Colin's posts

"......................." Jaden was silent as Desiree said what she did.

"I.... okay. You win." he said.

"I can't... argue that." he admitted.

He then leaned in closer, and she brought her wrist close towards him. He opened his mouth, allowing her to see the fangs in his maw, before gently piercing down into her wrist.

He then started to drain from her for about 15 seconds, before she noticed he had a look of severe discomfort in his eyes... before he promptly withdrew his fangs.

"Ah. Ow, ow... no... nope, can't do it." he said, bringing a hand up to his fangs, and gently stroking them.

Jaden's eyes widened when he held her arm out to him, and said what she did.

"Ah... ah... wh-wh-what?" he stammered.

"F-feed? H-here? Now? Y-you?" he asked further.

He then looked around, almost as though making sure they were alone.

"Are... are you sure?" he asked her.

"I mean... are... you... y'know... all right with... this?"

"Oh, you're welcome." Jaden replied.

"And.... fed?" he asked, feeling unnerved by her stare.

"I mean... I've been eating from the vending machines here on and off. Stepping into the cafeteria..." he told her. "So, it's not like I'm not-" he started to say further... before noticing her stare.

It had not relented.

In fact, it seemed even MORE piercing and unimpressed.

"......oh..." Jaden mumbled.

"Fed." he muttered further.

"......like... a while. Close to... a week..." he admitted.

Rene nodded in response.

"Of course." he replied.

"And I'll be back with food." he then told her.

With that, he excused himself, before leaving the room. Only about 30 seconds had passed, before the door opened again, and Jaden poked his head inside.

"...." he was silent, until he noticed that Desiree was awake, and looking at him.

"Uh, hey." he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"Good to see you're awake." he told her, approaching the chair beside her bed and sitting down in it.

"A few days." Rene replied.

"You had a lot to sleep off." he told her.

"But hey, at least you're all right now." he said further.

"And yeah, I did a full detox on you." he clarified.

"Made sure it was ALL out of your system."

"Only one way to find out." Rene said.

"Ask him yourself." he told her.

"He's already said you're free to stay at his place with him." he told her with a small shrug.

"Oh, and he's been waiting here for you to wake up." he then said further.

"Sydney and I had to kick him out a couple of times so he would shower." he added with a smirk.

"Huh." Rene muttered.

"I suppose so." he said.

"If only you had another friend." he commented.

"One that you were close to. One that you shared some common interest with." he went on, scratching at his chin.

"Maybe one that you share a professional interest in." he then said.

"That'd be swell. If only you had another magician friend or something."

Rene raised an eyebrow when he heard that.

"Ahhhh.... ha." he said.

"Book a room?" he asked.

"Got news for you, but your building's quarantined for at least a couple of months." he told her. "And even the shittiest of motels can get expensive if stayed in for THAT long." he said further.

"Besides, I'd never let you stay in those seedy drug-den places." he added sternly.

After a few seconds, she received a response.

So I've heard. it read.

Glad you're awake and hopefully feeling better. the next one said.

Rene just smiled.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"It's almost lunch time, if you'd like some food."

Rene just smirked.

"Mmhmm." he mumbled, before taking the device out of his pocket, and handing it to her.

"Jaden went back for it." he told her.

"Well... he said he went back to take care of something, but then saw your phone on the floor, so he grabbed it and gave it to me, figuring I'd be the first to see you when you were awake." he explained.

"And it's fully charged, don't worry." he then assured her.

Rene looked a bit uneasy when she asked her questions.

"Ah.... ha..." he muttered.

"Fatalities? Yeah... yeah, there were." he told her.

"An elderly woman on the 3rd floor was found deceased from the poisoning, as well as an elderly man on the 2nd." he said further. "Also, a druggie on the 3rd floor was found dead, and it was from the CO poisoning. Odds are the other crap in his system made it easier for the gas to do him in." he guessed.

"A number of people have been hospitalized, but I cannot tell you anything in specific, other than people are doing all they can to stabilize and save them." he finished. While this did not tell Desiree the exact condition of the couple she was worried about, at least they weren't dead... for now.

"As for what's being done, the building has been evacuated and temporarily quarantined, until the gas can be flushed out of the building, the defective detectors are looked into, and the proper legal course of action is at least started." he then answered her second question.

Rene was silent, and then sighed as well.

"I'm not a psych, but I'd say that's correct." he said.

"Seems he probably feels really guilty about what happened to you after he left, and felt that his decision was the wrong path to take." he told her.

"But, on the flip side, you've built a life for yourself that some would envy. So he wonders if that was really the wrong decision, and the unknown factors can gnaw at the brain." he said further.

"Regardless, yeah, your device wasn't the only one that was defective." he then told her, changing the subject.

"Seems that that particular make and model had a tendency to break down, and most of them went out in your entire building." he informed her.

"Sheer luck and routine, essentially." Rene replied.

"Max called you for your weekly little pow-wow, and you didn't answer. So he continued to try and call and text, but you didn't answer. After about a half-hour, he got very worried." he continued.

"So he called Sydney to check on you. She couldn't at that moment, so she got Jaden to." he then told her further.

"Jaden made his way there, knocked and called and such, but didn't get an answer. He then heard that kitten mewling on your windowsill, so he went over to it. He looked inside and saw your hair on the floor. Concerned, he... let himself in... and found you collapsed on the floor, so he brought you here immediately." he then explained to her.

"So... yeah. It all started with your weekly routine, and how fortunate you were to collapse so close to your father's calling." he said.

"That, and Jaden." he finished.

"Yeeeeeah..." Rene muttered.

"See, that's what's scary." he said.

"Carbon monoxide is odourless and colourless." he went on.

He then pulled up a chair, and sat beside her.

"You passed out from CO poisoning, Desiree."