Colin's posts

"......" Jaden was silent as he heard that, and then sighed.

"Very well." he said.

"I won't waste my breath arguing." he told her.

It was at that point, Desiree felt an immense and sudden mana presence in the room... specifically, on the table in the center of the room. There was a flash of mana, and she suddenly saw two extra-large pizza boxes there, a few smaller pizza boxes, two bottles of soda, and a small card machine. All but the machine were surrounded by an aura of mana.

Jaden took the machine, grabbed his credit card from the endtable beside him, ran it through the machine, waited until a receipt was spewed out, and then accepted it.

The machine then disappeared from his hand, and the aura surrounding the food dissipated.

"Mana delivery. Gotta love it." he told Desiree.

"I can always help, if need be." Jaden replied.

"Regardless... food should be here soon, as I said." he went on.

"You wanna watch TV or a movie or anything?" he asked her.

"I got plenty to choose from." he said.

"Oh, and I'll get your clothes done overnight." he then told her.

"The washer and dryer are whisper quiet, so it can be done during the night."

She found Jaden in the den, sitting on the couch.

He looked over towards her, smiled, and waved.

"Hey." he said.

"I ordered food. Should be here soon." he told her.

"And those look good on you." he then said further.

"How do they feel?" he asked.

"Hmmmmm..." Jaden muttered.

"Duly noted." he said.

"I'll get to ordering." he told her.

"You take your time drying off and such." he continued.

He then smiled and nodded, before heading out, leaving her to get what she needed to get done, done.

"Well, I thank you, and am honoured, for this rare chance." Jaden responded.

"As far as extending myself like this, you're very welcome, and it's all right." he said.

"Seriously. You're a friend of Kalin's, and a friend of Kalin's is a friend of mine." he went on. "....for the most part..." he then muttered.

"There was that one mage that just... well, she really didn't like me because of something someone did to her years ago. Seems I was a convenient repository for her ire." he said.

"Anyway!" he went on, clearing his throat.

"What do you feel like eating?" he asked.

"Anything in specific?"

"Bah." Jaden replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"It's nothing." he told her.

"I have several pairs." he said.

"So feel free to use those." he said further.

"Oh, and I also prepared the spare room here so you could actually... you know... sleep in it." he continued.

"There's some clothes on the bed." he went on.

"You know... just so you have more than one set of clothes now."

"All right." Jaden nodded.

He then left to grab the PJ's, and was gone for only about 3 minutes or so, before he returned with a pair of sleeping pants, and a sleeping shirt. They appeared to be a deep blue, with a cosmic pattern on them... stars, planets, space dust, that sort of thing.

"Here you are." he told her, handed them to her.

When she accepted them, she immediately felt how soft and silky they were.

Probably because they were made of silk.

Jaden nodded.

"I understand." he replied.

"I'll order in something to eat." he told her.

"And pyjamas?" he then asked.

"Yeah, I do." he told her.

"I should have a few pairs." he said with a smile.

"You want to take your pick after you dry off?" he asked her.

Jaden nodded and turned around, having calmed down now.

"Right." he said.

"Clearly you shouldn't be putting your clothes back on as they are right now." he reasoned.

"For now, you can wear that bathrobe." he went on.

"But, as I said, I also have some clothes that would fit you, albeit be a little big. Shirts-wise, anyway." he continued.

"However, you mentioned you wanted to cook earlier." he then said.

"Does that still hold true?" he asked.

"Or do you think it might be better to order in? Even if just for tonight?" he asked further.

Jaden's eyes widened a bit when she asked her question, and he blushed a little once more.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"Right! Right! Yes, of course!" he said.

He then turned around... only to see that he could still view her through the mirror.

"......" he was silent upon realizing this, before facing a corner and staring into it.

It was clear he was making an extreme effort to give her SOME privacy here.

Jaden gritted his teeth a bit, and it was clear he was concerned, due to the look in his eyes.

"Hey... are... you okay?" he asked.

"You've been in here for a few hours." he told her.

"And... that pink water smells suspiciously like blood." he continued.

"Do you need medical assistance?" he asked her.

"I can contact Kalin, and she can get Rene here if need be." he said.

"........" Jaden was silent as he saw this.

He paused for a moment, and sniffed the air around the tub, before recoiling.

'....yep, that's blood...' he thought.

'Pure... innocent... sweet... blood.' he thought further, some drool trailing down the side of his mouth... moments before he slapped his cheek to scold himself.

"Focus, you bastard!" he growled to himself.

"....damn it, what do I do here...?" he wondered.

Should he wake her? Did he need to get Rene here? Did she need a doctor right now? How would she react to seeing someone new here suddenly, even if it was someone she knew?

He then gulped again, realizing he needed to act, and he needed to act now.

So he decided that the first step was to check to see how 'out of it' she was.

With that decision made, he gently stepped forward, before extended his hand and gently shaking her shoulder.

After a little while, Jaden started to become concerned.

"No one needs to take that much time." he said.

"....there's no way anyone needs to take that much time." he reasoned.

He then quickly got up, made his way to the door, and stopped at it.

He knocked out of habit.... but got no answer. Of course. She was deaf without her headphones on, which he was sure she would have taken off for a bath.

So he gulped audibly, gathered his courage, took a breath, and opened the door, looking inside.

The water felt amazing to her. It was clear that the tub enhanced the water to make it feel more... silky and cleansing. And it also seemed to maintain the water at a perfect temperature.

She then noticed that he seemed to have a LOT of hair product. Like... more than anyone probably should have.

But whether she dwelt on that now or not was up to her.

Meanwhile, Jaden was sitting in the den, watching the news.

"Calm yourself, Jaden." he said.

"You're NOT a damn teenager anymore." he scolded himself.