Colin's posts

Salem just sighed heavily.

"Yep." he said.

"You're a forced conduit." he told her.

"And you're in contact with MY side somehow." he went on.

"Someone was either VERY knowledgeable about otherworldly factions and politics... or they were trying to connect to Mackenzie's faction, and screwed up. Majorly." he went on.

Salem just shook his head.

"Well, -I- can make this person see... reason..." he said, a hint of evil to his tone.

"...I did not hear you say that." Hal responded with a bit of a clearing of his throat.

"Regardless, Rebecca, once I finish up here, I will speak with her." he told her. "If she hasn't changed her mind already." he added, clearing his throat again.

This just caused Salem to laugh.

"Oh. I LIKE you." he said to him, before turning to Rebecca.

"You doin' ok now, kid?" he asked her.

Hal sighed.

"It's okay." he replied.

"SHE needs time off. NOW." Salem said to him gesturing to the blonde.

"Because they were REALLY being assholes." he went on.

"How long, do you think?" Hal asked.

"4 days? At least?" Salem responded.

"And I gather that the one she works under was NOT having this?" he then asked further.

Salem just groaned, and made sure the woman was properly seated, before looking at Hal.

"Hey. Name's Salem." he said.

"Thanks for reviving me." he said further.

"...you're welcome." Hal responded. "So she ISN'T connected to the Elders?" he then asked.

"Nope. MY side." Salem confirmed.

"And it seems they were being right JERKS." he then hissed, looking towards the ceiling with accusatory expression that matched his tone.

Salem just crossed his arms over his chest and growled.

"All right." he said, marching forward, with Mackenzie quickly following.

He barged into the office, and before either Hal or the woman there could say anything, he approached the latter and leaned in close, bringing his face close to her ear. What followed was a language that was definitely not of this world, and barely understandable.

Mackenzie got the gist, though;

"Shut the HELL up and behave for once, huh!?"

Salem paused for a moment, hearing the pleading, and then sighed.

"Oh great." he said.

"No wonder I feel this weird." he muttered.

He then shook his head, and thought for a moment.

"Hmmmm..." he mumbled, narrowing his eyes.

"I'll talk to her." they then heard Hal respond. "It's that bad, is it?" he asked.

"Heh." Salem laughed lightly.

"And so did HE." he said quietly to her.

"See y'around, chum." he then called to Ty, as the two of them continued onward.

Ty looked back to them, before sighing and continuing on his way, with Salem looking back at him for a moment.

"I'm impressed." he said.

"As low-ladder as that was, I'm impressed he was able to destroy it." he commented. "Never underestimate human rage, I suppose."

Salem just put a hand on Ty's shoulder.

"At least you did it." he said.

"I know it's not worth much, but you allowed your wife 's soul to move on." he told him, before pausing.

"And I'm guessing that you haven't been able to really contact her?" he asked.

"No... no, I haven't." Ty responded.

"Because she got another chance." Salem said with a wink. "Her soul was allowed to try again, and she reincarnated." he revealed. "Want to know who and where?" he asked.

Ty shook his head.

"No." he said. "But... did she live a happy and fulfilling life?" he asked.

"A wonderful one." Salem assured him.

"That's all I needed to know." Ty responded with a small smile, as Salem walked past him and approached Mackenzie.

"I like the park near here." he said. "If you want to talk more, you can usually find me there on any given day."

Ty just pushed past her, and brought his arm back, his hand into a fist. He paused for a moment, shaking a little, as Salem stood there, his guard wide open. He then just sighed, and dropped his arms.

"Forget it." he said.

"It won't change anything." he mumbled.

"So just... forget it..." he said further, his voice now quite sad.

"...for what it's worth..." Salem then interjected. "I'm sorry for what happened to her." he apologised, and Mackenzie could tell he was sincere with that. He really meant it.

Ty looked at her sharply.

"I don't care about whether or not HE died then. Damn it all, his kind ruined me and my wife's lives those hundreds of years ago, and I need to make them pay!" he said, sounding more like a broken man.

"...I can understand your anger." Salem replied.

"What was it that did it?" he asked. "The... well... I'll just say the Maggot-Snake?" he asked further.

"Yes." Ty growled.

"All right, if I let you smack me has hard as you want, anywhere you want, ONCE, for free, will that help?" Salem asked.

"..." Ty was silent, considering the offer.

"This ISN'T your concern!" Ty called back.

"The bastards that HE'S allied with ruined my life!" he declared, as he picked up the pace, almost running now.

Salem just pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head slightly as he hung it low.

"Greeeeat..." he said.

"Revenge-seeking." he muttered.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Salem responded. "He got a lot of things... scarily accurate, yeah." he said. "Though the concept of this reality being a figment of the mind of a sleeping Eldritch Horror IS a bit farfetched, I admit." he then told her as they got closer and closer to Hal's office.

"It's a laugh and a half to read what he writes, though." he went on. "He writes like you're the be-all-end-all of everything." he laughed. "We both know who would win if our sides went to war." he said smugly.

However, before she could respond, Ty rounded the corner and looked at them.

More specifically, at Salem.

"..." he was silent, before starting to walk towards him, with purpose. And his steps started to pick up. Quickly. And his hands were balling into fists.

"Ohhhh boy, here we go." Salem mumbled.

"Damn it all." Salem cursed after a moment.

"HOW has this realm not been ravaged by our respective sides yet?" he asked her.

"This has happened before. One of us has died before we were supposed to." he said.

"This entire realm hangs in the balance of 2 VERY fragile lives." he went on, before pausing.

"Though, come to think of it, the writings of that Lovecraft fellow pretty much paint that picture, anyway." he realised, thinking about it.

"I know." Salem replied.

"And I'm grateful you did." he said.

He then paused and shook his head.

"I need to move away from here." he growled.

"Maybe move to a safer area somewhere." he continued.

"Our lives are WAY too fragile for what hangs in the balance of them."