Meeting the Family 2 ~ On Mom's Side -2

Chapter 2 : Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

        "Joel, dear, come down for breakfast. There's someone I want you to meet." Joel woke up with a yawn. He sat up to see he was at his mom's house. Drago was still asleep on the couch.
Joel got out of bed and went to the door to see who was downstairs. He looked over the railing to see his mother and another person at the front door talking. Joel was curious who the new person was.
The person was a woman with short pink hair pulled back into a bun and purple eyes. She looked more like a young girl, but Joel could tell she was a grown woman.
She noticed Joel and smiled, "Is that him?"
Zelda smiled, "Yes, that's him. Dear, could you get changed and come down?" Joel nodded and went back in his room.
Drago was stretching with a yawn as Joel closed the door behind him. Drago rubbed his eyes, "What's up?"
Joel sighed, "My mom wants me to meet someone."
Drago smirked, "Time to start showing off the Golden Child."
Joel waved him off as he changed behind a black screen, "It's probably a relative. It's tradition to meet all the relatives when you join a family."
Drago sighed, "So I've heard. You had to do that when you joined the Gwydion family, right?"
Joel nodded as he came out, "Yep. Quite a party that turned out to be. Can't wait to see how this time turns out."
Drago groaned and laid back down, "You're so dead."
Joel grinned, "Thanks for the support. I'll just leave you up here." His grin grew, "The twins should be up soon to clean up the room."
Drago jumped on his feet, "No way! I'm not staying here with those two!"
Joel laughed as he left the room with Drago following him, "What is it about those two that scares you?"
Drago was hesitant, "Well, let's just say, Breeded and Unborns don't mix well." They stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
The woman wasn't alone. She had a guy standing beside her. He had grey eyes and short white hair. He also had white wolf ears and a white wolf tail. A Hexxed.
He had a dark aura to him that reminded Joel of his Uncle Donovan. Remembering his uncle, though he still made Joel nervous, Joel started to miss him. He was starting to miss his whole family.
He walked over. Drago stayed behind Joel, just in case. The hexxed only glanced at them.
The woman smiled, "Oh how wonderful to meet you, Ximran! I'm your Aunt Tia, but you can just call me Tia."
Joel smiled, "Nice to meet you too, Tia."
Tia smiled, "Oh, he's so handsome, sis! I just wanna cuddle him!" The hexxed glanced at her. She noticed and laughed, "Sorry, sweetheart! He's just so cute!" He simply watched out the window. Joel's aunt Tia reminded him of his aunty Nisha.
Tia giggled, "This is my fiance, Adolfo. He's very quiet."
Joel managed a smile, "So I see." Drago looked the hexxed over. The hexxed glanced at him. They watched each other silently.
Joel noticed, "What's wrong, Drago?" Drago didn't answer.
Tia spoke up, "Oh my, he speaks dragon-tongue."
Zelda smiled, "Yes, he's a very gifted boy."
Joel didn't pay them any mind as they continued to talk about his gift, "Drago, is something wrong?"
Drago spoke, still watching Adolfo, "He can't speak. His tongue was cut out."
Joel was surprised, "Are you serious? How can you tell?"
Drago looked a bit sympathetic, "Hexxed are pure beings. To plant that much darkness in them, evil must be done to them. There's an aura of darkness around him. His tongue was only one of the tortures he's been through."
Joel watched Adolfo. He could almost see the darkness in his eyes that Drago could see, "That's awful. Who would do such a thing?" Drago was silent.
Then Tia caught Joel's attention, "So, have you introduced him around yet?"
Zelda sighed, "Not yet."
Tia giggled, "I hear Averna is very excited to meet him!"
Zelda became grim, "I think I'll be skipping her house."
Joel looked at his mother, "Why?"
She gave him a sweet smile, "She tends to be a little... difficult. I wouldn't want her to scare you off. It's for the best!"
Joel could only assume she was right. She knew her family best, and it meant he would have to stay for a shorter time. He decided the shorter, the better.

   Later that day, Joel looked up at the white house with it's simple design and blue roof. It was the most normal house Joel had ever seen. Zelda knocked at the door.
Drago suffed his hands in his pockets, "So this is where the only son of the family lives? Which of them is he?"
Joel sighed, "I think he's the youngest, besides Tia."
Then the door was opened. Joel was surprised by the boy who opened the door. He had powerful red eyes and blond hair. A gold circlet with a large ruby at the center sat on his head. He wore a white silk shirt with long sleeves, black jeans, and a black cape.
He was a very interesting boy about Joel's age, if not a little older, but it wasn't his looks that caught Joel and Drago's attention. It was the wheelchair he sat in that did it. The boy sighed, "Good day, Aunt Zelda."
Zelda smiled at him, "Hello, Maxx. Is your father home?"
Maxx wheeled himself back as he spoke, "Yes, he's here. Come in." Joel could see he had a mysterious personality and, through his soft charm, he was very intelligence, a lot like his cousin Nox. Joel and Drago followed Zelda in.
The house was very lovely and neat. No skulls, symbols, magic items, nothing that showed it was the home of a wizard. Nothing at all.
Maxx wheeled himself into the living room, "If you don't mind waiting in here, I'll go collect my father."
Zelda sat on the couch, "Thank you, darling." Maxx wheeled himself out as Joel sat beside his mom and Drago sat in an armchair.
Joel spoke, "How come Maxx is in a wheelchair? I didn't think wizards could be handicap."
Zelda sighed, "Its uncommon, but not impossible. You see, he was in a terrible accident as a very small child. Now his legs are forever paralyzed."
Joel watched out where Maxx left, "Isn't there a spell to fix his legs?"
Zelda sighed, but Drago spoke up first, "Not unless you wanna give up something else in return. That kind of magic comes at a price. And whatever the price is, you don't get a choice. You could lose your arms, your sight, anything."
Joel sighed, "Oh. That's too bad."
Zelda looked at Joel, "What'd your friend say?"
Joel smiled, "He explained how that kind of magic works. It's too bad."
Zelda nodded, "Yes, it is. He's a very smart boy. Like you, he's a first-born, though his father isn't, so he's not nearly as powerful as you, Ximran."
Drago gave Joel a "watch your back" look. Joel knew he was concerned about how his mother was talking about power, but he smiled, "Cool."
Then Maxx wheeled back in with a man that looked identical to him, except in maybe his thirties. The man smiled at his sister, "Welcome, Zelda!"
Zelda stood up and hugged him, "Hello, darling!" She turned to Joel, who stood up, "Martin, this is my dear Ximran. Ximran, this is your uncle Martin."
Martin shook Joel's hand, "Welcome home, Ximran." Joel felt a begging feeling in his mind to say he wasn't home. That his home was with his dad and brother.
Then Martin noticed Drago and jumped in fright, "What is that!?" Drago raised an eyebrow. Joel could clearly tell his uncle was a coward, though he liked to act brave and charming.
Joel just happened to notice Maxx roll his eyes from where he sat in his wheelchair behind his father. Joel found that interesting.
Zelda cleared her throat, "That is Ximran's good friend, Drago the Dragon-Breed." Martin looked at Zelda, wondering if she was kidding. He gasped when he realized she wasn't.
Drago crossed his arms, "I'm really starting to hate this family."
Joel turned to him, "Honestly, I'm not too fond of them myself."
Martin looked shocked, "Incredible! He speaks Dragon-Tongue!" Maxx raised a curious and intrigued eyebrow. He was very impressed.
Zelda smiled, "Oh yes, he's very gifted." Joel smiled. At least he got a lot of attention.
Zelda spoke softly, "It's such a shame Maxx hasn't found his gift yet." Joel looked at Maxx and saw he looked quite angry with his aunt and father.
When she turned to him, he gave a soft smile that made him seem a little disappointed, but trying to be confident, "I guess I'm just not as lucky." Joel was amazed. Maybe his gift was lying; he sure was incredible at it.
Zelda and Martin left to talk in another room, leaving Drago, Joel, and Maxx to get to know each other. Maxx sighed and rolled up to the table. Joel sat on the couch and Drago stayed in the armchair.
Joel sighed, "So, you don't know your gift yet, Maxx?"
Maxx was silent in pondering. Joel could see the quick thinking going on behind his deep eyes. He spoke calmly, "Depends."
Maxx glanced out where the adults left, then tuned back to Joel, "Do you like your family so far? More specifically, your mother?" Joel didn't know how he should answer that.
Maxx chuckled darkly, "Don't worry. It's alright if you don't like them. I find them a bit difficult to put up with myself."
Joel sighed, "Honestly? No. I'm just doing this to learn more about my mother. So far, she's not so bad."
Maxx raised an eyebrow, as if that surprised him, but he didn't dwell on it, "Well, I'll be honest with you. I already know my gift, but I haven't revealed it to anyone."
Joel was surprised, "Why not?"
Maxx smirked, "Because I'd rather take advantage of it. Can't really use it to its fullest if I tell anyone what it is." His eye twitched, "And I'd rather my father didn't know anything about it."
Joel wondered what he meant, but the adults came back. Maxx was back to the same innocent and mysterious son as Zelda sat beside Joel and Martin sat in another armchair.
Martin smiled at Joel, "How do you like it here in the Mana Realm so far, Ximran?"
Joel smiled, trying to be as convincing as Maxx, "I'm really enjoying it. It's a new adventure." Zelda smiled and hugged him.
Joel glanced at Maxx to see he hadn't changed. Though, he could have sworn he'd seen the corner of his mouth twitch up for a moment and a sparkle in his eyes. Amusement. Joel smiled.
Maybe not all of his new family was so bad after all.