Colin's posts

"........hm." Illias muttered.

"Well, uh... hm." he muttered again.

"I mean, I guess I can always use a hand with this stuff, but... are you qualified to do so?" he asked.

"The only other person I know that works here, that would be fit to deal with all these ingredients and experiments is... well... Kiah." he commented.

"I mean, if you know your way around the lab and such, then by all means, I would appreciate the extra hands." he then quickly added.

"I'm not trying to insult or anything, I just don't want to make assumptions." he clarified.

"...........wow." Illias mumbled.

"That's... fantastic!" he said.

"Seriously, that's... that's wonderful!" he commented.

"Thank you SO much." he then said to her.

"Without you, this wouldn't have been possible." he went on. "And you have my deepest eternal gratitude."

Illias paused for a moment, and looked at her.

"Phoenix...?" he asked.

"OH!" he then exclaimed.

"Are you referring to Lindsay Fyrane?" he asked her.

"Kiah's told me about him in the past. And he's the only one I can think of that could be described as a 'phoenix friend'." he added with a light chuckle.

Lindsay returned the hug, and watched as she left.

"...." he was silent, before his eyes widened, and his face turned a little red.

He'd just realized Syraene had still been there, and he hadn't noticed.

She'd seen him naked.

Which... in the grand scheme of things, wasn't TOO bad. She'd seen him naked before long ago in the past, but those were different circumstances, and he'd grown to have a bit of modesty since becoming his own person.

Another second later, the life left Lindsay's body, and he collapsed to the ground. And yet another few seconds later, his body was engulfed in flames, with his body turning to ashes, and him rising up from them.

"....right then." he said.

"I am SO thankful for these specialty clothes that are flame retardant." he went on. "...to the nth degree..." he then mumbled, putting them back on.

"....wonder what's going to happen to the world..." he then mused quietly.

Lindsay nodded.

"Yeah, sure." he said.

"I'll let them know you're at the Unit." he told her.

He then sighed, and looked at his hands.

"....can you do me a favour though?" he then asked.

"My hands and arms are really REALLY paining me." he commented.

"Would you mind killing me?"

"Well, it's understandable." Lindsay replied.

"It... well... it needs actual magma, and if it's grown without the presence of it, you get a pale and insulting imitation of it." he reasoned.

"At any rate, I will be back soon." he told her, before getting up and taking a few steps back. Once he did, he disappeared in a burst of flames.

He was gone for close to 10 minutes, before Syaene saw him return. His hands looked to be a lot redder than usual, but he had a special glass jar filled with the plant she had requested.

"All right, I managed to grab a good amount." he told her when he saw her.

"....Magmoss?" Lindsay asked.

"......yeah. Yeah, sure." he said.

"I can get some of it." he told her, before sighing.

"It's going to hurt quite a bit, but I know you don't ask for something like this lightly." he then went on.

"I'll go and get it right now. Will you still be here waiting for me, or is there a place you want me to meet you?" he asked her.

Lindsay looked over to her as she spoke to him, and it was obvious he was surprised.

"Oh, miss Syraene." he said.

"I... never would have expected a visit from you." he commented, putting the book down.

"....and you need my help?" he then asked. "All right, that's... more than a little surprising as well." he said further.

"Sure, I'll help." he told her.

"What do you need me for?" he asked.

Ryker noticed that the floor seemed to be trying to pull Eke under, but he said nothing.

No words were needed.

He merely tightened his muscles a little, so that Eke could feel it. He was showing Eke that he could be a pillar for him if need be.

He would be there to support him.

No matter what.

"He's out in the backyard." Ash told her.

"Pretty much trying to come to terms with his sudden desire to do all the things and read all the books." he chuckled.

"Basically, marvelling at his lack of need to sleep." he shrugged.

"I can get him if you want, or you can get him, and I'll contact Ashley to get working on collecting this list." he then offered, looking at the paper and copying the ingredients down on another piece of paper.

"Either one works for me."

Ryker was silent for a moment, before he draped an arm over Eke's shoulders.

"Listen." he said.

"I don't doubt that this is frightening for you." he told him. "And I can't imagine how you truly feel." he went on.

"However... you can't keep letting your condition weigh you down." he continued.

"If you keep worrying about it... it'll eventually just consume you... in all ways." he went on.

"Please don't regret things beyond your control, Eke." he then finished.

"....well, you'll need Lindsay for that." Ash replied.

"Magmoss grows literally IN magma, and Lindsay's the only one that'll be able to survive grabbing it." he told her.

"Beyond that, Ashley and I should be able to divvy the rest of these up and get them within... 24 hours." he then said.

"Basically, we'll split hemispheres, and each go for half of the list." he reasoned.

"That work?" he asked.

"....I don't know." Ryker responded.

"That's something YOU know." he told Eke, as he held him close.

"Close your eyes... block out all this noise and darkness that's surrounding you... and listen to your heart." he told him further.

"Your heart knows the way." he assured him further.

'...please, Eke...' he thought.

'Please... your heart surely knows you deserve to be happy...'