Colin's posts

"All right, then." Hal said.

"Feel free to explore on your own now." he told her.

"If you find yourself lost, don't be afraid to ask anyone for directions." he continued.

"Beyond that... enjoy your free time until your first session." he finished.

"Oh! And there's already towels and such in the bathroom." he then told her. "So you can take a shower right away if you like." he said.

"Laundry facilities are at the end of the hall on each floor." he added.

"Well, it's the standard singles dorm." Hal responded.

"Use as much or as little space as you like." he told her.

"You're allowed to go to the cafeteria whenever you like, and order whatever you like." he continued.

"Want breakfast at 5pm? Done. Pizza at 8 in the morning? No problem." he went on.

"The gym is 24 hours as well." he told her further. "But we close the pool for 8 hours a night." he then warned her. "Nightly cleaning and sterilizing and such." he reasoned.

"Any questions?" he then asked her.

Hal chuckled again.

"Yup." he said.

"Pretty much." he agreed.

With that, the two of them set out, and he showed her the entire building, pointing out and stressing relevant places for her, before ending at the dorms, and letting her step into one.

"It's nice and roomy, should be enough for your stuff and yourself." he told her.

"Has a private bathroom, closet space, bed, dresser, everything one needs." he said.

"Oh, and here." he went on, taking a card out of his pocket.

"Your key to get in and out as you please."

Hal just smiled.

"No imposition at all." he assured her.

"We give tours to new people all the time." he said.

"Come on, I'll personally give you the tour." he then told her, standing up.

"I need to get away from this desk for a bit anyway." he added with a light chuckle.

"Indeed." Hal replied.

-A few hours later-

"And that should be about it." Hal responded, as they finished up.

"You will have your first appointment tomorrow afternoon." he said.

"Now, would you like a tour of the facilities?" he asked her.

"See where everything else, so you can get around?" he suggested.

"Oh, and unpack your things in your dorm as well." he then added.

"I see." Hal responded.

"Well, we'll figure this out as we go." he said.

"Anyway, we have things to discuss about yourself." he went on.

"A schedule to maintain and such. Getting help is all about support and structure." he reasoned.

"Find out what services you require."

"And that's what I needed to hear." Hal responded.

"As long as you WANT to move past this, then we can help you." he told her.

"Now, we are a place of employment, but you may stay here while we treat you, essentially." he then said.

"We'll let you use one of the dorms, you'll have access to the cafeteria, as well as the gym area." he went on.

"Do you have any special needs?" he asked, not wanting to make any presumptions about the blindfold.

"Hello to you as well." Hal responded.

"You must be Hazel." he said.

"My name is Hal Sharp." he introduced himself.

"I'm sure you know why you're here." he then commented.

"We wish to do whatever we can to help you. To gain, or regain, a sense of self and independence for you."

"Very well." Zeke replied.

"This way." he told her.

With that, they made their way to Sharp's office, where they waited for her to be called in. When she was, Zeke placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This is where we part ways." he said.

"See you around." he told her.

"And I look forward to getting to know you." he added, and she could hear the warmth and sincerity in his tone.

"Trust me, I'm glad to have this chance." Zeke told her.

"I've been given a new lease on life." he said. "Which is what we're going to try to do for you, here." he then said further.

"And I shan't keep you any longer." Azazel commented.

"I'll let you get to Agent Sharp." he told them.

"Again, nice to meet you." he said to Hazel.

"I hope to meet you again in the near future."

"....well... I haven't." Zeke admitted.

"But the rules are a-changing." he told her.

"Some WILL still try and kill me... hence why I rarely go upwards." he went on.

"But I'm pretty safe down here." he continued.

"Plus, Mom would kill anyone that tried to kill me." he added with a laugh.

Azazel just smirked.

"Makes sense." he said.

"....well... I suppose you're not wrong about me." Zeke commented.

"I technically AM an angel... kind of." he said.

"I'm half-human and half... well... archangel." he admitted.

"So I'm a Nephilim, essentially."

"........" there was silence from both Azazel AND Zeke when she said that.

"....really." Zeke commented.

"How very interesting, and potentially extremely handy." he said.

"Hm." Azazel mumbled.

"Just out of curiosity... how DO the embodiments of our manas look like, anyway?" he then asked, referring to himself and Zeke.

Azazel froze for a moment when Hazel mentioned about the flame from his sigh.

"....uh?" he muttered.

"Firstly, Zeke, no, she isn't. She was due back yesterday, but it seems there's been some delays while she's been there." he told Zeke.

"Ah." Zeke replied.

"But... Hazel, well... all right, I apologize for my inadvertent flame." he apologized to her. "Now that I know about your hair, I'll be more careful." he continued.

"But how did you know about it?" he asked.

"I mean... you're... blindfolded and all." he said. "And that flame I made shouldn't have really produced enough heat for it to be detected." he reasoned, scratching at his head.