Rune Magic

2-8: Playing With Fire

.^^ Elite Dragon Knight ^^

— James —

When we arrived, (in my personal favorite grandiose and ostentatious fashion,) the restaurant was packed, with a waiting line of magical diners almost as long as the number of guests inside the place.

We walked directly past them, at my direction, and up the stairs to the banquet dining area, currently empty of other diners, except for my immediate family.

They had commandeered a single table, able to seat twenty, in the center of the room, and I smiled at the group. "Hello, all, you're all looking very spiffy tonight! May I introduce the Lithos Family, Zetre, Raul, Zapesa, and-... ma'am, I don't think I ever asked your name, terribly forgetful of me." I looked at Zetre's mother.

"Helena, my dear." She smiled forcefully.

"Ah, Yes, and Helena Lithos! This is, of course, Athenos Parthenos, my father, Rafaela Nero, my father's lover, Emmanuel, Rafi's son, and Gabriella, the errant demon-child we keep around and feed loose change to keep her destructive tendencies at bay." I smiled and patted her hair as she giggled at me for being silly.

"Hola!" She grinned adorably, showing her dimples.

"Also grandfather Xeda, the Patriarch, and Lady Durham, my grandmother, with her lover Peter, and last but not least Lady Siobhan Teagan, and her husband, Hartford. Please, sit." I held out Zetre's chair, while Manny rushed to pull out Maria's, to Raul's amusement.

After everyone was settled, I chuckled. "I swear, Zapesa, I tried to make this a small family dinner, not an event."

He grinned. "It could have been worse. At least we're not terribly outnumbered."

"There is that." I nodded, and took a sip of the wine that had been supplied to each spot. When I saw Rafaela tap Gabriella's hand, I smiled. "Hers is severely watered down, don't worry, Rafi. We're liberal with our wine, not irresponsible."

She chuckled, and allowed Gabriella to pick up the glass. "You're not going to like it, Mija." She sighed. Gabriella took a sip, then screwed up her nose, as she laughed. "I did warn you."

"Something else can be easily managed, I'm sure." Xeda grinned, and then cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I ought to be the one to say it."

"Oh dear, here we go." Athenos covered his eyes with one hand.

"Our families don't like each other much... I don't really remember why, nor do I care, really. If we can't remember the reason we're angry, it's honestly, obviously, not that important. So I'm happy for this opportunity to sit and share a meal with you, Lithos Clan, and let bygones be bygones." He said calmly, and Athenos perked up when Zapesa agreed, and we all drank to a dissolution of a feud.

"On That Note, bring the food, please?" Xeda grinned at the collective release of tension and happy joking.

—

I enjoyed watching as Athenos became stuck between wanting to tell me not to feed my date, and also not wanting to be a hypocrite, seeing as Rafi had decided to share every part of her meal with him as she discovered it, and the mixture of wanting to parent me, and enjoying a nice, fun dinner with his lover, was slowly driving him insane. He eventually decided to leave me be, and went back to his dinner.

As the final course came out, and we were debating dessert, a strong rumbling shook the entire city, it felt like.

Xeda frowned at his spilt wine and stained suit, as the earthquake settled down, and I snapped my fingers, cleaning it with a thought.