Colin's posts

Azazel looked away for a moment, before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Rylie..." he said.

"I realise this has to be hard, to massive understate it." he commented.

"But... yeah, all I can say is... try."' he told her.

"Just follow your gut. You're a good person." he continued.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." he went on, before pausing.

"Right now? Just be with him." he then said.

"Show him he's not alone in this world, more than anything else right now."

"....ah..." Azazel stammered, before looking down.

"I see." he said.

"Seems the Fyrane line really are interwoven with each other." he commented.

"Not even I knew THAT bit of info." he admitted.

"...but poor kid. His brother's dead?" he asked.

"That is going to take a toll. Especially as young as he is." he went on.

"You think you'll be able to help him and deal with him?" he asked her.

Azazel just sighed as he saw her, and looked around.

It seemed most people had put whatever had happened past them, and either dismissed it as imagination, or something else.

'...least there's that.' he thought.

He then made his way to Rylie, and sat down across from her.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"Sooooo, that happened." he said.

"Looking back on it, it's unsurprising."

The one that was there was silent, before sighing.

"Got it." he replied.

He then whipped up something for her... something that was clear, but dark.

"House speciality. Made by the boss himself." he told her.

"Call's it "Hell's Nectar." he said.

"Anyway, I'll go get him for you." he finished.

He then excused himself, and went to find Azazel.

Ash responded by grabbing onto her tightly.

He held her close and dared not to let go.

As he did, the tears flowed freely, and he let it all out in a burst of emotional devastation.

However, it was relatively short-lived.

The excitement, fear, and tension from meeting his mother, alongside the bomb that just been dropped on him about his brother, combined with the earlier expulsion of mana... it had been too much for him.

He passed out and fell asleep in Rylie's arms.

Ash was silent and still for a few seconds after Rowena left, before falling to his side and getting into a sort of fetal position.

"Lindsay..." he said quietly.

"No..." he whispered.

"She... I didn't think she'd kill him..." he went on.

"Guess he was deemed a failure, too." he mumbled.

He then just started to cry and sob right there.

"........" again, Ryker was silent.

"Great." he said.

"Wonderful." he growled, tossing his phone beside him and getting up.

"Whatever." he then said, grabbing his phone again, and leaving the house.

"Time to go for a fly." he mumbled, sprouting demonic wings and taking to the sky.

"Ah..." Ash stammered.

"Ah... I..." he stuttered further.

He then closed his eyes and concentrated.

Hard.

It was clear he was trying his best to recover memories that he had buried and suppressed a long time ago.

"I... Ireland..." he then got out.

"A place that... had 'shark' in the name." he remembered further.

"I can't remember anything else..." he then admitted quietly.

"......" Ash was silent as he heard that.

"No..." he said.

"Lindsay, no..." he mumbled, falling to his knees.

"No, that can't be..." he repeated.

"Why...? Why did he have to...?" he started to ask, but trailed off, unable to finish the inquiry.

"...wh-what?" Ash asked.

"No... no, that can't be." he said.

"No, that... that can't be right!" he exclaimed.

"You're lying!" he declared, tears in his eyes.

"How would you know that, anyway!?" he asked her.

"You haven't seen him!"

Ash was... still and silent, but his mind was going a mile-a-minute.

His brain was telling him to slam the door, leave it open, stay, run, go to Rylie for help, keep her out of it, attack the woman, stare her down, hug her, yell at her, curl up in a ball...

But when she asked her question, all the neurons in his brain all managed to coordinate and give him a single directive.

ANSWER HER.

"Th... the... the lab." he managed to get out.

Ash looked to the door, before looking back at Rylie.

"I... ah..." he stammered.

"Okay..." was all he said.

He then made his way slowly over, hesitating at the door for a second.

What was on the other side? And why was there this ominous feeling?

He then collected himself, heaved a small breath, and opened the door... freezing when he saw who was there.

"I do not have the power to stop you." Azazel responded.

"Simple as that." he said.

"As I said, if you make trouble here, I WILL do my damndest to remove you, though." he then told her.

"Beyond that, go." he continued.

"Your power allows you to essentially do whatever you want, anyway." he sighed, shaking his head.

"....." he was then silent, before looking at her.

"And I hope, for the sake of everyone here, this little reunion goes as well as it possibly can, given the circumstances." he added.

"......" Ryker was silent as he read the text.

"Yeah, okay, SOMETHING'S going on." he muttered.

"This isn't his behaviour." he commented.

"Wonder if he's still reeling from having to face off to his old man, or not getting to speak with him..." he went on.

He then sighed, looking at the text.

It occurred to him exactly what had been said.

What's Arissa got to do with this? I was asking YOU. he sent.