Colin's posts

"He did." Sharp responded, stepping out of the room.

"Said an old buddy of his was here." he commented.

"That would be me." Illias replied.

"I see." Sharp said. "Well, what makes you so... in need of our protection?" he asked.

Illias responded by taking off his hat.

"....gorgon-born." Sharp mumbled.

"Indeed." Illias replied.

"Okay then." Illias replied.

"Thank you." he told her as they reached Sharp's office.

Once there, they stepped inside, and the secretary greeted them.

"Hello." she said with a small smile.

"May I ask what it is you wish to speak to Mr. Sharp about?" she asked Rylie.

"Is it in regards to this gentleman here?" she then asked, gesturing to Illias.

Illias stopped when she said what she did, but then shook his head and caught up with her again.

"Really?" he asked.

"R&D?" he asked further.

"...heh." he then chuckled, as his face turned a little pink.

"Thanks." he said. "I... I just... well, I think of these things." he mumbled.

".....I see." Illias replied.

He was the silent, as he looked at her neck. Specifically, where the ribbon was/would be.

"Sorry about the ribbon." he apologized again.

"But... have you considered 'weaving' your flame-like mana into it?" he asked. "Like, the ones coming out of your neck." he clarified.

"I think a spray exists that can cause the 'weaving' to happen, and you can still take it off if need be."

Illias was silent as the 'Medusa' joke was made, before smiling lightly.

They then made their way further into the building, and only when they were far enough away from Jake, did Illias say something.

"Jake seemed... kind of cold towards you." he said.

"Or... hm... well... maybe not cold, but... unimpressed." he then changed his statement.

"Does he not like you, or something?"

"............." Jake was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"Well, Sharp's office is on the way for you, I suppose." he said.

"Only makes sense for you to show him there." he muttered.

"Most everyone else is busy right now, and I can't leave my post." he went on.

"So.... yeah, seems there's no other way."

"Well, that IS true enough." Jake responded.

"Thank you, then." he said.

"I was almost dead, probably." Illias admitted. "She saved me from an angry mob that was out for flesh." he said further.

".........I see." Jake muttered.

"Well, once again, I thank you." he repeated to Rylie.

"Illias here's an old friend of mine. We go way back, relatively speaking." he told her.

Jake was silent, before pressing the button to let them in.

"Come in." he said, to which they did.

Once they were inside, and the door closed behind them, Jake put his newspaper down completely.

"How long has it been?" he asked.

"100? 150 years?" he asked further.

"Too long." was the response Illias gave.

"Rylie, where did you find this troublemaker?" Jake then asked the dullahan.

Illias was silent as Rylie said what she did, but nodded.

"If you say so." he replied.

They then made their way to the front entrance of the building, where Rylie saw a familiar newspaper being held up by the one behind the security desk.

"Please state-" he started to say, before something told him to look up from his newspaper. He did, and froze when he saw who was there.

"....Illias?" he asked.

"Jake?" Illias asked in return.

"Oh, I see." Illias replied.

"Well, fair enough." he said.

"Whatever works for you." he told her.

"But why bring me here?" he asked.

"I appreciate that you were taking me away from that mob, but... what if there's a slip-up here?" he asked her. "It'll happen all over again." he said.

"...sometimes I wonder if there's ANYWHERE I can truly be safe." he then admitted dejectedly.

Illias just sighed.

"Yes." he said.

"Because of the snakes." he confirmed.

"Just... yeah." he then mumbled with another sigh.

-Some time later-

They had finished their meal, left the restaurant, and were back on the road... all the way to San Diego.

When they stopped at a light, Illias looked around.

"San Diego?" he asked.

"You live here, I presume?" he asked her further.

"I... have no idea." Illias admitted.

"Like... honestly, I just don't know. They seemed to be very determined... but for all we know, it'll be good enough that I was chased out of the city." he said.

"If I were to wager a guess, they're satisfied with that." he told her.

"Murdering me would have been their goal, but... ultimately... it was probably just the fact that they didn't want my presence there any longer."

Illias smiled when she said all she did.

"Sure." he replied with a nod.

"Sounds good." he told her, as his stomach growled lightly.

"Heh. Yeah, starting to bother me." he said sheepishly.

"But oh well. That shall be fixed soon." he reasoned.

"And I think we've put enough distance between ourselves and that mob." he went on. "...to massively understate it."

Illias looked at the hat, and nodded.

"Yeah, this works." he said, putting it on.

"Snug, but comfortable, and breathable." he commented.

"Works for me." he told her.

"Thank you, once again." he said further.

"For... you know, this, and everything."