Colin's posts

Nate looked over towards her, and nodded.

"All right." he replied.

"I won't ask for details NOW, but I expect them later." he told her.

"We're not swamped, so it'll be fine." he reasoned.

"..." he was then silent for a moment, and looked at her concernedly.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I have time!" Gabriel spat out quickly.

"Plenty!" he told her, before pausing, and clearing his throat.

"Ah, yes." he mumbled.

"I have the time right now if YOU do." he clarified.

"Just... find a place." he told her.

"Here, elsewhere, anywhere." he went on.

"Let's... let's talk."

Gabriel was silent again for a moment, his brain trying to process her question, before he finally nodded.

"Y... yes." he said.

"She... she was suffering. From the curse, and because of that damned dark elf." he told her.

"Sariel... she told me about this. She... reminded me of what I am. Who I used to be." he went on.

"I couldn't... I didn't... she didn't deserve that fate." he sighed.

"...I thought... I... you..." he then stammered further, before just giving up.

His mind was a typhoon of emotions and thoughts, and he didn't know what to say to her right now.

Gabe just smiled again.

"You're welcome, Erica." he responded, before stepping out of the room, shutting the door, sparing a lingering look towards her, turning around, and then freezing in place when he saw the one that had frozen when she saw and heard HIM.

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

"I... I..." he stuttered further.

"E... E... Ebony?" he then asked her.

"......Ebby....?" he asked further, his tone more quiet now.

Gabe paused for a moment, thinking about her offer, pondering what the answer could be to it. He narrowed his eyes as the gears turned in his mind, before looking at her once again.

"...hm." he mumbled.

"I DO like some of the foods that this realm has to offer." he told her.

"Dinner with you DOES sound like a tempting offer." he admitted. "I'll take you up on that at some point." he went on.

"...just send a prayer up. I'll find it." he smiled.

He was silent for a moment, before smiling at her.

"My name is Gabriel." he told her. "Or just 'Gabe'." he added.

"And I'm... an angel. A guardian angel, I suppose." he went on, walking over towards the door.

"Anyway, just lay back down and take it easy. Odds are you're feeling a little disoriented and dizzy at the moment, so don't keep yourself elevated for too long. Again, an hour or so, all right?" he asked.

"As for me..." he went on, opening the door, but still looking at her.

"...I'm going to find an empty room where I can disappear without a fuss being made, and let my sister do her work."

"Well, that's a side-effect from my mana, sadly." he told her.

"Actually, it's combined. My mana is very strong, so your body is still reeling from it a bit, plus that dark elf's mana leaves a bad taste in ones mouth, so to speak, and your curse was essentially invaded for a bit." he explained.

"So you'll feel bad for a while... but it'll be ignorable after an hour or so. It varies from person to person." he said.

"..." he was then silent, before looking at her in her eyes.

"You're strong." he said.

"You held off against her for an impressive length of time."

"...." he was silent as Ashleigh said what she did and hastily made her exit. He watched the door, stunned for a moment, before looking over towards Erica. He sat down in the chair that was beside the table, and sighed.

"I know." he said.

"I... I'm glad I was able to help." he told her.

"You... didn't deserve to be suffering like that. I... I'm just glad that it worked." he went on.

"And thank you in return." he then said further. "You caught on quickly to what was happening, thereby making the process smoother and a lot more speedy." he explained.

"...just take it easy for an hour or so."

The man paused when he heard that, and she could see the shock and disbelief in his expression... to the point of being stunned. He looked at her for close to 10 seconds in pure silence, before finally finding his voice.

"...right." he said.

"First thing. It's fine. Just... be mindful of that in the future." he told her. "Your her sister, so I can't expect you to not have some similarities to her, but if you truly want to leave her behind and wash your hands of her, try and stop imitating her. Intellectual curiosity is fine, but you sounded like this one was nothing more than a mere case study in that moment." he explained.

"Secondly... and more importantly... E-Ebony?" he stammered.

"You... I... THAT Ebony?" he asked her.

"She's... she's HERE?" he asked further.

"...." he was silent, before using his mana to forcefully undo the straps, allowing Erica full motion and movement once more.

"Don't. Don't thank me." he said.

"Not like THAT, anyway." he told her.

"You want to properly thank me, you can 2 things right now." he then said further, looking into her eyes.

"The first is to go and help the young one suffering from your sister's cursed mana." he told her. "The second is to try and not evoke the image of your sister like that ever again." he went on.

"Your sister has gotten her claws into one such as Erica in the past. And you unknowingly pretty much quoted her when you said this would 'definitely a learning experience'." he revealed.

"...the last one she got her claws into died horribly."

Erica went through essential hell for close to 40 minutes, before the man's eyes opened wider.

"NOW!" he exclaimed.

"EXPEL HER MANA! BANISH HER FROM YOUR BODY!" he declared.

"BY THE POWER OF THE LORD, I PURIFY YOU!" he finished, his voice more booming than before... and evoking the presence of God themselves... before he pulled his hand up from her... and familiar translucent crimson red mana coming up with it, encased in his own mana.

He continued to raise his hand upwards, until the crimson mana stopped flowing out of Erica's body, and he used his other hand to cut through the connection of his mana to her... trapping the dark elf mana.

"And done." he declared.

The male paused for a moment, before looking at her with narrowed eyes. He was fully ready to say something to her, but found himself pausing suddenly, and reconsidering his words... and tone.

"...indeed." was all he said.

He then looked back at Erica, and removed the gag from her mouth.

"Let this happen." he told her.

"The mana will feel invasive, but resist the urge to fight it." he said. "Let it mingle within you... and you'll soon know how to work with it." he continued. "This requires your cooperation, so learn what this mana requires from you." he finished.

He then placed a hand on her chest, and his mana started to seep into her.

Sure enough, she had the initial reaction to push it back... but she quickly realised that the mana, if she would work with it, would expel Vanessa's influence.

"I am." he responded.

"And if you're not careful, you'll do more harm than good." he said, approaching and looking down at Erica. "...her curse is... unique." he told her. "It reacts in such a way that they intertwine with each other, and the more you try and pull out the dark elf's influence... the more you risk yanking out her own mana as well, killing her." he explained.

"...I know how this curse works." he said further.

"And I know how to work around its... quirks and intricacies." he went on.

"Now... MAY I?" he asked her, almost sounding like he was seeking permission... though in a sarcastic way.

Nate just sighed as he watched Ashleigh go into the room, before shaking his head.

"Right, time to get to work." he told himself. "Or... back to work." he then muttered.

With that, he walked back to the storage room, and looked at a few of the boxes that were there. They needed to be opened, catalogued, and put away. And he needed to busy himself right now. So it seemed obvious. He set to work, anxiously waiting for Ashleigh's return.

--

Ashleigh had been working on Erica for a bit... and was making NO progress. None. It seemed that her curse and Vanessa's mana were JUST the right (or wrong) combination to keep her hold on the young woman ironclad.

However, after she stopped to take a break, and then stepped forwaerd to try again, she swore she heard a voice echo in her mind.

Don't touch her. it said.

Just as she was wondering if she was going nuts, a pillar of light appeared in the corner of the room. It lasted for about 5 seconds, before dying down, revealing a man that looked more toned than even Lindsay with his muscle structure, short light brown hair, and a white tee-shirt with dark blue jeans. He crossed his arms and looked around, before noticing that Ashleigh stood at least 4 inches higher than him.

"Well." he said.

"That's rather emasculating." he said bluntly, with an intimidating aura.

...or it would be, if he didn't look tiny when compared to her.