It had already been quite the long day.

Finn had woken early, very early in fact. He hadn't found himself able to sleep over the past few weeks, and his run in with Xandra hadn't helped. The two of them had traveled to Era together, with him needing to finally finish his quest and her needing to check in with the order of the Rune Knights. The fact that their travel necessities had worked out perfectly should have been a great thing; Should have.

Instead, Finn found himself overwhelmed by the same thoughts that had begun to creep into his mind when they had met each other once more. It was a coincidence for two people who knew each other to meet, completely unplanned, in a town that neither of them normally visited. A coincidence so extreme that even a man like himself who didn't spare a thought for ideas such as fate or destiny had question how in the hell it happened.

It were as though, sometimes, the things that happened to him were ordained by entities far beyond his explanation.

It was a thought that would have plagued him for days if it weren't for what happened next. Finn had come to Era in order to finish his mastery over the legendary sword Durendal. He had made his way to a cave that was very similar to the one he and Jake had originally fetched it from, back to the stone case it had been trapped within, and performed the ritual that was said to bind it with its owner. What he had not expected, however, was the physical change that came alongside that.

Whatever the sword was had merged itself with his very essence, and at the end of it Finn looked incredibly different. It was as though his entire physique had altered itself to be more optimal for things such as combat, which made sense in an odd way, but why did it change his very face and hair as well?

It was wondering how and why that happened that kept him from worrying about Xandra, and those thoughts ricochet through his mind enough for him to not even notice the time. Instead, he was knocked out of his confusion as his eyes refocused on a familiar visage. She looked slightly out of breath, though he was certain it was not at all because of any rushing she did. With people as fit as they were, even vast distances weren't enough to tire them. Still, something about seeing the blonde beauty breathlessly search the breakfast cafe brought a grin to his face and relaxed his otherwise tense body. He felt at ease.

Slowly, his hand raised and he stood. "Hey, Xandra." An awkward smile made its way to his face, along with a nervous chuckle. Luckily enough his voice remained unchanged, but even then she'd still have no idea who he was. At most a vague sense of familiarity; After all, for her a completely foreign man with a familiar voice just called her name. If anything she'd be confused and wondering why the hell he was talking to her.

"It's me... And it's a, uh, very long story." With an awkward laugh, he sat back down to the table. Upon it sat only a glass of water and what looked to be coffee, though it was heavy on creamer and sugar. It seemed as though he had not eaten yet, instead having decided to wait for her regardless of the delay.

At least they'd have something to talk about while they ate.

How strange it must have been for her to have to process this information so suddenly, and in such a crowded place in which she couldn't take time to herself in which to do so. While it may have been true that people in the Wizarding world changed appearances quite often, for Finn it was a relatively new and unheard of experience. He couldn't remember many people from his past whose physical form changed, with the exception of those whose races had also changed with it. So for him, a human with no magic, it was even stranger.

Her voice when she pieced together who he must be sounded incredulous. To be fair, he most likely should have waited for her outside so that he could have caught her right away. Hindsight pointed out how odd this situation must have been, and how she would have maintained every right to assume he was a stranger and never to join him at that table at all.

Yet, it seemed as though she was willing to accept the reality as it was for now. She came over to his table, joined him there, and upon his brief and lacking explanation, she simply uttered her disbelief and continued to look at him. His mind was all over the place, too distracted with itself to make sense of whatever her facial expression was. Instead, as far as his mind was concerned, she was equal parts shocked and disturbed. He looked down at his finger, slowly tracing intricate designs along the table, and for a moment he felt disassociated with his own body. He had never had this olive skin tone before, or quite such long fingers. Everything about himself felt off, from his height to his weight distribution.

His lips drew a tight line across his face, and then broke the silence and tension with a laugh. "I must look so strange, I'm sure." His brought his hand up and pushed his bangs up and away from his face. Upon his skin were tattoos that were so natural that they seemed to be a part of his being themselves, as if they had magically formed with his appearance; Which, in fact, they had.

His eyes searched her out, a nervous grin on his face. "This must be so weird for you. I'm sorry. Lets move past my new, weird look for now. Era! You wanted to come here, right? Something to do with your guild and work you needed to get done if I recall correctly. How is all of that going?" He smiled, but it was obvious that he was only partially present. His mind slowly drifted along, trying to make peace with his complete and sudden change.

Her words were comforting, a dismissal of his concerns in a way that seemed as though she had never even considered them. Her eyes had been willing to mingle with his own for as long as he was brave enough. Even when he had shied away, instead finding interest in the mundane around them, he felt her gaze resting upon him. Perhaps she was just drinking in his new appearance, but he didn't even consider that as an option. Rather to say, he didn't think anything of it at all. He had been too enraptured with his own worries to bother guessing what was on her head. She would tell him herself if she so wished; Or at least, that's how he assured himself.

Yet certainly enough, she had continued on. Beyond the simple act of giving him assurance, she boldly struck at the walls that he had placed between her and his problems. His eyes snapped back to her own which had never found their way off of him. He searched her gaze for any signs that she was asking out of duty or politeness, but what met him was a stern determination. He found himself surprised, and without even realizing it his lips curved upwards into a grin.

Beautiful indeed...

The memory of his awkward flattery from before crawled through his mind, but instead he addressed the matter at hand. "Right..." His voice, it seemed, hadn't quite gathered the courage he had willed for it to have. Clearing his throat and straightening up, his hands came together around his glass and he began to tell her the story.

There wasn't much to it, truth be told. He had come to Era in order to find out more about his blade, Durandal, which had been forged long before its old owner had ever wielded it. It had been tamed by Kings, but it had been created far before the dawn of such societies. In a dungeon about a quarter days walk from the city, Finn had found clues to the blades true power.

That truth, it seemed, had come at a cost. The blade reacted with whatever had been in that cave, forcing him to the ground in blinding agony. Then, before he knew it, his consciousness had faded away. From there he had dreamed, and while he didn't remember most of the visions, he remembered talk about the relics of a God of War, and ways in which to attain his power.

"It felt, well... Cliche, really. You hear stories of heroes being chosen by divine voices. Champions being brought up by beings far beyond comprehension. Yet, I didn't feel anything so sacred. It felt... Almost malicious?"

When he woke, he found his body altered greatly. While his strength and speed still remained, at least from his limited testing, it was still a drastic change. His center of balance had been thrown off, his weight distribution in general, his sense of depth; All of it was just slightly off. It would take time to adjust, time to relearn.

Then, a sigh from his lips. He smiled, looking as though a weight beyond words had been removed from his shoulders. "Thanks for that... For getting me out of my head." He laughed a little, feeling more relaxed than he had since arriving to Era. Almost as if at the peak of that emotional undulation, Finn decided to ride the wave and catch her off guard. Why not, right?

"And now you know why I've gone through my metamorphosis. What a start to our date, right? Your turn!"

Her responses seemed so natural, yet they hit with the impact of having been specially crafted just for him. Her voice was teasing, and the girl who thought herself to be a miserable conversationalist had found a way to wrap him around her finger. Spoke of the date in a sarcastic way, even referring to him as "Mr. Hero", before continuing on in a fashion that confirmed it as being somewhat of a date. Perhaps he had looked too far into her response in order to find what he was looking for, but the thought that he was wrong had drifted from his purview.

Instead, it had been replaced with a sense of elation. Her brief touch upon her own morning had refocused his attention, making him pay attention to her earlier plight. However, while he wanted to press and find out more, it seemed she was not yet ready to discuss it in any sort of detail. Better, it seemed, to press on by turning her attention back to the present. Offering him a compliment and a wry smile that did its best to look cheerful, he found himself drawn into it despite knowing it had been a trap. She wished to divert his attention from her morning, and it was at least temporarily successful.

She turned a question back to him, inquiring what the future of his day held in store for him. Maybe, just maybe, she was wondering if the man had put her into his plans. Finn looked at her for a moment before breaking out into a light chuckle, tongue pressing at the corner of his lower lip and eyes darting to the side. It seemed he found himself defeated in a competition that she may not have even been sure she was playing.

His eyes found their way back to hers and his fingertips pressed together a little harder, reminding themselves of the beverage between his palms. He leaned forward a little, his hair falling over itself and partially in his face. It had been something he hated over the past twenty four hours, but now he found himself not even acknowledging its presence.

"I meant it, you know." His words were serious, of course, enough so to change the mood of their table. Yet there was something about his face; The way his lips arched upwards, the way he smiled with his eyes and his breath visibly hung in the air, that added a sense of ease to his demeanor. "You're absolutely beautiful, Xandra."

Finn, the awkward young man, was something of the past. He still had his moments, that much was for sure, but no longer was he the bumbling fool that he once was. No longer were his own emotions so foreign to him, to the point that he could neither properly share them nor keep them under check in some form or another. He was finally a man, or at least adult enough to create a conversation like this in a way that didn't make it feel as though his heart were about to explode out of his chest.

At most, it felt as if it had lodged itself in his throat. He was nervous, he was simply now mature enough to ignore it and to hide the weakness from his voice.

"And since you're already tired of being back at headquarters, and I already have gotten a tan it seems," he said, trying to joke about his still mildly uncomfortable transformation, "How about you and I go to Crocus? I heard that King Reign himself is going to be hosting a ball to thank mages and warriors alike for their help with the crisis' that have plagued Fiore over the past year, especially the most recent. Would you be my date?"

With a slight pause, but before she could respond, he spoke up as though to clarify. "As in, an actual date? With me?"

He had still had some maturation to go.

Finn had discovered one of the most difficult challenges he'd had in years; Attempting to stay on track when he was witnessing Xandra's reactions to his words. The way she diverted her face to the side, an attempt to force her gaze away from him only to have her eyes wander back to his own and begin tracing over his new appearance. Was it her way of trying to see whether he was being honest? Or the way her lips pursed, drawing his attention to them for the briefest of moments and seeing them curve upwards in a restrained smile. Was it her way of trying to hide her feelings on the matter?

Regardless of her intent, she was acting in a way that was absolutely adorable. He felt his heart begin to pound, and luckily he finished before he felt his words divert from their intended course. This was a first for him, and despite her physical reactions that made him think she may have reciprocated the interest, he found himself riddled with anxiety. How would she answer? He'd be fine even if she declined his invitation, or so he thought. Yet every time he considered the possibility of denial, he felt his heart stoop into his stomach.

He was so entranced by her actual appearance that the subtle answers her body gave him were lost in translation. He had not noticed her body lean into his words, or her fingers occupy themselves in a nervous dance along her beverage. He hadn't noticed her own flushed cheeks, or her surprised yet happy amusement at his words. Even then, as she grinned and prepared to respond, he didn't look into the meaning behind her actions. Rather, he found himself realizing that she had invaded his thoughts since their time in Baska. Ever since he saw her, silhouetted against the window, his spare time became increasingly filled with daydreams.

And those daydreams culminated into this.

She agreed, in a way that was so much like her that it forced a smile and a laugh from him before she'd even finished talking. He sounded relieved, and realized that he had been holding his breath without noticing. His mind races at a million miles per second, yet it felt like a serene static that was culminated in the feeling of relief.

And as she asked when they should go, he felt himself jutted back into the present moment with the realization that this was all happening. "Lets travel this weekend so we can get there in time to enjoy it. I'm-" he paused, but the pause seemed almost as though it were to catch his breath once more. His face relaxed, a his lips curled upwards into a natural smile so sincere that even his eyes reflected it. This was the happiest he'd been since his return to Fiore, many moons ago.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

[EXIT]