Colin's posts

"No, that is all." Jaden replied.

"All I need are the books right now." he told her.

"And I'll stay out of your way for this." he assured her.

"Unless I'm needed." he added.

"Regardless, I know you have work to do, now." he said.

"If there's any way I can help further, let me know."

Jaden pinched the bridge of his nose and growled a bit, before sighing.

"Right." he said.

"That weird occult shop that's in that mall out east." he told her.

"Mysticism and Wonder." he continued.

"That's a mana hunter sting operation." he said.

"The one with the Evi-" he started to say further, before catching himself. "...Discerning Eye..." he corrected himself. "...told me so." he went on.

"Which explains the sudden disappearances that have been happening out in that part of the city." he added.

Jaden nodded and followed along with with his mother had told him.... until she asked her question at the end.

And caused his face to turn red.

"Wh-what!?" he asked.

"Do I like her? No!" he said.

"I mean, I don't DISlike her..." he then quickly backtracked. "But I mean, I... I don't LIKE-like her. Look, she's not even a friend yet!" he then insisted, shaking his head violently.

"Look, can we just move on?" he asked.

"Not talk about things that aren't relevant?" he suggested.

"The Discerning Eye." Jaden parroted.

"I see." he said.

"Wait, ever since a mage acquired it?" he asked.

'....come to think of it... yes, she DID have mana, as well as the Eye...' he recalled.

"-A- mage?" he asked.

"As in.... singular?" he asked further.

"How many Eyes exist out there?" he inquired.

"............" Jaden was silent for a moment.

"I... well..." he stammered.

"I met... an individual." he said.

"An individual that made me realize that... all I thought I knew about the Evil-seeing eye... well... might not be... strictly accurate, anymore..." he told her.

"And... I have to do some reading up on it." he continued.

"Well, if I want to see her again." he then added.

Jaden tried the blend, and raised an eyebrow when he heard the message.

"More troubles with the Council, huh?" he asked.

"And this is pretty damn good." he told her.

"Not too bitter." he said.

"And yeah, first, the not-so-heavy topic." he went on.

"I need books on the Evil-seeing Eye." he told her.

"I need to... well... learn more about it..." he admitted quietly.

Jaden just nodded, and stepped inside.

Once he did, and she followed, he sighed.

"Did I interrupt anything?" he asked.

"I really hate it when I interrupt a hunt, or guild stuff." he told her.

"Then again, I'm more than happy to interrupt your Triad stuff." he added with a shrug.

"Anyway, yeah, two things. One more pressing than the other." he then said.

Jaden watched her go, before sighing.

"Right." he said.

He then grabbed his cell phone, and called his mother.

"....please let her not be on a hunt..." he muttered.

Thankfully, she wasn't. Because she answered in the first place.

"Mom." he said.

"We need to talk about a couple of things." he told her.

"Sooner, rather than later."

"Oh, just curious." Jaden replied.

"And 'Mysticism and Wonder', huh?" he asked.

"Excellent." he said.

"Thank you." he said further.

"Anyway, I now have matters to attend to." he told her.

"I'll contact you when... well... I'm prepared." he said.

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

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Is that shop still up and running?" he asked her.

"And if so, can I get a name and address?" he asked further.

"Because I have connections that can see them shut down." he told her.

"What they're doing is a crime against mages, and they need to be stopped." he continued.

"Also, you like tarot cards, huh?" he then asked.

"Quality." Jaden said, using finger quotes.

"My arse." he growled.

"Those things barely qualify as crystals and quartz." he told her.

"They're for rich kids that want to be 'underground' and 'counter-culture', but think that 'Hot Topic' is 'too mainstream'..." he went on, some venom in his tone.

"So I don't feel bad about them spending their money to see my shows, despite not liking them, personally." he continued.

"Better -I- get it than those snake oil sales frauds."

Jaden just sighed.

"I know." he replied.

"My act tends to be a lot more adult-oriented." he said.

"And it attracts real weirdos..." he then mumbled.

"But hey, may as well earn their money, as opposed to some hokey 'occult' shop that hands out bogus charms and stupid candles said to summon demons." he reasoned.

"Good lord, those places are cringey." he admitted.

Jaden looked to be about to say something, but then paused.

And thought for a moment.

"AH!" he exclaimed.

"Of course!" he said.

"I've seen you perform in the past!" he told her.

"Holy cow. I can't believe that didn't occur to me until now." he commented. "Your party-like tricks and levitation are amazing to behold." he complimented her.

"Admittedly, I haven't seen a show in a while..." he then admitted.

"But you tend to lean towards children's birthday parties, don't you?" he asked.

Jaden was about to comment on the tonal change to Desiree's voice, but stopped himself.

'No.' he thought.

'It's too early for that.' he told himself.

"And it was my pleasure and honor to meet you as well." he responded.

"But.... you don't have to call me that." he told her.

"My name is fine. Jaden."