While Beatrice and Victoria were having their little moment, the other Victoria was slipping over the wall of the castle and heading into town, wondering what her first step should be, when- "Ahem." Ursa stepped out in front of her. "Going somewhere?"

"Yup. I'm going hunting! Want to come?" Victoria replied cheerfully. "Oh, Tiff, you're invited too." She added, waving at a shadowed corner.

Tiffany stepped out with a snort, and Ursa shot her a glare, snorting as well before turning back to Victoria. "You aren't allowed to go hunting."

"No, no, other Victoria isn't allowed to go hunting." Victoria grinned. "I don't have any rules like that."

Ursa raised an eyebrow. "Other Victoria?"

"Check out your map." Victoria winked.

Ursa frowned, opening the map through his system and pausing. "Victoria, why are you in two places at once?"

"Because I have two bodies now, duh." Victoria snickered.

Ursa blinked at her, before letting out a sigh. "Of course you do. However, just because there are two of you now, doesn't change the fact that you are not equipped to handle the wilderness yet."

"Ah, but I don't need to be equipped to handle it." Victoria protested. "You see, the problem with the wilderness is that it's unpredictable. If something goes wrong, I might die. However, with two bodies, that risk is gone! The only thing I'd lose if anything went wrong is the points I used to make this body! Points which I'll probably have recouped through hunting! So there's no reason for me not to hunt anymore, plus it will help me grow faster."

Ursa shook his head. "Look, Maurice made me promise not to let you go into the wilderness again. Even if you're right, I'm not breaking that promise. You'll need to convince your father first."

Victoria scowled, crossing her arms. "You're being a real buzzkill right now, you know that?"

"He's always a buzzkill." Tiffany commented with a slight smirk. "Never lets me do anything fun."

Ursa frowned at him. "The only thing I ask of you is to leave me alone."

"See what I mean?" Tiffany gestured towards him as if his statement had completely proved her point, causing Ursa to let out a warning growl.

Victoria sighed. "Fine, let's go talk to my dad. He's going to agree with me anyway."

"Probably, but again, that isn't my place to decide." Ursa shrugged as they began heading back to the castle.

*

Albert looked between his daughter- his daughters- his daughter's two bodies, feeling a headache coming on. "There are two of you." He stated blandly.

Victoria turned to share a look with herself. "Why does everyone get so hung up on that?"

"Because it's strange, Victoria!" Albert exclaimed. "There isn't- there's not supposed to be two of you! You're just- you're just supposed to stay one person! Singular!"

"Well that's just unreasonable." Other Victoria commented, clicking her tongue.

Albert groaned, burying his face in his hands. "How did my life end up like this? I just- I didn't sign up for this!"

"I don't think you sign up to be a Lord." Victoria replied.

"You do kinda sign up to be a father, though." Other Victoria added.

"At least, implicitly." Victoria agreed with a nod. "Since, you know, that's what sex does."

Albert lifted his head to glare at them, before shaking his head and getting himself back under control. "Right, there are- ugh, two of you. Why is this important?"

"Because now that there are two of me, which grants me a certain level of redundancy, I would like to continue my pursuit of being a Hunter." Victoria declared. "Since certain individuals-" She shot Ursa a look. "-have made it clear that they will prevent me from doing so until I have your permission, I am here to make the case that nothing terrible can happen, since my main-"

"Cultivator body. Not main." Other Victoria interjected. "We're both equally Victoria."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Fine, my Cultivator body will remain here, so even if my other self dies due to some freak accident, my safety is assured."

Albert took that in for a moment, mulling the idea over. He wasn't excited about it, because even if there were two of her, he didn't want Victoria dying. However, there was the fact that her path was going to put her in danger sooner or later, and having some… experience with that would do her good. Plus, even with Ursa watching her, he wasn't sure how long the man- bear- manbear could actually stop her. It'd only take a single moment where he wasn't paying attention for her to slip out, and he knew how stubborn Victoria could be… Albert sighed. "Fine, you may… resume your pursuit of being a Hunter. However, you're going to do it right." He insisted. "You'll go through the Hunters Guild, with Flynn and Ursa supporting you. No running off on your own, understand?"

Victoria paused, before nodding. "Okay."

"This means you have to wait until you take the Hunter exam and are officially ranked." Albert added. "You'll take bounties, and work with a team. No running into the woods where anything could happen! You'll go to areas with known variables, where you do the job and leave."

Victoria's expression twisted slightly, but she nodded again. "Fine. For now." She added. She wasn't opposed to taking things slow, but she wasn't going to get stuck doing busywork. "The question is, which one of us should get ranked?"

"Me, right?" Other Victoria replied. "I'm the one who's actually going to be doing the hunting."

"But if they see you don't have any ability cores with your strength…" Victoria commented, playing the devil's advocate.

"They'll assume I'm hiding them." Other Victoria countered. "It isn't that weird." She paused, glancing at Albert. "Right?"

"It's suspicious, but not weird, no." Albert agreed, frowning at the two. Victoria noted that she may have to cool it on the talking to herself thing, cause people seemed to be getting confused. On the other hand, people getting confused somewhat amused her, so maybe not? "But… you're the one with a cultivation, right?" He commented, pointing at Victoria. "Then how can she-"

""It's a points thing."" The two replied in unison.

Albert hesitated, before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Of course it is." He paused. "Which I assume means your abilities will be outside the norm?"

The Victorias blinked, before sharing a look. "That could be a problem." Victoria muttered.

"Why didn't we think of that?" Other Victoria frowned.

"We're not very good at hiding what we can do." Victoria shrugged.

"We just kind of do it and hope people go along with it." Other Victoria nodded. Albert frowned, thinking that was a foolish way to handle things, before he reflected on everything that had happened since Victoria's accident, of all the strangeness around Victoria and how he'd simply found ways to explain it away… maybe she had a point.

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"This is a bit egregious, though." Victoria continued.

"We'll need to hide our identity." Other Victoria agreed.

"Small change or big?" Victoria asked, and they both fell silent to think about it, advantages and disadvantages to both. Some small changes which left her close to her original appearance would let her switch back and forth easily, but ways to change your appearance weren't that uncommon, and if Ursa and Flynn were always hanging around, there was a chance someone might catch on. Of course, both her selves showing up together would promptly handle that, so it wasn't so bad. On the other hand, the big change… other Victoria could essentially return to being Thomas. But if she did… it'd mean their two lives would be split. Thomas would do his thing while Victoria did hers. They couldn't switch or stand in for each other, at least not easily. Thomas would have to give up on Beatrice… despite her insistence that she could, it was clear Beatrice couldn't be with a man, even if that man was Victoria in another form. It confused Victoria, since Beatrice being a man, or at least having man parts, didn't bother her at all, but… well, she knew she wasn't exactly a paragon of normalcy. Still, it meant that if she turned into Thomas, Beatrice wouldn't be able to actually be with him. She couldn't handle it, at least not well.

The two Victorias shared complicated looks as they realized that wasn't as big a deal as they might have hoped. Victoria had to admit she enjoyed Beatrice, she did care about her, and the sex was amazing, but… It wasn't like Jessica. Beatrice was fun and she definitely wanted to look out for her as well as she could, but Jessica- Jessica was special. Maybe Beatrice could be special herself at some point, but right now… she just wasn't. Of course, that didn't mean Victoria would break up with her, obviously. They were definitely still having fun, she still cared about her, and there was nothing wrong with their relationship, so why not keep it going? Plus, the fallout from the break-up at this point… Victoria shook her heads. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to help Beatrice develop a spine.

However, it did mean that the prospect of being Thomas again was becoming more and more appealing… The two Victorias met each other's eyes, and other Victoria grinned slightly, nodding firmly. It was time to be Thomas again. "Big change it is."

"What's this big cha-" Albert began, before cutting off as other Victoria shifted, his eyes widening as the change took place. "You- you- you turned into a man?!?"

Thomas grinned slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is there a problem with that?" He asked, picking slightly at the now much too tight clothing. Thoman was quite a bit bigger than Victoria. "What better way to hide my identity? No one is going to expect that some strange man is actually the Marquis' daughter."

"I was thinking you could wear a mask!" Albert exclaimed in frustration.

Victoria frowned. "Well that just sounds awkward."

"Doesn't it?" Thomas agreed.

"Victoria, this-" Albert groaned.

"Ah, actually, in this form I think I'll go by the name… hmmm, Thomas? Thomas works, right?" Thomas interjected, turning to Victoria.

"I dunno… What about Mark?" Victoria replied with a slight, teasing smirk.

Thomas snorted. "Mark my ass."

"Only if you ask nicely." Victoria snickered.

Thomas paused, narrowing his eyes. "Am I flirting with myself?"

Victoria frowned. "Might need to tone down the narcissistic tendencies…"

Thomas sighed. "The cost of perfection, I suppose."

"What did I just say?" Victoria rolled her eyes.

"I can't deal with this." Albert groaned, burying his face in his hands again. His daughter was insane!

*

Thomas had to admit, being himself again made him a little… giddy. There was nothing wrong with being Victoria. If he'd actually transformed into her, he probably wouldn't have had any issues with the situation, because as he'd explained, it didn't particularly matter to him whether he was male or female. To him, it was just different ways of being, and any way he was, he'd always be himself. Or herself. Itself? Whatever. No, the problem was that there was always a certain awareness in the back of his mind that her body wasn't his. He'd- not stolen it, but… appropriated? There had been a vacancy, and he'd filled it, without permission. Not that there was anyone to give permission, but still. Her body wasn't something he'd developed, he'd taken it. Taken her life. And that- that always felt a little off to him. He wasn't going to stop, because it was his- her- its- they're? life now, and they were going to live it, but it didn't mean they didn't feel slightly guilty about just stepping in and taking over.

*Thank you for bringing all that back to the forefront of my mind. I really appreciate it.* Victoria commented sarcastically.

*You're welcome.* Thomas sent back with a chuckle. The fact that he still technically was Victoria did make things a little awkward. But that was for her to deal with. He got to enjoy being Thomas again.

*Little shit.* Victoria grumbled.

Thomas sent the mental version of sticking his tongue out at her, before refocusing on his task for the day: the Hunter Exam. He was currently heading towards the guild with Ursa, Tiffany shadowing them because the woman didn't seem capable of leaving the man alone for more than five minutes, and they planned on meeting Flynn there. Flynn had a bit of clout in the organization, so he'd managed to insert himself as the proctor for their exam, which didn't mean they could just blow it off, Flynn being much too principled to lie for them, but they didn't have to worry about red tape getting in their way.

"Ursa! 'Bout time you showed up!" Flynn greeted Ursa happily as they walked in, giving him a firm handshake and patting him on the shoulder. "All this time I've been begging you to take the exam and join me on some hunts… what finally changed your mind?"

Ursa grunted, gesturing to Thomas. "This one wants to be a Hunter. Someone has to make sure sh- he doesn't get in too much trouble."

Flynn turned to Thomas, giving him an evaluating look, before turning back to Ursa, raising an eyebrow. "What makes the boy so special? Nobility? Family?"

Ursa gave Thomas a look. "He's- a friend." Ursa sighed. "One who has a gift for finding himself in troublesome situations."

Thomas chuckled. "Hey, it isn't my fault I lead an interesting life. Things just seem to happen, whether I like it or not."

"Maybe if you'd stop putting yourself in a position for things to happen…" Ursa grumbled.

"The last thing to happen was a man literally falling from the sky while I did my daily exercises." Thomas pointed out. "How can that be my fault?"

"I'm sure there's a way." Ursa replied. "Did you happen to wish on any stars beforehand?"

Thomas snorted. "Please, I grant my own wishes." Ursa paused, before scowling. He had a point.

"Watch it, son. That kind of attitude leads to an early grave as a Hunter." Flynn warned. "The wilderness is full of dangerous beasts who are just itching to take an arrogant Hunter down a peg or two." Thomas suppressed a grin as he gave Flynn a serious nod. Still the same old overly cautious Flynn. He'd actually somewhat missed him… but after the disaster of their first trip into the wilderness, Victoria's Hunter career was put on an indefinite hold, so there wasn't any reason to see him anymore. Flynn gave him a wary look, seeming to sense a part of his amusement, before he sighed and shook his head. "Your funeral. Come on, let's get the both of you evaluated." He waved for them to follow him deeper inside.

Thomas held back a little with Ursa, leaning close to whisper. "So, you and Flynn have been keeping up?"

Ursa grunted. "Hunter bars are some of the best places to gather intel. We knew each other. It just happened." Thomas nodded. Made sense. He grinned slightly at the idea of Flynn finding out that his new friend was the bear that terrified him so much he'd passed out, before putting it to the side. It was time to get Hunter certified.

"There are four aspects which determine your Hunter rank." Flynn began as they entered a large room full of testing equipment. "Combat, stealth, survival, and knowledge. The first three each constitute thirty percent of your rank, while the last is only ten percent, which I believe is a complete travesty. If I had my way, knowledge would be forty and the rest would be twenty, but no one seems to appreciate the importance of actually understanding the foe in front of you." Flynn sighed, shaking his head, before turning to look at Thomas. "These tests have nothing to do with cultivation, so don't think that just having a high cultivation will get you a high rank. The combat, stealth, and survival portions will take place within illusion formations, where your cultivation is simulated at the peak of Energy Gathering. You simply have to note which energy you cultivate." Both Ursa and Thomas nodded in understanding. "Alright, then let's get started. Ursa, would you like to start with combat?" Ursa nodded and Flynn got him situated in the combat test formation, setting it for Qi and Spirit, before turning to Thomas. "Now, you-"

"Thomas." Thomas provided with a slight smile.

Flynn nodded. "Right. Which would you like to start with, stealth or survival?"

Thomas considered the question for a moment. He still wasn't completely confident in his stealth abilities, even with his illusions, so… "Survival." He answered firmly.

"Over here then." Flynn waved, gesturing for him to sit in a rather comfortable looking chair covered in runes. Or would it be Runes? Thomas's eyes narrowed as he studied the markings, noting some vague similarities. Might be something to explore later. He never did figure out how those accessories were made… "What energy do you use?" Flynn asked.

"Spirit and Essence." Thomas replied.

Flynn blinked. "Another dual-core?" He paused. "Well, I suppose that fits." He sighed, before shaking his head. "The time within the formation is accelerated, so you'll be experiencing a full thirty days in the space of two hours. As time progresses, the conditions will get worse and worse, and the longer you survive, the better. There are no powerful enemies, though there may or may not be animals that attempt to steal your supplies, so you don't need to worry about fighting. Good luck." He finished, before activating the formation.

Thomas blinked as he suddenly appeared, completely naked, in the middle of a dense forest. "Did he just say I have to spend a month in here?!?" He muttered incredulously.