"....oh." Jaden replied.

"One second, then." he said.

He then got up, made his way to the counter, made his order, and then made his way back.

"Anyway." he said.

"Remember the girl I told you about? Abby?" he asked.

"I... can't remember how much I told you about her." he admitted.

"Yeah, actually." Jaden replied.

"Seems that the leader of the guild she belonged to... yes 'ED"... gave her the boot." he said.

"She's got enough to live for a few months, but... her skills are only good for being a hunter." he told her.

"Any chance of getting some help?" he asked.

"Is Lux looking for hunters, or do you know of any other guilds that would accept her?" he asked further.

".......hm." Jaden muttered.

"Well, she comes from the bloodlines of both the Discerning Eye and the Silver Tongue." he said.

"NO mana in her bones, though." he went on.

"That being said, she's more than capable in a fight, she has the charisma to get whatever she wants, and she's a brilliant strategist." he continued.

"And her crowning achievement is that she tracked down a band of rogue Nightmare Fae, and calmed them down, getting them to piss off from where they were stirring up shit." he then added.

"I know that's no small feat."

Jaden nodded.

"That's all I ask." he said.

"I know nothing in life is a guarantee. But I promised Darrel I'd pass along the info." he told her.

"Well... Abby told him her situation, he said he'd do what he could with the connections he had, so he confided in me, so I'm passing the info onto you." he then clarified.

"I think he went through me because he didn't want to trouble YOU personally." he went on.

"He needs to learn to be a little more assertive when it comes to family." he sighed.

"That might be why." Jaden replied.

"Although he needs to remember that you being asked away from Triad duty is a GOOD thing, in your book." he said.

"And if it's guild duty, then you'll be unreachable anyway, so there's no harm in trying." he went on with a small shrug.

"...." he was then silent, and smirked.

"I got it." he said.

"All I need to do is tell him what you said about it being nice if he'd actually gone and asked you." he told her. "I betcha the guilt will force him to reevaluate how he sees contacting you." he snickered.

"And we'll start with this little chain of events." he then said.

"Don't get back to ME with the info about this. Tell me that you have it, and I'll tell Darrel that he'll need to actually 'bother' you to get it." he explained.

Jaden thought about it for a moment.

"Well, the initial reason for this meeting was to pass along the info about Abby." he told her.

"But I DO have a small question." he said further.

"I know that iron-claw cats are legal and viable pets for mages and such." he went on. "But I also know that it's being contested, and that there's a chance they may make them ILLEGAL." he continued.

"Will guilds still hunt them out and capture them?" he asked.

"I figured." he replied.

"I want to surprise Desiree with one for Christmas, as she's expressed interest in one ever since she saw a photo." he told Sydney.

"However, I also know of the debate that's happening." he continued.

"I also know that any owners of them will have the pets grandfathered in with special exceptions, if they ARE made illegal." he went on.

"But... I'm not sure if the guild system will actually still accept them as hunt targets, while this debate rages on." he sighed.

Jaden thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Makes sense to me." he said.

"And you know that Desiree and I will look after it." he told her.

"Just the fact that it grows to be only slightly bigger than a house cat is a big draw. And she REALLY loves the colouration of it." he continued.

"So... yeah, that's pretty much it. I've been doing research on them, and it'd be great for her to have." he shrugged.

"And if you'll find one, I'd be greatly appreciative." he then told her.

"I know they're buggers to even find in the first place."

Jaden just gave her a thumbs-up, as what they ordered showed up. And it seemed that Jaden had ordered a coffee for himself, as well as a sampler plate of their pastries.

"To share." he said.

"Nothing goes with coffee like pastries." he reasoned with a chuckle.

"....by the way, dibs on the tiramisu square." he then muttered.

"Mine." he reiterated.

Ash had finished his shot, and watched as the balls clacked around. Once everything had stopped, he looked over towards Sydney.

"Fraid not, Vyn." he responded.

"Remember, she's on a hunt for the Lava Larva." he told her.

"And those things can be slippery little buggers." he chuckled.

"Frankly, I don't expect her back for another week or so." he lamented, shaking his head slightly.

"Why? What's up?" he then asked her.