I let you try in the first place." he told her. "I'd hoped you could make it work. I guess it was just a bit much, is all." he added.

"My schedule is busy, yes, but I can do most of my paperwork from home, and I can just use my mana to come here for emergencies or meetings." he went on with a shrug.

"But I'll do it." he said.

"And if you think it'll help, Olivia can have unconditional access to my home, so she can visit Lunet whenever she wants, or whenever Lunet wants." he then added, hoping that detail might help ease the frustration and concern that Angela was no doubt feeling.

"Whatever makes the transition easier." Hal replied.

"I want this to be as smooth as possible for Lunet." he assured her.

"If you wish, you can have a few days off to tell Lunet this, and make sure she's ready." he went on.

"And Olivia as well." he added.

"All I want is what's best for all of you." he then said. "And I highly doubt Lunet would feel good about herself if she were to be the reason you self-destruct, heaven forbid it come to that." he went on.

"I want to avoid that situation altogether."

Hal just sighed as well.

"We can only hope this doesn't hurt her too badly." he said.

"...." he was then silent, before thinking about something.

"Maybe I'll make sure Hollie is there, too." he said. "She's warm and friendly, and maybe it will help put Lunet at ease." he reasoned.

"Regardless, Angela, go home." he then ordered her.

"Go home and get your life back together."

Hal just nodded in response.

"Yes." he replied.

"I will allow that." he told her.

"Angela, I know you're not happy about this, and for good reason." he then commented. "But... sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to." he lamented.

"Some things even -I- can't make perfect, or better." he admitted.