Colin's posts

"......" Ty was silent for a moment. He looked at Hal, then at Angela, then back at Hal.

"...I wish all the alcohol in my possession... in my home, my car, my hiding places... was gone." he said. "Gone. Vanished. Destroyed." he said further.

Hal just smirked, and raised a hand.

"Granted." he said, snapping his fingers.

"Good start." he told him.

"..." Ty was silent again, biting his lip.

"Only if you think you can do it." Hal responded.

"And YOU." he then said to Ty, looking harshly at him.

"YOU are OFF booze as of now." he told him.

"...wait, what?" Tyson asked.

"You regularly abuse your liver to an early grave, literally, and just kill yourself to come back to life, fresh as a daisy." Hal said. "That may be all well and good for you, but having a father with an alcohol abuse problem is NOT something ANYONE will tolerate." he told him.

"You are off the booze. I don't want you getting drunk any longer. If you can do that by the time Lunet is up for adoption, and keep that lifestyle going, then and ONLY then will you be allowed to adopt her." he stressed.

Hal nodded in response.

"Can do." he said.

"I'll book us a place after I talk to Ty and Angela." he told her.

With that, they parted ways so he could let her get on with her work and enjoy her drink, and made his way back to the Unit, where he entered his office and called both parties to his office. Once they were there, he shook his head.

"For starters. Lunet WILL be pushed into the mage adoption system." he reported. "However, for the next couple of months, until she is properly placed in it, she will need to be placed in a foster home." he continued.

"Angela, would it be putting too much on your plate to foster Lunet until she is officially into the adoption system?" he asked Angela.

Hal thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Yes, do so." he told her.

"Call me when you're ready to duck out of here." he said.

"...oh, and what do you think you'd like to eat tonight?" he asked. "Any preferences?" he asked further.

"I'll find us a place to have dinner while I'm waiting."

"I shall do that immediately." Hal told her.

"...and that's... actually all I'm here for." he said.

"Oh, and to ask you when you have your next free evening." he then said further. "...local time." he clarified.

"It HAS been a while since we've had dinner together." he reasoned.

"I want to change that."

Again, Hal sighed.

"Just one." he said. "And I don't know if it's the best." he told her.

"...Angela." he revealed.

"She's a single parent as well, but Ezekiel is there often enough to be considered a caregiver. And she has essentially a full-time sitter as well." he reasoned.

"I have yet to properly ask her about it, though." he then said further.

"But she is my only real consideration as of right now."

"..." Hal was silent for a moment.

"See, that's the thing." he said.

"I'm asking you to put the child into the mage system, because I really don't think she'll do well in the regular system." he told her. "But, I know that, even with you pushing it, it can take a bit." he continued.

"I'm giving Ty an ultimatum." he then said. "He rehab's himself... or he's not getting Lunet." he stated.

"No if's, and's or but's." he said further.

"If he manages to quit drinking excessively by the time Lunet is in the system, he'll be fit to adopt, in my eyes."

Hal just sighed.

"I'm not perfect." he stated.

"Regardless. It's being made, and will be made quickly." he told her. "Or... well, swiftly. It will still be properly made, and odds are the area that's never been fully renovated will be finished and used as such." he said.

"The area near the entrance." he clarified.

"So, with that being said, Tyson WILL have a reliable place where Lunet can be take care of while he works."

"I know." Hal responded.

"However, I am in the process of making things lighter for him in terms of caring for her." he stated.

"...did you know I have almost 50 single parents under my employ?" he asked, seemingly in a non-sequitur.

"Well, I am now in the process of putting a permanent daycare centre in the Unit." he informed her.

"Meaning things will be a lot easier for ALL parents under my employ." he went on.

"Including Tyson."

Hal paused.

"Don't tell ME." he said. "Given what I am, it's not good for me to know the details about when people like her mother are dealt with." he told her. "I have to try and remain as impartial as possible." he went on.

"However, DO tell Tyson." he then said.

"Then he'll be able to tell Lunet she has nothing to fear from her Mother." he reasoned.

"...and you know how he likes his vigilante justice. I'm sure it'd do his damaged soul good to hear what the Mother suffers."

Hal thought for a moment. He'd seen Lunet once or twice, had brief conversations with her, so he relayed what she looked like. He then paused for a moment, and realised he forgot a small detail.

"I said she was blind." he reminded her.

"That's not something that was inflicted on her." he said.

"She was BORN blind." he stressed. "So that would be of note, probably."

Hal nodded.

"She is. Was. Whatever." he confirmed. He then smirked when she mentioned about working her magic to deal with her parents.

"Well, I don't know her parent's names." he said. "Or name." he continued. "She's only ever mentioned her mother, so I don't know the status of her father." he admitted.

"But her last name is Larson." he said.

"Lunet Larson." he told her, more fully.

Hal just sighed heavily.

"Caught ME off guard, too." he said, sitting down in a chair that was in front of her desk.

"But... well... she's so young, but already her life is... shall we say... miserable?" he went on.

"The very short version is that she is blind, from Wales but her mother abandoned here while on 'vacation', and was nearly sacrificed to that damn cult of suffering." he continued.

"According to Angela, she's very shy, nervous, slow to trust, and her immune system is... not good." he then finished.

Hal's eyes widened for a moment.

"Want!?" he exclaimed lightly.

"Just because I bring you one of your favourite drinks, it has to mean that I want-" he started to say further, before sighing and slumping forward a little, shaking his head slightly.

"Can you please push a little girl of unknown mage status into the mage adoption system?" he asked. "It would really help if she were classified as being under mage jurisdiction." he went on, before pausing.

"...seeing as... Agent King wishes to adopt her..." he added at the end.