Colin's posts

Nate wasn't very strong, but he WAS quick... and as she dropped, he raced to catch her, and managed to stop her from collapsing completely to the floor.

"Shit, shit, shit..." he cursed.

"Hey!" he called out.

"Help!" he yelled further. "Dr. Edwards collapsed!" he then shouted.

He didn't know who was immediately around, but he'd hoped SOMEONE had heard him. He wouldn't be able to carry Angela to a bed all by himself, and he didn't have any active mana to teleport her there.

"That's... that's plain to see." Nate responded, but then paused. "Er... well... for me, anyway." he mumbled, shaking his head a little, and looking at her a little more closely.

"...yeah, you need to lie down, yourself." he told her.

"I can see that things are not going well for you, health-wise." he went on. "And that is criminally understating it." he added.

"Come on." he said.

"We need to get you to a room, and tended to. NOW."

The door was opened, and Nate stepped inside, looking at the clipboard in his hand.

"Dr. Edwards, I'm pleased to report that Agent Buckler's condition IS steadily improving, and-" he started to say, before he looked up and saw her... and paused where he was, almost glued to the spot.

"Good heavens, Dr. Edwards, are you all right!?" he exclaimed, quickly making his way towards her.

That's when she remembered; this was Nathan.

The ONE person that nobody could hide how their health was, from. He could see it all in their 'aura'.

Which means hers had to have been seriously wonky for him to suddenly make such an exclamation.

No sooner had she finished uttering those words, did she heard a knock on her office door.

"Dr. Edwards?" she heard Nate call out to her... but it sounded distorted. Warped. However, almost everything did with her... probably had to do with why everything was spinning.

"Dr. Edwards, you in?" Nate asked through the door.

"I have the updates you requested for Agent Buckler." he added. It was a patient that had been admitted recently, due to sustaining injuries from being outside in the horrible weather, and while it wasn't critical, she did ask for updates on changes of their condition, good or bad.

She heard the phone autodial the number, and then there was silence. Then a ring... but it was a short ring, almost cut off abruptly by something. And then she heard an automated female voice.

"The number you are trying to reach could not be found at this time. Your call cannot be completed at this time. Please hang up and try your call again. The number you are thing to reach..." it droned.

A cell number. She'd called a cell phone.

And they were out of service at the moment.

"Before I go." Gregory said, before waving his hand at her. As he did so, a black prism appeared in the air before her, which she instinctively caught when it started to fall to the floor.

"Use that." he told her.

"Hold it when you try to 'contact' him." he went on.

"It's what we reapers use when we need to get ahold of him." he went on. "Essentially, it'll act like a megaphone for you to 'shout' into, and it'll amplify your 'call'." he explained.

"If we can't go to him, the least we can do is make it so he HAS to come to use to stop bugging him." he finished.

He then disappeared in a puff of inky darkness, leaving her alone once more.

"No." Gregory responded quickly. It was blunt, it was curt, and it was almost rude. However, before she could comment on it, he continued.

"You may be reaper-adjacent, but you're NOT a reaper. You're a fae. You're not dead. You're alive." he told her. "We the reapers have NO dominion over you. We cannot interfere with you. And if I were to use my scythe on you, it would backfire and send me to Hell." he went on.

"The reapers are literally powerless to stop you." he continued.

"However." he then said quickly. "There IS one that can help you. One that has dominion over us reapers, you, dominion over death... and that is Death, himself. Jack." he revealed.

"However... we don't go to him, HE comes to US." he then sighed.

"That being said, if you managed to channel your instincts, your mana, your power... and focus it on HIM... he may just come to you, even if because he won't be able to ignore you, and show up just to stop you from proverbially screaming at him constantly." he revealed.

"Oh, yeah." Vincent replied. "That's true." he said. "I HAVE had it for a few decades now." he remembered, thinking about it a little, trying to remember the reason for the shift.

"...can't remember why, exactly, but I think it was reasoned that it's actually safer here, or it was deemed to be not worthy to take up space in the Council's library, so you just gave it to me to avoid pointless arguing." he muttered.

"Regardless, let's see what we can find." he finished.

---

She was met with silence after she called into the air. So she did it again.

And again. And again. And again.

Until, finally, she saw a VERY familiar reaper with short red hair appear before her.

"....yes?" Gregory asked, sounding annoyed and exasperated.

"Kinda super busy right now, what's happening?" he asked her further.

Vincent paused and thought for a moment.

"...that is a very good question." he said. "One I don't have the answer to." he admitted, before he quickly made his way through his book cases and shelves, coming back in about 5 minutes with two thick tomes.

"All right." he muttered.

"Which one do you want to scan through?" he asked.

"The one about prophecies and premonitions, or the one about recorded religion and mythology?" he inquired, sitting down beside her.

"You do that." Vincent replied.

"I'll do the same." he told her, before they ended the call and he hung up.

"..." he was then silent as he started to make the tea up for him and his sister.

"The answer to your query is 'not very well at all'." he said to Hollie. "Ash is suppressing frightening amounts of mana that threaten to go wild, while researching all he can at Candentus Lux, Lindsay is in a constant state of pain, and is reasonably certain that if he dies, he's not coming back, Casey herself said she's walking the very precipice of life and death... and Ashleigh is just straight-up missing." he reported.

"So... things aren't good there, at all." he summarised, as he brought the tray over with the kettle of boiling water, some mugs, the tea itself, and various additions. He set it down before her, and sighed.

"I'm going to find the books." he said.

"I'll look in one, you can search through the other."

Vincent was silent once more, wanting desperately to comment on how horrible Casey sounded... but he decided against it. He was sure Casey knew just how bad she sounded, and didn't need to be reminded of it.

"I hope he does." he said.

"Or that Hollie and I do." he added.

"Just keep hoping, and keep the faith alive." he told her.

"I promise, we'll do everything we can in our power to stop whatever's happening." he vowed.

"...that is even MORE worrisome." Vincent mumbled.

"For him to be so sure of that... and while he's naïve, he's not foolish with his assumptions. And he knows his own body better than anyone else." he continued. "...well... Zeria, arguably, but that's semantics." he then muttered.

"But yes, I know something's going on." he told her.

"Hollie and I are in the process of researching possible causes, and therefore solutions." he continued.

"Well work as quickly as we possibly can." he then assured her, and Casey could hear the concern and worry in his tone. She knew what it was, too. He was worried about her, and how she said she felt. He viewed her and her sister as adoptive daughters, and to hear such a thing was happening concerned him greatly, and strengthened his resolve to do something to help.

"I see." Vincent responded.

"That's very worrisome." he said.

"Especially Ashleigh-" he went on, before a cry of pain roared through the house.

"...good heavens." he mumbled.

"Lindsay sounds like he's dying." he told her.

Vincent stopped when he heard that.

"I... hang on, I need to make a phone call." he told her.

And he did so, the home phone of the Fyrane manor rang, and it was answered by none other than Casey.

"Casey, it's Vincent." Vincent said when she answered.

"How are you all doing there?" he asked.

"...specifically, Lindsay and Ash." he then clarified.