Colin's posts

Azazel just sighed in response.

"Yeah, you do that." he said.

"Thanks for the help." he told her.

"And YOU..." he then said, looking at the demon, who recoiled in fear. "...next time you decide to swipe my keys, I'll make sure the boss knows." he said.

"Wh... wh-why are those keys even on your normal key ring!?" the demon exclaimed in response, trying to shift away from what he'd done.

"Because nobody'd think to look for them there." Azazel smirked.

Ryker just sighed again.

"You're okay?" he asked.

"Maybe in terms of hunger, but you sure don't seem like you're doing fine." he said.

"You almost drowned back there." he told Eke.

"I... luckily I got back when I did. I was almost too late." he mumbled quietly.

Her demon went silent, and Azazel nodded.

"Yeah." Azazel replied.

"Cerberus. The Hound of Hades. The Tri-skulled Canine." he said further.

"Why are YOU the caretaker!?" Aly's demon partner exclaimed.

"Because, in the boss's words, I'm 'too goody-goody to NOT do a good job and try and shift their loyalties'." Azazel mumbled.

"Hah!" the other demon laughed.

"Yeah, makes sense." he said.

"............" Ryker didn't know what to say, and just sighed.

"Wow." he said.

"Hey. Are you hungry?" he asked.

"You look like you should eat." he said.

"Seriously."

"Huh?" Azazel muttered.

"Oh." he said, before sighing.

"Right." he mumbled, shrugging. "Ah-kay, whatever then." he said.

"This is a house key, this is mail key, this is for my locker here at the Unit..." he listed off. "...and this is... uh... well..." he mumbled further, and then sighed again.

"The rest are for my other job, as the caretaker of Elizabeth's pet." he finished.

"CERBERUS!?" Aly's demon exclaimed, coming out of hiding, suddenly.

Just as Ryker woke up completely, the elder man got up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You take good care of him, y'hear?" he said, before moving on.

"Eh?" Ryker muttered, before looking at Eke.

".....hey." he mumbled, sitting down beside him.

"Hey, come on, lean up against me." he told Eke.

Azazel was silent for a moment, before breathing a HUGE sigh of relief.

"Ohhh thank Emelie." he said.

"These keys... wow." he mumbled, before shaking his head.

"...also, I guess I shouldn't be surprised." he then muttered. "If I'd known you were here, I might have actually come to find you to ask." he admitted.

"Regardless, THANK YOU." he repeated.

"Elizabeth would have sent me back to nothingness if she found out I'd misplaced the keys to the pet supply vault." he said.

For an old man, he had amazing reflexes. He managed to catch the mug, and set it down on a nearby table. He then sat down beside Eke, and gently placed a hand on his back.

"Shh, shh." he shushed him quietly.

"You don't need to talk about it." he said quietly.

"You're safe here. This lodge welcomes all, and prohibits any sort of discrimination." he told Eke.

"Just remember you seem to have your own guardian angel here." he reminded him, looking at Ryker, was was now stirring and waking up.

Azazel stopped what he was doing for a moment, and looked at her.

"Alyssa?" he muttered, before sighing.

"What is it?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Kiiiiinda in the middle of a crisis here." he said when he approached her.

"But what is it? What's up?" he asked.

At this point, her demon companion was now out of sight... as he always seemed to be when Azazel was around.

"Well, he sat up watching over you until he passed out." the man replied.

"He seems all right, though you could tell how worried he was." he then smiled.

"But he should be okay." he went on.

"What happened to you?" he then asked. "You were brought in here soaking wet and near freezing."

".........." the demon was silent.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." he mumbled.

"All right. I won't lie to you." he said.

And that was ALL that he said.

He had now gone silent, and seemed to be staring off into the distance.

Just then, one of the elderly gentlemen at the lodge approached Eke.

"Here." he said, handing him a mug.

"Some tea for you." he told him.

"And some tissues for your sniffles." he added, giving him a box of facial tissues.

"How are you feeling?" he then asked.

When he got up, he saw Ryker sitting on a footstool in front of him.

He was holding an empty mug, and was silent and still.

He had fallen asleep while keeping vigil.

He was even snoring lightly... but he'd kept sitting in order to watch over him.

"........." Ryker remained silent as he watched Eke slip into sleep.

He was going to stay by him until his breathing normalized. He wanted to make sure that Eke could sleep soundly before he, himself, tended to what needed to be tended to... as far as his own person was concerned.

"Just... be okay, kid." he mumbled.

"Don't give up."