Colin's posts

"It was." Jun replied.

"...couple of days ago." he then recalled, thinking about it.

"And I know that because I now recall Paul making a pot-noodle in it recently. Need water for that." he chuckled. "Regardless, should be useable once again." he summarised.

"Now, is there anything else I'm needed for?" he asked, standing up.

"If not, I have more books to balance and bookings to figure out." he reasoned. "Depending on Kaia, we may need to postpone or outright cancel some shows." he told her.

Ilias nodded in response.

"All right, I'll go check on her... them... yeah." he said.

He then sighed and shook his head, as he made his way through the door, with Ty watching. Once Ilias was gone, Ty turned his gaze towards Vae and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was brought here because my good friend Hazel is not doing well." he told her.

"You can deny me all you want. Torment me. Torture me. Kill me. I am not leaving until I am allowed to at least TRY and bring her SOME level of comfort in the misery she must be... or will be... feeling." he continued.

"...that, and I'm pretty much the only one she can look at without her blindfold." he then added. "No mana and all."

Ilias nodded in response.

"Thanks." he said to her, smiling softly, though she could see concern behind it.

Ty just looked outright concerned, but nodded at the young woman.

"Yes, thank you." he chimed in.

The two then made their way past her, through the door, and downstairs, being mindful of where they were, and where the doors were and such. The woman had said probably the first large living space, and sure enough, when they encountered the open door to said space, they saw Jun and Vae there.

"Well, here I am." Ilias said.

"And I brought company." he added, gesturing to Ty.

Jun crossed his arms over his chest and nodded slowly.

"Yeah... that's fair." he said. "Well, I hope she can do SOMETHING." he told her. "Because Encrae is starting to step on some very serious toes right now." he muttered.

At that same time, Ilias and Ty stepped in through the main entrance, where they saw a young female tidying the area up... and Ilias could immediately feel the chilled aura coming off of her.

"Ah, hello there." he greeted her.

"Vae told me to grab Ty and come here." he said further.

"Odds are she should be here by now, but I don't know where she'd be or anything." he went on.

"If you could tell her I'm here, or direct me to where she might be, that'd be great." he added.

"Oh, well, fair enough." Lex responded.

"They're not hurt or anything, right?" he asked. "Like, physically?" he clarified.

"None of them seem to be, no." Jun confirmed.

"That's a relief." Lex replied.

"Anyway, normally I would spend a little more time here, but in this case, idle time is time wasted." he reasoned. "I'll see you both later." he finished.

When the two said their goodbyes to him, he disappeared from where he stood, and Jun sighed.

"I hope your sister doesn't take this news TOO harshly." he said to Vae.

"Normally, I would agree to that." he said.

"However, given the state of the two that I assume you are referring to... maybe not." he muttered. "Just... I dunno, not sure I'd like seeing them as they are." he continued.

"That is fair." Jun assured him.

"Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in helping them get back to themselves, and I'll do some research on my own." Lex then told them.

"Not sure if it'll be any help, but... this is one of those cases where I can't just sit back and do nothing." he admitted.

"...hm. Fair enough." Lex muttered.

"Well, I should at least inform Lil of this." he reasoned.

"Tell her what's happened... and the reason... and hope she doesn't get TOO unimpressed." he sighed, shaking his head.

"She has a temper?" Jun asked. "Haven't heard much of it." he admitted.

"Temper isn't the right word." Lex replied.

"She... well, when she is mad... truly mad... it smolders within her. And you can tell. She's having that anger... that grudge... boil up inside her, until she decides to take things into her own hands." he went on.

"It's not as explosive as Vae's, but no less dangerous." he continued.

Lex nodded in response.

"That works." he said.

"And if that's already in the works, all the better." he went on.

He then paused for a moment, and sighed.

"I should tell Lil about this." he muttered. "Not looking forward to it, but... I should." he mumbled further.

"And am I allowed to see Sebastien right now?" he asked her.

"Or do you know what's happening to him currently?"

Lex raised an eyebrow when she said that, but Jun interjected.

"Don't ask." he said.

"...right." Lex mumbled, stepping forward and handing Vae the tin.

"That has all you need in it." he told her. "It's like a complete set, kinda thing. Loose leaf tea, the strainer ball, all you need is the water and the mug." he said further.

"And it should help Hazel?" Jun asked him.

"It's meant to promote calmness, peace of mind, destress, that sort of thing." Lex responded. "So it should somewhat take the edge off of whatever she'll be feeling." he continued.

"...but she WILL need someone there that she trusts." he then lamented.

Jun raised an eyebrow.

"I... wow." he said.

"I don't... I don't want to really ponder that." he told her. "Which is to say, anything that gets your mother excited, thrilled, or giddy CAN'T be anything good." he clarified.

"I'm sure Azazel can confirm that." he added.

At that point, they heard Alex's footsteps, and Vae called out.

"Come to my voice!" she said, which led Alex right to the room they were in, holding a rather nice-looking tin in his hands.

"....I see." Jun responded.

"Just... hm." he mumbled sitting back a bit.

"The dealings of Haven and Hell are lost on me." he said. "I know contracts pretty well, but... this one just escapes me." he shrugged. "Just seems like more trouble than it's worth." he continued.

It was at that point, Vae felt a very familiar mana signature from within the building.

And it was followed by an equally familiar voice.

"I'm here!" Lex called out. "Headed to the basement!" he said further, recalling where Vae had told him they were.

"I've heard of that contract." Jun responded.

"I don't know what's in it. I don't know what terms or conditions are in it. I don't know what the exact wording is. But from everything I've heard... it's one that Elizabeth was a fool to sign." he told her.

"From the sounds of it, and from the evidence displayed, she is allowed to do whatever she wants, and nobody can interfere with her." he went on.

"Why would such a contract be signed?" he wondered.

"It's done nothing but give her power over the entire globe."

Jun had just finished cleaning off Hazel of any dust and dirt she had, had made sure her clothing was presentable and neat, and had replaced the blindfold over her eyes, making sure it was snug, but comfortable.

He looked over towards Vae as she told him what was happening, and nodded.

"All right." he said.

"At this point, pretty sure any little bit helps." he told her.

"...Vae, will ANY of us know peace as long as Vanessa Encrae lives?" he then asked her.

"It seems that, no matter what, no matter who you are, where you are... her tendrils will eventually reach you..."

"...we can discuss that later." Lex responded.

"I don't know if I can put a price on helping someone like this." he told her, before pausing, and sighing.

"Although I DID pay Rocky... uh... well, the equivalent of about 45 Canadian dollars for the small tin of the tea I got. So at the very least, reimburse me for it so I can just buy another tin." he told her.

"That being said, I'm grabbing it and I will be there within 5 minutes." he went on.

"Where you at now?" he asked.

"Oslo." Vae responded.

"I'll appear where I usually do, then." Lex told her.