Colin's posts

"........" Dom didn't quite know what to say, and just sighed.

"Yeah." he said.

"See you later." he told her.

He then left the room after she did, going to find her maps. Specifically, the one for the city Desiree was in.

"I hate to put myself in the mind of those asses... but I'm gonna need to." he lamented.

"It's always so dark when I do so..."

Dom nodded.

"All right." he replied.

"In the meantime, I'll get a map of the city and start plotting locations where they might be." he told her.

"Lemme know if anything comes up regarding contacts." he went on.

"And we need to make sure Jaden and Desiree don't do anything hasty or foolish." he insisted.

"Luring the gang out with live bait is NOT optimal, to understate it."

"....I think I can." Dom replied after another moment.

"I know what their band is comprised off, and I know who their leader is." he went on.

"I just need to put myself in their situation, get a map of the city, narrow down some locations, and then see if anyone has some points of contact in them." he continued.

"Do you know anyone with a large web of contacts in that city?" he asked her.

"It would REALLY help things here."

"You're right." Dom replied.

"If they don't know what she is, then we have an advantage." he said.

"...I don't like any plan that involves endangering her, though." he then warned.

"I'll just say that right now and put it out there." he stated.

"Desiree does NOT deserve to be thrown to those coyotes." he spat, venom in his tone.

"...I need to think about where they'd be." he then said.

"What kind of location they'd choose to hide out in."

"...ahhh, I see." Dom responded.

"That does make sense." he said.

"Explains a lot, too." he added, before sighing.

"....and if the band IS aware she's a vampire, it makes sense why they're targeting her." he then reasoned.

"But if they know SHE'S a vampire, would they know Jaden's a dhampir?" he wondered aloud.

"Then we need to take control of it." Ryker replied.

"If no-one is safe, we need to change that." he reasoned.

"That necromancer has to go." he said.

"And I know you said that sometimes we need to let things happen, but not THIS time." he reasoned further.

"We need to be proactive."

"I... I see." Dom replied.

"Well, given the circumstances, that makes sense." he said.

"Proof of love." he added with a small smile.

"But that really flies under the radar, though." he added. "I didn't even smell that she was a vampire." he admitted. "I smelled her mana, and her hunter trait." he went on.

"...and something else." he then added.

"But I'm not at liberty to speak about that, I don't think."

"......" Dom continued to be silent for a moment, before he suddenly shook his head.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"Wait... wait, wait, wait." he said.

"Hold on a tic." he went on.

"Desiree's a vampire!?"

"They're serious, but they're single-minded." Dom replied.

"If I were to wager a guess, she might be a pawn for them to use, if they captured her." he said.

"If she's connected to Desiree or Jaden, then it strengthens that argument." he went on.

"I can't guarantee she's alive, or if she IS still alive, how much longer that will be for, but there IS a chance." he went on.

"We need to find them, and we need to do it NOW." he reasoned.

He then leaned back and looked to seriously be contemplating something.

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

"......what?" he asked.

"Are you... serious?" he asked her.

Sydney was silent and just nodded.

"Oh lord..." he muttered. "Oh, no. This... this isn't good." he said.

"I didn't think they'd go as far as THAT." he muttered. "That... yes, that's... actually a very real possibility." he told her. "May even be probable." he added.

"....hmmmmm." he then mumbled.

"Odds are she's still alive, though." he then said.

"....." Vincent was silent as Desiree left.

He then brought up his phone, and sent a text to Sydney.

We need to talk. it read.

More specifically, someone needs to talk to Dominico about the hunters that have shown up. he then sent.

It would seem that Kalin has gone missing, and they are prime suspects. he continued to send.

He may have insight on them. he finished, giving Sydney time to read and process, before responding. He didn't want to inundate her with texts, after all.

Vincent stopped and thought for a moment.

"....true." he said. "Dominico may have some insight into this." he agreed.

"Perhaps I need to pay him a bit of a visit..." he said further, more quietly this time.

"Regardless, I appreciate you telling me this." he then told her. "I'm glad you didn't try and hide it from me, or wait, or anything like that." he continued.

"Don't worry, we'll find her."

Vincent crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. He was still seething mad, but Desiree could tell that he was internalising it with everything he had at the moment.

".....hm." he mumbled.

"It's almost impossible to make some sort of plan, when we don't know anything about our foes." he commented. "We don't know how they think, what their decision-making process is, what sort of internal hierarchy system they have, or what sort of equipment they're outfitted with." he continued.

"Sadly, hunters like them have evolved over time, and we don't know if they have something that can... say, see through a glamour disguise." he went on.

"That would make it pointless to put a 'decoy you' out in public to be captured as a trojan horse." he continued further.

"And, assuming Kalin HAS been caught by the hunters, we don't know how far in their plans she has a presence. Are we on a set timer right now, or do necessary conditions need to be met?" he went on, gritting his teeth and strengthening his own grip on his arms.

"...damn it all." he growled.

"What we need is someone that knows how they think."

"Well, then whether or not it solves the current problem, destroying that necromancer seems like it'd be a good idea." Ryker replied, before the demon suddenly took over.

"Necromancers violate the sanctity of death. Whether one is in heaven or hell is irrelevant, necromancers mess with the dead, and deserve worse than that." he said, before giving control back to Ryker.

".....yeah." he muttered.

"He has some strong opinions on that." he mumbled further.

"But we'll do all we can to try and help. Even if it's nothing more than comforting you." he assured his brother.