Colin's posts

Outside, Gabe took note of this mentally.

'Hmmm...' he thought.

'It's strong, but it DID dissipate noticeably when in my presence.' he noticed.

'She seems to have decent control over it... but something seems... off.' he then realised. 'It looks like there may be more to this than meets the eye.' he reasoned, scratching his chin.

For now, he would see if he could find a way to leave something of himself behind, in a hidden place. Something to act as a ward of sorts.

He also gave into an urge he felt, and crept over to a window, peering in to see if he could catch a glimpse of her.

Gabriel merely sighed.

"Yeah..." he said.

He then thought for a moment, and left the building with Sariel, but while she branched off to go to her vet clinic, he made his way to one of the fountains, looking into the water. At first, he saw his own reflection, but after concentrating on what he was told... and picturing the curse in his mind, he touched the water with a finger, causing it to ripple outwards, and change to a scene of Erica's house. And he could already sense the immense power from the curse... but only because he was so connected to it (by his own doing).

He then shook his head, and sighed once more.

"Well... first we'll see if a little sliver of passive protection will help." he said to himself.

He got up from where he was, disappeared from where he was standing, and appeared somewhere close to Erica's house. Once there, he walked over to the rear of her home, and merely sat down against the outer wall, wanting to see if his mere presence there would abate the curse any.

"Hm." Gabriel muttered.

"All good ideas." he said.

"Though showing up suddenly and directly might go badly." he went on.

He then sighed and shook his head.

"Regardless, I suppose I ought to at least get a look at her." he reasoned.

"...thanks for telling me." he then told her quietly.

"...hm." Gabe muttered.

"It's impressive she's made it so far." he said.

"On her own, anyway." he went on, before pausing. "Well... not on her own, but... well, you get my meaning." he clarified.

"Question is... how do I go about this...?" he then asked himself.

It was clear to Sari that he wanted to help... but he knew this had to be handled delicately.

And he feared he was rusty, and didn't wish to worsen everything.

"...sounds like him." Gabriel responded.

"And give me SOME information." he said.

"...I don't know if I want all of it." he admitted.

"So just give me what you think is pertinent." he told her further, as he started to put away his clarinet.

"..." he was then silent again, and looked at her.

"Did Ezekiel leave feeling much better?" he asked.

"I know." Gabe responded.

"But he's still so young." he continued, which... would have been odd to anyone else, but it was true. Compared to the others, Uriel was quite young.

"I wonder if he blames himself when he shouldn't..." he sighed.

This was another sign to Sari.

Gabriel was acting... far more like he used to. Before he'd become jaded and bitter.

"...sometimes." Gabriel echoed.

"Pretty much the same as you." he told her.

He then looked out the window, where he saw Uriel looking over some of the trees in the distance.

"...I wonder if he ever feels guilty." he mused.

"You think he blames himself for what happened to Dad?" he asked her.

"....oh yeah." Gabriel said, remembering that.

"Huh." he mumbled.

"Well... can't fault that, I suppose." he went on, getting up from where he was.

"Hey." he then said.

"...you... you ever miss him?" he asked.

"Dad, that is."

Gabriel was silent once more, before sighing again.

"Indeed." he said.

"...tell me." he then told her.

"Why a vet clinic?" he asked.

"I know you chose that a while ago, and I know you've been doing it for a while." he went on.

"But I've never known WHY." he continued.

"And it's occurred to me to ask, but then I always get distracted or never find you when it's fresh in my mind." he admitted.

Gabriel paused when she said what she did, his eyes frozen in surprise for a moment.

He looked away for a moment, and bit his lip.

"...it is, isn't it." he said quietly.

"Damn it." he sighed.

"I suppose it IS my duty, so to speak." he admitted.

Ryker had finished what he had, and Savra was finishing their fries, when the latter raised their eyebrow.

"....what?" he asked.

"What are you thinking, Eke?" he asked further.

He knew that toothy smile. It had a mischievous quality to it.

He wouldn't lie that it intrigued him.

"....." Gabriel was silent for a moment, before looking at the clarinet.

"I..." he stammered.

"...huh." he muttered.

"I... guess I never really took notice of the fact that I started playing again." he admitted.

"So... I suppose not." he told her with a shrug.

Gabriel had continued playing his instrument, finishing up the section he was working on, before pausing.

He didn't say anything to her at first, didn't even look at the door, and sighed.

"Come in!" he called to her.

"I know." he then said when she entered.

"Felt his presence dissipate." he told her.

"Still don't understand why you have to act like you do to him." he went on.

"How can you even relate to him?" he muttered.

Zeke paused for a moment, thinking about it.

"Both?" he answered.

"I mean, I AM feeling better than before." he told her.

"But... well... maybe a stroll through the garden would help the rest of it." he continued.

"I just want to make sure I'm REALLY calm and collected before I return to the surface." he reasoned.