Colin's posts

There was a brief silence on the other side, but Eke caught Aly's shocked breath that she had taken.

"You... you did?" she asked.

"Eke..." she said further.

"That's... that's amazing." she told him.

"That's wonderful!" she then said.

"That's truly wonderful." she repeated, and he could almost hear the tears of happiness she was shedding.

"Hey there." Ty greeted her.

"Buckle up." he said after she shut the door. Once she was, he pulled out of the lot and headed towards the Unit.

"So, they told me it was successful." he commented.

"Yep." Izea responded.

"How was he?" he asked.

"He have anything... sketchy or off about him?" he asked further.

"Anything that's a red flag?"

"Excellent." they replied.

"Rendezvous with Agent King, and he'll take you back to the Unit." they told her.

"We'll notify Agent Sharp about the success, and he'll want to speak with you." they finished.

"Noted." Izea responded to them.

"Out." was all the one on the other end said, before it went quiet.

"We have an agent standing by." the voice replied.

"It's Agent King. He's in his car waiting for you in the parking lot across from the cafe." they went on.

"If you want to just make your way to him, go ahead, otherwise, he'll meet you in the cafe." they continued.

"...how did it go?" they then asked.

"Infiltration successful?" they asked further.

She could tell there was a little concern in their tone, but it was more of a 'did you spark his interest' question.

Val nodded in response.

"Very well, then." he said.

He then escorted her to the door, and opened it for her. Once she stepped outside, they looked at each other.

"I'll call you..." he mumbled, looking at a calendar that was hung up beside the door. "...Tuesday." he said. "And it'll likely be bright at early, around 9ish." he continued.

"Oh! And let me know if you'll need a ride or anything back here." he then said.

"I mean, you just said you can easily walk home from here, but the offer is on the table." he continued, before pausing and grabbing something out of his pocket. It was his wallet, and he took a business card out of it.

"It's my cell phone number on it." he said. "I'm not a legit business yet, so that number will need to suffice if you need to get ahold of me for anything." he continued.

"Please call me fairly soon, just so I actually have YOUR number, so I can contact you." he added with a small chuckle.

Once she had signed, he looked it over and signed as well. Once he did so, he made his way to a photocopier and copied the documents. She then saw him file away the originals in a filing cabinet, and brought her the copies.

"For your records." he told her.

"Anyway, I think we're done here for now." he said.

"I need to get my creative juices flowing and get some ideas!" he declared.

"Do you need a ride back to your place?" he asked.

"Well, of course." he said.

"Obviously parameters are meant to be put in place." he reasoned.

"But I think everyone deserves to find happiness. To BE happy." he told her.

He then sighed and leaned back in his chair, almost staring at the ceiling, but his eyes weren't focused on anything in particular.

"I realised that my photos can show others a new side of the world. One they'd never considered before." he said. "I think that maybe... just maybe... I can change lives with my art." he continued.

"Perhaps start something new. A world where mage and mythical can truly exist as 100% equals, in every way, with no need to hide anything." he finished.

THIS was the person that had so many allegations of abuse against him? What was the deal here?

"Why, thank you." he replied.

"And excellent!" he then exclaimed.

"One moment." he told her, getting up from the chair. He made his way to the desk that was close by, and started to rifle through it. He found about 5 papers stapled together, and brought them to her, along with a pen.

"Read through these." he told her.

"In effect, it's a contract agreement that we'll both sign at the end." he went on.

"The majority is just an agreement for duration, number of photos, hours per session, that sort of thing." he continued. "However, page 4 is strictly about checking off what you're comfortable with, and what you won't do, in terms of poses or attire." he continued.

"Once that's filled out, I'll take a day or so to come up with session ideas, get the creative juices flowing, and then contact you for the first session." he finished, handing the papers to her.

Aly was... stunned for a moment.

"Really?" she asked.

"Up to your waist???" she asked further.

"I was there!" Ryker call out so she could hear it. "He did! Right up to his waist! Didn't panic!" he added.

"Eke, I'm so proud!" Aly beamed.

"Congratulations!"

Val just sighed.

"...take a look at that binder." he told her.

When she did, and started to flip through it, she saw photos. LOTS of photos.

And they were... varied, to understate it. She saw elves, dryads, fae, ramaarin, even a lantha was in there. They were all tasteful glamour shots too... of them in their unhidden glory. As they were. As nature had made them.

"I... get tired of those that don't look 'normal' thinking they need to hide who they are from mages." he said. "The world at large I can understand. I don't like it, but I understand it. But mages should accept those that aren't like them." he continued.

"I want to showcase natural beauty. I want to show them all that there's nothing that needs to be hidden." he said further.

"...Izea, let me photograph you." he told her bluntly.

"You are a goblin, yes?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Please. Let me show the world your beauty, mechanical arm and all." he continued. "I can see it. The raw beauty that the world has shaped... let me show the world that you exist, and are worthy to be seen in the sunlight, as you truly are."

"Not far." Val replied.

"About 5 minutes longer." he told her.

Sure enough, about 5 minutes later, the car stopped in front of what looked to be a small warehouse... which was already kind of sketchy. They were both let out of the car, and made their way to the door that was close by. Val unlocked it and stepped inside, gesturing for her to follow.

Once she did... she saw that the interior was completely redone.

The walls were painted various scenes and patterns for different backgrounds, it looked like it had been insulated, the lighting was all there and it seemed like it was actually a comfortable area.

And she noticed papers everywhere. A desk, and a cabinet under lock and key... as well as a small round table with comfortable chairs around it... with a huge binder on said table.

"Come on and have a seat." he told her, walking to the table and chairs.

Val had grabbed a glass and poured a tiny bottle of champagne in it, nodding as she said what she did.

"I see, I see." he said.

"That makes sense, then." he commented.

"And Izea is a nice name." he told her

"It's unique, and I feel like it suits you." he continued.

"Yes, yes, indeed." he mumbled, seemingly talking to himself now, and drinking some of what he'd poured.

"Ah, how thoughtless of me." he replied, as the door was shut behind him.

"I am Valentino." he told her.

"Call me Val if you wish." he continued, with the car pulling away.

Once it did, he opened the small fridge between them, where she saw a decent variety of drinks.

"Complementary, of course." he informed her.

"Feel free to take whatever." he said.

"And it's wonderful how you've managed to come back from losing your arm." he added.

"I see." he replied.

"Well, it's a shame that that happened in the first place." he told her.

"However, it's good that a solution was found." he then added.

She saw he wanted to almost gush about this, but before either of them could really say anything more, the limo cab showed up... and it was one of the nicer ones that the city had to offer, complete with complimentary drinks.

The driver got out and opened the door on the side they were on, and he gestured to her.

"I'll go in the other side." he said, starting to make his way there.