"....hm." Vincent muttered.

"That... does make sense." he said.

"May also explain some of why her mother hated her so much." he went on.

"Probably saw her as an eyesore among eyesores." he commented, a hint of venom to his tone at that moment.

"Regardless, this will be another test for Ashley." he told her after a small pause.

"...those like Desiree never last long." he mumbled. "I can't think of one that didn't end up... well... dead on their own terms." he added.

"Nope." Vincent responded.

"All we can do is wait and see." he said.

"Demitra said she was calling someone in to help Desiree with blade training." he then told her.

"Not sure who it would be though." he admitted.

"They must be good, though."

"I agree." Vincent responded.

"I'm merely wondering who she's getting." he said.

"And I'm concerned for Ashley." he then admitted. "On one hand, he has a reason for... certain events that have been happening." he said.

"On the other hand... he seems quite stressed." he commented.

"I just hope this helps them BOTH."

"Indeed." Vincent replied.

--

Ash sighed as he looked at Desiree and the blade.

"So." he said.

"You're going to be trained to wield that blade." he commented.

"How do you feel?" he asked. "Now that you know what's going on, that is." he clarified.

Ash read the texts that she sent, and then sighed.

It's... it's okay. he replied.

It's not your fault. he sent her.

Do you want something to eat before... well, whoever it is that Demi texted gets here? he then asked.

I can easily whip up those waffles you like.

Ash noticed the grin, and smiled.

All right then. he sent her, as he got up to make them.

After he did, Desiree was alone with the blade once more, and she could feel the power in it.

And she could sense the history in it. The violent history, and the mana the rune had taken from mages of the past.

But the blade seemed so pristine and clean... and the rune glowed so... beautifully.

Something of such pristine beauty, with such a filthy horrid past.

When she grabbed it, she felt like the blade was actually going to try to drain her... and if she thought about it in colours, then it felt like some 'red' force was going to suck her dry. However, as it seemed to try to invade her, and take her 'blue' mana, a 'red' barrier suddenly came up and stopped the force.

The hunter side knew that if all Desiree's mana was drained, she would die.

And it would die as well. It didn't want that.

So it formed the barrier to stop the force. However, Desiree could tell that this was mere preservation... but she could also sense that there was a chance it could turn into a more... cooperative... arrangement, if given time and attention.

Ash watched her go, and sighed.

"Hm." he muttered.

"Well, here's hoping she knows what she's doing." he said.

"Odds are she does." he went on, before pausing. "Ok, at the very least, she won't end up dead." he then mumbled, shaking his head.

"I hope." he continued.

He was then silent for a moment, before looking out a nearby window, trying to see if he could see what she was doing.

"Age limit?" Ash asked.

"Uh.... usually she doesn't start accepting people until they're consenting age." he told her.

"But it depends." he said.

"If they're REALLY talented, they can become a hunter as young as they want, as long as they have consent from their parents or legal guardians." he went on, before pausing.

"...assuming the person HAS one..." he added, sighing heavily.

Ash froze for a moment.

"E... excuse me?" he asked.

"Consent for you?" he asked her.

He paused for a moment, before leaning against the counter he had been working on, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So." he said.

"YOU want to be a hunter do you?" he asked.

"Why?"