Dreams of the Tempest

[Zach Kaiser]

It was all Eld could do not to drop what he was carrying. "I, umm, what, really?" He was forced to stop as he considered this. Gestahl of Terra knew he was dating his daughter, and wanted him over for dinner. That was...not a particularly calming thought.

Kyo, I will get you back for this somehow. It wasn't that he intended to keep the relationship a secret, but he would've appreciated the chance to tell the man himself. Preferably in a situation where there would be impartial witnesses in case bodily harm was wished upon him.

"I...I'll be there, definitely." There wasn't really any avoiding it; he could only pray that her father wouldn't kill him in front of her and her mother.

[Nayt]

At first she'd been pretty nervous about it, hoping that Eld wasn't going to flip out or be afraid for his life or whatnot-- but all and all, it seemed more or less like he was just surprised rather than concerned. Which was great, because he was also willing to be there!

"R-- really? You will?" She asked rhetorically, "Th-- that's great!"

She couldn't help but lean forward enough to kiss Eld on the cheek, but not quite throw her arms around him. He was busy with work stuff, anyways! So a kiss on the cheek would just have to do! But really, he totally deserved it, because it was super sweet that he was willing to come to her house tonight.

"I-- ummmm, m-mom's gonna have dinner ready around, um, around sundown, usually! But Toushikyo's gonna help her so I dunno-- but sundown's a good time, I think!"

It was imperative, of course, that Toushikyo helped her mother in the kitchen, whether she liked it or not. This was a fact Eld was going to learn the hard way soon enough.

"Umm-- y-- you're the best, Eldridge, y'know that?" Akizets said on the precipice of another giggle.

[Zach Kaiser]

"W-Well, I don't know about that..." He blushed a bit in spite of himself. It was hard to truly dispute her when she said things like that with such earnestness, even if he knew he wasn't, in fact, the best guy ever.

"In any case, I'll see you then, okay?" Shifting the tray to one hand, he gave Akizetsumei a brief, one-armed hug before continuing down the hall. Much as he wanted to spend the whole day with her, he had work to finish. He'd just have to settle for dinner with her family.

With luck, he'd survive it.

[Nayt]

It wasn't but four or five hours later that the House of Terra fell into temporal chaos. In the main room, a table was set out to seat approximately six. A bowl, a plate, a fork, and two spoons were set out for each seat. Oboreru had just recently finished up setting the table, immediately before heading back to his room and trying to act uninterested in all of this mess. It was tough to do, but Oboreru was a smart kid; he knew that if he involved himself in either of the two disputes going on in the house, he'd likely not survive it. The most audible, of course, coming from downstairs.

"Mother, please," Toushikyo insisted.

"Tou, honey, I can prepare--" Katalyna replied meekly.

They were locked in something of a familial kitchen dispute. Katalyna had been trying to prepare a stew when Toushikyo intervened, insisting that it was for the best that she leave it to him. Of course, it was entirely true; if Toushikyo did not intervene, someone was going home with food poisoning. Katalyna was too modest to say it, but she was, in fact, put off by the notion that her vegetarian son could prepare beef stew better than she. It was a battle to be sure, but Katalyna wound up resigning to salads.

Erstwhile, Gestahl and Akizetsumei were in a dispute of their own . . .

"D-- Daddy, c'moooon!" Akizets protested.

Gestahl again shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"B-- but this one's cute . . ."

Again, he shook his head.

Their dispute erupted over what Akizetsumei intended to wear that night. Her first choice was a dress shirt and skirt, but Gestahl felt the shirt itself was too low cut, and insisted that she wear pants beneath her skirt, regardless of how low the skirt really was. This dispute was unlike that of Toushikyo and Katalyna's. Gestahl, after all, was mostly displeased with all of Akizetsumei's choices in clothing. Every time Akizets slipped out of her room to show off what she'd picked out, Gestahl shook his head almost every time. This dispute was bound to end only when Eld actually showed up.

[Zach Kaiser]

While the tension between Eld and his parents was still rather uncomfortable for him, at least they didn't really question him when he mentioned that he wouldn't be home for dinner even though he was spending most of the day helping them. (Though, he didn't catch his father raising an eyebrow behind his back.)

And while Eld, too, debated over what to wear, it was an internal one rather than an external one. He wanted to make a nice impression, as he hadn't much talked to either of Akizetsumei's parents before, so he wanted to wear something nice.

It didn't help that he hadn't much experience with this kind of thing. His relationship with Maya had ended shortly after her parents found out about it, and he was already well acquainted with Sarah's family by the time they'd started dating. And Gestahl was several times more intimidating than either of their fathers, too.

In the end, he decided on one of the nicer things he had: a black kimono with a violet butterfly pattern. His only reservation was that it made him look a bit younger than he was; he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, and at the very least it would probably make Kyo snicker.

Ah well. That's something I can live with, I guess.

So around sundown he found himself on the threshold of the Terra residence, knocking on the door...

[Nayt]

"Okay, fine . . . how about this?" Akizetsumei crept out of her room one last time.

Akizetsumei's favorite red dress and a long pair of black pants. It was the most modest outfit she'd picked out thus far, yet the dressiest all the same. It added a couple extra years to the girl's visible age, enough that Gestahl inherently felt the need to say "no" to this choice, as well, but he hadn't the opportunity of time, as there arose a knock at the front door. This immediately perked Akizetsumei up, who bounded down the stairs before he could raise his voice to stop her. In the end, all he could do was hold his head in his palm and sigh.

In the excitement of it all, Akizets forgot a couple of things she'd have otherwise been a bit embarrassed about: first, she'd forgotten to put her hair back up in pigtails, second, she forgot to wear socks, and third, she'd forgotten to tie the back of her dress, making it baggy on her all around (rather than the preferred form fitting).

"H-- hi Eldridge!" she greeted enthusiastically--before she even knew it was Eld at the door. Fortunately she wasn't wrong; that would've been horribly embarrassing otherwise.

With the door open, Eld would notice (beyond Akizetsumei's lack of preparedness), that Katalyna and Toushikyo were still dueling (subtly) within the kitchen, Oboreru was creeping out of his room upstairs, and Gestahl was at the precipice of a great, heaving sigh.

Suffice it to say, the House of Terra was running at full throttle.

[Zach Kaiser]

"H-Hi." It was a decidedly different sight than he was used to at the Terra house, which was usually mostly empty. Kyo and his mother were in the kitchen, cooking (and arguing about something), Gestahl was looking exasperated and Oboreru seemed to just be trying to keep his head down.

"Guess you guys are pretty busy too," he observed, staring over Akizetsumei's head before looking down at her more closely. It was outfit he was familiar with (though usually she didn't wear pants underneath it), but it wasn't exactly...ready.

"You might want to have somebody tie your dress up," Eld suggested. He glanced up at Gestahl again before deciding it was best if he refrained from volunteering to do it himself.

[Nayt]

Oh, it really was Eldridge. Thank goodness! Akizets wouldn't have known what to do if it were someone else. She'd have been so embarrassed, she might have possibly locked herself in her room and decided to never come out again. A drastic reaction to be sure, but she'd had her fair share of crazier reactions in her thirteen years of living. Nonetheless, Akizetsumei was absolutely thrilled to see Eldridge. And . . . and he was so handsome, too! Akizetsumei's lips parted, and she was just about to issue an expression of awe when Eld kindly informed her about a slight miscalculation on her end.

"E-- ehh?" she cocked her head to the side, at first unsure of what Eld meant.

When it finally donned on her, though, she felt a surge of panic, and about whipped around to run up back to her room-- but that'd face her backside to Eld, and pretty much expose her entire back! Luckily, her mother was there. She'd already passed a glance off to the door when Akizets bounded downstairs to get it, and upon seeing the state of her daughter's dress, smiled and sighed. Akizetsumei was a very excitable and cheery young girl, but she was as absentminded as a kitten. Katalyna-- herself in a dress shirt and flowing skirt --approached Akizetsumei from behind and stopped once she was in range to help her out.

"Akizetsumei, honey," she said calmly, "You forgot something."

The girl's face turned a soft reddish color and she dipped her head down, embarrassed. With maternal instinct and motherly insight into her daughter's comforts and discomforts, Katalyna tied the back of Akizetsumei's dress until it was sufficiently form fitting, but not as tight around her belly and hips as it was designed to be-- which was Akizetsumei's preference, as this thing could totally make it hard to breath if she wasn't careful.

"Th-- thanks, mom," Akizets whispered bashfully.

Katalyna loosely draped her arms around Akizetsumei's shoulders from behind and lightly hugged her, which Akizets returned by squeezing her mother's arms.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Katalyna said as she stepped back from her daughter, then looked over Eld from over Akizetsumei's shoulder. She greeted him smilingly: "Hello, Eldridge."

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld smiled and blushed a bit as Akizetsumei seemed ready to panic; it was endearing to see her so excitable, but he'd been slightly worried that she'd react by doing something to make things worse. Fortunately, her mother intervened before that could happen.

"H-Hello..." He realized suddenly that he wasn't sure what to call her; Terra wasn't really a last name for them despite how most of the village saw it, so Mrs. Terra wouldn't have been correct. Without even thinking about it, he defaulted to Cizokian standards of formality. "...Katalyna-sama."

"Thank you for inviting me to dinner," he added with a bow.

[Nayt]

"Oh, my," Katalyna stifled a mature giggle, "And thank you for coming. When we heard that Akizetsumei has a boyfriend, Gestahl and I felt it opportune to get to know you better."

And a dinner was the best way to go about that. In any case, Eld certainly scored some bonus points for formality. Katalyna hadn't seen that in a young man since the early days of her and Gestahl's relationship. But that's how relationships always went; once you get settled in and comfortable, you start to get lax with formality.

"I'm going to help Toushikyo with the rest of dinner," Katalyna said as she stepped back and bowed slightly to Eld (attempting to be culturally sensitive, of course, as bowing had no part in her culture). As she stood up straight again, she invited him inside, "Please, come in."

Akizetsumei stepped away from the door to give Eld plenty of room, and despite her momentary embarrassment, was currently all smiles. There was, however, a noticeable bit of nervousness in her smile. She knew her parents would have no reason to dislike Eld; he was sweet and wonderful in every way, but her parents could be weird sometimes!

[Zach Kaiser]

It was always kind of weird seeing someone clearly not Cizokian bow, but it he couldn't fault her for trying to return the gesture. "O jama shimasu," he murmured habitually as he stepped inside. It was hard once he fell back into using the language to stop again; it was a kind of mode of thinking. He didn't normally need to use it, but it was there nonetheless.

He peered into the kitchen as Katalyna returned to it; while he hadn't any reason to believe otherwise, it was odd to see Toushikyo cooking. It just seemed too proactive for him.

"How are you this evening?" he asked Akizetsumei, unable to completely kill the formality in his voice.

[Nayt]

"I've been . . . I've been good," she replied with a breath of relief. "It's, um, it's been super busy around here all day. Mom and dad took off work and they've been rearranging and cleaning and preparing and stuff since, um, since I got back and told them you'd come over tonight."

Which was really kind of awkward for her, because her family was rarely ever this active. Usually there was just a whole bunch of lazing around and doing one's own thing, but today, they were all pitching in together and working on the same collective project. It sort of made Akizets wonder how much crazier things would be if Laina were here and helping around. That would most certainly be a full house!

A set of small groans from the staircase caught Akizetsumei's attention. Her father descended the stairs and slowly made his way for them, which likely didn't make Akizetsumei nearly as nervous as Eld. Gestahl stopped once he was within arm length of Eld and Akizetsumei.

"H-- hi daddy!" Akizets exclaimed cheerily . . . and with a slight undertone of victory, because he did not approve of this dress tonight and she knew that, but she most certainly got away with it.

Gestahl nodded his head in acknowledgment of his daughter and her victory. He waited a moment for Akizetsumei to initiate an introduction, but . . . well, the girl wasn't used to having personal friends over, let alone a boyfriend, and she didn't much know the etiquette involved in the matter.

"I am Gestahl of Terra," Gestahl said to Eld as he extended his hand to him. At first he was going to introduce himself as 'Akizetsumei's father,' but Akizets already took care of that issue.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld was about to speak up and say something about how he wasn't worth going through so much trouble over, but it was around that time that he noticed Gestahl of Terra making his way over. He suppressed the urge to gulp loudly.

"T-Tsukimono Eldridge desu. Hajimema--" Belatedly, he realized that he'd slipped back into Cizokian in his nervousness, which Akizetsumei's father probably didn't understand. "I mean, Eldridge Tsukimono. It's a pleasure to meet you," he corrected, taking Gestahl's hand and shaking it firmly.

[Nayt]

A firm handshake to Gestahl, however, was utterly bone breaking to just about anyone else. Fortunately for Eld, Gestahl knew his own strength. It was a necessity. His children were frail, all things considered; only Toushikyo was physically strong. Then there was Akizetsumei, who was absolutely fragile. Gestahl had always been physically powerful; strength stemming all the way back to before he met Katalyna. Of course, he continued to grow stronger with time. Nevertheless, when Lyna was born, Gestahl truly knew what it was like to hold something fragile, and afraid of his own strength, sought to become a gentle man.

Unfortunately, Eld just so happened to be dating his youngest daughter, which reduced the restraint Gestahl was willing to express. He didn't quite crush Eld's hand into dust, but he still gave Eld a firm handshake. That was probably going to leave his hand hurting for the next ten minutes.

"Likewise," said Gestahl with a nod.

He withdrew his hand from Eld's and set his arms by his sides. What followed soon after was a long moment of scrutiny, wherein Gestahl was more than willing to drill Eld with a series of questions he felt were most important to be clear of here and now.

"Are you employed?" was the first of these questions.

[Zach Kaiser]

It took a fair amount of willpower not to wince; Gestahl was an incredibly strong man. Fortunately Eld was not as fragile as he looked, so while it hurt it wasn't mind-numbingly painful.

Even if he'd have considered it, Eld was too nervous to do anything even approaching lying. "S-Sort of. My parents pay me to help out at the clinic when it gets busy. It's nothing regular though." Well, it could get pretty busy, but it was kind of a seasonal thing.