Ash was impressed that Hazel was getting more comfortable... and more relieved as well. If that blindfold would help her leave her past behind, then he was all for it. But that wasn't on the forefront of his mind right now.

What WAS... was the warning about loud bangs and such.

"Uh... loud bangs and whatever?" he asked.

"Normal?" he asked further.

"May I ask... WHY those are so normal here?"

"Huh?" Ash responded, before thinking a moment.

"Uhhhhhh, yeah. Yeah, I have, actually." he said.

"Really big-deal fireworks makers and such." he went on, as he seemed to come to a realisation.

"Wait." he said. "Wait, wait, wait..." he muttered.

"You work for them?" he asked. "Like, making the fireworks and stuff?" he asked further.

"That's... pretty cool."

"...j-just you?" Ash stammered. "JUST you?" he re-asked.

"Holy... hell." he muttered, clearly floored by this info.

"You're... I mean... FyreWorx is... just..." he stuttered further, shaking his head vigourously.

"Wow. That's all I can really say." he admitted.

"Well. All right then. I'm going to close things with my former landlord, and tell the proper people at the guild that my address has changed." he informed Hazel and Rowena.

"And then I think I'll go for a swim."

"Uh... I don't... really swim like that." Ash admitted. "Not usually, anyway..." he mumbled.

"But... good to know on the dial, I suppose." he then said.

"Anyway, yeah, I'll finalise things at the old place, have my info updated at the guild, and that'll be good." he continued.

"Oh, and lemme know if you every want any exotic meat or anything." he then said to Rowena.

"I'm a top-notch hunter!" he bragged.

Ash sighed. Heavily.

"Well. In due time, I hope you come to see that cooking will not be a form of punishment here." he told her.

"In fact, I will see to it that you have a massive selection of ingredients to choose from." he then said. "That you have so much to work with, and can let creativity flow." he went on.

"...and also, I hope calling her 'Mistress' leaves your vocabulary, too." he then added.

"Regardless... yeah, I'll make sure this place is always well-stocked."

"All right." Ash responded.

"I'll see you later." he told her, looking at Hazel next.

"And you as well." he said.

For the next few weeks, things went as smoothly as they could have gone. Hazel and Ash adjusted to life there decently quickly, Hazel found that working with the exotic ingredients that Ash would bring back very rewarding, Rowena enjoyed the dishes made by her, and Ash found living alongside his mother far less objectionable than he first thought.

However, he was sitting in the den one evening, seemingly staring into his hands... but in reality, he was staring at the crystal necklace he owned.

"..." Ash was silent for a moment, and then suppressed a sigh.

"Thanks." he said, in regards to the coffee.

"And if it seems like I have a lot on my mind... that's just because I do." he told her, letting out a wry chuckle. It was short-lived, though, as he went back to staring at the small crystal.

"...mostly just thinking about Lindsay..." he admitted.

"I... have something I need to to return to him."

Again, Ash was silent for a moment, before slightly raising the crystal up so Rowena could see it.

"This." he said.

"His last act of rebellion, and self-preservation, against Vanessa Encrae." he told her.

"And I'm guessing that, because of who you are... you know what it is, too." he went on, before handing it out towards her. He wasn't forcing it upon her, but if she wanted to take it in her hands, she could.

He was merely making the offer.

Ash sighed heavily.

"I didn't know, either." he responded. "It was all Lindsay's idea." he told her. "He overheard Vanessa and some of her cronies talking about how he was too intelligent and perceptive, and how they were going to implement procedures to... well... dull him down." he explained. "So... he and I, using his intelligence, and my aptitude for the rune, which he did not have, we managed to find a way for me to seal away a portion of his soul." he went on. "And... I guess because either he was willing, or his mana mixed with mine, or whatever... maybe it reacted to our wills, I dunno, he used a lot of words I didn't understand, I just did what he told me to do... that fragment of soul contained his intelligence. And we trapped it in this little crystal scrap we managed to scavenge." he said.

"We managed to do it on the day that his 'behavioural modification' was scheduled to be, and... shortly after, Vanessa's sister managed to help me escape. She tried for both of us, but I was the only one that managed." he informed her.

"However... Vanessa should be under the impression her 'treatment' worked on Lindsay, when in reality, there was nothing for it to target. But the result in the same. Just that, instead of being destroyed, it was taken, and is being held by me." he went on.

"...and I want to find him, save him, and make him whole again." he mumbled. "That serves as a reminder of the promise I made to him... and myself."

Ash nodded in response.

"Anything helps." he said.

"Even just having more information channels out there is a help." he told her.

"Hazel doesn't know where she is, exactly, and all other leads have been dead ends." he went on.

"...though she DOES have a weird elf under her control." he then said, thinking about it. "He's a lot like a dark elf, but... his ears don't look right, and his skin is... almost greyish in colour." he continued.

"And I don't know exactly why that is." he admitted.