Colin's posts

"....oh!" Ilias then exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry." Nate quickly apologised. "I was a bit surprised by-" he started to say, before Ilias raised a hand, palm out.

"Ah-ah-ah." he said.

"I understand now. It's cool." he told him.

"So. What does MINE look like?" he asked with a smirk.

"...like... almost like... a... stone statue... of... something maybe resembling a hydra...?" Nate replied confusedly.

Ilias just laughed a little at that description.

"...I... ah... I see." Nate responded.

"That's... now I'm more curious than ever." he mumbled.

"I mean, what on earth-" he started to ask, before the man in question turned the corner, and almost ran INTO them.

"Oh! Hello!" he greeted them.

Instantly, Nate was taken aback... and he looked confused and shocked.

"....yes...?" Ilias asked, almost seemingly offended.

"Huh?" Nate muttered.

"I mean, yeah, it's a little on the warmer side, but... it's nothing TOO extreme. I'll be fine." he assured her.

"But because of Ilias?" he asked.

"Who's that?" he asked her. "And why does the temperature need to be higher for him?" he asked further.

"Or is this a case of it being easier to just meet him?"

Nate paused again.

"Er... all right." he said.

"Thanks for the warning." he told her.

He had to admit, he was VERY curious now. He had no idea what it was she could be referring to... and she didn't even know how to explain it to him, which made things even MORE confusing.

"I get the feeling I'll be given a lot of warnings here." he then mumbled.

"Not that I haven't already." he continued.

"But I mean.... a lot MORE."

"That would be great." Nate replied.

"And... it SHOULD happen, yeah." he agreed. "I just need to get used to the people here and such." he reasoned.

"But there will be a lot of 'firsts' here for me." he admitted.

"As Lunet has said, I've jumped into the deep end." he went on. "So I need to be prepared for almost anything." he continued.

"...never would have thought that meant meeting the very planet ITSELF, though."

"...oh. I see." Nate replied.

"Well, that's... I'm sorry to hear that?" he said confusedly.

"At any rate, doesn't seem like it's much to worry about. It's small, and it seems like it's not threatening to get worse in any way." he assured her.

"Anyway, yeah, seeing Miss Terra was... difficult." he confirmed.

"I... blanked out for a period of time. I am... unsure as to how long." he admitted further.

"And I still feel a little... like there's some lingering presence, and I can almost sense her hovering over me, if that makes sense." he went on.

Nate sighed quietly.

"I see... well, a lot." he told her.

"And yes, I've learned that mana IS a big part of one's life force." he continued.

"...." he was then silent, biting his lip slightly.

"Not... not to alarm you, but.. it seems like there's... there might be something concerning in your health or aura." he told her.

"Like... I'm not sure what it is, but there's something... off... at your core. Does your family have a history of any sort of illness or genetic irregularities?" he asked.

Nate looked at Kiah, and nodded.

"Hi, Kiah." he greeted her.

"I was told by Miss Alicja to get some fresh air, but I'm pretty sure that was meant as a catch-all for clearing my head." he told her.

"So... that would be wonderful, yes." he commented.

"And yes, you're right. I can, and it was nigh incomprehensible for me." he confirmed.

"...by the way, your life is burning admirably." he then complimented her.

Nate was almost instantly overcome with her aura. It looked like a life-force that was burning brightly, with no signs of snuffing out anytime soon. But... there was something else.

Something deep in the core of it.

Something... dark. Dark and ominous.

But she had asked him a question, and he needed to answer it without keeping her waiting.

"I..." he stammered.

"Well, I was... I don't know if you know me, or about me, but I'm the new intern in the medical wing, Nathan." he told her.

"And... I have... recently met Miss Terra."

Nate nodded in response.

"All right." he replied.

"Thank you." he told her.

"Just... seriously. Thanks." he repeated with a small smile.

He then left the medical wing, making his way down the hallway, stopping for a moment and sighing.

"Ugh." he mumbled, still reeling a bit from earlier.

Nate was, once again, overwhelmed.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

But he was hearing it. Plain as day.

"I... ah... I see." he said.

"That's... nothing short of amazing." he told her.

"And I mean that is ALL sense of the word." he continued.

"That is absolutely amazing."

"Oh, it's... I'm sure it's not her fault." Nate responded.

"But... but seriously. What WAS that?" he asked.

"HOW can she have such a presence?" he asked her.

"That... that was... I mean... yeah..." he then mumbled.

"I've never experienced ANYTHING like that before." he continued.

"Was I... I mean... how!? How can she have the aura of the planet!?"'

When she straightened up, Nate seemed to snap back to reality.

"Ah! R-right." he said.

"Right, yeah. Yeah, all right." he replied.

He then stepped away from the desk, and sighed.

"...um... I read the note." he told her. "Obviously." he mumbled.

"....how is she doing?" he asked.

"Is she all right?"

Nate was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"That's... understating it. Massively." he replied.

"What I saw was... it was... almost too much to comprehend." he told her.

"Something must be wrong with me..." he went on.

"I saw... the... plan... et." he then managed to get out... before noticing just what sort of view that the woman had given him.

And his face turned a decidedly noticeable shade of pink.