Colin's posts

The attendant started to make notes, nodding as he did so.

"Mmhmm, mmhmm." he mumbled.

"After... a month." he said.

"Now, what sort of improvements are we looking for?" he asked.

"Which is to say, what is the absolute minimum amount of improvement we're looking for, to avoid disposing of him?" he then clarified.

"Also, I assume you won't be dirtying your hands if he IS deemed to be a failure?"

The youth immediately clammed up and cowered, crawling into a ball and trying to be as submissive as possible.

The attendant there just sighed.

"He does." they agreed.

"A number of times he turned like this." they said further.

"As expected, he is very vulnerable to cold... though he apparently can take a little bit more than is the norm, at least as far as our data says." they told Vanessa further.

"But yes, he needs to work on it." he went on.

"I assume you mean to issue him the usual spartan training regime we have applied to the boy?" he then asked her.

"........" Jake was silent as the door was closed behind them.

"Very well." he sighed.

-Some time later-

By the time Vanessa returned, both Jake and the child had finished their tolerance training, and Jake was definitely doing the worst of the two.

He was laying on the floor, barely moving, barely breathing.

For all intents and purposes, he looked like he was in actual medical shock.

"....is he all right?" the child asked quietly.

Jake instinctively brought his arms up, and crossed them over his chest. He found himself shivering slightly, and had to clamp his mouth shut to stop his teeth from chattering.

"W-wow." he said.

"It's... pretty cold in here." he said further, looking around.

"Wait..." he then muttered.

"I'm supposed to swim in this cold?" he asked.

Ryker was silent, but returned the hug.

"At least there's that." he said.

"I'm glad for it." he told him.

"Seriously, all that matters is that you're all right." he went on.

"You have me a real scare back there."

Jake nodded in response.

"All right." he replied.

"Swimming it is." he said, as he started to follow her.

"....." he was then silent, as he followed Vanessa, but certain things nagged at his mind.

What kind of swimming? Why was it an order? Why was he still there?

Or... at they would nag at his mind, were he not focused on pleasing and paying back Vanessa. But he knew he could never do so. She had saved his life. She was kind and generous.

He would stay there forever to pay her back.

".....you can't?" Ryker asked.

"...that's... not good." he said.

"I wonder if we can fix that..." he muttered further.

"But... uh... hm." he then mumbled.

"Is... is whatever was bothering you gone now?" he asked hesitantly.

Jake had originally intended to leave after he'd paid his debt to Vanessa.

But more and more, he was feeling like his debt would never be paid. He felt he should never leave, as Vanessa's kindness could never truly be paid back.

But he felt he had to try.

Even though he was doing things that he would normally be morally against, it didn't seem to matter to him. All that mattered was trying to pay Vanessa back.

After all, he belonged here. The outside world had rejected him. This was his home, and he'd never had anything like it before in the past... at least, that was what he thought.

When he heard her approaching, he looked towards her, and immediately stood at attention when she got closer, awaiting her to tell him what to do.

The man nodded.

"Of course." he replied.

"Thank you." he told her.

With that, he scurried away quickly and obediently.

He was certainly devoted to her... something that was getting rarer and rarer for her... at least, as far as a volunteer basis went.

But she had a Ramaarin again... something she was not expecting, but wouldn't certainly complain.

She knew that as the man she'd taken in slept, by morning, it would be too late for him.

Instantly, the male perked up.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he responded enthusiastically.

He then turned around and stepped out of her way.

"You first, as always." he said to her.

"Any plans for the lizard?" he then asked.

"Any jobs you have for him to do right away?"

The man was silent, and nodded.

"Yes, mistress." he replied.

"I am devoted to you, and only you." he told her.

"You are my everything. All I do is for you, and only you." he continued.

"There anything I can do for you right now?" he then asked her.

Eke lay there crying for a couple of minutes, before Ryker stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh, for crying out loud..." he grumbled.

"So frail." he said, grabbing a bottle of water and walking towards Eke.

"Thank me for this later." he growled, before the darkness around Ryker disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal.

"....Eke?" he asked, his voice back to being normal.

"Eke, you're crying... what did he do to you?" he asked him.

The man just shrunk a little.

"So the hold's weakened a little." he said.

"...either that, or I'm building up a small tolerance to it." he went on.

"What difference does it make to you?" he then asked. "You know I've devoted my life to you, and you are my everything." he told her further, a hint of a dreamy tone to his voice.

"And... a Ramaarin?" he asked.

"Oooh, excellent." he said further.

"Been a while since you had one of THEM under your employ." he commented.

"Quite the prize to catch." he chuckled.

His smirk faded, and he looked deadly serious.

"Good." he replied.

He then jolted his hand forward, grabbing Eke's black hand, and squeezing it tightly.

As soon as he did so, Eke immediately felt like he was going to throw up again. His guts felt like they were being twisted and knotted in various ways, but he also noticed that the vision was slowly returning to his eye. As his vision cleared, he then saw that the blackness on his hand was slowly disappearing, seemingly being sucked into the hand that had grasped his own.

The whole ordeal lasted for close to 5 minutes, before it was gone, and he let go of Eke's hand.

"Now, then." he said.

"You threw up some of that in the bathroom earlier, yes?" he asked.

"I need to draw it out of the piping system here, lest the entire building succumb to it."' he told Eke with a smile, before turning and heading into the bathroom.

"I'd advise hydrating yourself ASAP!" Eke then heard him call out.