Colin's posts

No sooner had she muttered that, an elf approached her, seemingly from out of nowhere. But it wasn't the elf she had been with last. This particular male was definitely a wood elf.

And he looked smug.

He approached her slowly, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Well, well, well... look who's back." he said.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Can't stay away?"

"I don't know, either." Ash responded.

"Just... I mean... this..." he stammered further, seemingly ready to just break down there and then, before he took a few steps back and heavily collapsed into a nearby chair that was there.

"What could have happened?" he asked.

"I know you don't know, but that question keeps repeating itself in my head." he told her.

"But... yeah, scry for her. Search for her. She needs to be found before something happens." he reasoned.

"And I need to find that soul fragment..."

Ash's expression dropped even more when she asked that.

"...that's the other thing." he said.

"Hazel's gone, too." he told her.

"She... I mean... she's gone. I can't find her anywhere." he said further.

"She's not in any of her usual spots, and is nowhere to be seen around here."

"...the crystal..." Ash responded.

"The crystal with Lindsay's soul fragment..." he said further.

"I can't find it!" he exclaimed.

"It's gone! It's missing!" he told her, growing more panicked by the second.

"I've turned this place upside-down looking for it, too!"

Ash watched her go, before turning to Rowena.

"...yeah. She's a real whiz in the kitchen." he said.

"She can make something out of anything. No matter how little there might be." he told her.

"And thanks again for giving her the scarf." he then said. "It's been a lifesaver for her." he went on.

"She's seemed a LOT happier with it."

Ash just chuckled.

"She really is." he said. "She's a miracle worker in the kitchen." he continued. "Hell, I've been eating a very large variety of food ever since I got her away from Vanessa." he added.

"Also, the meat I brought back was Briar Moose." he then said to Hazel.

"Buggers got antlers with spines and barbs all over 'em." he said further. "Tough as nails, too, and can ruin an ecosystem they don't belong in, but their meat is VERY tasty." he commented.

"Perfect for casserole." he then said.

"So yeah, casserole with that and some mash sounds pretty good." he agreed.

Ash looked away from her.

"Probably by her design, as well." he said.

"Wouldn't surprise me if she just tried to wipe away who you were before her." he went on. "...I say 'tried', but she clearly succeeded." he then muttered further, sounding unimpressed.

"She ruins the lives of all she touches." he went on.

"And she knows it. She relishes it." he hissed quietly.

"Damn it." Ash cursed.

"That's not good at all." he said.

"..." he was then silent for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Not much can be done about it, though. Not right now, anyway." he lamented. "Just need to keep looking. Keep trying." he reasoned with a shrug, as he looked to the crystal again briefly.

"Anyway, how are you doing, Hazel?" he then asked the newcomer to the conversation.

"Adjusting to life here well?"

"Well, all that makes sense." Ash responded.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see." he shrugged.

"Anyway, Lindsay needs to be rescued as soon as possible, now more than ever." he continued.

"...but I DO wonder about Ashleigh." he admitted.

"She tried to help us both escape, and she and Lindsay were caught again." he said.

"Vanessa surely didn't take too kindly to that..."

"...a familiar? A phoenix?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, you really ARE one of the lucky mages." he agreed.

"Super lucky to have a phoenix, too." he went on.

"...heh. My brother and I used to joke that when we escaped, we'd find our own familiars..." he then said. "We didn't mean it. The familiar thing, anyway. Was nice to dream, though." he continued.

"Then again, I suppose I count as my own." he then said. "Being part animal now and all."

"...wow." Ash mumbled.

"That's... wow. I never knew that about my ancestors..." he said.

"...hold on, YOU'RE the exception?" he asked.

"Okay, why?" he asked her.

"Not to dredge up the past, but given your history, one would think you WOULDN'T be an exception. You know... the... rampage and stuff..." he went on, feeling bad about mentioning it.

"So why are YOU allowed it?"

Ash was getting quite angry with the information that Hazel was giving him, but it all shifted in an instant, to sheer confusion, as Rowena then said what she did... especially the last part.

"I... wait, what?" he asked.

"Hold on, hold up a second, there." he said to her.

"We're not?" he asked her.

"Why?" he asked. "Seriously, why can't a Fyrane be close to a phoenix?"

"...well, the short answer is 'anything and everything'." Ash muttered.

"However, let's start with 2 of the most pressing issues." he said.

"The first one being, how is my brother? Is Lindsay all right?" he asked. "...relatively speaking. Is he still ALIVE, at least?" he clarified. "To your knowledge, anyway." he added.

"The second is the same inquiry, but about Miss Encrae." he told her, pausing for a moment.

"Er... Vanessa's sister. Ashleigh Encrae. How was she, last time you saw her?"

Ash paused again, and just hung his head. Again, he didn't like hearing Vanessa being referred to as 'Mistress', but it was a day at a time.

He then looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said.

"For starters, call me Ash." he stated.

"And any info on him would be great!" he added.