Colin's posts

"...all right." Ash responded.

He then made his way through the manor and into the attic, using the special hatch that was there to get onto the roof.

"We need to talk." he said to Vicki.

"Please."

Ash paused for a moment, before lightly palming his forehead.

"...mana didn't occur to me. My mind's been racing all night." he said.

"I just need to talk to her." he told her.

"Something's been on my mind is all, and... well, just need to dump it all out, I suppose." he shrugged.

The male was silent as he saw what happened, and lowered the barrier he'd put it, before watching the one that had joined in the fight walk past him. He raised an eyebrow, before looking at the injured villain, and shaking his head.

"No need." he said.

"Looks like a pro's on the way." he said further, looking skyward and seeing a costumed woman making her way down from a rooftop.

"...must've been some distance away. A lotta damage could have been done had nobody been here." he reasoned.

"Cool quirk." he then added.

Ash, meanwhile, had had a stressful night, to say the least.

Somehow he'd ended up being the bad guy in this scenario, but not because of what he'd done to Cedric. It had been because Vicki had somehow known about it. SOMEHOW. He didn't know. She wouldn't tell him. She'd refused to tell him.

However, he had a feeling he needed to apologise to her. Or say something.

So, looking tired and disheveled, he made his way to the manor, and paused at the door, the rain soaking his clothing and bandages.

He rang the bell and waited for someone to answer, which Rowena did.

"I'm looking for Vicki."

Ash didn't have time to say anything more to her before she was gone.

"...damn it." he growled, his hand balling into a fist.

"How the hell did I screw THAT up?" he said to himself, gnashing his teeth.

So now Vicki knew about what he'd done, she wouldn't say HOW she knew, and NOW she was copping an attitude about keeping her secret. All because this situation annoyed him.

"Damn it all to hell." he then cursed, getting up and pacing slightly.

'...great.' Ash thought.

'Express annoyance, and get your throat jumped down upon.' he thought further.

"Leave if you want!" he called to her.

"I won't try and stop you!" he said further.

"Excuse me for being annoyed that a promise that had been made to me has been broken!" he finished.

"Yeah, noticed you didn't tell me when I asked how you knew." he said.

"It's SO cool you seem to be privy to others secrets, yet are allowed to keep your own." he sighed.

"And yes. Family." he confirmed.

"Son of Vanessa and that damned boy-toy of hers." he growled.

"Rotten to the core, despite Ashleigh trying to keep on the straight and narrow." he continued.

"...willing to have the entire planet destroy itself in a modern-day global witch-hunt to take revenge on those that killed his mother."

"Feel bad? Nah." Ash responded.

"I'm pretty much immune to that stuff. Been doing it for a while." he told her.

"I'm just reminding myself that you'd be well within your rights to think less of me. I wouldn't honestly blame you." he said further.

"...just... shut up about this, ok?" he asked.

"I really... REALLY... don't need Ashleigh finding out I killed her nephew."

Ash was immensely relieved that Vicki was taking this as well as she was. Which was amazing well. He looked out the window for a moment, and then slumped down in the chair he sat in.

"It's a very moral grey area, though." he said.

"When I took him out, Cedric hadn't actually done anything yet. He was scheming it, but hadn't done anything. And many people would argue that there's no justification based on wishes or intent, in terms of what I did." he told her.

"But... if he had been allowed to start those gears, it would have been impossible to stop it. It was all or nothing." he lamented.

"I protected the future, but... well, one can argue I really dirtied my hands in doing so."

Ash just sat down in one of the chairs, and shook his head.

"Well, to make a VERY long story short, I did it to protect the world and the future." he told her.

"For a little more information, when I was sealed away because of my degenerative disorder, I took a bit of a time travel trip, to where Cedric was in the middle of causing the end of the world." he then said.

"So... I was given the task to take him out of the equation." he continued.

"BEFORE he could start his plans."

Ash... froze in place when she said that, a shocked and horrified expression on his face illuminated by the full moon that shone in through the open window. Like a deer caught in headlights.

His pupils shrank a little, and he started to sweat a little heavily as well, before he swallowed. Hard.

"Ah..." he stammered.

"What...? I mean, that's... What do...?" he started to stammered, before he just heaved a heavy sigh, and slumped forward some.

"....k, then." he said.

"I'm gonna sit, and you're gonna hear a story." he told her.

"But how do you even know of him in the first place?" he asked.

"Indeed." Ash responded.

"However, I need to stress, I can't put my life on hold for this." he told her. "At some point, I'm going to have to return to hunts and such, but for when we cannot meet as often, I'll prepare some exercises and training for you to do, just to help strengthen your senses and such, as well as your reflexes and body." he went on.

"Think of it as training between training." he laughed.

---

Ash returned home from the guild, appearing in the den, wearing a sleeveless shirt, his upper torso and right shoulder clearly wrapped in bandages. He looked around, and was surprised to see Vicki sitting on one of the couches there.

"Eh? Vicki?" he said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Hm." Ash muttered.

"I DO see your point." he said.

"That being said, it's not as though ALL of your training will now be blindfolded." he stressed.

"Basics are not to be neglected." he insisted further.

"However, I think we'll be able to dedicate a little time each session to some blindfolded training."

"Right." Ash responded.

With that, they finished their break and made their way back to where they'd been fighting. He handed her a blindfold and she put it on, making sure it was snug and wouldn't fall off.

The first thing Ash did was dash and dance around her to try and see what her awareness was like, and he was surprised to see it was decent. Better than he would have expected it to be, anyway.

They continued to spar for the next 40 minutes or so, before Ash stopped, and addressed her.

"That's enough." he said.

"I've seen enough. Not bad. But blind fighting will be further down the road."