Colin's posts

Azazel just sighed lightly, and smiled to himself, as he looked at the small package in his hand. It may have been small in size, but he knew what was in it. He'd gotten it, himself.

But it wasn't for HIM.

It was for someone else. Someone that he cared for very deeply.

And he knew what to get her, thanks to some timely advice from another, mutual, friend of theirs. He was grateful for it, and he was sure that its recipient would enjoy it.

Or at least, appreciate the gesture.

He made his way up to the front door of their townhouse, and let himself in.

"Aedan?" he called into the dwelling, as he kicked off his shoes and shut the door behind him. "Aedan? Helloooooo?" he called further, checking around the house for a bit, but finding no sign of her.

"Hm. Odd." he muttered. "I was sure she'd be home..." he mumbled further, before he snapped his fingers.

"Ah! She must be in the backyard!" he reasoned, making his way to the back door and opening it to see if she was, indeed, there.

"Completely?" Sharp asked.

"And utterly." Leo assured him.

"What of the remnants of the beast?" Sharp inquired.

"They're being properly disposed of by the Order." Leo said.

"...well, THAT'S a load off." Sharp commented with a deep sigh, as he sank into his chair. "And how long will Hollie be asleep?" he asked.

"About 7 more hours." Leo informed him. "Odds are you'll be home before she wakes up." he said further.

"Ah, good." Sharp replied.

"Sierra, I'll see to it your compensation reaches you." he told the banshee. "And how do YOU wish to be reimbursed for your help?" he asked Leo.

"None required." Leo assured him. "I did this to help a friend." he told him with a smile. "Besides, my life can't be any better anyway." he added with a knowing smile.

Jake looked at the two of them, and shrugged.

"Sure thing." he said.

"Where's Hollie?" he asked Leo.

"Resting comfortably and peacefully for the next 7 hours or so, before she wakes up and... well... probably talks to Agent Sharp, if I were to guess." Leo responded.

"....fair enough." Jake replied, before buzzing them in.

"So these dream murders have been solved?" he asked.

"They should stop completely now." Leo assured him.

"Good." was all Jake responded with, before going back to his paper.

Leo nodded in response.

"Indeed." he responded.

"I... can't get us INTO the Unit, seeing as my mana isn't recognized or anything, but I can take us to the front doors for security check." he told her.

"....right, one second, though." he said, before doing a sweep of the place, and checking the front door.

"Ok, we're cool." he told her.

"Just.... had to make sure Hollie was safe." he admitted, a slight sheepish tone to his voice.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"I will be all right." Leo responded.

"And it's just because I'm an Order member." he told her.

"Considering what I am, essentially, permanent damage to me is hardly something I need to worry about." he assured her.

"I mean, YES, I DO have a slight ringing in my ears that's getting annoying..." he then admitted, trailing off a bit and tapping an ear with a finger.

"But that should go away in due time."

Leo nodded.

"According to Azazel, it was just the one." he said.

"Let us be off." he told Sierra, before the two of them disappeared in a swirl of sand, appearing back in the living room of Hal's home, where Hollie was still peacefully sleeping.

"Welp, that's that." he commented, before looking at Sierra.

"That scream is really something." he told her.

Leo just sighed, and smiled.

"Good." he responded.

"That... should do it, then." he said further.

He then walked over to the corpse of the dead creature, and thought for a moment. After he was done thinking, he caused sand to swirl around the body, before it encased it, and seemed to crush it down into a small compact ball. He then made it disappear.

"Sent to The Order. Specifically, hazardous waste disposal." he told them with a wry chuckle.

"Now, if there's nothing else, Miss Sierra and I will not intrude upon your dream any longer." he finished.

Leo just looked at her, taking his hands away from his ears, blood still trickling from them.

"I'll be fine." he replied.

"....despite how this looks, and says, the opposite." he said.

"It'll be fine." he said further.

He then looked at Hollie and the man, and waved his hand some.

"You two all right?" he asked them when they took out the earplugs.

"That couldn't have been pleasant." he commented.

Everyone there was plugging their ears... but Leo's seemed to be bleeding a little.

However, after a few seconds, the creature screamed out in sheer pain and agony, before there was a sickening popping sound, and it collapsed to the floor... some liquid pooling out around its head.

Leo then rushed in front of Sierra, and nodded quickly.

Essentially, he was trying to silently tell her 'enough! It's dead!'

Thankfully, Hollie and the man had put the earplugs in, so they would be mostly immune from it.

Leo, however, just covered his ears and watched the creature.

Its shadow-like appearance seemed to shrink immensely, and it seemed to look more... physical. It had a small trunk for a nose, nightmarish sharp jagged teeth, strange dragon-like scales, a centipede-like tail, and large cloven hooves for feet.

"Keep going!' Leo said to her.

"It's stunned! Go higher-pitched!" he ordered.

Leo nodded when she said she was ready, and grabbed some sand from yet another pouch he had.

He rubbed some in his hands an looked at her.

"Here... we... go!" he declared, clapping his hands together, and causing the sand to envelop them.

Meanwhile, inside Hollie's dream, she and the male had been cornered by a large shadow with red eyes, and it looked ready to pounce on the both of them...

...until Leo and Sierra suddenly appeared between the monster and its prey.

"It worked!" Leo exclaimed, before conjuring some 'earplugs' and tossing them towards Hollie and the man.

"Put them in! Now!" he ordered them, as the creature started to back away.

"Miss Sierra! Start yelling! Quickly!" he said to Sierra.

Leo nodded as well.

"All right." he replied.

"Here we go." he told them.

With that, he took a pinch of sand from a very special, tiny pouch, and sprinkled the tiniest bit over Hollie, allowing it to fall all around her face.

As they landed, she felt herself grow VERY tired, as her world turned slowly black... but she soon found herself in a comfy cozy secluded little cabin...

...with a very familiar man sitting by the fireplace.

"Depends." Leo replied.

"Could be a couple of minutes, could be up to a half-hour." he told her.

"But we need to watch her." he said.

"We need to watch her expressions. As soon as she starts to change from peaceful to disturbed, we need to enter the dream and deal with the Bahmar." he explained.

"Hollie, your dream will briefly become a nightmare." he warned the mage.

"But please endure it. It won't be for long."

"........." Leo was silent as the women had their exchange, before sighing quietly.

"Very well." he said.

"Then I will give you such a dream." he told her.

He then paused for a moment, and smiled slightly, almost to himself.

"All right, that's all I have to ask." he said.

"Miss Sierra, if you have no more questions, I think it's time we get started." he told the banshee.