Colin's posts

"Well... out in the open? No." Jake replied.

"Which is to say, speaking so freely outside this building, or with people you're unsure about, is a VERY bad idea." he confirmed.

"But inside these walls? Perfectly safe." he said.

"We have all kinds here, as you know." he continued.

"People know what I am here, and they're fine with it. There's nothing to hide from the people of the Unit." he went on.

"Hell, there's a country here named Ireland, where the whole populace is aware of mages and non-humans, and they're fine with it." he continued.

"Well... 95% of the country is aware of it, anyway." he added.

"And they're the exception, as far as whole countries go..." he mumbled.

"But I hope you get my point."

Aly spent the time cleaning the living room, and cleaning other areas around as well.

Ryker was actually about 30 minutes late, and when he stepped inside, he was soaking wet, and clutching at a plastic bag, with a smaller paper bag inside.

"Ugh." he grunted.

"This weather is the pits." he grumbled, before sniffing the air.

"Eh?" he muttered.

"What smells so good?" he wondered aloud.

Jake just nodded in response.

"All right." he replied.

"Thanks." he told her.

He then paused for a moment, looking her over.

"...you all right?" he asked.

"You still seem a bit... nervous and uneasy..." he commented.

"Did I put you on the spot or something?"

Jake just smiled.

"Mostly curiosity." he said.

"That and a little bit of loneliness." he then admitted.

"Last I had contact with another Ramaarin was... close to 15 years ago." he told her.

"And one gets a bit lonely for ones own kind sometimes." he went on.

"I just wanted to be sure as to whether or not I'd found someone I could truly relate to."

"It's... so rare I find another one of myself." he told her.

"Another Ramaarin." he went on.

"But... but ARE you one, as well?" he then asked.

"You smell so similar to one, but... different." he said.

"And your writing is extremely similar to the Ramaarin written language, but... different." he continued.

"Are you akin to me?"

"I'm not human, either." Jake replied.

"And MY species is... well... we're endangered, at least." he muttered.

"...and I ask, because... well..." he then mumbled further, before sighing.

"Because this." he said.

He was then silent, before closing his eyes tightly for about 3 seconds... and when he opened them up, Violet saw his golden eyes with reptilian vertical slits for pupils.

Jake shook his head.

"No, no." he replied.

"At least, pretty sure nothing's wrong." he then said.

"Depends on how you take this next question." he added, before taking a small breath, holding it a moment, and exhaling.

"You're... not human, are you?"

"Sure." Jake replied.

"In a minute." he then said.

"Just set your books down on the desk for a bit, give your arms a rest." he then suggested.

"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about for a bit." he admitted further.

Aly responded by nodding.

"Of course." she replied.

"I'll go do that now." she told him.

She then gave him a kiss on his cheek, before heading off to go and clean.

"....damn it all." he muttered.

"Why? Why is this happening? And how can it be so foreign, yet so damn familiar?" he asked himself.

Over the next few days, Violet came and went as she pleased, and Jake continued to puzzle over the feelings that were swelling up in his mind... until something just seemed to click.

Something finally fell into place, and it caused him to have some clarity... but at the same time, it confused him even MORE.

"...that... can it be?" he asked himself.

He knew Violet was currently out, running some errands and probably going to the library again, so he decided that he was going to test this theory of his when she returned.

Aly returned the kiss, and smiled.

"Well, I thought I'd be helpful and make sure all the prep work was done." she said.

"Help speed things up a bit." she went on.

"Of course, I mostly just did the vegetables..." she then admitted, looking at what had been done.

"Regardless, feel better after your shower?" she asked him.

Jake watched her step into the building, before sighing and going back to his paper.

"Ugh." he grunted.

"Never did like the smell of her mana." he said to himself.

'But what was it about that Violet girl...?' he then thought.

'She smelled... familiar. That writing... it looked... familiar. Somehow.' he thought further, as he started to puzzle over this mystery that had presented itself to him.

"...damn it, I'm gonna lose sleep over this, aren't I?" he then asked the air, groaning lightly.

"......." Jake was silent and inwardly grimaced a little, before sighing.

"No." he replied.

"She's new here." he told her.

"She and her brother are kinda... well, marooned here, so the Unit is putting them up until they can get some semblance of a life together." he explained.

"She's just on her way to the library down the street." he then added.

He tongue then darted out a couple of times, before he pushed the button.

"Go on it, then." he told her.

".........." Jake was silent as he saw the writing, before nodding.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." he said.

"I'll let him know if he comes hunting you out." he told her.

"Have fun at the library." he went on.

"Oh, and they don't allow you to take books out of the special section." he added.

"Just an FYI."