[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

"I-I see... In a way, I do feel relieved," Eryn replied, recalling the number of times her twin sister expressed her hatred for the same family she worked for. However, it had been a while since they last got in touch with one another and hearing that her sister was under the watch of a demon unsettled her somewhat. "Umm... T-This demon... Was it a friend of hers? It's been so long since we last talked to one another, so I don't know what she has been up to..." she said, her voice heavy with sadness and guilt.

[Daxam]

"I think so," Sean answers. "As far as I know, they've worked together at least once before, when I met your sister, but my old contacts in the Medici family claim that they saw Arlia leave several times over the last few months. One of them tailed her and found that she was meeting with the guy, Nigel Howeland. He's a decent guy, but he works for some bad people." Smiling, he adds, "Odds are, he's gonna push her to contact you so you know she's alright. He has a sister, too, so he knows that you're probably worried sick."

[Vocalia]

"I'm just glad that Arlia's alright now, although I'm not sure if this Nigel Howeland is someone to be trusted, especially knowing that he works for a bad people. I don't want her to escape a den of bad people, only to move into a different den of bad people," Eryn replied, sounding very concerned for the sister she hadn't seen for months since they last met. "Still, at the very least, he seems to be able to sympathize with her situation. Knowing that she's now out of that terrible place she called 'home' is good enough for me." Smiling softly, she turned to Sean and said, "Thank you for telling all this to me. I wasn't sure if I can trust you with my sister's existence, given that we've just met, but I'm glad that you're proving me wrong."

[Daxam]

Sean chuckles and jokingly says, "I make proving people wrong my business. It's fun." Still smiling, he then says, "But, seriously, it's no problem. If I can give someone some peace of mind, I'm more than happy to do it." Soon, he pulls in front of the small Japanese restaurant. Looking around, he sees that there are more people around than usual, but too many. "That's to be expected, given the convention, after all," he says to himself as he climbs out of the jeep. Walking around the vehicle, he opens the passenger door and gestures for Eryn to step out.

[Vocalia]

Eryn timidly stepped out of the jeep and followed Sean to the crowded restaurant. "Oh my! I'm sure this place serves some delicious food to have this many patrons lining up," she mused. Although she assumed that the volume of the crowd was influenced by the con, she was still surprised to see so many people lining up to eating the small restaurant, most of which were patient enough to wait and chat with each other to pass time.

[Daxam]

"Yeah, they do," Sean says. "I'm honestly surprised that they don't normally have this many people on a daily basis. They honestly serve some of the best udon I've ever had!" Walking up to the end of the line, he crosses his arms and leans against the wall, smiling at Eryn. "At least we can talk to each other to pass the time," he muses, then asks, "So, what do you like to do in your free time?"

[Vocalia]

"Well, I would spend my time reading something, watching anime, or doing some casual computing project. I do happen to like program design and would sometimes dismantle a simple software to see how it works," Eryn replied with a timid smile. However, Eryn had actually omitted a particular detail about her love for computing. In particular, she didn't tell Sean that she happened to be rather skilled at hacking into different software and bypassing security protocols. In the university where she studied, she mostly used this skill to anonymously help keep the university's virtual security up to date and she had never used her skill for any evil means, but she knew of the negative stigma behind hackers and kept this particular hobby a secret from everyone, even from her own parents.

[Daxam]

Sean raises an eyebrow, once more impressed with the woman in front of him. "So, you're a computer whiz, huh?" he asks, finding himself seemingly grow more attracted to Eryn. "I like to mess around with computers, too, but it doesn't really interest me. Now, science, that's when I have my fun, especially chemistry. Back in grade school, during one of our little chemistry lessons, I figured out how to make sulfuric acid. I went to show my teacher, but I dropped the flask, which ended up eating a hole through the floor. Man, I got in so much trouble!"

[Vocalia]

Eryn giggled, finding it interesting how she and Sean both shared a passion for intellectual pursuits, although they each delved into different subjects with her in computer and electronics and Sean in science and chemistry. "Oh dear... That reminded me one time when I was learning how to create ad-blocking software on my father's computer back when I was still in high school. Instead of blocking unwanted ads and malware links, the program ended up linking pornographic pictures to where the ads were supposed to be... I was fortunate that my parents took this with very good humor and let me fix it, but it was so embarrassing nonetheless..." Eryn's face turned beet red as she recalled the incident that had slightly traumatized her young mind back then.

[Daxam]

Sean laughs, feeling as though it were the most natural thing in the world when he was with her, as well as the story being rather funny. "That's hilarious," he says as he finally calms down. Just then, the line moves forward a couple of steps and he moves to catch up. Once the line settles, he leans against the wall again and turns to Eryn, saying, "Well, I think I have one that can beat that. One time, I was mixing some chemicals, not having a clue what would happen, but I wanted to see. Eventually, I get this brownish, fizzy liquid. After testing its' acidity, I decided to take a sip, again, just to find out what would happen. Next thing I know, I start speaking gibberish and seeing blue. Thankfully, it went away after about an hour, but the whole time, I thought I was speaking normally while my parents thought I was just messing around!

[Vocalia]

Try as she might, Eryn couldn't hold back her laughter and descended into a fit of giggles. "Oh dear! I would never think of trying any chemical that I have mixed around. I think my parents would immediately rush me to the ER if I did what you did. They can be quite protective of me at times, given that I'm their only child," Eryn replied, but then paused for a brief moment, as if contemplating about whether or not she should expand on that topic. In the end, she felt that, if she should tell it to anyone, Sean would be the right man. "You see, my mother is biologically infertile and my parents cannot bear any children, so they adopted me. I was told that I was given up for adoption at a very young age because I don't have any powers at all. From what I understand, my twin sister desperately begged our biological father to surrender me instead of killing me for not having the same powers he and my sister have..."

[Daxam]

Hearing Eryn's story, Sean feels his heart go out for the young woman, who was practically thrown away by her own father for essentially being the black sheep. Even when he, himself, began discovering his powers, his parents stuck by him, no matter how much they were ridiculed for having a freak for a son. Reaching over, he places his hand on her shoulder and smiles softly, saying, "Well, at least you went to a good couple. The Mafia life isn't for someone as gentle as you."

[Vocalia]

"I'm happy that I'm never subjected to the life my twin goes through, but I guess the trauma of being put up for adoption is quite long-lasting. I don't recall anything much about my early childhood up until I hit 6 years of age. I didn't even remember about having a twin sister until Arlia visited me since I was adopted. She remembered everything and worried about me, yet I couldn't return the favor because of the heavy trauma," Eryn replied, then looked up at Sean with a smile. "I'm happy that you have parents who love you no matter what and I'm happy that I ended up with a doting family, if not a little bit overprotective sometimes."

[Daxam]

Sean smiles back at Eryn and says, "Honestly, sometimes I wished my parents were a little overprotective. Or else I wouldn't have ended up seeing blue and with aphasia." Chuckling, he steps up to the counter, the line having moved quite a ways, and, his appetite obviously having grown over the past few hours, says, "Could I get some udon, a few sticks of yakitori, curry, sashimi, some mochi, a taiyaki, and some water, please?" Turning to Eryn, he asks, "How about you?"

[Vocalia]

Momentarily stunned by the sheer number of food Sean had ordered, Eryn shook her head to clear her mind and said, "Umm... C-Could I get a bowl of pork ramen, two sticks of yakitori, mochi, and water, please?" After their orders were recorded, she and Sean were guided to an empty table and seated together. Only when they came inside did Eryn notice how many people were enjoying themselves and the food, seeing empty bowls and plates on the tables. "Wow... I can't wait to try out the food!" she said with tempered excitement.

[Daxam]

Sean sits down across the table from Eryn, chuckling as he hears her. "Trust me, this place is good," he says once he gets comfortable. A few moments of silence pass as they wait for their food, until Sean finally says, "You know, I can honestly say this has been the best convention I've ever been to. I think meeting you had something to do with that."

[Vocalia]

Eryn didn't seem to take Sean's words beyond the description of the two of them befriending and getting to know each other as trustworthy friends and nodded with a kind smile. "I'm glad I get to meet you. I've never had so much fun for quite a while. Thank you for being willing to get to know me and thank you for not judging me for who I am. I really appreciate it, Sean."

[Daxam]

Sean smiles and says, "Hey, the best way to get to know someone is to know them for who they really are. I'd rather you be up front about yourself rather than put on a mask or anything." Eventually, Eryn's food arrives and the waiter informs Sean that the kitchen was working to fill out his sizable order. Chuckling, he tells the waiter that it was alright, then says to Eryn, "Go ahead and eat, if you want. You don't have to wait for me to get my food."

[Vocalia]

Eryn shook her head and replied, "I'd rather eat together with you, Sean. I come here to enjoy the food with you instead of simply going for the sake of eating. Besides," she looked down at her ramen, seeing the hot vapor rising from the broth, "I think I'd burn my tongue if I try to eat it now." Giggling sheepishly, she seemed relieved to know that Sean liked her for who she was instead of who he thought she was and she was thankful that he still liked her despite her ties to the Medici bloodline. Not even her status as an adopted child to the Lancaster family could erase the fact that she was still the flesh and blood of a cruel mob boss whose fate she had not yet known, which prompted her to ask Sean, "Umm... I know this might not be the right time to ask... but do you know what happened to my biological father?"

[Daxam]

Hearing Eryn's question, Sean falls silent for a few moments. Even though Adriano wasn't exactly Father of the Year, she still might take the news hard. After all, she was her flesh-and-blood father. Sighing, he figures the truth was best, and says, "Yeah, I know. That 'demon' I mentioned earlier, the one who flew off with your sister...I heard he killed your father. Apparently, there was a huge battle between the two and your father almost killed the other man, until he transformed into the demon everyone's talking about. They found his body, burned all over, and with a cauterized hole through his head."