"What were you thinking!? In plain sight of everyone?" He reprimanded Aid as they got in the car and buckled their belts. After a moment of silence, Talon turned to stare at his friend. "I thought your cloud spells were a lot lighter than that."

"First of all, we're pretending to go out, and she, along with every other girl in school, is turning into some kind of hellhound!" Adain replied with a huff, folding his arms against his chest. After a moment, though, he began to rub his arms. "Secondly, I didn't actually mean to do that. I swear, I didn't know that the little cloud would practically turn into a waterfall over her! It was just supposed to drizzle." His affinity was much more potent than usual, and he wondered why.

The mystery of the raincloud fled from the blond's mind when he noted the hint of jealousy in Adain's voice. Talon couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face. Maybe there was hope for him after all. "Maybe they will stop if they see how serious our pretend relationship could be. We could always...fake a kiss?" He suggested.

"Fake a kiss...?" Adain repeated, blushing a little. He quickly looked away as if he wasn't interested. Though that was a big, fat lie. Despite himself, he liked that idea. "F-fine. But you gotta wipe that smug smirk off your face. It's creepin' me out."

"Then that will be our plan for tomorrow," Talon replied, unable to keep the smirk off his face if he tried.

Adain frowned when he heard the kiss would wait until the following day. But that would make the most sense. People would actually have to see them kissing for the plan to work.

After a moment, Talon spoke of more important matters. "So, which family members should we pay a visit to today? Still no news on the communication problem?"

"I was able to sneak texts to Lynne back and forth during lunch... girl's been acting weird around me all day. But, no response from anything. I tried to send Dad and Grandpa. So, I guess we should visit the Calistro-Llywelyns next." He sighed, feeling frustrated by the communication problems. What could be causing them?

"The Calistro-Llywelyns it is," Tal replied, following Adain's instructions towards that house. A van and a car took up the space on the driveway. So, they parked on the street in front of the house.

A teenage girl was pacing on the sidewalk as she texted on her phone. When they approached, she tilted her head and stared at the blond. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"Adain's birthday. I'm his best friend," He explained as he rang the doorbell. "And this..." He said as he motioned toward Adain's female body. "Is Adain. As you can see, he's not quite himself."

"Aren't you funny?" Adain huffed as he mimicked Talon. "Not quite himself..."

"Adain!?" She squawked as her attention shifted to the blue-haired female. She looked Adain over from head to foot, taking hold of his face. "Holy shit, it is you!"

Aid whined and groaned when his cousin approached him and grabbed his face. "Avery cut it out...!" He sighed when he finally broke free from her. "Is everyone else inside? We obviously need to talk."

The door finally opened, and Adain's first cousin stared blearily at them. He was a writer, and his sleeping hours were all over the place. "Can I help you?" He asked through a yawn.

"Dad!" Avery squeaked. "Dad! Adain's been turned into a girl. Just look at him!"

Lance Llywelyn stared blankly at them; no outward reaction was visible. "Come inside," He drawled as he allowed them in. "I'll go make coffee."

After Lance consumed caffeine, Talon briefly summarized what happened to his best friend. He then spoke about their problems with communication. That was when Avery interrupted him.

"OMG!" Avery squeaked out in letters. "Is that why I haven't gotten through to Rosie? All this time, I thought it was that she had a shitty service provider. "So it's just our family members we can't contact? That's so wrong."

Lance rubbed his face as the caffeine finally kicked in, and he absorbed everything said. "Sounds like someone out there has it out for your bloodline, Adain. Though your gender-swapping tragedy sounds like something my aunt would have done as a prank. The inability to cast archaic messages doesn't seem like a mere casualty. My wife Della-" He trailed off and frowned, rubbing his forehead as if he couldn't get his facts straight. "In any case, I wish I had the time to help you more. But, I have deadlines to meet and food to put on the table."

"That's it? Nothing is above deadlines for you?" Avery placed her hands on her hips and glared at her dad. "Family's supposed to look out for one another! Whatever, Dad." She turned towards Adain. "Listen, cuzzo, whatever help you need, Aura and I are so in. 'Cousin-Meet' this weekend?" She suggested as she held out her fist to Adain.

Adain couldn't remember the last time they talked of his mother. While upset that his cousin Lance refused to help, he totally understood. He felt his hope rising when Avery offered to help in his stead. Aid smiled and held his fist to the girl as they fist-bumped. "Sounds like a plan."

Having at least conveyed what they needed to say and having verified that the Calistro-Llywelyns were okay, Talon and Adain headed back to their apartment. After they walked inside, Talon pulled Adain into a light hug. "Don't lose heart. We'll get you back to normal somehow."

"I'm fine, don't worry," Adain replied with a brave face, though he found quite the comfort in the warmth of Talon's arms. "I'm just worried that there's more going on than we know." He admitted as he returned the affection.

"For the sake of your family, I just hope they're wrong about that part," Talon sighed. He peered out the window and frowned when he saw the orange hues of the approaching sunset. "Alright. Time to change out of your clothes. You don't want to hurt yourself at sunset again."

At Talon's warning, Adain gulped and quickly let him go as he made a mad dash for his room. He was not going to live through that pain again! Hell no!
Talon chuckled at Adain's speed and waited patiently until after sunset to look for him. He knocked gently on the door to his room. "Safe transformation?" He asked.

Adain quickly pulled off the feminine clothes and wore his regular pajamas. He sighed in relief when he managed to change completely before the shift. He was relieved to feel the body he was most used to again. He walked over to the door and opened it for Talon. "Thankfully." He responded to the inquiry. "Thanks for remindin' me."

"What are you in the mood to eat?" Talon asked as he leaned against the doorframe and smiled at his friend.

"I say 'breakfast for dinner' night!" Adain suggested with a smile that lit up his entire face. "And I wanna help tonight since you've been helping me so much with all this crap."

"Then, it'll be French toast sticks, eggs, and ham with hash browns." Talon conceded as they headed towards the kitchen to get started. The blond did most of the cooking, but Adain handed him what he needed whenever needed. When their 'breakfast for dinner' was done, Talon sat on a stool while Adain sat on the counter next to him.

Aid kicked his feet happily as he ate his food. "Your cooking's the best, Tal."

"Adain..." The blond began cautiously. "Have you ever had a crush on another guy before?"

The ravenet blushed and looked down at his plate. "...maybe. Why?"

Talon cleared his throat a bit and sipped some of his grape juice. "You wouldn't be…opposed if I ever dated a guy, would you?" He continued.

"I guess not? I mean, I can't stop you from dating a guy if you want to." Adain answered, though he honestly wasn't sure if he liked the idea of Talon dating anyone. He was starting to wonder if turning into a girl affected him and how he usually felt about Talon. "Is this about that person you liked? You better at least tell me who it is. I'll kick your ass if you run off and get married to some person I don't even know."

Talon gave him one of his rare, warm smiles. "Don't worry. It's someone you know rather well."

"Well, that's good, at least. But that still tells me next to nothing." He huffed, lightly shoving Talon with a hand. "You better tell me eventually, you jerk." Though he tried to sound serious, he couldn't help but immediately smile afterward.

Talon chuckled, accepting the playful shove. "Most certainly."