Adain had a feeling deep in his gut that his plan was going to go without a hitch. He could feel it in his bones. He thought that he was finally going to triumph over that blasted ward. The short-haired man tugged Talon's wrist as he all but hauled the blond to the hallway that housed the warded room. His father was in the kitchen, and his grandfather was out in the garden. Neither of them even noticed the younger men sneaking into the house. He could think of no better time to go full speed ahead.

His blue eyes narrowed as he began a chant that centered around each of the invisible arcane symbols around the door. "Sel loq sie prem as mante ni doafu era." Each sign shifted from black to purple with each phrase and faded into the wall around the doorway. "Per mea briel cami yens namela era deh ash lo..."

The hallway wavered like a disrupted hologram or mirage when the final symbol faded. Though Talon reached out an arm to try to stop him, Aid all but dived through the wavering door...and was tossed right back out as if he were a bouncing rubber ball.

"Are you alright?" Talon asked in a quivering voice as he took Aid's elbow and upper arm to help lift him to his feet. He hadn't expected his friend to just dive right in so recklessly. One would think the young man had learned his lesson years before.

"I'm fine," Aid drawled. He coughed a few times and tried to clear his throat. "At least, I think I am. Honestly, I'd really like it if the world stopped spinning..." He admitted, his fingers raking lines down Talon's shirt as he struggled to balance himself.

One of the buttons on the blond's shirt popped off and fell to the ground. Aid was definitely not alright. Not wanting the ravenet to clatter to the floor like the button, Talon bent his knees slightly and carefully hefted the smaller man into his arms. The blond had never been more grateful that the kitchen wasn't too far from the warded room. As he approached the counter, Aid's father rushed forward to help sit Aid down into a chair.

"I didn't realize that the two of you were even in the house," Adam Calistro said in a chiding tone. He had slightly lighter hair than Adain's and different facial features, but his eyes were the same blue hue. "Start talking."

While Tal explained everything to his dad, Adain's vision blurred. His ears felt muffled, and he could barely move. He saw his grandfather rushing towards him with a blue kerchief still tied around his neck before he blacked out.

::::

"You should tell him."

As Adain stirred awake, he tried to make out the voices he heard. That first one had to be his Dad, Adam.

"He's your son!"

That one was Grandpa.

"Shouldn't you both take responsibility? You are his remaining guardians, after all?"

Alright, that one was Talon. He could recognize his voice anywhere. 

"Ah, but you're the one that lives with him now; he should hear it from you."

Dad again.

"But, I'm telling you that..."

Heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open when the Adain decided he couldn't take the bickering anymore. As he slowly took a deep breath, he felt a strange weight on his chest, but he paid it no mind. He first noticed they were no longer at his parent's house but at Talon and his apartment. It wasn't until he sat up and felt a sharp pain in his head that he realized something was wrong. He looked behind him, still drowsy, and noticed that he was sitting on some blue sheet that seemed tangled onto his head. On closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a sheet at all, but long, light blue hair...long blue hair that seemed to be attached to his head. He looked down and noticed that the weight on his chest was due to two lumps of fat that definitely weren't there before.

Almost in a trance, he reached a hand down to his crotch.

"EEEEEEEEEEK!" He shrieked in a girly voice. The voice sounded strange even to his own ears. "What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck!" Adain's eyes automatically sought the set of soft brown eyes that he trusted the most. "Talon?" He squeaked in the same unfamiliar girly voice. "Get your blond ass over here and pinch me."

Talon approached the bed and unceremoniously pinched his best friend's arm. "I did warn you. I warned you that something odd would happen for breaking through that barrier." Just before Aid could scream again, Talon clamped his hand over his feminine mouth. "Your father and grandfather are already seeking ways to break the curse. You shouldn't have to suffer this for long."

Adain glared at his friend and tried to speak past the warm hand covering his mouth. "How long is 'not for long?'" He asked in a muffled voice.

"We don't know, but rest assured that your father and grandfather will go to great lengths to get you back to normal," Talon explained. He sighed when he saw the building panic in Aid's black eyes. "Your grandfather says these curses only affect you during the daytime. During the night, you should have your male body back."

What the hell was he talking about? Adain looked at his friend as if trying to understand some alien language coming out of his mouth. Did Tal mean he would be stuck in a female body during the day and his male one at night?

"Wh-what do you think this is? The movie Shred?" The last time Aid checked, he wasn't some redheaded princess stuck in some dragon-guarded tower. "This is bullshit." He muttered aloud, still struggling with denial.

"All we can do is wait for things to get sorted out," Talon finished.

Adain's eyes swerved to his father. "See!?" Aid growled angrily. "If the damn magic lock on that stupid door didn't exist, none of this would have happened!" He frowned for a moment as his anger gave way to worry. "Listen, I'll tell you what...if you guys manage to fix me, I promise I won't ever go near that room or door again!"

Talon could only look on as his best friend burned through the first three stages of grief rapidly. He exchanged concerned glances with Adain's silver-haired grandfather, but the man only shrugged. Until they could find a solution, The blond was on his own to keep Adain in a sane state of mind.