Ash paused as he heard that.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really." she responded, as Ash accepted the brownies.

"...never would have guessed." he admitted.

"They're amazing." he complimented her.

"Seriously, I never would have guessed that they're diabetic-friendly."

"...oh. Huh." Ash responded.

"Well... fair enough then." he said.

"You said we could teleport out of here directly?" he then asked.

Rowena nodded in response.

"I'll... I'll be in touch, then." Ash replied, picking Hazel up, and the two of them vanishing in a burst of familiar and... rather strong... black fire.

Meanwhile, Ash had returned home, and put Hazel out on the balcony. He laid her down on the cot he'd gotten her, and made sure the tent was covering her as well. She hated sleeping inside, where it reminded her of the lab, and while this set-up wasn't much better, she was at least outside. And safe on the balcony. He made sure she was comfortable, before heading inside and sitting down on the couch.

And he then let out a loud sigh.

"Okaaaaay, NOW I can freak out." he said to himself.

"Just have a nice, quiet mental breakdown, and try and piece together what just happened." he said further, flopping into a laying position.

'And wait for Hazel to wake up...' he then thought.

Ash was still laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, and it took a couple of seconds before Hazel's greeting and statement hit his mind. He then shook his head lightly, and looked at her.

"It's fine." he said.

"Pretty sure it means that living with my mother is out of the question, though." he then said.

"Can't live in a place that actually pains you, after all." he reasoned.

Ash looked at her confusedly for a moment... before MORE things started to click, and the gears went on full rotate.

"...your blindfold!" he exclaimed.

"THAT'S what it was for!" he realised, quickly sitting up.

"...wait..." he mumbled. "Does... does this have to do with how your eyes look stormy sometimes?" he asked her.

"And the pained expressions you've been having?"

Ash's mouth almost dropped agape from hearing that.

"H... Hazel, why didn't you say anything about it?" he asked her, before pausing. "No, let me guess. Vanessa." he said.

Hazel merely nodded in response.

"Of course." Ash snarled.

"Well, then we'll get you a blindfold." he told her. "Simple as that." he said.

"Does it have to be any specific kind?" he asked. "You said a good scarf or something, or anything, but is there anything that's better than any others?" he asked her further.

Ash paused for a moment, thinking about it.

"Hmmmm..." he mumbled. "Softer... non-abrasive..." he went on.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"I know where I can get some satin." he told her. "Or we have a Somnum-Sheep at the guild. I can get some wool from it and have it turned into a blindfold for you." he went on.

"The material made from their wool is used to make superior sleep masks, after all."

Ash looked over towards her, paused a moment, and sighed.

"I have my reservations." he admitted.

"But... I... I don't... NOT want to live with her." he then said.

"I admit, for most of my life... which is to say... up until NOW... I've been of the mindset that she's a devil-woman." he told her. "But... well... maybe that was wrong of me." he continued.

"I'm starting to think that... well... maybe I should give her a chance." he went on.

"People I trust... trust her. And that's more than enough."

"...I'm sorry I made you go in there." Ash apologised.

"But I understand now." he said.

"I'll get a blindfold for you, and then we'll start getting ready to move there." he told her.

"...once you have the blindfold, will you be okay there?" he asked.

"Other than it being steeped in mana, the place work for you? From... what you can remember?"

"Well... we're about to find out." Ash told her.

"If she meant us harm, we wouldn't have been able to escape." he reasoned. "Her profile isn't the conniving, long-term sort. She would have attacked us already." he shrugged.

"Regardless... it gets us out of THIS dinky space." he told her further.

"And it moves us to another continent." he went on.

"You'll be a lot harder to find."