Colin's posts

Alex just bit his lip slightly.

"...at least there's that." he agreed.

"...but don't worry." he said to Cleo.

"We'll do all we can to make sure she's happy and healthy here." he told her.

"It's a promise. To the BOTH of you." he then said further, looking between Madison and Cleo.

"I realise you've had a hard life." he told Madison. "Admittedly, I don't know the gritty details of it, but if you feel like sharing over time, I would be honoured." he continued.

"But from this day on, things will get better for you." he added with a small smile.

Alex was silent, and just pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ugh." he grunted.

"THOSE kinds of people." he said.

"Lovely." he saidd.

"Just... yay. Effing... yay." he grumbled.

"Well, I am even MORE glad that you are away from them now." he then told Madison.

"And I promise we'll do all we can to keep you safe." he added.

Alex just chuckled slightly when Cleo said what she did.

"Still." he said.

"It's quite something." he commented.

"Just... someone like you keeping her company." he went on.

He then paused for a moment, and thought about something.

"Ah." he said.

"Well, good thing I removed that choker." he told Madison.

"Odds are you missed your friends." he commented.

Alex raised an eyebrow when he saw the woman, and was left speechless for a moment.

"Ah... I..." he stammered.

"Wow." he managed to get out.

"Just... wow." he muttered.

"First we learn she's close friends with Gregory, and now THIS?" he asked, before turning to Madison.

"Well!" he said to her.

"Didn't know you hobnobbed with royalty." he chuckled.

"Especially Cleopatra of the Nile."

"We'll see about Aimee tutoring you." Alex told her.

"But that's a future discussion." he said.

"For now, let's worry about tonight." he went on.

"Madison." he then addressed the girl.

"Any allergies we should know about?" he asked her.

"Or anything health-wise at all, really?"

Alex was silent for a moment, before he acquired a matching smirk.

"Yep." he replied.

"Whether you attend a regular school, or are home-schooled, you will be taught the French language." he told her.

"As Aimee said, properly." he continued.

"We are all necromancers, meaning we pick up the language of whomever we summon, but as you demonstrated when you showed up at our door, once we no longer have access to our mana, all those languages we've acquired... go away." he went on.

"By learning French the proper way, you will ALWAYS be able to communicate while here. And your English will be kept fluent as well, as being bilingual is very handy." he reasoned.

"After all, we want you to have the proper tools to succeed in the future, without relying 100% on mana."

Alex's jaw almost dropped. Just how casually Madison spoke of suicide, and no friends, and loneliness just... almost depressed him.

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

"Right then." he said.

"I... I see." he stuttered further.

"Well... I mean, thank heavens he was there, then." he managed to get out. "It would have been horrible if you would have... succumbed to those feelings." he admitted.

"But... maybe we can try and change that in the future." he suggested.

"At least give you SOME semblance of a social life."

The demon just smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Whether or not you some to love me doesn't matter." he said.

"I'll still be taking over his body and regaining my throne." he told her.

"...." he was then silent, before scratching at his chin a little.

"Though your attitude towards this IS encouraging." he admitted.

"I WILL need a queen, after all."

Alex was silent for a moment, stroking his chin.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Stranger things HAVE happened in this world, Aimee." he told his sister.

"And Gregory IS a good sort." he went on.

"Well... for a reaper, anyway." he clarified.

"And he's the only reason you're still alive?" he then asked Madison.

"See... I am horrified by the implications of that, but I'll merely ask what you mean, while at the same time, admiring the irony of the statement."

Alex just sighed deeply.

".....yeah..." he mumbled.

"Yeah, she's told me more, too." he said to Aimee.

"Suffice to say, she's... she's not coming from a good place." he went on.

He then shook his head slightly, and looked over towards Madison.

"So. What did Gregory want?" he asked her.

"I could feel his presence behind me earlier, before I left you to get changed." he added.

"Don't worry." Alex told her.

"Aimee doesn't need to head to her job until the afternoon, so she'll be here with you." he said.

"I should be back long before she needs to head out, so you won't be here alone." he assured her. "And you won't need to go elsewhere." he went on.

"I'm going to speak with a woman that can make it so that you can stay here permanently, with me as your guardian." he then clarified.

"She might come here to meet you, but you won't have to go there if you don't want to." he continued.

"I promise."

The two of them chatted for a minute or so, before Alex showed up.

"Oh, hey." he greeted them.

"Smells good here, Aimee." he told his sister.

"By the way, I called Hollie." he then said.

"She's expecting me at the Council tomorrow morning." he went on.

"So I'll be going there in order to get the ball rolling." he continued.

He then looked at Madison, and smiled.

"So how are you feeling?" he asked her.

Gregory nodded in response.

"All right." he said, standing up.

As he did so, Madison could tell that his form had turned incorporeal again, and he was a spirit once more.

"I'll see you later, Madison." he told her.

"Remember, I'm just a name call away." he finished.

He then faded slowly from view, waving as he did so, until she was alone in the room once more.

Gregory was... a little shocked by what she did, before he wrapped an arm around her in response.

He was silent as he did so, a small smile visible under the shadow of his hood.

"...." he didn't say anything, but lightly chuckled under his breath, as he continued to hold her close to him.

"Madison." he then said.

"You're a special girl." he told her.

"And now you're with people that know just how special your talents are." he went on.

"Just remember that you can trust them. In times where your past is haunting you, and you're unsure about them, remember that." he said further.

"Remember that I said that they're a-ok."