Colin's posts

Ryker crossed his arms over his chest when Eke clutched at his jacket.

"Well?" he asked.

"You've come this far." he told him.

"You gonna go the whole nine yards?" he asked further.

He then looked at the puddles of sludge, and cringed.

"Eesh." he muttered.

"Like tar pits." he said.

"..............." he was silent for a moment, looking at the orb.

"I..." he stammered.

"All right..." he said further.

He then reached out, and gingerly grabbed the orb. As soon as he did, it dissipated and absorbed into him, and the woman saw his eyes flood with clarity.

"I... I..." he stammered.

"Wow." he said.

"I... I know what to do. Where to go. Who to speak to." he said, almost like he was talking to himself.

"...and I have a long journey ahead of me."

"I suppose so." he replied.

"But that's the thing." he said.

"I don't know what to say, who to speak to, or what to do." he told her.

"If I DID know these things, I would go and see what could be done." he continued.

"But I have no knowledge of any of those things. I am completely ignorant about where I can go, who to speak to, what to say, all that." he continued, growing visibly agitated now.

"I don't even have an inkling as to where to start." he went on.

"And so badly, I wish I did..." he then finished in a defeated tone.

Ryker just pinched the bridge of his nose when Eke said what he did, and laughed as he did.

"Hm." he mumbled.

'Let him have this.' he told himself.

'He's belittling you.' the other voice told him.

'Shut up.' Ryker replied.

'He's got attitude and lip now, thinking he's all that suddenly. the voice said further.

'Don't need to hear this. Not from you.' Ryker replied mentally, gnashing his teeth subtly.

".....fair enough." he replied.

"...." he was then silent for a moment, before sighing.

"I remember a time when we Ramaarin were accepted by humanity." he then said. "Where it didn't matter what you were, respect was something that was just a given." he went on.

"I thought I'd found a place that I could deal with... but I had to leave... the very life of a child depended on it. If I stayed, she would have surely died." he told her.

"Then I was taken in by... well... a drow." he sighed, continuing his story.

"But by the time I knew she was a drow, she'd had her hooks in me already." he went on. "I only escaped because I managed to shed the control when I finished my cycle." he informed her.

"....I'm becoming rather beaten down by it all." he then admitted.

The man was silent, before sighing and sitting in the chair.

"Thank you." he said.

"You're very kind." he told her.

He then leaned forward, and seemed to stare at the floor.

"....this won't be very permanent though, as you said." he commented.

"I've yet to find somewhere to really call home." he went on, looking out one of the windows.

"How long will this place be safe, do you think?" he then asked her.

Ryker had almost said something, but kept his trap shut.

'Let him do this.' he thought to himself.

'This is something that he needs to do for himself.' he reasoned.

He then continued as well, staying about half a step behind Eke.

"You got this." he told him confidently.

"Don't need to let him out." Ryker assured Eke.

"He just told me that he knows people that deal in demon magic and such." he went on.

"That's all..." he assured him further.

"By the way, hella nice charisma back there." he then said further, changing the subject.

"That discount was pretty deep."

The man sighed when she said what she did.

"It's still appreciated." he said.

"Seriously, I can count the number of people that have been genuinely kind to me throughout my life on... both my hands." he admitted.

"Life isn't easy for one such as me, as you can see." he went on.

"Why are you helping me?" he then asked.

"Not that I doubt you or anything, but the last one that tried to help me ended up enslaving me for a long while." he muttered, remembering Vanessa.

"Hm." Ryker muttered.

"Well, I don't know much about others that know about demon magic." he admitted.

"But... well... the other me would, more than likely." he went on.

'Oh, hell yeah!' rang through his head, causing him to just sigh heavily.

"Seems so." he muttered.

"Reeeeeeally don't like having two voices in my head." he told Eke.

The man looked out even further, and she could see that he had faint green scaly skin.

Instantly, she knew what he was.

"Help?" he asked.

"If you could just tell me of a place where someone like me can be safe, then that would be a massive help." he told her.

"As you can see, I can't be seen in public, and whenever my cycle ends, someone always sees me." he growled further.

"But... you really don't mean me any harm?" he then asked her.

The cat continued to sniff at whatever was there, but then backed off somewhat, as a face peered out slightly from behind the dumpster.

"....that's a first in a long while." the man said.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"And I don't mean the cat." he then said. "I mean in this alley." he clarified.

"This is a dead-end alley that barely gets any usage. Nobody has any need to check down here for any reason." he said further.

"How did you find me?"

As soon as she entered the alley, everything went dead silent.

However, she noticed two things.

The first one was a small jar lid that had just finished rolling out from somewhere, and had settled on the ground.

The second one was a stray feline. It was adult and seemed to be doing well for itself, but it was definitely interested in SOMETHING in the alley.

Something that was hiding behind the side of a dumpster.

As she walked, she heard more and more whispers about the mysterious being.

She heard wild rumours, lies, and speculation, but there was one thing that all she heard had in common... they all thought it was a monster, and were mobilizing to kill him.

Eventually, she was able to piece together all the info.

It seemed that a human-like reptilian had been spotted, and was rumoured to be seeking refuge in an abandoned and decaying cereal factory in the nearby industrial district.

Also, from what she could piece together, the creature was actually docile and non-threatening... not that anyone was picking up on THAT...