Eirlan

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Eirlan couldn't help but feel like this was going to be a very long day from the moment he got ready to leave the cramped, yet mostly tidy, apartment of Dola.

"We're heading out soon, so don't forget to put your Brilliance up." Fylson called across the room after Dola had left, "Humans aren't usually 6'4" with pink hair, and gold eyes. Can't have you scaring the locals." Fylson added to the eye roll of Eirlan as he cleaned put away the breakfast dishes.

"You do not have to tell me to put on Brilliance. I already know." Eirlan replied to Fylson, rolling his eyes and waving his hand over him, concentrating all of his attention on what he wanted to look like and focusing that ever elusive power in his veins power to make it so.

Of course Eirlan would put on his Brilliance, he wasn't an idiot.

Brilliance. A neat little trick; a concentration of the power that coursed through the blood of all that hailed from their home world of Mysthfell that allowed them to change their appearance ever so slightly. It wasn't something that took a lot of effort, but it was useful. It not taking a lot of effort would prove to be paramount.

The thing about the contract, the one inconvenient fact that kept many of the citizens of Mysthfell from applying to the revered program; that amazing program allowed them not only to leave their world and visit Earth but also afforded them great status, was that once a contract ended, the contractor; i.e Eirlan or Fylson, would lose access to the full depth of their powers by investing a portion of said powers in the contractee; i.e Dola.

It was a painless thing that happened as soon as the contract was done, neither of them even felt it. The contractee wasn't able to use that power on their own, but the contractor, however, could tap into the full depth of their power so long as their contractee was close. The loss of power from the contractor was not a permanent thing, or even usually something that would be a hindrance since the idea was that contractor and contractee when working together would not only be able to access the full depth of the contractor's powers, but as time passed while worked together and their bond grew, the power would grow stronger than any being from back home could achieve on their own.

At the end of the program and contractor was stronger than ever, achieved great status, had helped on Earth and was now strong enough to better serve Mysthfell. The contractee on the other hand, was now permitted to leave Earth and make a home back on the utopia that was Mysthfell, they would be permitted a small potion of power that they could use and would all in all be guaranteed a better life than they would have had back on Earth as every contractee was contacted in their dying moment. It was a win-win-win-win deal in the long term, but a test of strength, endurance and trust between all parties was no easy feat and one that many could not accomplish.

Eirlan was more than a little miffed that this road to glory was not going as planned and unsure if even Brilliance would be easy without Dola nearby.

It took a greater level of concentration to use his power, something he hadn't expected. The muzzle on his usually effortless power was a part of the deal, but he hadn't realized the change would be so drastic. An action that he'd done before on accident while sneezing, now made sweat bead on his upper lip and made his head ache as his body began to shift.

Aside from the new strain of tapping into his power, it was always a weird feeling; the shrinking of hair, the contraction of bone and muscle, the mildly uncomfortable twinge as eyes changed colors. It was a neat trick though, in mere moments Eirlan went from looking like the brain child of some woman who read too many fantasies books in her youth, to looking like a normal tidy young man. His long pink hair was now chin length, blonde and neatly styled, his statuesque height shrank to be a touch less intimidating, his eyes now more muddy human brownish hazel and less divine glowing gold.

Fylson nodded with approval so mild that it was hardly approval at all at Eirlan's transformation before grabbing some keys from a rust red key dish and going for the front door.

"Alright, let's go. Don't get in the way, pay attention to where you're going and don't start any shit. You should be fine." Fylson warned passively as they locked up the apartment and made their way to an elevator at the end of the hall. Eirlan eyed the flickering lights of the hallway, the water stains on the wall, the smell of urine that wafted from the old stained carpet that lined the hall with a scowl. Ugh, he'd noticed none of this last night in his giddiness from securing a contract on his first night on Earth.

"Start 'shit'? How vulgar, I would never! Maybe you've forgotten but back home on Mysthfell we all have decorum, did you leave it behind perhaps?" He sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest as Fylson pressed the obvious electrical nightmare of a button that called for the alarmingly rickety elevator at the end of the incredibly grim hallway.

"Right." Fylson smirked that annoying smirk like he knew something that Eirlan didn't, but he said nothing else.

Eirlan smirked a smirk of his own to himself, pleased that Fylson had no comeback. For the first time since he'd arrived on Earth felt like he'd truly had the upper hand in a conversation and that maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

As they stepped on the dubious elevator and the doors ground shut before them, Eirlan felt almost hopeful for the day, how bad could Earth be?

He should have known better than to hope.