Colin's posts

"I'm fine." Jake responded.

"Seriously, I'm cool." he said.

"Well, I mean, other than wondering what the hell's going ON in this nuthouse." he then muttered.

"But Anya keeps me calm and collected." he told her.

"She's a relief to come home to." he added with a light chuckle.

"So... I'm doing as well as can be expected."

"......right." Jake mumbled.

"We were mostly talking about the insanity that is The Unit now." he told her.

"And then you mentioned how your curse is spreading." he then said.

"...which was when you... well... trailed off." he shrugged.

"I mean, you're awake now, it's fine, I suppose." he went on.

'I'm used to not having anyone to talk to...' he thought.

"But you're cool now?"

"...well, if you can't tell me, then we'll never know." Jake replied.

"You just spaced out there for a couple of minutes there." he told her.

"Was starting to get worried about you." he admitted.

"You all right?" he then asked.

"That's something I've never seen you do before." he then commented.

"Got a lot on your mind or something?"

"......?" Jake was silent, but became a little confused.

"Uh...?" he stammered.

"Yo... Erica...?" he addressed her.

She didn't respond.

"Hey! Erica!" he said further, waving his hand in front of her face, and then snapping his fingers.

"Yoo-hoo...!" he called to her.

"Earth to Erica!" he went on.

"Something wrong?" he asked, concern becoming more evident in his tone now.

The male scratched his chin slightly, and sighed quietly.

"Heh." he then chuckled.

"Almost feel sorry for the poor thing." he commented.

"Almost." he stressed.

- - -

Jake sighed quietly, as he sat behind his desk at the security checkpoint, and Erica was leaning against the desk from the other side, taking a small break.

"This is nuts." he said.

"Seems like the whole Unit's a madhouse." he went on.

"At least some of us are remaining somewhat sane." he then muttered, shaking his head.

"Like myself, and you." he went on.

"How are you holding up, anyway?" he asked her.

"Hm." Ryker mumbled.

"Well, he's been a bit quiet with me as well, but I know he's there." he told him.

"Trust me, he's... pretty obvious, to me." he muttered.

"I'll try and have a talk with him later, though." he then said.

"See if I can't get him to be a bit more social again."

"Oh?" the male asked.

"As expected, I figured you'd have some way." he said.

"As for her survival, I can only attribute that to the hardiness of the original." he continued.

"The original IS abnormally durable and versatile. Only fair that THIS one is similar." he reasoned.

"Perhaps the fact it is born of mana helped as well."

The male that was there crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's a wonderful little accident." he commented.

"To think such a present would fall into your lap." he went on.

"And it looks like it has NO free will of its own. Which is interesting." he continued.

"Mana can create some... fascinating anomalies." he said further.

"I wonder how strong the connection between her and the one she budded off from is..."

"And I don't want to believe that Casey just... fell into her old mindset." Gregory replied.

"Something had to have happened for that to occur." he reasoned.

"But yes, this needs to be looked into." he agreed.

"We need to find an answer." he said.

"...and we need to make sure Casey doesn't do anything foolish..."

"......." Gregory was silent as he saw the echoes.

"I..." he stammered.

"Again, those look SO familiar..." he said.

"But... I mean, it's familiar in the sense of... I think Liz might have shown me them, or displayed them at some point a long time ago." he told her.

"...maybe." he then muttered.

"They look... almost demonic? But... not, at the same time."

"....great." Gregory muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Just great." he growled.

"The ONE person that's best for this situation, and he's the WORST for it." he said.

"Whatever this is, it needs to be stopped." he then said.

"Sooner, rather than later, before this crap gets out of hand." he went on.

"Unfortunately, I have NO idea what it is." he continued.

"Something about it seems... vaguely and weirdly familiar, but... nothing's coming up in my mind." he admitted.

"And yes, it's frustrating." he added.

"Appetite is a good thing." Ryker responded.

"Means you're getting back to your norm!" he said.

"...and yeah, he has been." he then said further.

"What of it?" he asked.

"I have no idea." Gregory replied.

"But it's not good, and it's causing Casey to revert to her teenage attitude." he told her.

"...what's happening with Lindsay?" he then asked.

"Why is HE not helping Casey?" he asked her.

"I mean, odds are he's not himself, but... in what way?"

"I'm cool." Ryker responded.

"It's just that by the time I finish cooking the trout, the other fillet will be kinda cold." he told him.

"So go ahead and eat it while it's still hot." he reasoned.

"You'll just be waiting for a bit longer for a full meal, is all." he finished.

With that, he set to prepping the trout that Eke had caught.