Colin's posts

There was silence for about a minute, before she received a response.

Hello, Desiree. the first one read.

I'd be happy to answer any and all questions that I can about you and your family. the next one read.

Please let me know when you would like to meet, and the address you would like to meet at. the last one said.

They were short, but respectful, and seemed genuinely friendly.

"I do." Jaden replied with a nod.

"...and I don't know." he replied.

"I just... don't know." he said.

"Mom has her own life now. But she's always wondered about him, it seems." he told her.

"Maybe she wants it. Maybe not." he continued.

"But he IS staying with her for now." he added with a small shrug.

"He said it was entirely up to you, and he'd understand if you said 'no'." Jaden replied.

"......" he was then silent, as Desiree's cat jumped onto the couch and walked onto her lap.

"He's... a good guy." the dhampir said offhandedly.

"Like... he seems really nice." he continued.

"...he brought himself to the point of near-death to save my mother and I from a threat we didn't even know was coming." he then told her.

"I always thought my father was some deadbeat nobody that abandoned us." he admitted, his lip quivering a bit.

"...turns out he was the opposite..."

".....he said he could tell you all you wanted to know." Jaden then informed her.

"But he doesn't want to intrude. He gave me his number to give to you, and you could contact him if you wanted information." he told her further, handing her a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

"It's a cell, so you can text." he assured her.

"...but be careful going out." he went on.

"He showed up because it seems there's a group of hunters making their way in this direction."

"Seems he's sworn to secrecy on that." Jaden replied.

"However, Mom and I have... theories." he told her.

"Just... suffice to say, I think him and Vincent might have a few things in common. But that's beside the point." he went on, clearing his throat a little.

"Yes. I... met my father. My actual real biological father." he confirmed.

"And I learned a lot from him." he continued, before pausing.

"....one of those things being that he knew YOUR father..." he added quietly.

Ryker had a large number of emotions and feelings running through him.

But he did his best to keep it all in check.

Instead, he took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled.

"All right..." he muttered.

"What the hell did you call me for, then?" he asked.

"Do you want help?" he asked him. "And if so, how can I do that?"

Through some absolute miracle, Eke's cell still had service... but if he were to look at the bars he had for signal strength, he would see that he was practically running on empty.

Thankfully, Ryker DID pick up the phone.

"Yo." he answered.

"Sup with the spelunking?" he asked.

"Find anything neat?" he asked further, before pausing and hearing Eke's laboured breathing.

"....you... okay?" he then asked, concern in his tone now.

"....I see." Jaden replied.

"That's fair." he said. "I can understand your reasoning behind that." he told her.

"Anyway, that's not even the most surprising this." he then said.

"Yes, I learned that my hunter's trait came from my father." he continued, before pausing a moment, bracing himself, and then sighing quietly.

"....and I learned it from the man, himself."

"Right." Jaden said.

"Well, I learned something." he told her.

"I learned that we have more in common than I thought, though YOU were probably aware of it for a long time." he commented, sighing quietly.

"I have... well... a hunter trait." he said.

"My ability to effectively smell mana is... a hunter's trait." he went on.

"I'm the son of a Hunter."

"Eke!" Ryker called out.

"....damn you, Eke." he growled.

"I give you the answer, and you throw it back at me." he said.

"But fine. Whatever. It's your decision to make." he then mumbled to himself, before rising back onto the roof, on a pair of demonic-like ethereal wings that had formed behind him.

He then sat down on the roof, and continued to meditate.

He needed to prepare his body.

Jaden was silent, before nodding.

"Yeah." he said.

"It was... interesting. And enlightening." he went on.

"Though the most interesting part has to do with YOU." he continued, before pausing.

"All right, I worded that poorly." he admitted. "However, some things came up, and you'll be interested to know them." he told her.

"Got time to sit and listen?" he asked.

Dom and Jaden watched Sydney go into the portal, before they looked at each other.

"I suppose we have catching up to do." Jaden said.

"...suppose so." Dom agreed.

And so they did. They talked for a few hours, before the subject of Desiree came up, and more discussion was had, though it was more about her. They decided that, since Dom knew about Desiree's father, it may be beneficial for her and him to meet, though Dom stressed it would be on HER terms.

They then parted ways, and Jaden returned to the place he shared with Desiree.

"...hey, Desiree?" Jaden called out, looking around as the portal he'd made closed behind him.

"You home!?" he asked, wondering if she could hear him or not, assuming she was home, still.

"Trust me, even with MY sense of smell, there was guesswork involved." Dom responded.

"And technically, I don't even exist." he added.

"I'm sorry?" Jaden muttered, clearly confused.

"I'm on a special force that works for the Council. We do things for the Head that... well... need to be done, and they need to be done quickly, and quietly." he continued.

"So... you're in a Special Ops team? Like a stealth operative?" Jaden asked.

"Basically." Dom confirmed.

"....not gonna lie, that sounds badass as all get-out." Jaden admitted quietly.

"....." Dom was silent for a moment.

"As long as I'm allowed to." he said.

"...what does that mean, exactly?" Jaden asked.

"Well... it can mean two things." Dom admitted.

"If I can talk to my boss and have it that I'm stationed here." he told them. "But... it's Sydney's house." he went on, gesturing to the vampire.

"I leave when she kicks me out."