Colin's posts

"You know as well as I do the number of little hideaways she has." Ash responded.

"Whether they be the ones we set up for her, or the ones she cobbled together on her own." he went on.

"But remember, she has that thing in about 3 weeks." he continued.

"She has precious little time before she needs to start tapering off." he said further.

"So she's hitting it HARD until she'll be 'forced' to lower her training." he shrugged.

"Probably." Ash replied.

"Good luck hiding from that nose, though." he said.

"Oh! And Sammy won't be here for most of the day." he told her.

"She told me that she's aiming for more 'marathon' work today, so she'll be gone at least until after dinner." he continued.

"And yes, I made sure she had provisions when she left." he added.

"Lindsay knows as well." he finished.

Ash froze for a split-second, before looking at her.

"...flipped onto his back?" he asked, thinking about it.

"Ah!" he said, snapping his fingers.

"Let me guess." he continued. "Evan was hiding under the bed, pounced at Darrell, and Darrell managed to dodge and use Evan's own momentum to get him onto his back." he said further.

"Seems Sydney's training paid off." he mumbled.

"Assuming I'm right, of course." he then added.

Ash just smirked.

"Strawberries, huh?" he said.

"You're in luck." he told her.

"I happen to have some freshly-gathered 'Booming Berries'." he said further.

Booming Berries were a special kind of strawberries that were rare and delicious. They were considered to be high-value ingredients and were called as such because they exploded/popped in ones mouth and went 'boom' with flavour.

"Perfect time to use them."

"E-e-e-e-e-excellent!" Ash exclaimed.

"This will be most excellent." he said further.

He then proceeded to the whipped cream, making it up to quickly chill.

"Oh, yeah, what do you want for toppings?" he asked.

"Anything in specific?"

Ash just laughed out loud when she said that.

"Those ARE amazing." he told her, before pausing.

"....PLEASE tell me you brought some back." he then said.

"I was thinking of making up waffles for breakfast, and I could use some of it for the whipped cream." he reasoned.

"Really kick it up a notch!"

Ash just smiled as she hugged him and gave him a kiss.

"Yep." he replied.

"She's got several bags." he told her.

"You know what cupboard she usually keeps it in." he went on.

"So, how was the flight?" he asked.

"Anything special, or noteworthy?" he asked further.

"Anyone try and shoot you down or anything?"

Evan just sighed.

"Don't listen to my instincts. Got it." he said.

He then looked at Darrell, and smirked.

"Let's get your stuff put away and put up." he told him.

Meanwhile, as Ashleigh made her way down, she saw Ash starting to make up some food.

"Welcome back." he greeted her.

"........" Evan was silent, and looked away.

"........sorry..." he apologised quietly.

"I've learned my lesson, I swear." he said.

Darrell just looked between the two of them clearly confused.

"What, you want me to let her push me down the stairs or something?" Evan then asked Ashleigh.

"Coffee would be great." Darrell said.

"I'll just have juice." Evan told her.

Darrell was silent, before letting go of Evan's hand.

"Want help unpacking?" Evan asked him.

"Yeah, sure." Darrell replied.

"Aunt Ashleigh'll call you when the coffee's ready," Evan then said.

Evan looked at Ashleigh silently for a moment.

"Early." he said.

"Got up 30 minutes ago." he told her.

"Left my window open, heard mice chittering about outside. Woke me RIGHT up." he continued.

"...just decided it was time to be up at that point." he shrugged, before looking at Darrell.

"Name's Evan!" he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Darrell." Darrell replied, accepting the hand and shaking it.

Evan shook his head vigorously to clear it, and brushed himself off.

"Yeah, I'm cool." he replied.

"Just had the wind knocked outta me." he said.

"That was the intent." Darrell responded.

Evan than shot a look right towards Darrell.

"You're a mana hunter!?" he exclaimed.

"I... yeah..." Darrell responded nervously.

"....that is SO COOL!" Evan exclaimed, much to Darrell's shock and confusion.

Darrell looked around at the room, and was about to say something, but paused.

"....wait..." he said.

"We're... not alone in here." he told her.

It was then that another young male, looking to be the same age as Darrell... suddenly pounced out from underneath the bed, and launched himself right towards Darrell.

In response, Darrell was quick, and manoeuvred so that the figure went soaring above him... but he grabbed one of their arms and used their own momentum to slam him down onto the floor, on his back.

".....woah." was all the figure had to say, getting his wind back.

"Never thought grandma's combat lessons would come in handy in THIS manner..." Darrell admitted.

Darrell nodded and followed her inside, as Lindsay looked out at the sunrise again.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Wonder if there's time for a quick jog before breakfast..." he said to himself.

Meanwhile, as Ashleigh and Darrell descended into the house, Darrell looked around.

"So..." he said.

"That accurately set the standard for humour around here?" he asked, referring to the interaction that her and Lindsay had had on the roof.