Christian held a letter in his hand as he stood outside a bar in the caberet crescent. It was a pretty average bar. Nothing too special about it. One could say that it looked like just about every bar in the area and they wouldn't wouldn't be wrong. Christian had been in many different bars and pubs in his lifetime, so why was this one making him so nervous?

The answer was simple. Someone very important to him was most likely sitting somewhere in there right now. He'd received a letter but a day ago. This letter was from his cousin Marwyn. The notes of the letter were pretty simple: if he was in Hosenka and he had time she could be found at this place most evenings, etc etc. While most wouldn't be too nervous about a meeting with their own family, Christian was. There were two key reasons behind this. One was the (presumed) curse that turned him into a human. Would his cousin even believe him? Would she even believe he was Christian Zane?

The second reason was one that most average people might be nervous about as well. While the two had sent some letters over the years, the two had not met face to face in over a decade. He was sure both of them most likely looked and behaved quite a bit different from back then. While he knew that his cousin and him always had a good relationship, Christian still couldn't help but wonder if she would think he was lame. Usually he was able to have self confidence thanks to his sheer stupidity. The nervousness drowned out every bit of stupidity in this case. Christian was so anxious that he had actually grown something resembling a brain.

Taking a deep breath in and out as the sun set behind him, Christian thought if he should leave his eyepatch on. He thought it was cool, right? He had argued with Tomoe about it a lot, and obviously if he took it off now that would mean that all of his deep inner monologues would mean nothing, and, and...

Stopping his thoughts, Chistian took the eyepatch off, revealing his normal blue eye underneath. He didn't need it. Slipping the patch in his right pocket and putting the now folded letter in the left, Christian took a deep breath as he opened the door to the establishment, his eyes scanning around the room to see if there was anyone there that would have resembled his cousin. While her exact features were a bit of a blur to him thanks to it having been so long, he did remember that she had blonde hair and blue-green eyes. There weren't many girls like that in here - only 2 of them in fact. One alone in a booth and the other alone on a stool. Scratching his chin, Christian decided that a 50% chance to be totally embarrassed in public wasn't a bad gamble. Hopefully he'd be lucky enough to pick it right on the first try. Feeling as though the one on the stool was the right pick, Christian made his way over there. While the woman had the potential NOT to be Marwyn, Christian went in with the expectation that she was. If he was to say something he'd make sure that it was something good - he wanted to impress his dear cousin after all.

Approaching the stool to the left of the blonde lady, Christian sat down on it. Looking over the woman, Christian did not realize any of her finer features just yet. His nervousness blinded him of everything but blonde hair and her eyes for the time being. Looking over to the woman, Christian spoke in a somewhat shaky voice. He hated it when he had to be like this, but his nerves were getting to him. Was this it? The reunion he had daydreamed about at various points over the years? Was the girl in front of him truly the cousin he spent his childhood summers having fun with?

"Marywn?" He asked, the words coming out of his mouth a bit more abrupt than they usually would be. "It's me, Christian. Your cousin. I got your letter." Assuming it was his cousin, Christian would be insanely happy to see her once again. If it wasn't his cousin, well... that would certainly be one of the top 20 most embarrassing moments in his unfortunate life so far.

Marwyn laughed a hearty laugh as she barkeeper shot the shit with her. The two had been joking around ever since she walked in and sat down, ordering a whole bottle of his best liquor because she didn't want to keep bothering with him pouring it. Her only reason for being in this basic ass establishment was so she could make sure her cousin could get in the place. Marwyn couldn't even remember the last time the two hung out, as they got older duties and goals caused the two to basically drift apart only really allowing a letter every few often between them to keep in touch. Taking a sip of the smooth Gin and Juice that was served up in a chill glass cup, the blond wood elf began to nod her head to the music that was being played.

Anyone looking at her would see that she was dressed up in a form-fitting white dress with a dip in the front that was more than too low for an occasion like this. White stilettos graced her feet, her golden locks were pinned up in a braided bun and in that bun, a few lilies were placed. She was stunning so much so that men were too intimidated to come up to her, something that she was more than happy for. Taking another sip of her drink her mind wandered back to her cousin, she could only remember the last time they were together, and no matter how much she tried she couldn't think of him as looking any different older. Almost as if on cue though she heard her name being called and turning her eyes met with a man that shared all the features of her cousin. Her eyes took him all in and she couldn't believe how much he had grown, first of all, she couldn't believe it was him at all. She wanted to be excited but something was off. Furrowing her brow she stood up and got into his personal space. She was close enough that her breast was touching his chest. This would have ended up in a hug but instead, she pushed his hair away from his face and got close to his obviously human ear. I can smell you... Where is my cousin? before I have you killed.

She didn't know this man. It was like wearing a mask. Did her letter get lost or was it intercepted on its way? Who was this dirty human that had the audacity to approach her? Using her cousin's name in order to get close to her no less. The disrespect here today was nothing she thought she would have to actually experience. Yea he looked vaguely like her cousin but this couldn't be him. The Zane family was a family full of elves and this person was no elf.

Christian initially seemed very happy about how this reunion was going. His cousin, who had undeniably grown a lot in the decade the two spent away, stood up. She got close. Very close. It seemed for a moment there that he was about be brought into a hug, Marwyn coming close enough that her bust was pressing up against the shirt he was wearing. Christian certainly woulda thought more about that point if it wasn't, you know, his cousin doing this. Trying to ignore that part of the situation for now, Christian got ready to wrap his arms around Marwyn as she brushed a bit of hair to his side. However, Christian was met with word of suspicion instead of a warm embrace. Christian wasn't totally surprised, though. It was a reasonable thing for her to notice. His nervousness of the situation had given him some things to say earlier. The last thing he'd want here was to be killed at the hands of his own family.

"I can explain, um, well, y-you see..." The anxiety of the situation was enough for Christian to somewhat revert back to his old personality, a quiet boy who often had a hard time speaking. Clearing his throat, Christian reached in his pocket and held up the folded letter to his side. "Here's the letter, so, uh, don't kill me yet." Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Christian wondered if his cousin would even believe him. The last time he told this story was to Kaiser, who thought it was completely fiction. "I was cursed, supposedly. A few years ago now. Cursed to become a human. But I'm still the same Christian you know inside, I promise" Christian opened his eyes to look into Marwyn's, trying to see if his expression could help her believe his explanation.

The two had spent a lot of time together when they were young after all. For the most part Christian considered Marwyn almost like a sister, having been an only child himself. The number of trips his uncle and aunt took to Baska as a kid were always filled with memories of him and Marwyn spending most of their time together. "Marwyn, it's me. You can tell, can't you? I look different, but we're family." Christian perhaps had too much of a love of dramatics. This felt as though it was something straight out of a novel. Still, he didn't have any family heirlooms or something to truly prove it. In the end the easiest and hopefully most likely solution was just to show it through emotion. Christians's blue eyes looked straight back at Marwyn's. Though he changed from an elf to a human, his never changed. They were the same shade of blue as they always were.

She wanted to believe him. She had little reason not to but she couldn't get over that her cousin was now a human because of a curse. Why the hell didn't he let her know ahead of time? Why was she just learning about this now? This all felt like a bad dream, her dear cousin having to be cursed with the worst affliction that could possibly befall an elf. Taking the letter from his hands and opening it up she could see that it in fact hers. Grabbing her cup and downing the rest of her drink in one go she called the waiter over to get another chilled glass of gin this time pushing the glass over to Christian.

Her eyes met with his and she knew it was him. Taking a step back and plopping back down in her seat she thanked the bartender and poured herself another round. This was all too much for a reunion. How was she supposed to explain this to her parents? How many people in their family even knew? She had so many questions, and the more she thought to herself about it the more annoyed she became. How the fuck did you get cursed? And why did you decide to tell me now of all times? After all these years you would think that's something you mention as soon as it happened you, idiot. This was not at all how she planned for this night to go, her previous excitement had been reduced to anger and annoyance and now all she wanted to do was get some answers.

Breathing in deeply Marwyn composed herself as best as she could. She knows it's not right to take her anger out on him. In fact since he was the one going through it he was the one going through the most pain. Anger turned to sadness and sadness to pity. She didn't know how he was able to live with himself in that state but she had to give him props for being strong enough to not kill himself right off. I'm sorry..I just didn't think this is how I would be seeing you after all these years. I've missed you cousin, more than you can ever know. You are my first and best friend growing up. A smile spread to her face as she took another sip of her drink. She was really going through the motions over this but she couldn't do much else. So..What's the story?

While initially a bit worried about the tone present in Marwyn's voice, Christian soon felt relief at the fact that she believed him. Not just about the fact that he was, well, him - but also that she did about the curse. Taking a seat and soon after a small sip of the drink that Marwyn so nicely got for him, Christian took a moment to calm down as he listened to the rest of her words. A warm smile was brought to his face as she talked about how she missed him, even blushing a bit at the fact. The sense of nostalgia certainly made him act a little bit differently. He was certainly showing some patterns of classic 16 year old Christian behavior.

"Well, I was minding my own business for the most part. Things were pretty normal in life. All of a sudden, I get this weird mark. Like I'm bitten, or like a little needle was shot at me. I grab my neck, it hurts for the evening. I go to bed, wake up, the mark is gone. Not just that, but I'm also, well..." Christian lifted his arms up a little as though to show off his human body a bit. "Like this. Thankfully I'm still handsome, even as a human, right?" Chuckling a little bit at his own comment, Christian hoped she would laugh or agree at that statement, admittedly. "As for why I didn't tell ya, well... I was scared of telling anyone in the family. Worried they would hate me. You know how my mom could be..." Looking to the ground a little bit, Christian noticed he still hadn't seen him mom about it yet. He would one day - but not anytime soon.

Looking back up to Marwyn, Christian smiled a bit once again. "I was fine to go to you, though. Worried for sure, but I knew you would be on my side no matter what." Taking another sip of his drink, Christian figured it was about time he stopped talking so much about himself, even if he had a very good reason to do so. He was much more curious about Marwyn. Obviously Christian had changed much, much more than her - but his cousin also looked much different than he expected her to after all these years. In a good way, of course.

"I see I'm finally as tall as you now." he commented, his height having grown to roughly the exact same height as Marwyn. Christian also looked her up and down a moment, not having the chance to do so before, mostly on account of his nervousness at the time. His face turned a bit red. She was wearing quite the dress, one that he certainly hoped every woman in the world except for the one that was his cousin would wear. "Oh, er, wow..." Noticing that he probably came off as weird right now, Christian anxiously looked back to his cousin's face, nervously laughing. "I, uh, see your choice in clothing sure is different, haha..." Trying to change the subject, Zane quickly took a large gulp of his drink before placing it back down on the counter and going towards a different type of question.

"So, what have you been doing in Fiore the last while?" he asked, not aware of what exactly she did for work. Christian assumed that his cousin was most likely happy with the fact he had gone out and become a mage. While he was always talking about cooking a bit more as a kid, being in a guild and going out on quests and all that jazz was also something he'd spend a fair bit of time dreaming about. He wondered if she had done something similar.

Now usually she would have something to say. Some sort of remark on the whole damn situation but she didn't. Her mind was drawing blanks as she listened to his story. It was absolutely mind-boggling and honestly even more saddening because they couldn't even go find the person or thing who did it to him. It sounded like there were no clues or anything to aid them in returning him to his Elf like state but she wouldn't have any of that. Folding on leg over the other she now understood why he had to keep this to himself. It was indeed something Aunty would have probably killed him over...Or at least mangled him horribly.

It's easier to move around when the clothes feel like a second skin. It also helps when negotiating deals. Laughing a bit at the last part she couldn't tell him how many men said yes to her because of how she carried herself. A younger version of herself would have never been caught dead wearing something like this, but as she grew older she learned things from her mother and father that sculpted her view of things a lot differently. It was crazy how much she changed since they last met but it was also pretty impressive how much Christan had changed. Besides the horrible deformity of being a human he really did finally reach her height and he didn't look too bad it was almost unfortunate he was her cousin. But really it was nothing too surprising, everyone in the Zane family was traffic jamming hot.

Marwyn finished the last of her drink off, her blue-green gaze cruising over to the clock on the wall above the bartender and his area. She would have to go soon because even though she switch up professions she still had duties to attend to for her family. She would never be completely out of the family's business and she was fine with that. Well Father and Mother had sent me here from Joya to establish a few businesses in Fiore. I've been mostly doing that until recently. I became a mage I heard it was pretty fun and I was growing bored with what Father had me doing. I've been looking for a guild to join lately, I was told it was a good place to start if I was going to be a mage.

"Ahh, yeah. I suppose that's true. I'll have to admit that I'd probably give into some woman's demands a lot easier if she was wearing that dress, haha..." Christian's words became a bit shaky near the end there. It was something he would usually not hesitate to say to most women, yet because it was Marwyn it was something that made him feel oddly embarrassed. He obviously had a very goofy personality, but he wasn't always quite the same way with it. He worried a bit as to if his cousin would find this current Christian to be lame, maybe even wanting the old Christian back.

At the mention of a guild, Christian immediately thought about Lucas. He did consider Marwyn when they had that discussion after all. Still, the work was a bit on the dangerous side. Morally ambiguous too. He would make sure to note that too his cousin, though he had a feeling she'd probably at least check it out either way. Finishing up the last little bit of his drink to help him out a little, Christian explained the situation. "I know a guy who's thinking about forming a guild, actually. I'm going to be one of the members from the looks of things. He has pretty big goals. Last I met him, he told me to look around Fiore and see if there were any interesting people I could pique some interest in..." Raising his hand towards Marwyn to show he meant her, Christian smiled and continued. "And who better than you, right? I think you should meet him next time you're not busy. Along with me, of course. Think about it - two Zanes in a guild. Certainly would be preeeeeeeeeetty nice, right?" Christian hoped that the connection the two shared was enough to get Marwyn willing to go and meet Lucas at some point, perhaps even to help them on the assignment that Zagan had given the pair earlier. Her help would be greatly appreciated. Zane knew that Marwyn was a strong willed person. He also knew that she would have his back in a guild filled with people who were otherwise nothing but strangers to him. "I don't think we'll meet up with him for a bit, but I could send a letter to you whenever plans are made."

Being in a guild with her cousin didn't seem too bad, in fact it might even be better than the two were in the same guild so they didn't have the problem of being out of touch again. Polishing off her own drink she nodded her head. She didn't even have to think about her answer. For Marwyn it was a very easy choice and since Christian seems to know a lot more about being a mage she could easily learn her way around with him. There's nothing to think about. Automatic yes. This is great, a cause for celebration on another day but I have some loose ends to tie up. Paying the bartender for all the drinks they shared she hopped down from her chair and took her cousin into her embrace, hugging him tightly as her eyes made contact with the loose ends near the front of the building's entrance. Releasing the hug she kissed both of his cheeks and gave him a quick goodbye before she began to make her way out of the club. It seems her business in this area was starting to flourish and she began to wonder if she could juggle the two lifestyles.

- exit -

Smiling at his cousin's words, Christian was happy to hear her be so easily on board. Christian was admittedly a bit nervous about the whole guild thing. Lucas and Zagan and all of the others were all complete strangers to him. Having his cousin there to look out for him (and vice versa) was an extremely comforting thought for the young man. "Perfect! I'll let you know when things are ready." Seeing that his cousin had already paid for their drinks, Christian lamented the fact that he couldn't treat her by paying for it instead. Then again, he figured that was probably the exact same way she was thinking as well. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a warm hug.

Wrapping his arms around Marwyn in return, Christian smiled as he savored the moment a little bit. He wrapped around her a little tight for a bit - he hadn't seen her in so long after all. Thankfully the two would most likely be seeing each other much more often these days, provided the whole thing worked out with Lucas. Christian would make sure that he'd let her on board, though he doubted that Lucas would question her strength anyways. A small blush came to Christian's cheeks as his cousin left him off with a few kisses on the cheek. He hadn't really had anyone to that to him after a hug since the last time he saw his mother, something that happened years ago. Noticing that Marwyn might find such a blush strange, Zane nervously explained. "Uhh, you caught me off guard. Humans rarely do that I find, haha." Perhaps they actually did do that a lot. Maybe Zane was just the exception. Still, it was about time to call this reunion done. Letting go of his cousin, Zane stood up and waved her goodbye.

"I'll see you soon, Marwyn! Good luck!" Smiling to himself, Zane sat back down for a while after his cousin had left. Everything that had happened recently was a bit dark, even if Zane tried not to act like it. Zagan, Lucas, the dragons, Beelzebub... Zane was able to avoid the seriousness of these events by acting goofy. He still knew how things were deep down. While he didn't mind his now questionable morality, he still wished for something a bit lighter from time to time. Knowing that Marwyn was willing to help him and go through all this with him was a relief. She was tougher than he was, in a way. Finishing up his business in the bar, Zane emerged out the door feeling better about the day than ever. He had a feeling that good things would await him in the future.

EXIT