Colin's posts

"Uh..." Ash muttered.

"Yes." he said.

"Kind of." he told her.

"I was born in Salem. But Vanessa had me in Ireland ever since I was REALLY young." he went on.

"So I have, but... it doesn't really count, I suppose." he continued.

"So it WILL be new for me." he said further.

"Also... yes... I miss him so much already." he then agreed, sadness in his tone.

Devon excused himself for a moment, and brought back a nice glass for her.

"Here y'go." he said.

He then handed them the keys.

"I'll be up later with food." he told them.

"For now, have a nice stay." he added with a wink.

He then looked over towards the tavern, and sighed.

"Ah, I need to deal with a rowdy drunk before I get to you." he finished, before quickly heading off.

Devon raised a hand.

"I'm sure." he said.

"Fynn said that the next time you showed up, you'd get a night on the house." he told her.

"After all, he understands this is sudden." he reasoned.

"But you can at least have one last free night here." he went on.

"Complete with some bear." he told Ash, which caused the boy to light up.

Devon smirked.

"Same price as Azazel charged." he said.

"....so... information...?" Ash asked.

"Indeed." Devon said.

"However, since I have no real need or use for information right now, guess I'll have to let you stay the night on the house." he reasoned.

"After all, you're travelling pretty far tomorrow."

Devon smiled at him.

"We still have the room available." he said.

"...all right." Ash responded.

"We DID come here to spend at least a night." he reasoned.

"And it will be getting darker soon." he went on.

"So... okay." he concluded.

"Sounds good." Devon replied with another smile.

Devon was surprised to hear that, but then smiled in response.

"Heh. Fair enough." he replied.

"Go and see your friend, then." he told them.

"If if you ever come across Azazel along your travels..." he went on, winking at her. "...tell him to come and stop by. This place just isn't the same without him." he told her.

"Nobody ran a tighter ship than that man." he commented further.

"They way he threw out drunks? Perfection." he added with a chuckle.

Ryker just sighed.

"You first? Duh." he responded.

"You're my bro. You're family." he smiled.

"Family comes first. Always." he said.

"Well... when they're worthwhile, anyway." he clarified with a light chuckle.

"And was I scared? Maybe not 'scared', but it WAS a bit of a change to get used to." he admitted.

"I wondered if everything would be devoted to Aly, but whatever happened, happened. You and her got into your relationship grove, and that's great." he said.... before sighing again.

"Though, admittedly, there were a couple of times I was scared that you'd abandon me. But I suspect that's some emotional trauma from way back before I met you." he then muttered.

Devon just sighed, and smiled.

"I am." he replied.

"I'm happy here. And I'm happy to keep working here." he went on.

"I got a pay-raise, after all, and I would have been the new owner, if not for the fact that it'd be WAY too much stress for me." he then said with a chuckle.

"Fynn's got a much better head for that stuff than I do." he said.

"But don't be strangers, hey?" he asked of them.

"Azazel may be gone, but I'M still here." he told them.

"And I will be for the foreseeable future."

Ash nodded.

"All right then." he said.

"Yeah, let's go." he told her, looking around the room.

"......." he was silent, before going over and straightening a picture that was a little crooked.

"Just wanted to do that." he told her.

"And... I guess... to say goodbye to this place." he mumbled, sadness in his tone.

"Should we go and say goodbye to Devon as well?" he asked her.

"Seems rude to just disappear on him." he reasoned as they left, making sure the door was locked from the inside before they shut it.

Ash just looked to her and smiled.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's go!" he agreed, putting the gloves on, and pausing suddenly.

"...woah." he said.

"Weird." he muttered.

"I feel like... I can focus SO much in my hands now." he told her.

"Like my hands are AMAZING focal points for my mana..."

Ash finished reading the letter, and set it down.

"....Rylie..." he said quietly.

"What now?" he asked.

"Mr. Azazel's in North America now." he said.

"He's not here to offer us shelter and stuff. And he's not here to talk to." he went on.

"...I miss him." he mumbled quietly, before picking up the gloves.

"These feel... weird." he said.

"Not in a bad way. Just... weird." he told her.

"But I feel like they'll be... useful... actually."

Ash looked at her as she looked at the letter, before looking in the box.

"....huh?" he mumbled.

Rylie, the letter began.

I waited as long as I could. But I can't wait any longer. It seems that there's an emergency happening elsewhere in the world, and I was found. My help has been requested, and seeing as there is nobody else that can do this, seemingly, I have to.

Admittedly, I CAN decline, but I have to think of what is best for this realm, the people in it, and... well, you and Ash.

However, I am not so callous and mysterious to just disappear without telling you where I am. I'm in North America now. In San Diego, to be more precise. Working for an organization called 'The Unit'.

If you are ever in that neck of the woods, please come see me. It's been a while already, and I DO miss seeing you and Ash.

Best wishes,

Azzy.

P.S. I left some things for you and Ash. Well, 2 things for you and 1 thing for Ash. They should help him with his mana, and I know you'll appreciate what's there for you.

the body of the letter read.

Meanwhile, Ash was staring at the contents of the box, looking a little on the sad side.

"Almost a year ago." Devon responded.

"He didn't want to leave, and he stalled as long as he could, but eventually he said he couldn't wait any longer." he went on.

"He left the inn, and put a close friend of his in charge. Fynn." he then informed them. Fynn was a good guy, and trustworthy. And while they were friends, he was nowhere near as close to her as Azazel was.

"...he looked really guilty and sad as he did so, too." he then mumbled as they entered the room... that looked like it'd been untouched, except for a fine layer of dust on everything.

Devon then went to the bed, pushed it aside, opened up a small hidden compartment underneath it, and pulled out a wooden box. He then handed it to Rylie.

"Said only YOU would be able to open it." he told her.

"At any rate, I need to get back to manning the desk. I'll leave you two here to process this." he finished, before leaving them there.

"He wouldn't say." Devon replied.

"But!" he then said, raising his hands defensively.

"He DID leave something." he told her.

"Something for the two of you." he went on.

"He did? What?" Ash asked.

"Come on." Devon said.

"Let's go down to his old room." he told them, starting to head off.