(Normal Mode)

"Please tell me before I explode," Clay chimed in, "what's wrong with your relatives?" Nightshade rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking very uncomfortable with answering that question. "It's not my entire family. Just my mother –Ari, my father –Gerald, and my cousin –Dimitri." He said. "So, what about them makes them so bad?" Eden asked, as Nightshade shuddered a bit. "Well, to start, my parents are very embarrassing...even if no one is around. And my cousin, he's basically the opposite of me. He has very bad table manners, is always calling me some strange nickname, is very rude from time to time, doesn't believe in deodorant, and to make that last one worse...he only bathes once a month...without soap." Everyone seemed to gag in disgust at the sound of that...if Nightshade didn't like Dimitri, he definitely wouldn't make it in the apartment. "You should send your cousin to meet my father, and trust me...he'll come back fresh as a daisy." Eden said. Nightshade shook his head. "I highly doubt that. Because he doesn't bathe regularly, Dimitri always carries this very bad, yet distinctive odor...even if he does shower. But aside from that, let me tell you how my relatives felt about not being able to use our last name."

(Story Mode)

"Well?" Dimitri demanded. "Aren't you going to say hello?" Nightshade didn't respond, but wrinkled his nose at the smell of his cousin's putrid odor. He then turned his back on them and got on his knees, as he drew his neck back to face the ceiling. "Great forces of Darkness," he began, "I ask you to please answer me this question...WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS???????" Stepping inside, Nightshade's relatives bent down to his current level. "Deserve what? Our amazing company?" Gerald asked his son. Nightshade knew that answer was very much incorrect, resulting in him attempting to hold back a long groan. But rather than expressing his emotion again and getting in trouble, he simply gave a small sigh. "Mother, Father, Dimitri, not that I don't enjoy your company...but why are you here?" He asked, standing back up. His cousin plopped himself on the couch, already looking like he had no intention to leave. "Y'see, Shady-wadey, we got a letter from this...very –as you would say– peculiar little portal saying that we couldn't use our last name because it's being used as the name of a cheese. What's up with that?" Nightshade sighed, there it was again. The precise reason why he didn't want his parents and cousin to come. He hoped that this problem would blow over on it's own, besides– the people that sent the letter seemed to be from another dimension. It's not like they were going to know that his family still used their last name. The smell of something burning masked Dimitri's foul odor, and interrupted Nightshade's thoughts. He directed his attention to the vegetables he had been cooking, and raced over to them to stop them from burning...realizing that his dinner was ready as well. Upon seeing that, he remembered that he was hungry...and realized that his relatives seemed to throw him off track for the night, but it was no big deal– as long as they left immediately. Dimitri walked up to Nightshade with drool flooding from his mouth, as he put his arm around his cousin. "Hey, Shadykins," Dimitri said, "what are you making for dinner, there?" Nightshade frowned, covering his nose to keep his cousin's smell from ruining his appetite. "Nothing for you." He said, coldly. Gerald looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Are you sure, son? You look like you have enough to feed a village over there." He said. "Nightshade, may we stay for dinner?" His mother asked. Feeling the stress wash over him again, Nightshade didn't hesitate to hold back a sigh. "Yes...you may." He said. As everyone went to the kitchen, Nightshade pulled out a few chairs for his family. He then whistled to Midnight. "Time to eat, Midnight." He said, looking disappointed as he dropped his pet's steak in his food bowl. Midnight made a noise that sounded similar to a sigh, knowing that his owner was once again looking troubled.

(Clay outside of story): "Question: Midnight can sense your emotions?"

(Nightshade outside of story): "Yes...he can also tell when I'm hungry, thirsty, tired, sleepy, bored, hot, cold, must I go on?"

(Devan outside of story): "I think you made your point...but I kinda feel bad for Midnight, now."

(Nightshade outside of story): "I can understand that, but it's just his way of showing that he cares. Isn't it, boy?"

(Midnight outside of story): "Woof!"

The dinner table was unusually quiet, except for the sound of Dimitri eating like a horse...much to Nightshade's disgust. But aside from that, his family normally brought up a subject to discuss during dinner...but it seemed as if his parents had forgotten the ritual. Didn't really matter though, since Nightshade didn't really feel like talking. The awkward silence was kind of nice, in fact. Until it was broken by Ari. "Nightshade," she said, as he looked up to face her. "I hear that you became this so-called 'best thief in all of Skylands'. And I know that rumors can be very deceiving, but...is it true?" Nightshade swallowed hard, after keeping it a secret for all these years...his parents finally managed to find out. And changing the subject was definitely not an option. "Erm...yes, Mother. It is true...sadly." Nightshade said, looking shameful. Dimitri couldn't help but to laugh out loud. "Ooh, busted!" He said through a mouthful of lobster. "And how long has this been going on?" Gerald chimed in. Nightshade hung his head in shame, the stress was now hitting him harder than a migraine headache. "Since I was seventeen..." he said, sadly. His parents looked disappointed, making the master thief feel like he was  six years old again...being taught a lesson from his angry parents. "If it makes a difference," Nightshade said. "I was thrown in jail for quite a bit as punishment...and now, since being released, I've been doing community service at the Academy." To his relief, his parents' disappointment seemed to vanish, almost as if the conversation never happened. "Y'know, I think it would've been better if I was the best thief in Skylands." Dimitri suddenly piped up. Nightshade dropped his fork on his plate, and buried his face in his hands out of disappointment. "Kill me with a spoon..." he muttered to himself. "Just think about it! I'm way more of a hit with the ladies, and I would never get caught!" Dimitri continued. Nightshade couldn't have been more miserable than the time he got the flu, all he wanted right now was for this night to end...and for his relatives to leave. But while they were still there, it wouldn't be a bad idea to discuss the letter that they all got. "If I may put that subject aside," Nightshade began, "it seems that I was not the only one to get a letter." Judging by their unchanged expressions, it seemed like his family weren't too phased by the fact that there was a brand of cheese with their last name. In fact, they seemed somewhat amused. "I'm glad you mentioned that, son. Because we actually thought that this situation was a bunch of baloney." Gerald explained. Nightshade cracked a smirk. "So did I, but I'm afraid that it's still a problem." He said. Dimitri gave a bark of laughter. "Pfft, I see no problem here. They won't know if we still use our name! Sucks to be people who live in another dimension." He sneered. Nightshade rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat, he hated when his cousin with an IQ of no more than fifty was right. It was practically worse than working at the academy, but to avoid getting in trouble with his parents...he had to just suck it up and do nothing about it. "I suppose you are right, Dimitri..." Nightshade said, as Dimitri suddenly looked proud of himself. "If that's the case, you all have no purpose being here!" The master thief suddenly thought aloud, shaking his head. As the table fell silent again, Nightshade continued to hope that his family would leave right after dinner...and they wouldn't see each other again until Thanksgiving. At least he could keep in mind that his family didn't really care about the situation, because maybe that would give them more of a reason not to come back...right?
No.