"Mm." Ash muttered.

"Right then." he said.

"You've seen her fight. You know her heritage and abilities." he said to Dani. "What's the final judgement?" he asked her.

"She fit to be a hunter here?" he asked further.

"She what Candentus Lux needs?"

"....what am I thinking?" Ash asked.

"I'm thinking that I wish I hadn't instilled such discipline and skills in her now." he said.

"I'm wishing that she would have failed this, so she would have to wait until she grew up." he went on.

"...but I won't lie. I'm swelling with pride." he then muttered.

"And I am not one to stand in the way of someone with a goal, and the means to attain that goal. Especially my own daughter." he continued.

"If she wants in......" he said further, trailing off and biting his lip some.

"...I'll consent for her. That was the deal. If she impressed you, I would allow her to join."

"Seems like forever ago." Ash responded.

"Then again, I have a reputation for being a nightmare of a mentor." he said.

"My training can be rather... well... 'spartan', let's say." he muttered with a light cough.

"Hence why others are chosen over me." he shrugged.

"Regardless, when she's up again, she has papers to sign." he then said.

"And I do as well." he admitted.

"Shall we get a start on those?" he asked Dani.

"......." Ash was silent as he looked at Vyn.

"Right...." he said.

The two of them then left, and made their way back to Dani's office, where they closed the door behind them, and walked over towards Dani's desk.

Once they were there, they started to gather the paperwork needed, and Ash signed what he needed to, seeing as he was Desiree's guardian, her consentor, and co-owner of the guild.

"All there is now is to wait for Desiree." he said.

"Didn't think she'd hold her own so well against Vyn." he admitted.

Ash just smirked.

"Yeah, I did stress hand-to-hand combat." he said.

"And a friend of Demi's came in to teach her swordplay." he went on.

"He worked her over good, but he certainly knew what he was talking about." he mumbled, before stopping and thinking about something.

"Hm." he muttered.

"Come to think of it, him being a part of her training might be why she did so well against Vyn."

"Ah..." Ash started to say, before pausing.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Well... we can always ask Desiree." he said.

"Let HER choose what sort of mentor she gets." he offered.

"You know she's not one to pick an easy path." he went on. "And I don't know if she'd want to apprentice under her father." he continued.

"Plus, I wonder if I will unconsciously favour her or be more lenient... or harsher... than I ought to be..." he then wondered further.

"Damn. True." Ash admitted.

"I suppose we can let Vyn take her in." he said.

"Lord knows she's a hell of a hunter." he reasoned. "She's in the top 5, and her and I keep shifting ranks in the guild." he said further.

"Assuming Vyn WANTS to, at any rate." he then added.

"But I don't see why not." he went on. "She seems to have taken to Desiree, ever since she first showed up at the guild." he shrugged.

Ash just sighed.

"I know." he replied.

"...a hunter." he muttered.

"With a hunter blade." he said further.

"...could really prove to be a boon for us." he told Dani. "She'll be able to handle a LOT of things." he reasoned, looking around the office.

"Didn't think she'd show interest in the guild, honestly." he admitted.

"She seemed a bit on the... passive side." he continued.

"Nowhere near the level of my brother, mind." he quickly added.

"Very true." Ash admitted.

"Odds are she'll get them done pretty quickly, too." he reasoned.

"Well, then." he muttered. "Guess we know what this means." he said.

"It's time for the traditional 'we managed to snag a gem of a hunter before they were poached by some other idiot' shot." he told her with a smirk.

"You feelin' like anything in specific?" he asked.

Ash stood up and made his way over, looking through what she had. After a few minutes, he grabbed a pair of small glasses, and a bottle of something.

"All right then." he said as he returned to her.

"This should do." he commented, setting the bottle down.

"Triple wind-distilled Blue Mountain Spiced Rum." he said.

"Been a while since we've drunk any." he reasoned, before grabbing some ice and putting it in the glasses. He then poured them some rum, and smirked.

"Okay, less of a 'shot', more of a 'good stuff drink', but semantics." he chuckled.

"To Desiree." he said, raising his glass.

"Here's to years of dedicated and excellent hunting from her."