Colin's posts

"I'm used to stress." Jake responded.

"Trust me, I can take a lot of crap." he assured her. "So I should be able to handle whatever they throw at me." he said confidently.

"And if it ever gets too much... well... hm." he mumbled.

"If there's any bodies of water nearby, I can go there and swim my frustrations out." he continued.

"And heaven help any creature that would see me as prey." he added ominously.

"....yeah." Jake muttered.

"I doubt we'd make friendly bedfellows." he said.

"It may be best for me to stay here." he admitted.

"I DO appreciate the offer, though." he then assured her.

"I'll keep it in mind if I need to get away from HIM for any length of time."

"I can already understand that." Jake said.

"Seriously. Already I feel like I know what you mean." he sighed.

"I don't want him to have any ammo to use on you." he told her.

"Odds are I'll be staying here, though." he went on.

"I really don't have any other place to go." he lamented quietly.

"Not since someone caught me trying to get rid of my shedding." he mumbled.

"Looked like people that were spoiling for a fight." Ryker replied.

"Like, ready to just haul off on anyone." he said further.

"And a few drug-dealer-looking fellas." he went on.

"Anyway, how are you doing?" he then asked Eke.

"You feeling better now that you've eaten?"

Jake just sighed.

"Well, I commend you on it." he replied.

"He is absolutely infuriating." he told her.

"Just... at least I'm not outside on the run." he then sighed again, before sitting down near Sydney.

"And I can see why you'd like hunts." he commented.

"The thrill and accomplishment of it all." he smiled.

"By the way, did I pull off corroborating your lie decently?" he then asked her.

Jake watched her go, and sighed, before he and the boss were left alone.

About 45 minutes later, in the lounge, Sydney was sitting on one of the couches, alone in the room, when she saw Jake step into the room as well.

And he looked exasperated.

"Ugh." he groaned.

"I don't know HOW you put up with him." he said to her, making his way over.

"Every time he speaks, I just want to punch him in the stomach so hard, he vomits up his lunch from 2 days ago." he muttered further.

The man made an unimpressed sound.

"Whatever." he said.

He then dug into a desk drawer, and tossed Sydney an envelope.

'Take it." he told her.

"The new recruit and I have business to discuss." he said further.

"So go. Scram!" he then ordered her.

"....a spar?" the man asked.

"Yeah." Jake replied.

"I was set to take down that beast myself, but she got there before me, so we ended up having a bit of a spar to determine who got the rights to it." he said further.

"It was her." he went on, knowing where Sydney was going with the lie.

Immediately, the man looked surprised, shocked, and impressed.

"I see." he responded.

"Well, we can always use another hard-working and talented hunter." he said, seeming to believe what they had fed him.

"................" Ryker was silent as he watched Eke tear into the fish.

"Ah..." he stammered.

"Right." he said.

"See, you needed to get inside." he told Eke.

"Besides, there seemed to be a lot of... questionable individuals... around." he said further.

"I... I see." Jake responded.

"Lovely." he muttered.

With that, the two of them made their way to where the boss's office was, with Sydney knocking on the door.

"This had better be good." a gruff voice growled from the other side.

"Unless it's good news, scram!" he ordered.

Sydney merely stepped inside, with Jake following.

"At least you completed the bounty." the man at the desk said to her in a low, restrained tone.

Jake stepped inside and quickly followed Sydney, catching a quick glance at the one that had been manning the door.

"Hmph." they grunted.

"Think you're soooooo good." they growled, locking the door.

"Really need to be taken down a peg or five." they grumbled further.

"...hm." Jake mumbled.

"I assume you two don't get along so well." he said to Sydney.

"Hey." Ryker responded quickly, as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Got supplies." he said.

"Meat. Fish. Some drinks. Sweets. Managed to grab quite a bit." he told him.

"Managed to avoid them chasing me, too." he went on.

"Guess it's a busy retail day, I was barely noticed."

He was laying down for close to 20 minutes, before he heard a knock on the door.

"....Eke?" he heard on the other side of the door.

"You in there?" the voice, obviously Ryker, asked.

Ryker was silent as he stood on the other end of the door, looking around.

'...hope this is right...' he thought to himself.

'I reeeeeally hope this is the right room.'

"Hmph." the person responded.

"This won't save you from the boss's wrath." they told her, as they heard clinking and clanking, obviously locks being unlocked and undone.

"He's still livid with you for sending that beast back alive." they said further.

"So have fun with that." they finished a smirk in their tone, before the shutter was closed, and the door was opened slowly.

'.........hm.' Jake thought, as he remained silent throughout the exchange.