Colin's posts

Jake paused, before calling Zeke to the checkpoint.

Zeke arrived, and it was clear he already knew Emelie was there.

He confirmed it with Jake, and she was allowed entry.

"I... didn't expect to see you here." he admitted to her.

Jake's mouth seemed to dry up for a moment, before he finally found his voice.

"Ah..." he said.

"Something tells me I'm not a barrier to you. At all." he told her.

"But... but, well, if you need to speak with someone in the medical wing, do you have an appointment?" he asked.

"Or, at the very least, whom shall I say is coming down there?" he asked further.

Zeke nodded in response.

"All right." he said.

"I'll be back shortly." he told her.

---

Jake looked at the one that approached, and raised an eyebrow. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

His tongue darted out slightly, which then caused his eyes to widen considerably.

"...ah... h-hello." he responded.

"How... how can I help you?" he asked.

Zeke looked to be about to respond immediately, before pausing.

"...ah." he said.

"I need to take a plant from the garden rooftop and transplant it back home before the sun rises." he told her.

"But I've got nothing going on aside from that." he then said.

"I can come back and hang out after, if you like."

"....I see." Zeke responded.

"That's... ominously cryptic." he said.

"Well, I hope the scars that Vanessa left will heal sooner, rather than later." he commented.

"...anyway, I just... wanted to see how you were doing." he told her.

"I sensed Excalibur here, and had to come see you immediately."

"As long as she's okay." he said.

"I remember she seems genuinely sorry, and miserable, to be doing what she was doing." he recalled.

"..." he was then silent, and scratched the back of his head.

"...how are your cousins?" he asked.

"They were there for a lot longer than you." he commented.

"They doing okay?"

"I can't tell you what to do." Zeke replied. "Nor would I presume to, if I knew." he continued.

"But just know I am here if you need to talk." he said.

"Or if you ever want to train again, or just want a swordsman to spar against, let me know." he added.

"..." he was then silent, before sighing quietly.

"Damn, though..." he mumbled.

"Seems you're becoming a real expert with that sword already." he commented. "Looks like it really knows who is meant to have it, and who isn't." he said further, before pausing.

"Wait, what about that woman? Caelia, I think her name was?" he asked.

"Ah!" Zeke exclaimed.

"Yes, that does make more sense." he admitted.

"Well, good thing I decided to lay the groundwork for the capabilities of the sword before actually training you to swing it around." he then said. "Looks like that paid off far better than we could have ever anticipated." he commented further.

He was then silent once more, before sighing quietly.

"...hey, Kelly?" he then addressed her.

"I'm not calling you out, nor am I going to say anything to anyone, but... I can tell that some part of you isn't really okay." he revealed. "It's... I'm good at reading souls that way." he said. "And... it's understandable that you're not 100% fine or anything. I wouldn't expect it." he admitted.

"But if you want to talk... or vent... or anything... and you're not sure WHO to go to... just... gimme a call or something, okay?" he offered.

Zeke paused when she said all that.

"Ah... I..." he stammered.

"What? Really?" he asked her.

He then pondered ALL she said, before the last statement clicked in his mind, and his eyes widened a little.

"Hold on, hold on." he said.

"Vanessa Encrae is... gone?" he asked. "Dead?" he asked further.

"...and... and from what I'm hearing and perceiving, are you saying that that final blow was dealt by you, and because of our training?"

To say Zeke has been surprised by the hug would be an understatement. He was almost stunned, but after a few seconds, forced himself to return the embrace, lest she feel it unwanted, which was not the case.

He could hear the hesitation in her voice, though. And it stung at him, as he felt personally responsible for it.

"..." he was then silent, before biting his bottom him.

"Well... that's... that's all right..." he got out, before deciding that he was through making this awkward forced small talk.

"Kelly, I'm sorry." he apologised. "It's my fault that you were kidnapped. I failed to protect you. I failed as a guardian angel, as the one that was teaching you, as one that was responsible for your well-being while we were training." he continued.

"...I'm so sorry..." he repeated, his tone quieter, and his voice quivering slightly.

Zeke then noticed that the room was, indeed, at a much higher temperature than the rest of the wing. It wasn't unbearable or super-uncomfortable, but it was definitely noticeable.

He quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him, before sighing.

"...sorry." he apologised.

"........you all right?" he then asked her after a pause.

"How... how ya doing?" he asked further.

He was almost afraid to hear her answer, or take what was potentially coming to him. But he knew whatever was coming, he deserved it.

That was his mindset, anyway.

As soon as she turned around to head back to her desk, he was gone. And she knew that, she'd heard him.

He hastily made his way to the door that Angela had mentioned, but stopped at it just as quickly as he'd run there. He was awash with mixed feelings of relief and guilt, as he shakily reached for the knob.

He gulped heavily, before just sighing and grabbed it, turning it, and opening the door.

He was then silent, before slowly peering his head in.

He had no idea if she was awake or asleep, and didn't want to risk waking her up if it was the latter.

"...." Zeke was silent, and she noticed he looked distracted.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"Oh, the Tiger Trap Vine, yeah." he said. "Yeah, I'll... I'll... do that..." he said.

"Angela?" he then addressed her.

"Am I going nuts and experiencing mana hallucinations?" he asked.

"Because... I SWEAR I can sense Excalibur."

Normally, because of his mana, the one that was coming could just teleport into the med-wing, and his mana was recognised, so it didn't set off any alarms. That's not what happened this time.

She could always feel when he teleported in, his mana was VERY noticeable, especially to her, seeing as she lived with him, but she didn't feel it this time. Instead, she heard sluggish footsteps...which then turned into quickened ones, and a knock on her office door.

"I'm here." he said, his tone a bit confused, but hopeful.

This meant he actually teleported to the main security checkpoint, and walked down to the medical wing. Something he almost never did.

And this was about 25 minutes later.