Colin's posts

"Well... it might be." Vincent responded.

"It might not be." he said.

"All I know is that Cassandra told me to go to the guild ASAP, and bring adoption papers. Seems someone there wishes to... well... adopt." he said further.

"And no, I didn't get any further information." he then quickly added.

"She's decided to be mysterious again."

"...huh." Ash muttered.

"All right, then. Wasn't... expected it to be THIS quick." he admitted.

Meanwhile, Vincent had made his way to the headquarters building for the Council, and made his way to a closed office door, knocking on it when he got there.

"Hollie?" he called in.

"I need to speak with you. Sooner, rather than later."

The man on the other end of the phone, Vincent, was silent for a moment.

"Uh... right." he said.

"Sure." he told her.

"Just make sure I have access directly to the guild." he then said. "We don't need to go through me trying to get through the front door." he reasoned.

"Beyond that, I'll be there in a few minutes." he went on.

"Papers in hand." he added.

"I..." Ash stammered.

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

"I just... I seriously don't know." he repeated.

'I feel like an absolute idiot now." he said further.

"This should be a snap, then!' he then exclaimed, before pausing. "Well, in comparison." he clarified.

"It'll still be a mess." Ash told her.

"Mortal/mage adoptions are messy." he said.

"It'd be simplified if she... was..." he went on, trailing off a bit, and then pausing. "a... mage... too." he finished.

"Waaaaaaaait..." he mumbled.

"She IS a mage!" he exclaimed.

"She's a necromancer!"

Ash sat down in a nearby chair, and sighed again.

"Got a lot on my mind." he told her.

"I'm in a bit of a sticky situation. Not sure how to work it out, legality-wise." he said.

"It's a bit of a long story. You got time?" he asked.

The woman responded simply by sitting down beside him, which answered his question.

Ash nodded, and explained everything to her. The girl, how they'd met, what he'd done, how she repaid him, how she was staying with him, currently, and how she was technically registered as kidnapped.

"But she's a runaway." he then said.

"How can I adopt her? The legal system will tear me apart if I try."

"................eh-heh." Ash chuckled.

"Maybe... yeah." he agreed.

"Maybe I WAS a bit too careless..." he said.

"They just got the jump on me, is all." he then told her. "I managed to fight them off." he went on.

"I'll do better next time?" he then offered, before sighing.

"...that won't cut it, will it?" he asked.

"....." Ash was silent as she asked her question.

"I... well, yeah." he said.

"I'm fine." he told her, before looking himself over, glossing over all the things that invalidated his statement. Not that he would draw attention to it.

"Why?" he asked.

"I mean, coming back from hunts all beat up isn't anything new, right?" he asked her.

"That would be appreciated." Ash responded.

"But you don't have to coop yourself up in here." he told her.

"If you feel the need to go for a walk, then do so." he said.

"You're not a prisoner here or anything." he reasoned.

"Oh, and Deidra picked out some clothes, and winter stuff for you." he then added.

"It IS starting to get chilly." Deidra commented.

"Ah... I see." Ash replied.

"But yeah, I'll try and think of something. Some workaround of the system." he told her.

"For now, you are free to stay here." he said.

"There will always be food here, and it's bound to be warmer and more comfortable than outside." he reasoned.

"Plus, there's TV and internet here." he added with a shrug.

Ash had a feeling that Casey's initial silence had a lot more to it than she was letting on. But he wasn't going to press her on it. Not right now, anyway.

For now, he was glad she had decided to not wander outside, especially when the weather was supposed to be getting really bad. Even for the time of year they were at.

"Hey, no worries." he told her.

"And feel free to check through the clothing." he went on, as Deidra hovered around him.

"...also, thanks." he said further. "Seeing Deidra again was... really something that I needed." he admitted.

"You're cute when you get sentimental." Deidra commented, which caused the male to blush slightly.

"Huh. I see." Ash responded.

"That... well, that sucks. To understate it." he said.

"And you're registered as being abducted?" he asked further.

"Hmmmmmmmmm..." he mumbled, seemingly thinking hard on something.

"Well, we'll see what happens. Maybe we can make it work THIS time." he told her.

"For now, if you like, you can stay here. It's a roof over your head, and food." he said further. "Which reminds me, that stack of leftovers is yours if you want it." he added, gesturing to the containers on the kitchen counter.

"Eh?" Ash muttered.

"The last dude?" he asked. "A load of trouble?" he asked her.

"What do you mean? What happened?" he then asked further.

The fact that someone had tried this before was intriguing to him. But he had to wonder what had happened. Why did it fail? What were the repercussions?

And would this change his mind?

Ash looked at her with an expression of concern when she said that.

"Eh?" he muttered.

"I know this place isn't optimal, but is it THAT bad?" he asked her.

"I mean, I'm willing to let you stay here for as long as needed. I'm gone most of the time anyway, so it'd be like you have the place to yourself." he continued.

"Just... yeah, if you're homeless, THIS can be your home, for whatever it's worth."