Colin's posts

"Yeah." Ash responded.

With that, the three of them left the café, piled into Rowena's vehicle, and were off. The drive was as short as before, and they were at the house in no time. Once they exited the car, Ash looked at Hazel.

"What are you going to do first?" he asked.

"I suspect you'll just head downstairs. But anything in specific?"

"....mm." Ash mumbled.

"And... well... yeah, I'm... pretty much immune to poison and venom, actually." he told her.

"And I mean that. ANY sort of toxin either dies in my body, or I end up rapidly making the antivenom for it." he went on, shaking his head a little and looking off to the side, out the window.

"...I'll say more back at the house." he said.

"It's not something to talk about in public."

Ash just groaned.

"So a few hunts catch me off guard from time to time." he said.

"It's NOT a big deal." he insisted.

"I mean, YES, I couldn't walk properly for a couple weeks after that Giant Nail Weasel went all tornado on my leg, but I was fine." he went on, pausing again.

"...mostly. Kinda." he mumbled.

"I mean I'm fine NOW." he stated, clearly backpedaling now.

Ash looked away slightly, before clearing his throat.

"Yes, well, anyway!" he said.

"Let's get a move on." he told them.

"Oh, and I will be keeping weird hours, obviously." he then warned. "Given that I work in Ireland, the time zones are gonna make things a little weird on the being home thing." he continued.

"...until I'm injured bad enough that Em thinks I need time to rest, and has me off for a few weeks..." he then muttered.

Ash nodded.

"We shall." he said, looking to Hazel.

"And I realise this is all a big change for you... again... but if nothing else, let's just see where this takes us." he told her, shaking his head a little it, and looking back at Rowena.

"Anyway, let's be off." he said.

"Maybe I'll finally actually unpack all those boxes." he mumbled. "Admittedly, I was so quick in being ready to move as... well... those boxes hadn't been unpacked from when I first got that tiny place." he admitted sheepishly.

"...damn." Ash mumbled.

"Talk about a miracle scarf." he commented. "Guess that comes with the territory of what it's made of, though." he added with a light laugh.

"Well, Hazel, there you go." he then said to Hazel. "Looks like things are finally looking more and more up for you." he commented, before looking back towards Rowena.

"And with that, she should be fine to head back." he told her.

"To our new home, and our new futures." he added.

Ash could see that Hazel was befuddled and stunned, and placed a hand atop her shoulder.

"It's all right." he said.

"Take it as a gesture of goodwill and kindness." he told her. "There are people out there like that, and to this extent." he said further. He knew this to be true, and while his mind still had reservations about his mother, he found himself already saying this about her more easily.

"Try it." he then said.

"See if it'll suit your needs."

Ash bit his lip and leaned in close to Rowena.

"Treats and baked goods are... well... they illicit fear from her." he whispered.

"Vanessa used them a lot. Laced them with awful things that led to pain, misery, and always death." he went on.

"...I shudder to think what she gave Hazel." he then added, before clearing his throat and sitting back more normally.

"Thank you for the offer." he said in a more normal tone, accepting one of them.

Ash shrugged.

"Works for me." he said.

"Most of the things were mine, anyway." he went on. "And what IS mine and what's Hazel's is pretty easy to tell apart, usually." he went on.

"Regardless, Hazel and I are almost ready to go." he said further.

"Almost." he repeated.

"Still one thing left." he finished, and he knew she knew what he was talking about; the scarf.

The moving had taken a little longer than Ash had anticipated, mostly because he had Hazel there to pace him. However, it didn't take long at all, and everything was moved into the place.

And now they walked up to the café that Rowena was in, greeting her when they stepped inside.

"Hi again." Ash said.

"We got everything there." he told her.

"Just need to unpack it all."

"I'll tell her that." Ash replied.

"Beyond that, I'll get to moving the stuff." he told her.

"Should be done by tonight at the earliest, tomorrow afternoon at the latest." he said.

"...my time." he clarified.

"So yeah, if nothing else, I'll get to it."

"Yep." Ash responded.

"I'm making sure everything is packed and ready to go, and I'll be using my mana to transport things little bit little, but quickly." he explained. "And I'll let you know when everything has been brought over." he went on.

"If I start now, I can have everything there as soon as tonight." he then reasoned.

"You said you had everything of yours removed, so... yeah, I can get that started NOW." he continued.

"Unless you have any issues with that."

She didn't see it, but Ash winced when she called him by his full name, Ashley. It wasn't that the name brought back horrible memories or anything... it just hadn't gone by the name in a very long while. Especially since the name had primarily got to being a female name.

But he ignored that right now, and focused on the subject of the conversation; the scarf.

"...Celesilk?" he asked, sounding quite stunned.

"I... that..." he stammered. "I mean, I'm sure she'll love it, and I'm more than sure it'll suit her needs." he went on.

"As for when to get it or whatever... hmmmm..." he mumbled.

"Meeting us outside the property and to give to her works." he concluded. "Once all of our stuff is moved there, which I am doing on my own, you can give her the scarf." he finished.

"...oh?" Ash asked.

"I admit, that'd be really helpful." he told her. "I can't get ahold of any satin, and the somnum sheep I have access to is... well, it's currently shedding, and its wool is wet when that happens. Useless for making anything." he lamented.

"And everything else I have is too abrasive for a blindfold." he went on.

"So if you could help, that'd be nice." he continued.

"Means we move in there that much quicker." he chuckled.