Colin's posts

"Well, it's better than I expected." Hal replied.

"But... Hollie, I would like that." he told her.

"Thank you." he said.

"For giving me this chance, that is." he went on.

"Just... yes, thank you." he repeated.

He was about to ask her if she reciprocated his feelings... but the fact that she was willing to do a 'trial period' indicated that, on some level, she did.

Hal was silent for a moment, as his eyes drifted to the inevitable sight of Hollie's cleavage.

"Ah... I... uh..." he stammered, losing his cool for a brief second.

"Well... yeah." he told her.

"I finally managed to build up the courage, and knew that we would be meeting for business today." he said.

"So I'd hoped I could convince you to take a social outing with me." he went on.

"Seems it... it paid off." he added, his eyes still drifting towards her cleavage every so often.

Sharp was silent, biting his lip a little.

"Yeah, I should." he agreed.

"I've been wondering if she will or not, but I suppose risks are to be taken." he admitted.

"...I've been thinking about it for a long time now." he then told her. "Known her for a while, as I said.... But it's been about 5 or 6 months since I realized how I felt, and mulled it over in my mind." he said further.

"....her wish is still clear in my mind, too." he then went on, deciding to go for the 'kill' now, so to speak.

"She told me her brother was under a lot of stress because a mutual friend of theirs was in a predicament... suffering from a virus that was almost certainly fatal to mages. So... I poofed the disease out of her." he finished.

"Well... it's hard to explain." Sharp responded.

"I... for the most part, thought it would never happen, as those like me tend to just see others at their worst. Their greediest, their most selfish, their most vindictive... that sort of thing." he told her.

"But then I met someone." he went on.

"And told them what I was, and gave them a wish." he told her further.

"And her wish was so selfless, so pure and innocent... I knew she was different. And I've been thinking about her ever since she made that wish years and years ago."

"......" Sharp was silent as he heard that.

"I.... believe it or not, I know how you feel." he told her.

"I had a love once... but she was taken from me as well." he admitted.

"So very long ago. I never thought I would love again, if I'm being perfectly honest." he then told her, before pausing for a moment, and sighing.

"....until recently, that is."

Sharp could tell that Hollie had loosened up considerably, and was having a good time.

So he gathered all his courage, took a deep breath, exhaled it quietly, and looked at her.

"So." he said.

"How is your personal life going?" he asked.

"I'll bet that, with how busy you are, you haven't had much time to find that certain someone." he commented.

Sharp nodded.

"Of course." he said.

With that, the two of them made their way inside, and immediately Hollie started to fall in love with the smells and aromas that wafted through the establishment.

And the decor made it clear that there was a lot of love and passion in this business.

"We seat ourselves." Sharp told her, as they made their way to a table and sat down, where there were already drink menus at said table.

"We decide on drinks, and when the server shows up, we get food menus, and order the drinks."

"Oh, I'll bet." Sharp responded.

"If you can't find those beautiful natural spots, you create them." he chuckled.

The rest of the drive was in relative silence, with idle chit-chat here and there, and finally, Sharp pulled into a small parking lot, in front of a place that seemed to be one of those 'hidden gem' locations.

"We're here." he announced.

"The food's sure to please."

"Don't worry." Sharp responded.

"I'm sure things will be fine." he told her.

"And I hope this can help you settle down and unwind." he went on.

"In the meantime, feel free to just take in the scenery." he then said further. "It's gorgeous here when you take the time to notice." he added.

He then just smirked a little, and concentrated on driving.

'Heh, slipped that in right under her nose.' he thought. 'Wonder how long before she clues in...' he then wondered.

'Guess this outing may determine that.' he finished.

Sharp raised an eyebrow when he heard that last part.

"Of course he could." he responded.

"Vincent's wonderful with leadership and showing people what needs to be done, and making sure they get it done." he told her.

"He just loathes the responsibility that comes with such a position." he went on.

"Which... is one of the big reasons why he doesn't HAVE such a position." he added with a light chuckle.

"But regardless, I'm sure you can spare at least an hour or two?" he then asked her.

Sharp just nodded.

"Family is important." he replied.

"And your brother seems to genuinely care about you." he went on.

"You're very lucky." he commented.

"And that was a very fortuitous event for you." he then said further.

"You can take an EXTENDED break. Guilt-free." he laughed.

"....wow." Sharp replied.

"Guess it was lucky that you were away." he commented.

"And... well... guess you're getting a break." he then added.

"Also, fair enough on the just going home." he added with a chuckle.

"We wouldn't be having this discussion if you needed to." he went on.

"At least you have people there maintaining order and structure."

"Of course." Vincent replied.

"Talk to you later." he finished.

With that, they ended their call, and Sharp spoke up.

"Hey." he said.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Do you need to split NOW?" he asked further.

"Well... see, I believe it was Eugene that was responsible for keeping abreast of that sort of situation, and such." Vincent replied.

"So odds are his time at the Council has ended." he guessed.

"Regardless, you should stay away for now." he told her.

"I'm here, as well as Lindsay and Kalin. We're monitoring the situation." he assured her further.

"So just... think of this as an unexpected break." he finished.