Colin's posts

"........." Ash was silent for a moment, seemingly stunned.

"Ohhhhh jeez." he mumbled.

"Well, I suppose I ought to find her and let her know about this..." he said to himself.

"But... Ashley, I... well... I don't know how to delicately say this... but you had a run-in with your sister." he told Ashley. And a LOT of shit's happened. A year's worth of stuff, to be frank."[/b] he continued.

"Yes, it seems that the past YEAR has been wiped from your memory, but please, let me explain, all right?" he asked.

"I know you have a headache, but it seems like this is the best time to fill you in on some stuff." he added.

"....." Ash was silent as she said this.

"I... what?" he asked.

"How do we know Vanessa didn't sen him?" he repeated.

"I mean... unless she gave him some sort of instructions for after..." he started to say, before pausing.

"Do... wait... wait, don't tell me..." he then mumbled, remembered what Gaea had told him back when she had removed Vanessa's mana from inside of Ashley.

"Ashley, humour me." he said.

"Remember when you were out in the Maine area? For the hunt?" he asked her.

"What's the next thing you remember AFTER that?"

".......hmmm." Ash mumbled.

"I... can understand your concern." he said.

"But... damn it." he cursed.

"I... SO want to fly off the handle right now, and kick him out." he growled.

"But... something's nudging at my brain, saying there's a side to this that we don't know." he went on.

"I mean... Vanessa was everything to him. I don't think he'd be capable of really acting on his own without her." he then mumbled aloud, almost seeming to space out now.

"......" Ash was silent for a moment, before closing his eyes and doing do.

And then he seemed to freeze.

"...what the...?" he muttered.

"No way..." he said.

"That can't be..." he muttered.

"He's here?" he asked her.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh geez..." he mumbled further, shaking his head.

Ash was silent for a moment.

"...huh?" he asked.

"That's... uh... wait, huh?" he muttered.

"That's an odd and confusing thing to say." he commented.

"...why?" he then asked.

"Why would I not be enthused with this patient?" he asked her.

"Seriously. What's up?"

Ash raised an eyebrow when she said what she did.

"Ah... I see." he said.

"And a headache? That's crappy." he muttered.

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"I mean, I'm no doctor, but I know that... well, when I doubt, apply food to the wound." he said with a light chuckle.

"Want something to eat or drink?" he asked her.

"I'm happy to make something up and bring it down here for ya." he offered.

Lindsay looked at the text, before returning it.

Pretty sure I know what I'm doing. he sent back.

I trust Kalin and Agent Sharp's judgements. he then sent further.

"Come on to my office." he then told Chris.

"All right." Chris replied, as the two of them started to head up towards it.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Ash was sitting down in one of the chairs in the room that he and Ashley shared, when he heard her come back.

"Hey." he greeted her.

"What's up?" he asked.

Chris shook his head.

"It... it's not." he said.

"I promise. Though that probably doesn't mean anything..." he added quietly, before entering.

When he did, and he and Lindsay regarded each other, they both were silent for an awkward few seconds, before Lindsay coughed lightly.

"Welcome, Christopher." he greeted him.

"Hello, Dr. Fyrane." Chris responded meekly.

"Chris... come on. Let me help you find who you are. Who you were meant to be." Lindsay then said kindly, with a warm smile.

"...heh. That'd be really nice." Chris replied with a VERY slight smile in return.

Chris looked dejected and scared for a moment, and was about to say something, before they both heard Lindsay from behind her.

"Ashley?" he asked.

"Who is it?" he asked her.

Chris was silent, still, before swallowing hard again.

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

"It's Christopher Jenkins!" he then called out.

"Ah, please! Come in!" Lindsay called back.

Hal nodded.

"I understand." he replied.

"We ask him if he is truly ready and willing to move on, he answers in the affirmative, we give him the details for where and when the appointment is... except for the name of the doctor, and the name of the place." he said.

"Indeed." Lindsay agreed.

"One second while I pull up my schedule, and Casey's, to find that sweet spot of a date for the appointment." he added, taking his cell phone out of his pocket.

-Some time later-

Chris nervously approached the door to the manor that loomed over him, his mouth feeling dry suddenly.

"......" he was silent, before nervously raising his hand, forming a light fist.

'...now or never, Chris. Show them you can commit to something. Show them you want to improve.' he thought. '...get your life together, Chris. Find out WHO YOU ARE!' he then mentally shouted.

With that, he knocked on the door as loudly as he could, gulping audibly when it slowly started to open

Lindsay shook his head.

"That depends on what you two think." he responded.

"I can make an appointment for him, and if he wants help, then I will help." he told them.

"No good comes from forcing a person to better themselves. At least, not mentally and emotionally." he continued.

"...fair point." Hal replied.

"But if he truly wishes to better himself and move on, he'll do it. This will be another test for him, in a sense." he reasoned.

"Jenkins might be able to use mana on Miss Calder, but NOT on me." Hal then interjected.

"And I trust him as well. Not implicitly, much like Miss Calder, but I can tell he wants to move on. He wants to discover who he could have been, had he not been controlled his whole life." he told Lindsay.

"...." Lindsay was silent, before nodding.

"Very well." he said.

"I have my misgivings, but if Christopher is truly as much a victim as we are... then I will do all I can to help him."

Hal didn't know Lindsay that well, but Kalin did.

And instantly, beneath the calm and professional exterior that Lindsay was showing, she saw a typhoon of conflicting emotions happen in his eyes, over the span of a silent 5 seconds.

"...I see." Lindsay replied.

"You are correct. Casey will NOT take this well in the slightest." he agreed.

"However... does he really want my help?" he asked.

"He wants help. If it comes from you, it would really benefit him, I believe." Hal responded.

"Very well." Lindsay said, looking at Kalin next.

"And you trust Christopher?" he asked her.

"......" Lindsay was silent for a moment, before sighing heavily.

"Such warnings." he said.

"But you know my vow." he told her.

"I will do my best to help anyone that needs it, and is willing to let me help them." he said further.

"....hm." Hal responded.

"Very noble." he commented.