Colin's posts

Lindsay bit his lip when Rowena said what she did.

"Mom..." he said.

"It's... it's not that you're not welcome here. You're always welcome here." he told her.

"And it's not like we don't want you here. Not in this case, not ever." he went on.

"But... how do I put this..." he wondered aloud.

"Even if you don't know it right now... YOU don't want to be here." he told her, before pausing.

"And I probably couldn't have put that ANY more awkwardly." he admitted, Rowena being able to hear the awkwardness and guilt in his tone. It was as though he wanted to tell her the truth, but couldn't, for some reason.

Immediately, Lindsay started to panic, not knowing if it was showing outwardly or not.

"Oh, right, yeah... yeah, it would." he agreed.

"Except... well... that's not really an option right now." he said.

"Oh?" Rowena asked.

"Yeah, we're... experimenting with the layout." Lindsay came up with.

"And the coffee table is currently leaning against the wall." he went on.

"Yeah, not worth going into the den right now." he insisted with a nod.

The guys were silent for a moment, all of them unsure as to what to do here.

"Oh, hey Mom." Lindsay replied, getting up and making his way to the door.

"Hang on, I'll be right there." he told her, opening the door and pocketing his phone.

"Heeeeey." he greeted her, drawing out the word.

"Mmm, those brownies smell good." he commented.

"You want to bring them right to the kitchen?" he asked her, trying to get her to avoid the den.

"Yeah, I'm on it." Lindsay said.

"Good." Vincent replied.

Lindsay managed to find his mother's contact, and pressed the button, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Come on, come on, come on..." he muttered, as the phone rang.

"...let's hope it's not too late." Ash said.

"I'd rather NOT see what happens if she should show up and witness Vanessa." Vincent admitted.

The colour from Ash's face drained suddenly, as his pupils shrank.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh shit." he cursed.

Lindsay looked to be just as panicked, and he fumbled to get his cell phone.

"Someone needs to call her NOW!" he exclaimed.

"Yes...!" Vincent agreed.

"When is she supposed to be over here?" he then asked.

"I... I... I don't know." Ash admitted.

".....well, that's helpful." Vincent said.

"But it's all the way back at her lab." Ash muttered.

"Someone's going to have to go with her and get the paperwork." Lindsay then said.

"But who?" Leo asked.

"Well, odds are Lindsay and I would have some sort of mental snap if we went." Ash muttered.

"HE would, anyway." he clarified, jabbing a thumb at his brother.

"Right then." Vincent responded.

"Let's do this." he said, as they entered.

They spoke for a few hours, and while Vanessa DID have her trademark attitude, still, it was SEVERELY diminished. Almost to an alarming degree.

"Hm." Vincent muttered.

"So we need Order mana... and a CRAP-TON of powerful regular mana..." Ash listed off.

"Plus, we also need to find that magical gateway to Chronos." Lindsay added.

"Surely there must be SOME literature on the subject." he then said. "Even if just tall tales or legend."

The males exchanged glances at each other, before Ash sighed.

"Guess... we should go in and talk to her." he said.

"Yeah." Lindsay agreed.

Leo was silent again, before he looking at the doorway, and peered inside.

He wanted to see if there was any visible difference in Vanessa.

"And, obviously, I don't, either." Leo said.

"So... great." Ash muttered.

"Detoxing is NOT a thing that can happen." he said.

"We need to gain an audience with Chronos." Lindsay commented.

"...but HOW?" he wondered.

"...so, Vanessa will be more cooperative now?" Vincent then asked Syraene.

"......indeed." Vincent responded.

"Chronos stands above all else." he said.

"But getting an audience with them is... well... a legend, essentially." he went on.

"And there's NOTHING we can do to fix the sand." Lindsay stated, though it seemed more of a question.

"It's very tricky and finicky stuff." Leo replied.

"And there's NO documentation on it... at least on Earth." he added.

"....that would do it." Leo mumbled.

"That's freaky." Ash commented.

"Well, is there a way to detoxify the sand?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know." Leo responded.

"Such a thing was never planned for, mostly because the Elders thought such a thing was literally impossible." he told them.

"Fools." Vincent growled.

"............." Leo was silent as he witnessed the crimson tendrils.

"Uh.... y-yeah." he said.

"Good." Vincent replied, clearing his throat a little.

"So how do we figure out what's going on?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, people are arguing more and more in the Order." Leo said. "And nightmares are more and more prevalent... without us meaning to give them." he added.

"Neither am I." Vincent said.

"I've seen her angry. It's NOT pretty." he told them.

"Frankly, I'm too terrified to." Ash admitted.

"No comment." Lindsay said quietly.

Leo was just silent, before slowly approaching the door frame, and listening in to see if he could hear anything.

".....hmm." Vincent muttered.

"At least you turned out all right." he said.

"You've a very successful life, and people that love you." he told her.

"And your mother is VERY proud of you." he went on.

"She's told me so, herself."