Colin's posts

"I will visit you as long as you want me to." Gregory replied.

"You're one of the best people to talk to." he told her with a chuckle... and at that point, she could tell that he was now corporeal, even if for very briefly.

"You make my afterlife that much more bearable." he continued.

"You help me keep my sanity." he went on.

"So of course I'll keep checking up on you." he concluded.

"As long as you're fine with it." he said further, before pausing and exhaling slowly.

"Heh... also, I'm your best friend, huh?" he asked.

"Not many people can say Death is their best friend, and literally mean it."

"Indeed." Gregory responded.

He was then silent, before floating over towards her, and sitting down on the bed.

"Madison." he said.

"I'm happy for you." he told her.

"Ever since you first started talking to me, I've wanted you to have better than you had." he went on.

"...guess it's finally happened now."

"Can't say for sure." Gregory admitted.

"Odds are... no. They won't be." he then told her.

"Really, odds are they were counting on people to be just like them, and ignore you and leave you to your fate." he guessed.

"But I cannot say for absolute sure." he stressed.

"Regardless... even if they DO... I daresay that Aimee and Alex won't take too kindly to it." he went on.

"They're strong." he said with a small smirk.

"And they're both like you." he added.

"Though I'm pretty sure you know that already."

Gregory was silent for a moment, before crossing his arms over his chest.

"You wanna know?" he asked.

"Fine. I'll tell you." he told her.

"He's a lazy sod that sleeps all day and has absolutely no drive to do ANYTHING, even his own business." he said, his tone a bit on the scathing side... before he stopped and sighed.

"But he's good." he went on, his voice softer now.

"He's a good man, and his sister's a good woman." he assured her. "They do what they can, and they genuinely want what's best for... well... the people they care about." he continued.

"Seems you've really struck a chord with him. I'd say you could find no better person to be taken in by in this city. Hell, this country." he then said.

"You've been truly lucky to have found your way here."

After a bit of silence, the figure ghosted through the door.

"Hello again." he greeted her.

"Been a while." he said.

"Nice to see you again as well." he continued.

"So." he then mumbled.

"Seems like things have actually improved for you." he commented.

"Good."

The figure behind Alex disappeared for a moment.

"Of course." Alex replied.

"Just come downstairs when you're ready." he told her.

He then shut the door and she heard his footsteps getting further and further away from her.

And that was when she felt the other presence again.

But it was still on the other side of the door.

"Oh, by the way, sorry if that was a little weird of me, getting you a few pairs of clothes." Alex then apologised.

"I mean... well... you only seemed to have the one outfit, and it was pretty grimy, and there's not much point to taking a bath if you're just gonna put dirty clothes back on. But you didn't have any others, and I wasn't about to have you go around in that big robe, either..." he went on, rambling a bit.

"So... I, uh... kinda asked my sister to bring home some stuff for you, and your outfit's going through the washer right now." he told her.

"Just... yeah, I mean, you should have some clean clothes to change into." he reasoned.

"..." he was then silent, and sighed.

"Trust me, you'll be able, and allowed, to eat your fill here." he then assured her, addressing her last statement.

At that point, Madison then saw a figure behind Alex. It was dark, taller than Alex, and was wearing a cloak, standing almost menacingly behind him.

Alex stepped back for a moment and waited for her to come out of the bathroom, and when she did, she was wrapped in the robe that she had taken. Sure enough, it swam on her, but it covered her nicely, and was warm.

"Come on." he said.

"I'll show you to the guest room we have." he told her.

"Oh, and my sister brought back some clothes for you to wear." he then added, as he started to walk to the room in question.

"Seems there's a pair of PJ's in there too, if you just want to change into those." he went on.

"And she's seeing what we have in the kitchen, so I'm not entirely sure what dinner will be."

"....should have thought of that earlier." Alex mumbled.

"I'm going to check on Madison!" he called to Aimee, before grabbing the bags and heading upstairs.

When he did, he saw that the door to the bathroom was still closed, but he heard signs of activity in there.

"Madison!?" he called through the door.

"How's it going in there?" he asked.

"You all right?"

"...." Alex was silent for a moment.

"Now that I think about it... she didn't tell me how old she was." he admitted.

"But to look at her... she's young." he said.

"I'd say... 11? At the oldest?" he guessed.

"She might be younger, it's hard to say." he shrugged.

"I'll ask her when she comes down again." he said further.

"Oh, and I made her a croque-monsieur earlier, but something tells me she has room for more." he continued.

"What do you want to do for dinner?" he asked.

Alex just nodded.

"Yes, of course." he replied.

"That works perfectly." he said.

"That way Madison isn't here alone." he reasoned.

"By the way, she's very polite and well-spoken." he told her.

"...admittedly, it's endearing, but it also shows just how much she's had to be an adult at such an early age." he went on. "And it also shows the lack of permissions she's had." he continued.

"...but I think you'll really like her."

"A valid point." Alex admitted.

"All right, I'll visit her first thing tomorrow morning." he said, before pausing.

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

"Yes... I will." he said.

"I said that, without thinking, and I meant it." he continued.

"Damn it, I am setting an alarm for this." he then added.

To most people, this would seem odd, and not worth mentioning... but Aimee knew better.

Alex just smiled softly.

"Good." he replied.

"That's good." he said.

He then paused for a moment, thinking about something.

"...should I try to go through the Council, directly to Hollie?" he asked Aimee.

"Or call her?" he asked further.

"Wait, do we even have her number?" he then asked her.

"Will we need to go through Vincent?"

"....I think it's safe to say we don't." Alex agreed.

"We'll need help from Hollie. Perhaps Vincent, too." he told her.

"But I'll speak with Hollie first." he continued.

"Get the ball rolling for that, so to speak." he reasoned.

"...is it all right if she stays here?" he then asked.

"I mean, this is as much YOUR home as it is mine." he said further.

"You obviously get a substantial weigh-in on this."