An eight-year-old Adain glared at his cousin Beatrice as she became increasingly clingy with his best friend. They were playing on the sidewalk in front of Grandpa's house. The tiny Warlock had more family members than he could count on his fingers, but that girl became number one on his blacklist. She'd effectively kept Talon away from Aid all day. But the last straw was when she rose on the tips of her toes and planted one big, squishy kiss on the blond boy's cheek.
Adain began to mutter under his breath as he glared at the area above his female cousin's head. He felt rather pleased with himself when he saw a dark little raincloud forming over her. Then, water began to rain down on Beatrice's pigtails, and she shrieked, running back inside the house. He couldn't help but laugh when the rain cloud followed her right inside, and she wailed.
"Adain, that wasn't very nice," Talon chided when he rushed over to him. "Warlocks only use their spells for good."
"It's just a little water," Adain countered. "Besides, it's gone now. I can't make the cloud for very long."
"Yeah, but you can't do that to everyone you don't like. You'll get caught!"
"Fine, whatever." Aid admitted with a sigh. "But only if you stop letting people kiss your cheek."
"But you never even kiss me on the cheek," Talon replied in confusion. "Why's it matter if someone else does?"
"It just does!"
"If you say so," the blond conceded with a sigh.
Adain slid his hands into his back pockets as he kicked a tiny pebble down the sidewalk. "Anyone kiss you on the lips before?"
"No. You?"
Adain pressed his lips to Talon's in a firm kiss, which surprised them both. "I have now." He grinned when he saw the blush that overtook his bestie's face.
::
"You should tell him."
As Adain stirred awake, he tried to make out the voices he heard. That first one had to be Rosie.
"He's your cousin!"
That one was definitely Talon.
"But, you're the one that lives with him now; he should hear it from you."
Rosie again? Or Avery?
"Why do I have the strangest déjà vu I've had a similar conversation before?"
Heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open when Adain decided he couldn’t take the bickering anymore. He wondered if what he'd seen before was a childhood dream or a lost memory. As the Warlock slowly took a deep breath, he felt a lightness on his chest that he hadn't felt in weeks. That thought alone startled him the rest of the way awake. He immediately patted his chest with his hands and breathed a sigh of relief and bittersweetness.
No more 'Niada.' His fingers trailed along the rainbow bracelets he'd kept. Losing his other form made him feel a bit sad. Was it because he had lost his last viable excuse to wear and use feminine things? Why did he think he even needed a reason in the first place?
No one was genuinely stopping him from wearing or using whatever he wanted. Being effeminate or drawn to feminine things didn't make him weak. Witches were even more powerful than Warlocks overall. One would think that after all his family had been through, he'd stop worrying about such small things. But, a part of him was still hesitant to be so bold. He'd have to keep working on it since he no longer wanted to allow other people to weigh in on his desires, even if they were as small as wanting to wear girly things now and then.
After a stretch, Adain looked around and noticed that he was in his room. He'd woken up on his own bed. The family that surrounded him seemed to be busy eating the snacks he'd hidden inside the corner cabinet in the kitchen.
"You're finally awake, my fellow PinkBlack fan?" Avery prompted from somewhere on his left.
"What time is it?" He asked.
"What you really want to know is what day it is, and it's Sunday," Rosie supplied. She was seated at his desk chair.
Fuck! Sunday? "I've slept for how long?"
"Forty hours or so? You've missed Saturday completely." Rosie added. "Curses can do that to you. You pass out when someone casts one on you and pass out again when it's dispelled."
"But I don't remember sleeping for that long the first time," Adain grumbled as he bemoaned, missing out on a perfect Saturday.
"We've all been through such an ordeal; it's to be expected, right?" A familiar voice chimed in, one that had always been vivid in Aid's childhood memories. Adain felt his breath catch in his throat. Was he hallucinating again, or had they found and rescued his mother from the clutches of his grandmother's poltergeist?
Luckily, he didn't have to pinch himself to find out because Shay walked right in from the doorway and sat beside him on the bed. "How's my baby boy feeling?" She asked softly. Her hands trembled as they hovered over his raven hair, but she pushed past the hesitation and carded her fingers through her son's hair. Most of her complexion had returned, but her once copper hair remained the same dull peach color. A reminder of what she'd lost.
Aid's tears rolled down his cheek as he glomped onto her tightly. "Mom!"
Though she initially tensed at the touch, Shay forced herself to continue to rake her fingers through Adain's hair. "I'm really here," she affirmed gently, but she didn't know whether she was trying to comfort her son or herself. Shay was still trying to overcome the shock and despair of having lost ten years of her life and everyone else moving on without her. "I'm so sorry," She whispered.
"You're sorry? You were the one that was stuck there for years, and we hadn't even realized it…." Adain countered but was shushed by his mother.
"The only ones who were truly at fault here were the Laeramen," Shay insisted. "They used their power and influence to lure Mondra Oleah to the caves where they abused and murdered her. Who wouldn't have turned into a poltergeist after that?"
"We have to tell Nikoal-" Adain gasped, only to be interrupted by Talon then.
"She knows. Her father woke up from his coma, and the two began to enact changes immediately." the blond explained. "He's the only Laeraman that survived, so no one's complained about his temporarily passing her the torch, so to speak. I bet she'll be named the first Laerawoman in no time."
"The girls!" Adain prompted as he glanced at Rosie and Avery. "What about the years they sacrificed in exchange?"
"Listen, we're Witches," Avery responded. "We all have the potential to live to 100. So, what's 5 years if it means we can spend 55 more years in the company of Aunt Shay?"
Adain closed his mouth after that.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Thank you." He whispered with feeling. As much as they cared about one another, it still filled him with immense gratitude that his family would go that far to help one of their own.
"No need for any of that," Rosie dismissed. "We all missed Aunt Shay, too."
"And I'm ever so glad to be back," Shay admitted. The crack in her voice spoke volumes about her emotions, as well. "I didn't realize how much time had passed. I just wanted to prevent as many deaths as possible. Oleah refused to believe me when I tried to explain how big of an area her curse had encompassed."
"If it weren't for you, our family members would have been next on the chopping block!" Avery declared as she motioned with her hand as if someone were slitting her throat.
"Believe me, their lives are worth more than a missed prom or graduation," Adain insisted.
"Still, I've missed so much! Prom and your first graduation.' Shay gasped, tears falling from her eyes. The next thing Adain knew, he was smothered in her embrace as if her desperation surpassed her initial hesitation. "But I refuse to miss your wedding! Will you be the one wearing the white tux?"
"What do you mean by that, Mom?" Aid questioned as he struggled to get out of her grasp. He sighed with relief when she finally released him.
"You are marrying Talon, right?" His mother clarified.
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