Colin's posts

"Hmmmm..." he mumbled.

"Yes." he then said.

"Yes, I do." he told them.

Chris heard this, and immediately knew what was coming. He quickly and quietly put some distance bewteen him and the room, though, so nobody would know he had overheard that.

However, where he was supposed to be, wasn't very far away. So he heard it when Azari bellowed his name out.

He sighed, and quickly made his way into the room.

"Y-yes?" he asked.

"There you go." Azari said to them.

"Test your skills on the little grub there." he finished, gesturing to Chris.

"Feel free to test." Azari replied.

He then paused for a moment.

"Well... don't break her." he then said.

"After all, you JUST acquired her form." he reasoned.

"But... indeed, feel free to test the limits." he continued.

"I will tell Madam that this was successful." he told them further.

"How ARE you feeling in that form?" he asked.

"It'll all be over soon." Azari replied.

"Let it happen." he told her.

"Less of a chance you'll die that way." he added with a dark chuckle.

However, nearby, another individual had overheard all that. It was Chris.

And his hand clenched into a fist, his teeth gritting slightly.

'Damn it.' he thought.

'Damn it all.' he cursed internally.

Meanwhile, Azari just shook his head.

"Ah, the darkness is lightening slightly." he commented.

"Seems this IS a success."

"Yes." Azari replied.

"Suitable." he said.

That's when she swore she felt someone... or something... touch her.

She looked around abruptly, but nothing was there.

...could she see it even if something WAS there?

But then she KNEW she felt something grasp her shoulders.

"Let it happen." Azari commanded.

"Let it in."

"Oh, I'm here." he replied.

"Just keep stepping forward." he told her.

She complied, but as she did... she could feel... something.

Something was more... oppressive than before.

She almost felt like something else was watching her.

Had its eyes on her.

"Heh." Azari then chuckled.

"Yes, it seems you ARE suitable." he commented.

There was silence for a moment, before she heard her brother's voice.

"I did." he said.

"Keep going." he told her.

"Do NOT keep me waiting." he then said. "More than you already have." he added.

His voice was calm, but... it was also impatient... cold... harsh.

There had always been a little of that in his voice in the past, as he was generally a very angry and resentful person, but there was compassion in it as well... one that was now completely gone.

And the harshness had grown... to the point where it was evocative of the one that ran things here.

"Mana." Azazel replied.

"I live further away." he reasoned.

"And I'd rather be back home sooner, rather than later." he went on.

"Want me to walk you home?" he offered.

"I'll mana home after seeing you to your front door." he chuckled lightly.

"All there is to do now is wait." Azazel said.

"This is now a time game." he continued.

"They can only wait so long before striking again, once they do." he reminded her.

"Assuming... this IS them..." he then muttered.

"Regardless, I think if this happens again in... roughly a month... we may have issues." he continued.

"So I need to note this exact date and such, and keep it in my memory."

Azazel nodded in response.

"Of course." he replied.

"And trust me, nothing short of something catastrophic would get me to tell you to scram." he told her.

"Believe me on that." he continued.

"We've gone through too much to have it just... end." he reasoned, a bit of a whimsical and reminiscing tone to his voice.

"But yes, I will definitely keep you in the loop." he said.

"If this happens to me again, or I notice it happening to those around me, you WILL be notified."

"Same." Azazel replied.

They then ate their food and finished their drinks, conversing as they did so, with Azazel leaving money at the table to pay for it.

"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice." he told her as they were getting ready to go, putting their coats back on and such.

"I already feel a lot better." he admitted.

"Just being able to tell this to someone was a huge help." he continued.

"And I DO hope we've seen and/or heard the last of this."

Azazel paused when she said this.

"...oh..." he muttered.

"Oh dear, you're right." he said.

"And he... he actually NEEDS sleep." he told her.

"We don't. That, alone, makes us a little more equipped to deal with them." he went on.

"They can potentially trap people in a nigh-perpetual nightmare." he continued.

"Yeah, paying close attention to Jake might be best." he finished, as their food arrived and the server asked if they wanted anything else. When they both said no, the person left.

"Sorry to... put such a damper on things JUST as the food arrives." Azazel apologised.

Azazel nodded.

"Just being here to talk to helps." he told her.

"Someone I can share this with, and they know what I'm talking about." he went on.

"And can offer advice from a demonic standpoint." he continued.

"It helps so much." he assured her.

"But... you be careful, too." he reiterated.

"Who knows if this thing will strike again, and towards WHO."

"Cain? No." Azazel replied.

"Aedan? Yeah." he said.

"She was in the den doing some gaming." he told her.

"Seemed just fine to me." he shrugged.

"....and yes, I need to be vigilant here." he agreed.

"This might be nothing, this might be a disaster." he sighed.

"I just... it seemed to just come out of nowhere, Anya." he added, looking into her eyes.

Azazel nodded in response.

"Right." he said.

"Right, yeah." he said further.

He then sighed heavily, and calmed himself down a little, as Cyril arrived with their drinks.

"Here ya go." he told them.

"Food'll be out soon." he said.

"Thanks, Cyril." Azazel said to him.

"No worries." the man replied, before heading off once more.