Skylands Historia - Duality

Chapter 8 - the Irony of the Situation is Palpable

Dinner felt like it had been going on for hours, even though it had only been minutes since Kaos had sat down at the table. He poked and prodded at his food with the back of his fork, the metal slightly tarnished from use, sectioning them off from each other. Charred sheepsteak in one corner of the plate, over-boiled potatoes and soggy string beans in the other. Kaos sighed, leaning his head against the palm of his hand, his nose wrinkling at the smell wafting from his plate. Hot socks and wet starch. No matter how many times he had it, he'd never get used to the scent.

Kaos glanced up from his plate to the seat across from him. There sat the person he had dreaded seeing all night. His father. Kaos' father had always been a cold man, but tonight he seemed positively glacial. Icy blue eyes seemed to stare straight through Kaos as his father ate wordlessly, the silence punctuated by the clinking of cutlery on porcelain. Kaos would have thought that he would have been chewed out the moment his father laid eyes on him, but the conversation had halted at "hello". His father threw his long hair over his shoulder, which he had tied in a low ponytail. His usually clean-shaven face was dotted with stubble, though it was barely noticeable against his tanned skin.

"Your food's going to get cold, Kaos." His father finally spoke up. "Don't let it go to waste."

Kaos furrowed his brow, then looked down to his plate, sticking the end of his fork in the corner of his mouth. When he noticed his father's gaze was still trained on him, he let out a reluctant grumble, reaching across the table to grab the gravy boat. His fingers barely brushed against the handle, even after he had stood up on his chair to try to get a little more leverage. Kaos strained to reach farther, feeling his father's eyes boring into his skull, before he slowly pushed the gravy boat towards Kaos. Kaos snatched it up, sitting back down with a huff, before completely dousing his plate in lukewarm, watery gravy. Beside him, Dyskord snickered.

"It's steak, Kaos, not soup."

"Shut up."

Resisting the urge to puke, Kaos scooped up one of the potatoes, the misshapen sphere only held together by its sandpapery skin. He looked to his father once more, scrunched his eyes closed, then took a bite. The gravy did nothing to mask the taste of starch and stale water that seemed to make his entire body seize up. This seemed to satisfy his father, though, as he had returned to his own meal without another word. Kaos stuck his tongue out, wiping the mush off to the best of his ability with his napkin, shuddering as the taste lingered. His mother definitely had a talent for cooking; the potatoes were somehow both undercooked and overcooked at the same time. Not even he could complete a feat like that. Kaos looked around the table, questioning how his siblings were managing to eat this swill with straight faces. Meyhem even seemed to be enjoying it, taking particular glee in chopping the rubbery sheepsteak into slices and hitting them against her plate before eating them. Kaos poked at his own steak, then felt his stomach churn as he swore he saw the charred lump move.

"So, children. Catch me up. What's happened since I've been gone?"

Kaos nearly dropped his fork, feeling his heart stop. He looked up, glancing around the table to see who would speak up first. Was this a setup? Was this his way to catch Kaos red-handed? Make him out to be the villain? He watched as his father adjusted his ascot, then tucked it back into his shirt. He hadn't bothered changing from his grimy, nature soiled adventuring gear - despite Mother insisting they had to dress up to welcome him back. At least he had taken off his hat for dinner.

"I mean, it's been nearly a year, what don't we have to say?" Dyskord fiddled with his collar.

"At least it wasn't five, right Dad?" Meyhem giggled. "Mum told me that's the longest you've been away!"

"It was only four and a half, Mey."

"Four and a half, on and off." Mother corrected. "Your father stopped by when he could, just not for very long."