Colin's posts

Ryker approached Eke, and knelt down some.

"This." he said, opening the box.

Eke saw a gorgeous cake inside. It looked like it was made of exquisite chocolate, and had vanilla frosting weaved throughout it. The top was also frosted with the same icing, and dotted with strawberries that seemed to glisten with how fresh they looked.

"This might be a birthday spent outside in the rain, recovering from surgery in sub-optimal conditions..." he said further, pausing for a brief moment.

"But you at least deserve a cake for it."

"........." Ashley was silent as Aimee asked her question.

He turned away, and looked ashamed of himself.

"I..." he stammered.

"I... I should go." he said.

"Thank you for the food." he thanked her, moving away from where she'd set up the plate and food.

"But... but I should go." he repeated, and it was clear that he was panicking internally.

"Right, cool." Ryker said.

"Back soon. I promise." he told Eke.

With that, he took a few deep breaths, sighed to himself, and bolted off in the direction of the town.

About 20 minutes after he left, Eke noticed that the storm was rolling in, and that rain was starting to fall from the sky. After about 5 minutes, the rain was getting heavier, and he saw Ryker rushing back towards him... and he seemed to be holding something.

As he got closer, Eke saw it was a bit of a flimsy cardboard box, and he was shielding it completely from the falling rain.

"How long?" Ashley asked.

"Ummmm...." he mumbled, thinking about it.

"Hmmm... maybe... about... 10 months? Maybe?" he said.

"Give or take a week or two." he told her.

"Food was hard to come by, but at least it was actual food." he went on. "And I had my freedom on the streets as well." he continued.

"Sure beat being kept in a room with iron bars, and fed weird nutrient gunk." he finished.

Ashley looked at the food before smiling softly.

"Thank you." he said.

He then proceeded to dig into the food, eating the sandwiches and eating the various things separately, until it was all gone VERY quickly.

"That was really good." he told her.

"Some of the best I've ever eaten."

Ryker just smirked.

"You won't." he said.

"Seriously. I can handle a few humans." he told him.

"I've taken down bears. People? Hah." he laughed.

"But seriously, I was meaning to pick up something while we were in town, and I'll be damned if I not get it.' he then went on.

"It is absolutely necessary."

"I'll eat anything." Ashley responded.

"Seriously." he said.

"I like to eat food." he told her. "Like, nice, real food." he went on.

He then looked around at the house, and smiled.

"This is a very nice place." he told her.

"It's really warm and friendly." he said further, which was an odd statement to her... seeing as she hadn't even made it her 'home' yet.

".........." Ashley was silent for a moment, before shakily taking her hand.

"..th... thank you..." he said.

"I... I could use something to eat." he told her.

"I was about to try and cook up some of that wolf I killed earlier, but I guess the bird wanted it... and decided I would make a good substitute." he muttered.

"Odds are it was going to feed me to its chicks."

"My name?" the child asked in return.

"It... it's Ashley." he said to her.

"And... magic?" he then asked, looking confused.

"Magic? Do you mean mana?" he asked her. "Is that what all that white was?" he asked further, before freezing for a moment, wondering if he'd mentioned something he shouldn't have.

But he then just sighed, and slumped down... as though he'd just given up.

Ryker was silent for a moment when Eke said that.

"Eke." he said.

"If I disappear for a little while, can I trust you to wait for me?" he asked.

"And I mean a little while." he stressed. "A half-hour at most." he told him.

"There's something I need to run to town to get." he said.

'Please. It's extremely important."

"Ah..." the child stammered, before shaking his head some.

As he did, some of the dust and dirt flaked off his head, revealing extremely dark red hair underneath... though for some reason, Aimee could see it being black as well... it looked like there could be strands of black buried deep within.

"What?" he asked.

"I... I... maybe?" he answered.

"Am I... dead?" he asked. "Is this heaven?" he asked further.

"I remember falling... and then I remember a white light..." he went on, describing Aimee's mana. "That's what going to heaven is like, right?" he asked her.

"......." he was then silent, and looked around again.

"...still hurt, though..." he mumbled. "Can't be heaven, then..." he reasoned.

Another reason she'd gotten it so cheap was because it was situated near the bottom of a large cliff... one that had a large predatory bird nestling atop it.

That being said, she was assured that it never went after adults... not that she would have cared anyway, she had a guardian angel to protect her. Literally.

However, as she was stepping outside to get a breath of fresh air, she noticed the shadow of the bird overhead... but she swore she heard a child's voice coming from it.

"...me down, you overgrown crow!" the voice demanded. "I mean it! LET! ME! GO!" they yelled, before she then swore she saw a small explosion of blade flames.

The bird continued on its way, though it'd flight pattern was a little more awkward now... but the more pressing issue was the form that was now screaming as it plummeted down towards the earth.

Ryker raised an eyebrow, before looking to the sky.

"Eh?" he asked.

"Storm?" he asked further.

"But the sky's..." he started to say, before sighing.

"....all right." he said.

"We need to find shelter." he commented, looking around.

"And that's either back in the cavern, or we start walking and hope we find shelter."

Uriel was silent for a moment, and then sighed quietly.

"That is a good question." he said.

"I'm not sure." he admitted.

"Well, you could always take her to..." Vincent started to say, before writing down something on a piece of paper, and handing it to Uriel. "...here." he suggested.

"It's getting close to sunset, and that cliff edge is brilliant for watching it, as well as the night sky." he offered, before walking past them.

"....didn't expect THAT sort of suggestion." Uriel admitted quietly.