Talon nodded in affirmation and said nothing until they were both in the car and pulling out of the campus grounds. "Well?" He prompted.

"Rosie found out some info on my type of curse and said it was tied to the moon cycles," Adain explained as he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "She believes we have ten days to break it, or it becomes permanent." 

"Ten days?" Talon's tone echoed Adain's initial reaction, bringing him a strange comfort. 

"I know, right?" Aid added. "And we'll have to stop at the grocery store before we get to Grandpa's. Rosie said something about snacks and three brands of coffee being necessary. As suspicious as that sounds, I won't question it." 

The two young men did as Rosie asked in the e-mail. Those specific brands of coffee were common enough to find in any grocery store, so they were relieved to find them quickly. His cousin did not specify snacks, so Adain grabbed a random array he knew his cousin would enjoy. Talon brought the grocery bags to the kitchen counter. Then he began talking to Aid's grandfather while Aid searched for his father. He found Adam Calistro browsing his bookshelves in his study. 

The walls of his father's study were lined with books. Some of the shelves featured bookends of different materials. One of them was a rainbow-metal molded pair. But, an oval window allowed enough light to read in the daytime if he wished. His desk was a chaotic mess, but from his father's point of view, it was organized. 

"Dad, can we talk?" Adain asked. A look of confusion momentarily came across his father's face before he seemed to recognize him.

"Adain? You know you can talk to me about anything." 

Anything but Mom, the younger man reminded himself as he clenched his teeth. "I know you don't like to think about it, but can you tell me again what you know about Mom?" 

His father's demeanor changed as his spine stiffened. "There isn't much to tell," Adam responded. "We even went to the Lyceum at the center of town to ask the Laeramen for help finding her. But, they said they stopped searching when someone saw her leaving town with a duffel bag…." He hissed. "Just like my mom." 

Adain's grandmother had apparently stormed out of town with a suitcase. Some family members said she wasn't fit to be a mother, and their town stifled her skills and ambitions. But Grandpa had stayed in the same house all this time, hoping she would return. Aid wondered if his dad felt the same or if his anger came from the fear that his wife had indeed passed away. Not even the family on the Kelly side knew what became of his mother, Shay. His grandmother may have genuinely walked away from her family and hometown. But, Adain doubted his mother felt the same way…or did she? 

"But, Dad," Adain continued as his throat tightened with mixed emotions. He didn't want it to be true that his mom would so quickly abandon them as Grandma did. But, he sometimes felt like he was grasping at straws. "Why did Mom ward her own room, then?"

Once again, his father looked perplexed. "That wasn't your mother's room. It was your grandmother Oleah's. I was told that the person who sealed that room was either your grandpa Alexander or my maternal grandmother to preserve her memory." 

Adain shook his head. "But cousin Lance said that a genderbending curse was more mom's prank style!" 

"Was it?" Adam questioned as he rubbed at his face and yawned. "Maybe. It's been so long, I can't remember. Man, I could use some coffee."

Aid let out a huff. Coffee? Now wasn't the time for coffee! He wanted answers, but his dad was too scatter-minded to offer solid leads. The shadow of a bird flying past the window drew his attention to the sunset. Crap. 

"Fine. We'll continue this later," the younger man insisted. "I need to change into my normal clothes before I hurt myself with these leggings."

By the time Adain swapped out clothes, his cousins had arrived. Talon opened the door for them. Avery walked in first like she owned the place. Her curly blond hair was pulled back into a high ponytail resembling a pom-pom. But, when Rosie walked in, she stood out the most with her bright red hair. 

Avery had already seen Adain's female form. And yet, she still joined Rosie as the two girls rushed towards him at the sight of his inverse blue hair and black eyes. They began babbling simultaneously, touching his hair and lifting his arm. Aid took a deep breath while waiting for the commotion to die. But when it didn't, Talon came to the rescue.

"Girls, enough," Talon chided firmly. "What's all this about? Why are you here?"

Rosie straightened up with a glint of intrigue in her green eyes. "We are 89% certain that our male family members have been under an extended curse," she stated.

Adain took a moment to allow her words to sit in his mind before reacting, but they still made no sense. "Huh? The one who's cursed is just me, isn't it?"

Avery and Rosie shook their heads. Their faces were serious, so they weren't joking. What the-?

"Oh, hell," Aid groaned. "Please tell me I didn't somehow cause all this by trying to break into the ward." 

"You haven't," Rosie answered. "A genderbending curse is tied to the moon. But, a curse of this size requires a conductor of some kind at the very least." 

"How did you find out it's just the men?" Talon wondered aloud. 

"Coffee," Avery responded. 

"Someone spiked the coffee?" Adain asked.

"No," Avery clarified. "You know how my dad's whipped by my mom, right?"

"Totally whipped," Rosie added.

"Well, my mom's favorite coffee brand for years has been Boostello. She's all but conditioned Dad to always stock up on it so we never run out," Avery continued. "Well, for the last couple of months, we noticed that Dad hasn't been paying attention whenever he goes out to grab a coffee. Forgetting to get Boostello once is enough to have Mom kicking him out to sleep on the couch. But, he's been bringing home random brands except for Boostello ever since." 

"What if he's just doing it out of spite?" Talon countered.

"We've thought of that, too," Avery countered. "But, he's been even more forgetful lately, and Mom's been cutting him some slack because of his work. And then Rosie said the same thing was happening with her dad and uncle. They absolutely abhor anything other than the Maxdell coffee brand. Now, they're not nearly as picky and are equally forgetful!"

"Same thing's also been happening with Cesar," Rosie insisted. "We've come to observe and verify with Uncle Adam and Grandpa. Did you buy the three brands? Doesn't Grandpa love Boostello, too?"

Adain felt his stomach drop. No, there was no way that something as simple as coffee preference was some kind of curse tell. But forgetfulness? That worried the shit out of him. All this time, he's been trying to learn more about his mom and his curse, but his remaining parents weren't as focused as they used to be. Were they really cursed?

"Y-yeah, Boostello's what they've always gone with." Aid replied. 

"Then, let's put it to the test," Rosie affirmed. 

Several minutes later, the four cousins and Talon watched anxiously as Adain's grandfather and father brewed the first packet of coffee they saw on the counter. Aid gasped when it turned out to be the Foljers brand. His grandpa wouldn't be caught dead drinking Foljers. How had he never noticed this erratic behavior?

"Hey, Grandpa," Rosie queried after she motioned to her cousins to pay close attention. "Who was that one girl that my dad and uncle kept fighting over? Do you remember who broke up that huge fight?"

"Oh, yes," Grandpa Alexander responded. He frowned for a moment. "I can't remember her name, but the one who broke up that fight was…who was it now?" 

"...and here comes the face rub and yawn," Rosie whispered just before the elder rubbed at his face with a hand and let out a loud yawn. "...aaand cue the craving."

"I should make some more coffee," Alexander decided as he reached for the Foljers again.

Adain was absolutely horrified. The story about how Grandpa separated his uncles from fighting over the hottie Bridget was one of his grandpa's favorite stories to tell. The old man would tell anyone within hearing distance every last detail of that anecdote. So, he had watched the entire interaction with Rosie as if his grandfather had been possessed by an alien. This was absolute madness! 

"Holy fucking hell!" Aid gasped. 

"Now I'm 95% sure," Rosie concluded. "Something this big definitely requires a conductor. We'll keep looking into it. Who knows, maybe in the process, we'll figure out how to straighten your curse out, too."

With the way their older generation family members were losing their memories, Adain highly doubted it. 

::

As Aid had suspected, the snacks they were forced to buy were for the young group to eat while they contemplated and tossed ideas around. They even coaxed Adain into venting his frustrations about everything. He spoke of his mother and Lance's theory on her pranks. He told of how his mother and grandmother supposedly abandoned their families. But, when he began ranting about the girls on their college campus fawning over Talon, the blond in question intervened. 

"On that subject, we should go get some rest. We still have classes and exams tomorrow," Talon urged. 

"Yeah, I hate that," Rosie piped up. "Who holds full-on exams on Wednesdays? 

"Our district, apparently," Avery added.

Adain, who had changed back into his original form halfway into their snack session, began to follow Talon out of the door and bid his cousins goodbye. They promised to gather again for their official cousin-meet over the weekend. The drive back to their apartment that night was tense and silent. 

The shorter man was feeling overwhelmed by so many unexpected occurrences. Ranting to his cousins made him feel better about his curse, but the new affliction they had uncovered was all the worse. Who would do this to a Warlock family? Why were the men being targeted? Were their lost memories gone for good? 

Aid was startled when Talon opened the car door for him. He was already back in his regular form, so it was funny that the blond kept up the habit. For once, however, Adain was too weary to complain about being treated like a girl. Adain didn't know when he took Talon's hand or when the blond threaded their fingers together as they walked inside. Still, the gesture reminded him of the events that had transpired that morning. 

"Why won't you tell me who he is?" Adain asked after the door was closed and locked behind him. 

"Who do you mean?" Talon questioned. 

"That guy you said you have a crush on."

The blond turned away from his best friend and gripped his hair in frustration. "Adain… now's not the time for that," he insisted. "It's hardly even important."

"Of course, it's important!" Adain countered before thinking it through. "I mean, it's important to you, isn't it?"

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because…" Adain drawled without even knowing the answer. But the words that came out of his mouth were equally unexpected. "Because I might not fully approve!" 

Talon turned around just then and invaded Adain's personal space. His light brown eyes were either full of anger or aggravation. Adain couldn't tell. 

"I'm going to need clarification on that," the blond pushed. "What is it, exactly, that you disapprove of? The fact that he is male?" 

"No. I thought I already explained that to you," Adain huffed back. "But the fact that I don't know who he is makes me worry that he might not be the right fit for you." 

"That isn't something you should concern yourself with," Talon responded. "Nor is it any of your business."

That last part riled Adain up. How could he say such a thing when all that Aid wanted was for Talon not to get hurt? As rational as his train of thought began, he did something that sent it reeling after that. He took hold of Talon's collar for the second time that day and tugged him into a kiss. The blond hadn't been prepared, and Adain took advantage by having his tongue seek out Talon's, gaining control. Adain felt Talon's arms tugging him closer, and the two lost themselves in the heated moment. 

While the sensation wasn't exactly the same, the way Aid's body reacted to Talon's responses was the same. Adain was feverish and dazed, like a fire was blazing inside him. He didn't want it to stop. 

But, again, Talon was able to do the impossible. He broke their kiss and even took a few steps away. The blond looked troubled and upset. He shook his head at Adain and left to lock himself up in his room. 

Adain felt like a guilty piece of shit.