Colin's posts

Hal narrowed his eyes when Peyton said all this.

"...I see." he said.

"Something happened in Greece. But I don't know WHAT..." he growled.

"I intend to get to the bottom of it, though." he the stated, standing up.

"Come on." he said.

"We're going to see her. The both of us. NOW." he told her.

"And we're going to find out WHAT is wrong with her."

Hal didn't even hesitate.

"...I figured." he said.

He then leaned forward a bit, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did the time off she asked for weeks ago not help?" he asked.

"She took 3 days off... with you alongside... to try and calm herself down and be with you." he went on.

"Has that not helped at all?"

Jake didn't really have time to say much else before she left, and when she did, he narrowed his eyes.

"Mira..." he said.

"I don't know what the hell's going on with you, but if you hurt Peyton..." he started to say further, his tone darkening considerably near the end, before he shook it off lightly, and forced himself to calm down.

'No. There has to be an explanation for this.' he thought, taking a few deep breaths.

Meanwhile, Hal was filing away a stack of papers he had just finished, when his receptionist buzzed him, saying Peyton was there to see him. He was silent for a moment, before telling her to send her in.

She did, and immediately he could tell something was eating at her. And he hoped it wasn't anything to do with Mira.

"Something wrong?" he asked her.

Ryker shook his head.

"I wanted something fire-cooked." he told him.

"Plus, the microwave woulda been too noisy with the beeping and crap. And the food from the restaurant wouldn't have taken well to the fire." he reasoned further.

"And you're a strong kid." he then said, referring to how Eke hadn't passed out.

"You may have been dealt a shit hand, but it doesn't mean it's just downhill and nothing more than that."

"Not overly." Jake responded.

"From what I recall, he had a bunch of meetings in the morning, but the rest of his day is pretty much catching up on some paperwork and filing." he said.

"So now's a good time to bother him." he assured her.

"Please. You owe it to Mira to try and find out what's happening." he went on.

"She loves you. And you love her." he continued.

"I don't know what happened in Greece, but... it surely can't drive a wedge between two as close as you."

Jake paused for a moment, thinking about it.

"Well, a few things." he said.

"As you said, he can order an evaluation." he told her.

"But they're friends as well. He can appeal to THAT." he went on.

"You know Hal. He has a way of making things happen." he then said with a confident smile.

"He's a miracle worker."

Jake leaned forward and took one of her hands in both of his.

"Pey, if it's gotten THAT bad, that you're worried about such a thing, talk to Hal." he told her.

"Because this is clearly something that needs to be addressed. Not as coworkers, not as boss and employee, as friends." he said.

"I can see that this is weighing on you heavily, to understate it. So go and talk to Hal. Confide in him. You two are quite close, after all." he reasoned.

"I'm sure he'll do all he can to try and help." he continued.

"Because, while I'm sure you won't lose her, she needs to see what this is doing to you."

"..." Jake was silent for a moment, before sighing quietly.

"Yeah..." he said.

"She's really thrown herself into that spear repair and restoration." he commented. "Hasn't shown any interest in going drinking with me or anyone else." he went on, pausing for a moment.

"...but what have YOU been noticing?" he asked.

"What's been happening?"

Her hopes had been well-placed, as she saw her friend sitting at his desk, looking a little distracted and distant. However, before she could really make any sort of instant judgement, he looked over towards her.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"...you look like something's on your mind." he then commented.

"What's up?" he asked her, sitting up a little straighter.

Though he had a feeling he knew what this would be about. He was thinking the same thing, probably.

"I'm not, either." Ilias responded.

"She's gotten absorbed in weapon restoration before, sure, but... she's NEVER blown off going out with a drinking buddy." he told her.

"It... yeah, that spear is cool and all, and it was found in that ancient unknown armoury, but... I dunno, is it THAT cool?" he asked her. "I'm not a weapon nerd, so... I wouldn't know." he admitted.

"...neither would you, come to think of it..." he then realised.

"I dunno, maybe I'm just overreacting." he muttered. "I hope I am, anyway." he said further.

"Jake seemed pretty bummed, to put it lightly, though..."

Ilias was silent for a moment as Kiah asked her question, almost like he was gathering his thoughts, before he looked at her.

"I'M fine." he said. "And... I'm going to be honest, seeing a ghost would have been more normal than what I just saw earlier." he then told her, his tone slightly joking, but mostly serious.

"I... overheard the end of a conversation between Jake and Mira. He was at her office door, and they were talking, and he invited her out for beers at Helscape sometimes in the next couple of days." he relayed.

"...all right...?" Kiah responded, wondering where this was going.

"Kiah, she... blew him off." Ilias then told her.

"She said, and I quote, 'Oh. Ok. Sure.' followed by 'I'll call you.' and then she went back into her office without even saying goodbye."

"...." Jake was silent as that happened, and stood there, stunned, for a moment.

"What the...?" Ilias then mumbled, having overheard the last part of that as he was walking by.

"You heard that?" Jake asked.

"End part." Ilias replied. "And... it's... kind of concerning." he said. "I've never known her to... well, all but brush you off on an offer like that." he commented further.

"...yeah..." Jake responded with a small sigh.

"Anyway... see ya..." he then said, before leaving the area, and R&D itself.

"..." Ilias was silent, lingering for a moment, and then slowly and distractedly made his way to where he was going; a lab room that had Kiah in it. When he walked in, she noticed him looking QUITE distracted, and concerned... to the point where he almost walked straight into one of the tables there, which would have collapsed the set-up they had on it. It wouldn't have resulted in anything dangerous, but it would have meant 5 hours would have gone to waste.

"...not... not really." Jake responded.

"Just wanted to ask if you wanted to get a beer or something after work." he told her.

"I don't have the night shift for the next few days, so... might be a good time to." he continued.

"Whaddya say? Helscape? Slam down some of their house brew?" he suggested with a smirk.

"I know you love to show the people there how much of a tank you are for alcohol." he chuckled.

Jake was silent, almost taken aback by the snappishness of the response, before he cleared his throat.

"Mira, just... wanted to stop by and say hi." he told her.

"Been a while since we went out for an evening of drinks. Not even drinking, just... grabbing something at Helscape." he said further.

"We've all noticed you've been a little... distant." he continued.

"...probably the spear. How's that going, anyway?" he asked.

"Y'almost done restoring it?"