Colin's posts

Jaden looked at Sydney, and thought for a moment.

"...hm." he mumbled.

"That... yeah, that would make sense." he admitted.

"...well, glad YOU two seem to know what's going on." Dom commented.

"Regardless... yeah, that's what happened." he sighed.

"I'm sorry it came to that." he apologised.

"...." Jaden was just silent, before shaking his head.

"Well... I DID survive the explosion, obviously." Dom replied. "But... barely." he said.

"From what I recall, I was trying to get to the actual house, but I collapsed on my way. I was ready to die then and there." he told them. "But... I was saved." he then said.

"By whom?" Jaden inquired.

"....I can't remember." Dom admitted. "I was not in the right state of mind, and when I came to, they were gone."

"I... yeah, I guess so..." Jaden replied quietly.

"Anyway, continuing on." Dom chimed in, clearing his throat a bit.

"I could tell that I was being followed, so I shifted course and took them down another path. I knew there was an abandoned cabin that was a bit close to where we lived, but I needed to keep up the illusion that I was unaware they were there, and too drastic of a change would have aroused their suspicions." he reasoned.

"....hm." Jaden muttered.

"So I went to the cabin and stepped inside... which was then they struck. I was ready for them, however, and managed to avoid some of the damage they would have dealt to me." Dom continued. "That being said, 4 hunters against 1 is NOT a fair fight, and they were prepared for anything and everything." he said further.

"Meaning what, exactly?" Jaden asked.

"Well, to cut a long story short, one of them had... well, bombs, essentially." Dom responded. "Which meant that they were willing to blow up our house, and us inside it." Dom told them. "However, I needed to stop them. They were a bit much for me, so I did the one thing I could think of... I got close to the one they had designated as the carrier for them... and... I set them off prematurely." he regaled.

"...so you blew them up, as well as the cabin." Jaden said quietly.

".....if I were to wager a guess, the resulting explosion caused your mother to make the decision of hastily fleeing with you." Dom surmised.

"Which... to be fair, was what I was hoping for."

"TELL her that." Ryker responded.

"I'm serious. Sit her down, look her in the eyes, and TELL her that, in those words." he said.

"I'm starting to learn that you need to be your own person, and you're stronger than we give you credit for." he told him. "We might not be related, but we ARE brothers, and part of my being your younger brother is learning that sometimes you need to do things on your own, for better or for worse." he continued.

"So... I think that if you tell her what you just told me, she'll understand." he went on.

"You just need to make sure she knows that. And she knows that you will always care for her and love her." he continued.

"That's all. Just be open and frank, and give as many details as you are comfortable giving. And tell her not to try and pry for information like her and I have been doing recently." he added.

"All right?"

"....smell mana?" Jaden asked.

"Yes." Dom replied.

"I... always thought that was a weird thing with dhampirs." Jaden then said.

"Nope." Dom responded.

"It's literally something you inherited from me." he confirmed.

"...wow..." Jaden mumbled.

"I wonder if that explains some of the self-loathing I used to feel..." he then wondered aloud.

Dom nodded in response.

"Right." he said.

"Well... where to start..." he then muttered, gathering his thoughts.

"Éliás..." he addressed his son, but stopped. "Sorry, Jaden." he corrected himself. "You wouldn't remember this, as you were so young at the time, but your mother can tell you that when we were still living together as a family, it was a bit of a dangerous time." he said.

"In what way...?" Jaden asked.

"Well, the thought of other species and beings not all being bad was still a fledgeling idea, and those like me that had learned the truth were considered traitors to the cause." Dom explained. "And those like me that had received a gift or blessing, as they were called, were expected to uphold the beliefs and such, so it would have been a bigger fiasco if I were to have been found out" he continued.

"Anyway, I remember it so well. Painfully well. I was out gathering information, as your mother and I knew that there was a strong chance that we would need to make ourselves scarce. Rumours were spreading, and some of them, frighteningly so, had truth to them." he continued.

"I knew that within a week, we would all be discovered. So I needed to gather the two of you and we needed to flee. So I was making my way back to the modest little place we had... but as I neared it, I realised that if I went any further, I would be condemning us all." he went on.

"How...?" Jaden asked.

"I realised I was being followed. If I hadn't suddenly smelled the scent of tobacco on one of them... I would surely have led them straight to you." Dom explained.

Jade froze again when Sydney spoke, essentially exposing him.

Dom, meanwhile, just sighed.

"It's simple." he replied.

"Some hunters learn their lesson." he said.

"They learn that perhaps things aren't as black and white as we're led to believe." he went on.

"Surely you know of someone like that?" he asked knowingly.

Jaden just looked to the side, and bit his lip slightly.

"......yeah." he replied with a small smile.

"..." Dom was silent for a moment, and nodded.

"I'll get a mug of it." he told her.

"Just give me a sec, and I'll tell all to you both." he then said to them.

With that, he started to make himself up a mug, as Jaden looked at Sydney.

He was silent, but she knew what the look he was giving her meant.

Is... this real? He's really my father...?

"....." Jaden was silent, and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"...all right... I'll rephrase..." he said.

"Why have you decided to come back into our lives NOW?" he asked.

"...mostly because I JUST managed to find you." Dom replied.

"Also, a lot of other, smaller circumstances, piling up on each other." he then added.

"..." Jaden was silent again for a moment, before sinking deeper into his chair.

"So why'd you leave us in the first place?"

"..." Ryker was silent for a moment.

"It's... well... actually it's what you're BOTH doing wrong." he told him.

"It's clear that some serious shit is happening in your life, and it's something that seems to be unique to you. I think she senses you're still keeping things from us, and that worries her." he continued.

"However, YOU need to tell her that, while there are things you're not telling us, she needs to learn that everyone has their secrets, and that she and I don't deserve to know EVERY SINGLE thing that goes on in your brain." he went on.

"She's worried about you, and it's making her emotional. You need to let her know that it's okay to be emotional, but she doesn't need to coddle you like I used to do." he then said further.

"I know you. When you want our help, you'll ask for it. But you need to let HER know that. And you need to let her know that her being there is a help to you as well." he told Eke.

"At least, I assume it still it." he then added with a shrug.

Again, Jaden froze.

"Wh-wh-what!?" he exclaimed.

"Indeed. It's true." Dom confirmed.

"Then we need to STOP them!" Jaden insisted angrily.

"The Head of the Council knows." Dom replied. "She'll do everything she can to try and stop this before it gets out of hand." he assured him. "So will I." he added.

"...wait, what?" Jaden asked.

"Yes." Dom said. "And we still have a few days before they arrive, anyway." he added.

"Ok, fine, but... why would YOU help?" Jaden then asked pointedly.

When Aly heard the door upstairs slam, she quietly sobbed to herself, before sending a text to someone.

Within about a minute, while Eke was still up in his room, he heard a voice coming from his window... which was odd, seeing as he WAS up another story.

"Yo." Ryker said, hands crossed over his chest as he seemed to hover right close to the window.

"Looks like there's some trouble in paradise." he commented.

"Care to share?"

Jaden's jaw would have dropped to the floor if physics would have allowed it.

"F-F-F-F-Father!?" he exclaimed.

"Yes." Dom replied. "I'm your father." he confirmed.

"It's nice to finally see you again, Éliás." he said. "Or 'Jaden', as you seem to go by, now." he then added.

Jaden was silent for another moment, before shaking his head vigorously.

"...why the hell are you here!?" he demanded.

"To see my family." Dom responded.

".........ok, but WHY?" Jaden asked, clearly a little unimpressed.

When she pulled Jaden's hat off, his long blonde hair came flowing out from beneath it.

"Woah!" Jaden exclaimed, trying to get his had back... and failing.

Dom, meanwhile, just laughed.

"Yep!" he said. "He sure did." he agreed.

"Looks good in my hair as well." he added.

Jaden then ceased his attempts to get his hat back, and looked at Dom.

"....YOUR hair?" he asked.