Colin's posts

Vincent looked at her, and nodded.

"All right." he said.

"I am going to follow Lindsay's lead." he told her.

"Find as much books as I can that may be relevant, and pour through them." he said further.

"...and keep and eye on Alice, in case she suddenly decides she wants anything to do with us again." he then added.

"She's just scared. Very scared. She doesn't want anyone to be hurt over something that's happening, which she has no idea what it is." Lindsay assured him.

"...ah!" Lindsay exclaimed.

"Yes, that is fair." he said.

"And he's the one with the most practical experience in creating them, aside from yourself." he reasoned. "And I can also understand why you would not feel comfortable in teaching her, yourself." he then said.

"I'll go talk to him and get him to start working with Vicki, ASAP." he told her.

"And I'm also going to try and do some research into possible past events similar to the situation that Alice has described." he went on.

"Something unlocking within her and such."

Lindsay was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure if this new information had made things BETTER, or WORSE. Or if there'd been no change. Vincent seemed to take a little solace from this info, but Rowena... seemed the same.

However, he was a bit confused when she asked her question about his brother.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"No... no, not that I know of." he said.

"Pretty sure he's 'grounded from hunts' for another week or so, because he'd been hitting the high-risk ones a lot lately." he told her.

"Cass's orders."

Vincent shook his head.

"I do not know of anything like that." he said. "WHAT is happening to her!?" he then exclaimed, stress in his tone.

"If I may." Lindsay suddenly interjected. "She described it as something was 'unlocked' during that betrayal." Lindsay responded. "So whatever is happening, it's something that was always there, but was perhaps forcibly brought to the surface earlier or stronger than normal." he guessed.

"...hm." Vincent mumbled, thinking about that.

"That IS a little easier to digest." he admitted.

Lindsay didn't say anything more.

He just boosted it and left.

"...well that was... I don't even know." he lamented.

He then made his way to the den and looked at Vincent and Rowena.

"Something's changed in her mana. And we need to find out WHAT."

Lindsay looked at the door once more, before sighing.

He then paused, and thought about something.

"Before I go..." he said.

"I'll strengthen the barrier a LITTLE." told her.

"For now. It's clear them trying to get in is distressing you." he said further, before sending texts to both Rowena and Vincent.

Meet me in the den. they read.

Lindsay read the text, before shaking his head.

"You might not like it, but them having partial information is better than NO information." he told her, standing up.

"And I will stress to them that this is something that I will look into." he went on.

"Something's happened, and I need to see if there's anything that's been documented about similar incidents." he told her further.

"Walling yourself from the rest of the world won't help you."

"..." Lindsay was silent as he read the messaged.

"...unlocked..." he mumbled.

"Can't be near anyone...?" he asked himself further.

"I won't." he then told her. "I promise." he said.

"But I WILL tell them what you said, so they don't try and force their way in or anything." he went on.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow when she sent that.

"Firstly, the fact that you're even asking me to help boost the barriers so that you can further isolate yourself is concerning." he told her.

"Secondly, what do you mean it fucked with your mana?" he asked.

"Is it uncontrollable now?" he asked her.

"Did it change?" he asked further.

The statement confused and concerned him, he would admit. What was happening with her MANA?

He read the texts that she had sent, before sitting down and leaning against the wall, beside her door.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why have you shut yourself off from everyone else?" he asked her.

"...does it have to do with the incident?" he then inquired.

"Because you don't have to suffer alone." he told her.

"We're here for you. I'M here for you."

Sure enough, Lindsay was there within 5 minutes, and he found his way to Alice's room, as neither Vincent nor Rowena wanted to interfere. Vincent HAD texted to Rowena that Lindsay was there, though. Just so she knew.

Lindsay stopped at the door, and could feel the mana that was being used to seal off the room from... someone. Or something.

He held his breath for a moment, and knocked on her door.

"Alice?" he said.

"It's me, Lindsay." he said further. "Can we talk?"

Lindsay, who had been concerned about Alice since he'd heard about what happened, looked at the text, and sighed quietly.

I was thinking about offering my help just now. he replied.

I'll be there ASAP. he then sent.

5 minutes at most. he added, before standing up from the chair in his office he had been sitting in.

"Alice..." he said quietly.

"What's happened to you...?"

This had obviously not gone unnoticed by Rowena and Vincent. The fact that she wasn't saying anything at all any longer... how she'd barricaded herself in her room with mana... it was concerning. To understate it massively.

Every time Vincent went to her room to try and talk to her, the barricade made it clear that she didn't want him inside.

And every time he tried to talk to her outside the barrier, he either got no answer, or received a short, curt answer through text.

He would then retreat to the den, and ponder what had happened to his daughter.

"...maybe we need to call Lindsay in..." he said to himself, looking absently out the window.

"Ah, yes." Vincent said.

"Of course." he said further.

"You do what you need to." he told her, before thinking a moment.

He then sent Rene a text. One that said that if there was good news regarding Alice, to tell Rowena first. Otherwise, tell HIM. If Alice were to survive, it would be best for Rowena to know ASAP, but Vincent preferred some warning if the news were... less than pleasant.

"Give him my regards." he finished.