Colin's posts

Jaden looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah..." he said. "Yeah, I'm ready to go." he told her, standing back up and smoothing out his new suit. He made sure it was all straightened up, before noticing the branding again; the symbol on the pocket, that was also on Desiree's dress. It had been familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He'd seen it before, he was sure, but it was barely escaping him. He didn't pay too close attention to the fashion world, but he had picked up information though osmosis over his lifetime, and the fact that this was evading him as it was, was starting to irritate him.

"Anyway, let's... let's go to wherever you need to go." he told her.

"..." he was then silent, before thinking hard.

"Wait." he said. "Ohhh, I recognise this brand, I know it." he stated, wracking his brain now. "Future Vogue!" he then exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

And he wasn't... wrong. But he wasn't right. The REAL name of the company was simply Mariana's, but 'Future Vogue' was an unofficial nickname that many had given to it, based purely on how the company would always seem to set the trends for the fashion industry. Whatever they designed would be what was 'in', hence the nickname.

Jaden, now utterly bewildered, made his way back to the den, and sat down on the couch. As he did so, he wondered what in the ever-living HELL Desiree was on about, and what was going on.

These nice clothes? Not their thing. Mostly because it was so expensive. And what was this about HIS pay grade? She made less than him. But suddenly these were affordable for her? And when did she get the sleeker and smaller hearing aids? Had she ever used them before?

The questions raced through his mind, before he just leaned forward and massaged his temples.

"Ngh." he grunted.

"I had BETTER get some answers tonight." was all he said to himself.

Jaden's eyes widened, and his face flushed a little as he saw Desiree slip into the dress and make her way over, asking for help with the zipper. He seemed stunned for a moment, but then shook his head lightly and composed himself, before aiding her in her request. He pulled the zipper up, and stopped when he got near the top, seeing the logo of the company on the zipper. Before Desiree could say anything, he finished the job, and looked at his suit, seeing the same marking on the front pocket of the jacket.

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

"Wait, this looks..." he said further, trying to wrack his brain.

"Oh, what's the designer company...?" he wondered.

"Point is, Desiree, isn't this stuff WAY above our pay grade?" he then asked.

"Where'd these come from?"

This was just a new layer of confusion for Jaden. Granted, he knew his current hat was older, fraying, and a little threadbare in certain places, but it wasn't THAT bad, was it? And he was going to need it for where they were going?

"Uh... right..." he said.

He then left and check on said hat, only to find that it was as she said. Like his current, but overall nicer, with beautiful decorative embroidery. He raised an eyebrow, taking his hat off and allowing his long golden locks to cascade down his back, before getting the new hat and using his mana to enchant it, allowing his hair to seemingly collapse inside it as he put it on.

"Love that little hair portal I made." he chuckled, making sure the hat was on properly. He then proceeded to get ready with his new shoes and clothing, before going back into the bedroom and looking in the full-length mirror they had there.

"...damn..." he muttered. "Never looked THIS swanky before..." he admitted.

Again, Jaden was confused. More so than ever, now. She'd mentioned his clothing was hanging on the door of the bathroom, and his shoes were on the counter. She was already off to the bedroom by the time he found his voice.

"...wha...?" he muttered.

He then just shrugged and shook his head, before heading to the counter, and looking at the shoes.

'...these are premium brand...' he thought, then heading to the bathroom. He checked the door and noticed that their was a gorgeous black and red suit on it. One that would compliment him perfectly, but one that he could tell would have been... borderline prohibitively expensive for her.

"The hell...!?" he wondered, but realised that he would get NO answers until later.

So, 45 minutes later, he was showered up, his hair was dried, and he made his way to the bedroom with his new clothing and shoes.

"Well... you're right about inevitable questions." he told Desiree, tucking his long hair into his black woolen beanie hat.

Jaden was now... even MORE confused.

"I... ah... wha...?" he mumbled.

"You are acting... FAR more nervous about an outing." he told her. "Especially one that's a dinner reservation." he said further. "And a bombshell during dinne? Or before dinner with another stop?" he inquired. "What the hell are you...?" he started to go on, before stopping and squinting his eyes, leaning in closer towards her.

She then saw him sniff her.

"...you're no shifter." he said. "Can't fake THAT mana smell. As well as the eye, come to think of it..." he admitted.

"But seriously, why are you so worked up?" he asked.

"Dinner's cool. I'm all for it." he went on. "I'll make sure I take a shower and am at least clean for it right now." he reasoned.

"...and we'll talk about this custom movie for another party later..." he then added.

Jaden raised an eyebrow.

"...uh?" he muttered, before shaking his head.

"Right." he said. "Firstly, went fine." he told her. "Took some doing, but everything's gravy now." he assured her. "Seriously, it's cool, and odds are won't need to do THAT again for... close to 50 years or so." he continued. "And even then, Mom said she should be able to do it HERSELF at that point, so... yeah, everything's good." he chuckled.

"Secondly, you are confusing and concerning me." he then said.

"We have plans tonight. Ok, cool." he went on. "And... I'm not weaseling out of this? As much as I might want to try...?" he then asked her, before sighing and shaking his head.

"...are Lindsay and I making another 'film'?" he inquired with a small sigh.

"You need to add a new volume to your collection?"

About 10 minutes after she'd sat down in the den, she saw a portal appear on the other side of the room, in one of the corners, and watched as Jaden stepped out, looking a little haggard and winded, but otherwise okay. He huffed a little, before closing the portal behind him and looking towards Desiree, a small smile on his face.

"Hey." he greeted her, stepping through the den and making his way towards her, almost collapsing beside her on the couch.

"MAN, that was intense." he said, leaning back a little. "Good to be home." he continued, turning his head so he was looking at her. "Good to see you again." he commented quietly.

"So. How are YOU doing?" he asked.

"I admit, with how things have been for the past half a year or so, I was afraid that I'd come home to you being even MORE of a nervous wreck." he admitted. "But if anything, it seems like you've made drastic improvements." he then commented.

"Something happen with Deryck's little threat?" he asked. "Proved to be nothing more than a dying man's attempt to scare you?" he asked further with a light chuckle. "Well, whatever. Just glad the little worm of a weasel isn't continuing to ruin your life." he then added.

Hal pondered again for a moment.

"If I recall, it should be about... a half-hour walk from here." he told her. "Or a 5-10 minute drive if we cab it." he continued. "Or, as you said, instantaneous, if we teleport." he chuckled.

"I don't remember the EXACT location or coordinates or whatever, but I DO know there's a park near it, and there's a heavily wooded area in it that we should be able to teleport to safely." he went on.

"If you know the place I'm talking about." he then said.

"If you do, your mana is a little more stealthy than mine, as yours can be mistaken for a stiff breeze." he reasoned.

"If not, I can do it, we'll just need to be extra careful."

".........oh." Hal mumbled.

"I have an MBA, but damned if it helped with basic comprehension sometimes..." he admitted, smacking his forehead, and then thinking about it a little more, before nodding slightly.

"Last I was here was... oh geez, 6 years ago?" he said.

"But I recall this AMAZING little..." he started to say further, before pausing. "Wait, no." he said. "Japanese. Not good. Seafood." he recalled, thinking once more.

"Oh, well, I also remember a really nice waffle place." he then remembered. "ALL sorts of waffles, will ALL sorts of toppings. Dessert waffles, breakfast waffles, they even did chicken and waffles for a more lunch/dinner option." he told her further.

"Sound good to you?"

"Well, it's been a bit." Hal said. "Not sure if either of us have had breakfast, but we're well into the afternoon right now." he went on, scratching at his chin slightly as he thought about it.

"Hmmmmm..." he mumbled.

"Well, how about we find a nice café or something?" he suggested.

"Someplace that may have some nice lunch items." he went on.

"That, or Chinese buffet." he then added. "Depends on how hungry you feel, or how much you want to eat, or if you have any preferences." he continued.

"We can call this a celebratory meal." he then laughed.

Hal nodded in response, and pressed his finger to the gem, pausing for a moment as it absorbed some of his mana, and then removed it.

"...wow." he said. "That is... some kinda strong right there." he told her. "Be careful, that might leave you feeling a bit weird afterwards." he warned Desiree further, before sitting down again.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"...this really IS something." he commented, looking around.

"All this is YOURS, Desiree." he told her.

"This company, this... this EMPIRE." he went on.

"You own one of THE largest fashion empires in the WORLD."

"Hmmm..." Hal mumbled, looking around.

"Well, could be the actual desk where work is done." he said. "Seems like a logical thing..." he went on, before his eyes rested on the... large... gem in the centre of the table.

"Or, if you want to put THAT to some good use, instead of being just some gaudy flex, could use the gem right there." he then suggested, as he got close and looked at the glass enclosing it.

"...seems to be standard glass." he commented, grabbing it and then lifting it right off. "Not connected, either." he went on. "So yeah, if you want this to serve a practical purpose, can use that if you want." he chuckled.

"Beyond that, yeah, best suggestion is check the desk up the stairs." he reiterated.

"Your choice, really."

"Duly noted." Rohan responded.

"Well, we should be going, then." Hal stated, as Tobias stood up.

"I have actually arranged for my own transport back to my office." he stated. "Miss Desiree, Mister Sharp, it has been an honour to meet you both, and work with you." he stated, shaking their hands.

"I must process this paperwork." Rohan then said. "Welcome to the company, Miss Desiree." he told Desiree, before they exchanged their farewells, and the two left the office, leaving Hal and Desiree there.

"...so..." Hal mumbled.

"Do you wish to grab a bite to eat while we're in Winnipeg, before you head home?" he asked her. "And are you going to create that anchor mana point as well?" he asked her further.