Colin's posts

"Well, I happened to be in the neighbourhood." Vincent responded.

"...by that, I mean I was admitted here." he said.

"Came down with a case of what you had." he told her bluntly.

"...which is what I've come to talk to you about." he then said further as he approached her.

"No, I'm not mad at you, and no, I don't blame you." he quickly assured her. "But what you had was very serious." he informed her.

"A specialist needed to be called in."

Rene and Vincent had finished their discourse, and Rene left to tend to other patients. When Vincent had fended off the virus, and was given a perfect bill of health, he asked if he could see Madison.

It was agreed he could briefly see her, so he went to her room.

He sighed, and gently knocked on the door, opening it slowly.

"Madison?" he asked.

"You awake?"

"....I'll actually head to the hospital." Vincent replied.

"Make things easier." he said.

"I will talk to you later." he told her.

They then ended the conversation, and he sighed, before making plans for his hospital stay.

"This is true." Vincent agreed.

"...I feel so bad for her." he then sighed.

"It's clear she's not getting the care and love she deserves." he told Hollie.

"...but I digress. I won't hold you up any longer." he then said.

"Thank you for your help in this."

"Given what I've seen, yes." Vincent replied.

"The virus has stages, and she's nearing the end of the first stage." he said.

"The second stage is worse, but still treatable." he then mused further.

"So if he cannot make it out here until tomorrow, Madison will still be here." he assured her.

"...and this should prove once and for all if Madison has mana or not." he then added.

"Hollie, Madison has similar symptoms as I do." Vincent told her.

"And none of the doctors here have been able to diagnose what's wrong." he continued.

"Also, I started showing MY symptoms shortly after being in close proximity of her." he went on.

"I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this." he then told her.

"She's already been sick for a few days, Hollie." he finished, his tone having an underlying urgency to it.

"....all right, that IS a fair point." Ryker replied.

"But, I mean, this is a cafe IN dragon country." he said.

"The portions will definitely be larger than outside this place, but they might still be inadequate for dragon standards, if you know what I mean." he tried to explain.

"But cool. This needs to be cooked up, anyway." he reasoned as he seasoned the fish .

"Should be done pretty soon."

Ryker followed Eke, staying silent until they reached the room.

When they did, he made his way to the kitchenette, and started to cook some meat.

"Your date is just for a cafe." he said.

"They tend to be light on the actual food. Sandwiches and stuff tend to be overpriced and not filling, to say the least." he then muttered, seemingly from experience.

"So I'll make up something substantial for you to eat before you head out."

Even though Hollie couldn't see it, she just knew her brother was grimacing right now.

"....Calder, eh?" he finally responded.

"I see." he said.

"Very well." he muttered, obviously dissatisfied with this information.

"I will... make sure I see him." he told her, before there was another pause.

"Wait..." he said quietly.

"Wait a second..." he mumbled, realization in his tone.

"Hollie, when is Calder going to be in this area?" he asked her.

Vincent froze when he heard that.

"...excuse me?" he asked.

"That virus that targets active mana mages, and eats away at said mana?" he asked her.

When she confirmed, she heard him smack his own forehead.

"I am an idiot, why didn't I think of that!?" he exclaimed.

"Very well, that would be in my best interest." he said further.

"Any recommendations for a mage doctor?" he then asked her.

Ryker just shrugged.

"Just trying to stray away from that." he said... before smirking.

"But if you miss it....." he went on, trailing off some and slipping close to Eke.

"I COULD say that she'll find a fancied up Eke positively adorable." he commented in a teasing tone.

"How about that?" he asked, gently nudging Eke's side.

"Feeling a little under the weather." Vincent replied.

"Almost like a flu? Kind of?" he said further.

"But at the same time, not." he went on, before pausing.

"If that makes sense." he said.

"Medication for flu symptoms doesn't seem to be working, though." he then lamented.

The fact that this was happening to her was very concerning to Vincent.

So much so, that he had confided this to his sister, and they had spoken briefly about it.

However, after about a week or so, the woman noticed that she'd not heard from her brother over the phone on the day he said he would call her.

And when she called him, his voice sounded horrid.

"Hello?" he said, before pausing.

"Oh, sorry Hollie, I forgot I was supposed to call you."

"Indeed." he responded.

"For now, concentrate on recovering." he told her.

"You need to get back to full strength, after all." he said.

"You still plan to give me those two reports." he chuckled.

"Though I'll understand if they're a little late." he added with a smile.