Colin's posts

After Madison had received her card keys, they started to make their way to the rooms.

"So." Vincent said.

"We'll be leaving fairly early, be sure to get a good night's sleep." he told her.

"Oh, and it came to my attention a bit ago that you're being raised by Alexandre LeBlanc." he commented.

"How has he been?" he asked.

"And Aimee as well."

Vincent was silent as he saw the dullness in her eyes, before he quickly brought himself back to reality, mentally-speaking.

"Ah, yes." he said.

"Your room is right beside mine." he told her.

"They're connected by a third door, but it's lockable by either party." he went on.

"We're on the 6th floor, rooms 654a and b." he continued.

"Come along, we'll get you your key cards."

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

"It's not my place to ask, so I won't." he said.

"As long as you're fit." he said further.

"At any rate, do you have any questions about the meeting?" he asked.

"Anything that was brought up that you're curious or unsure about?" he asked further.

"Because if not, we should head back to our rooms."

"I was about to ask you the same thing, my dear." Vincent replied.

"But, if I may, I will start with one that's a bit more... personal." he continued.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"You seem... thin." he commented, looking at her.

"Alarmingly so." he went on, concern in his tone.

"Forgive me if I'm looking too deeply into this, mind." he then quickly apologised.

"I do not wish to overstep boundaries."

The meeting lasted for a couple of hours, and it seemed like nobody really wanted Madison to interject or anything. It wasn't them being rude or not caring, it was just them wanting to get through the meeting smoothly.

And they knew Vincent would fill her in afterwards if she had any questions or issues.

When the meeting was adjourned, and everyone started leaving, Vincent turned to Madison.

"Hello, Madison." he greeted her with a smile, before pausing.

"Or would you rather I speak in French?" he asked, switching languages almost instantly.

After a few seconds, the door was opened, and she saw a large conference table with 19 people seated around it... leaving 1 empty seat. They all looked at her in unison, before one of the people, a man that looked to be in his late 20's, spoke.

"Ah, you are Madison Kiczys." he said.

"Please, come take a seat." he offered, gesturing to the chair beside him.

"She's the one you chose, Dr. Remmington?" another person asked.

"Indeed." Vincent responded.

"And it was an easy choice, too." he added.

"If you choose to." Alex responded.

He then left her, setting the papers down before he did, making his way back downstairs. He then made his way to the den, and sat down on one of the couches, sighing heavily to himself.

"...at least she has SOME joy in her life now." he said to himself.

"SOME hope..." he went on.

"...I hope this trip is good for her." he then mumbled, hanging his head a little.

His greatest fear was that, if things didn't change soon, she would end up in the hospital. But then he seemed to jolt to life again.

"....will they allow her to go in her current state of health?" he asked the air.

"She's practically malnourished... will they see her as fit to even go?"

"..................." Alex was silent for a couple of moments, before he allowed himself to smile.

It was slight, but it was there.

He saw Madison genuinely smile... and it had been a long time since he saw that. It made him happy, even if only slightly.

"May be better if it comes from you." he told her.

"So go ahead and email her." he said.

"Whenever you have the time to, of course."

Lex accepted the paper, and read it.

As he did, Madison saw his features brighten for a moment, before it seemed like he actively forced himself to revert back to a neutral state.

"Well." he said.

"Congratulations, Maddy." he told her.

"I guess we should be on the lookout for the upcoming email." he then said.

"Do you want Aimee to know of this as well?" he asked her.

"And if so, do you want me to tell her, instead of you?" he asked further.

Lex just sighed as he watched her open the letter and read it.

'Please, please, please...' he pleaded mentally.

Meanwhile, Madison was reading the letter.

Madison Kiczys,

Thank you for your interest in accompanying Dr. Remmington on his upcoming archaeological dig. Thousands of submissions were received, and after careful consideration, he has reached a decision.

He has decided that you will be the one to accompany him as his assistant to the dig.

Congratulations. You and/or your guardian(s) will be contacted shortly via email to confirm further details. it read.

There was also another note attached... a hand-written one.

Madison.

Your application inspired me. Even though you are young, it is clear that you have a deep thirst to learn history. I haven't seen such passion put in writing in a VERY long time.

I'm glad you applied to go on this dig with me, and I look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely yours,

Vincent Remmington. was what it said.

Vincent looked at her in response.

"We are." was all he said.

-Some time later-

Madison was up in her room, as usual, keeping to herself, as usual, and doing schoolwork, as usual, when she heard a soft knocking on her door.

"Madison?" Lex addressed her.

"You got mail." he told her.

"It's from the desk of Vincent Remmington." he continued. "It's more than likely the decision he's come to, in regards to your application." he went on, trying his best to remain calm and levelheaded.

He wanted her to be accepted, but he didn't know what would happen to her if she had been rejected.

"....." Vincent was silent, before nodding.

"Yes." he said.

"Yes, indeed." he mumbled.

"Hollie, thank you." he then said.

"Looking back on it, all but one of these applications seem to reek of wanting the prestige of this." he continued.

"But... there's that one. The one that seems to... speak to me." he went on.

He then smiled, and looked at her.

"Didn't see that until you mentioned it." he admitted.

"Guess this was a case of my not being able to see the forest for the trees."

"It's about a 50/50 split." Vincent replied.

"But everyone knows about the world and mana and such." he told her.

He then sighed, and shook his head.

"And I know." he said.

"All of them seem to have this aura of wanting to do this because it'll look good on a resume or what-have-you." he muttered.

"Maybe this was a mistake." he said further, before looking at the pile again, and pausing.

"....well..." he muttered suddenly.

"Actually, there's... one... that doesn't reek of that." he admitted, and Hollie saw where he was looking.

The top of the mortal pile.

"......" Vincent was silent as he looked at the piles.

"I see." he said.

"...the mortals are ones that the team would REALLY need to be careful about..." he muttered.

"Make sure they don't hear anything they're not supposed to hear." he went on.

"Yes, they're intelligent, hard-working, but... how much do they 'know of the 'world'?" he wondered aloud.

"Would the team need that stress of worrying what to say or not say?" he asked her.