Colin's posts

Ash nodded after a moment, and took a small breath.

"All right, then..." he said.

"I wish that you knew whether or not Hal was doing all right... and that HE knew you're doing okay." he announced.

She nodded in response, and granted said wish... and after a brief moment, she had a rush of knowledge.

And she saw that Hal, while in slightly rough shape, was surviving, and doing well, overall.

"..." Ash was silent as she said the last part, before sighing quietly.

"I know." he said.

"...wait..." he then mumbled.

"Wait, does Hal's mana block yours?" he asked her.

"I don't know how djinns really react to each other and such, but if it works, I can make a wish for you to know his status if you like." he offered.

"You did it for ME, after all."

Ash smiled at her again.

"Of course." he said.

"But let's be fair, your being here overall helps everyone." he told her.

"It's good for us to see that at least YOU'RE still around and kicking. It gives us hope here." he went on. "How you keep those things busy and distracted, and still manage to stay alive? It's inspiring." he continued.

"Pushes us to find a way to end this seemingly eternal torment."

Savra merely looked at Eke concernedly, and nuzzled him as best they could. They didn't like seeing Eke like this, and they wanted to try and help as best they could.

Ryker, however, was dealing with his own issues.

'Bad enough that I'm dealing with this inevitable crap, now I'm in trouble for trying to make it so that Eke doesn't worry. Great.' he thought to himself.

'I told you he'd find out, and that he'd react this way.' the demon said. 'Now he's worried AND mad at you.' he added, causing Ryker to gnash his teeth some.

He looked and saw a small rest-stop area, and quickly, almost violently, pulled into it, hastily weaving into a parking space, before shutting the vehicle off, throwing the keys onto the passenger's side seat, and climbing out the door, slamming the door behind him.

With that, he started to march into the thick forest that spread out before him.

Ash just smiled at her... but it faded slightly almost immediately.

"...yeah. For now, anyway." he said.

"I can feel my hope slip away slightly every day." he lamented.

"...though this new information about my family is helping me amazingly." he then admitted to her.

"So thank you for that." he continued.

"I get the feeling this will keep me going for a while."

Ash looked away again, before clearing his throat a little.

"Well... hm." he mumbled.

"A lot." he told her.

"I mean, Vic being gone and Vicki being here is a big one." he went on.

"...seems Taylor's always had a crush on Alice, too." he added.

"But now we're kinda getting into gossip and such."

Ash's face turned red when she said that, as quickly as she did.

"Ah... ah..." he stammered.

"Well... but... you're injured." he said.

"We shouldn't... really do anything." he reasoned, laughing nervously.

"Maybe... maybe later..." he stammered.

As soon as that information entered his mind, she saw his expression soften. She saw that a massive weight had been taken off his shoulders.

"...thanks, Evvie." he said to her.

"That was all I needed." he said further.

"I feel a lot better now." he finished, with a content sigh.

"So! Wanna fool around?" he then asked her out of nowhere.

"Kidding!" he quickly said with a laugh.

Ash was quiet and looked away for a moment.

"...yeah." he said.

"Fine. All right." he said further, taking a deep breath, holding it for a moment, and then exhaling it.

"I wish to know if my family are alive and well." he told her.

"That's all. That's all I want to know." he said further.

He could have wished to know were they were, but... something inside his mind stopped him from doing so. Like it wouldn't be a good idea to wish for specifics.

"I hope so, too." Ash responded.

"She's not super naïve or anything, just more so than Vic was." he told her. "...though, I suppose a better way to put it would be that she's not as jaded as Vic was." he then said, after thinking about it.

"Regardless, she is what we need right now." he reasoned.

"She's also trying to find Alice." he then informed the woman.

"...I wish her luck in that..." he muttered.

"If she's alive, she's somewhere that she does NOT want to be found at."

"It's... it's jarring." Ash admitted.

"She's... she's a lot more naïve than Vic, but a lot more clear-headed." he told her.

"I can tell this is a shock to her, too." he went on.

"I feel bad bringing her into this world, but if it stops this world from existing, I'll gladly do it." he then said further.

"Not that this world is ALL bad..." he clarified, looking at her and smiling.

"...but the downs severely outnumber the ups."

Tears started to well up in Ash's eyes, before he looked at her.

"I... this..." he stammered.

"It's... well... yeah, it's precious to me." he said.

"It's what I have left to remember her by. Physically, anyway." he lamented, allowing the cover to slide off of the blade slightly, and confirming it was the real deal when he saw the small words etched into the base of said blade.

He smiled softly, before setting the dagger down away from them as best he could, and looking at her again.

"Thank you." he said quietly, his voice a bit shaken.

Ash was silent as she told him what she did, and pulled her knee up.

"Er... all right." he replied.

He then reached over and dug his hand into her sock, his hand brushing against her leg as he did so, causing him to blush a little as he did so. Which she had to admit, was adorable, really.

He then found what she had been referring to, and pulled out what looked to be sheathed dagger... with a VERY familiar handle.

"...no... no way..." he said quietly, bringing the weapon closer to his view.

Ash nodded slightly in response.

"Yeah, I will." he said.

"..." he was then silent, before shifting slightly again, but he was careful not to nudge her arm. And he moved in a little closer towards her.

"...I missed you." he admitted.

"You're... well, you're my closest friend, now." he told her.

And that was nothing short of a wonderful compliment. Everyone had become more tight-knit in these times, but for him to say she was the closest friend he had really showed how much he valued her friendship and companionship.