Colin's posts

".....huh?" Chris muttered.

"Wait, what?" he asked looking towards her.

"Your aunt?" he asked her.

Ilias was silent for a moment.

"...do you not know who her aunt is?" he asked him.

Chris just shrugged in response.

"Maybe I do, but I'm not piecing it together." he said. "Maybe I learned it a while ago and forgot it." he offered.

"But I don't know how to respond to that statement." he continued.

"...though, are you serious about that work comment?" he then asked her.

He just looked away.

"I can't change what I did." he said.

"It's not fair to her that she was forced to bring children into this world, and that doing so took her life." he went on. "It's not fair to her children, or... anyone else in their line." he continued.

"It's not fair to... anyone." he sighed.

"What's my stance on it?" he asked.

"I'll never be able to completely forgive myself for what I did. Acting under Vanessa's orders or not." he then said further.

"It's probably one of the many permanent stains on my soul." he lamented.

"Odds are I'll carry the guilt for it for the rest of my life, however long that is, and know that I'll never truly be able to make up for what I did."

He paused for a moment, unsure as to what to say here.

"I..." he stammered.

"Uh..." he muttered further.

"Y-yeah, sure." he then got out.

"I mean... no problem?" he quickly said further, almost questioning it.

"...is that what one says when thanked...?" he wondered aloud, before sighing.

"You're welcome." he decided on.

Chris's heart jumped a bit when he heard her call out to him.

"...tend to someone else." he told the medic.

"For now, anyway." he said further.

He then sighed, and started to make his way to where he'd heard the voice.

Truth be told, he wanted to fly under the radar here... but more and more, it seemed like that was an impossibility.

He then stepped into the room, where Kiah was laying, and Ilias was sitting.

"...here I am." he said to them.

Chris was silent and crossed his arms over his chest.

"...don't think anything of it." he mumbled.

"Christopher Jenkins?" one of the medics addressed him suddenly, causing him to freeze up.

He wondered if those that had been talking had heard.

And what they would do if they had?

Would they want to see him? Talk to him?

How would THAT go?

"Hm?" he mumbled.

"Must be that chemist." he said.

"It really is." another male voice answered her.

"...actually, from what I heard, you weren't supposed to make it." he went on. "It seemed like you were going to die almost immediately, but someone that was here managed to.. well..." he muttered further, before stopping.

"How do I put this...?" he wondered aloud.

"Stop time." Chris mumbled.

"They stopped time so that you COULD be saved." the male commented.

"I think his name was... Chris...? I think?" he added.

"By all means." Chris replied.

"Have someone check her right now if you want." he shrugged.

He then managed to finish his food, before sighing.

"Let's go." he told her, weakly getting to his feet.

"I need to collapse and probably just do nothing." he said further.

"That took a lot outta me."

Chris was silent as she left.

"Good." he said.

"She just need to sleep now." he told Mira.

"Once she does that, she'll have her head on straight." he went on.

"...she'll be missing time, though." he then warned.

"Last thing she'll remember is going to the medical wing for something." he continued.

"And that was about... a week and a half ago." he said further.

"So yeah, she's lost about a week and a half of memories... but all the trauma and such that had accrued within that time."

That seemed to do it for him.

His eyes narrowed when she said what she did, in the tone that she did.

"That's it." he said.

"Distrust me all you want, but you don't deserve this life." he growled.

Then, before she could react, his eyes were glowing light blue, and he gently grabbed her by both sides of her head, in a motion that was so quick, nobody really had any time to react.

Once he did so, Hazel's mental state started rewinding... fast. However, she had been through a LOT in a very short amount of time, so Chris was finding it hard to do this. In the end, he had to stop to just before she had fallen victim to her first encounter with the shadows.

But everything was gone from that moment, until now.

Chris's eyes then returned to normal, and he slumped back in his chair, drained and exhausted now.

Her bitterness and pointed tone stung at him, he wouldn't lie... but he also couldn't fault her for it. He hadn't spoken to her since the ritual, and this newfound sense of conscience and moral compass was still something even HE couldn't believe he had.

So it was only fair that she make the assumption that he wanted her to serve him in some way.

"I... no..." he stammered.

"I don't want anything from you..." he told her.

"Not necessarily, anyway." he said further, before just sighing heavily.

"...I really don't like that this is how you turned out, though." he then muttered. "But I suppose, again, that's Vanessa's fault... mostly." he said further, thinking about it.

He and Vanessa's other 'helpers' played a factor, too.

"......." Chris was silent as he saw that Hazel was just picking at the food.

"Uh..." he stammered.

"So... well..." he muttered, before sighing.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I... haven't really seen you or heard anything about you since... well... that ritual." he mumbled.

"You... doing all right? Or any semblance of anything close to that?" he asked her.

"I know." Chris replied.

He then made his way to where to get food, and got something simple; some stew, some rolls, a bottle of water, and a slice of cake.

Once he had his food, he looked around, seeing a lot of the tables were quite full... not that he guessed people would be happy to have him for dining company, anyway. He then noticed Hazel sitting at a table, mostly alone, and sighed.

He made his way over and quietly sat down across from her.

"...hi." he then greeted her after a moment.

He watched her go, and sighed.

"Even if I had a choice, I'd still listen to that." he mumbled.

As she walked, Ashleigh heard some of the people mumbling... mostly about Chris and what he'd done.

From what she was able to hear and gather, Kiah was already improving, and her chances of survival were all but confirmed.

And that this wouldn't be the case under any other circumstances.

Chris had literally saved Kiah's life.

And odds were that those that cared about her would have some very confused and mixed feelings about this.

"Again, we'll see." he told her.

"I know there's a chance they won't put me to death, but... I'd rather not get my hopes up." he said.

He then let out a heavy sigh... but she could tell there was relief in it.

"...heh." he chuckled.

"Bring free from Vanessa." he commented.

"...I like it." he said.

"I like these new feelings."