He had never felt tension this thick before in his long life, and he had lived for millions of years at that point. There was little he hadn't experienced. It just so happened that tense family reunions was one of them.
"So… everyone, this is Soren, the god of the sun—"
"The upstart that got kicked out of the heavens." The rude white-haired woman interrupted. Did she hate him specifically or was she just rude for no reason.
"Not heaven, more like the void where I was born…" He mumbled underneath his breath. No one said a word.
"Ahem. Soren, this is Aeron, the god of death." Mun motioned towards the purple haired gentleman. Aeron gave him a little wave.
"This is Eola…" He turned towards the white-haired woman, whose life was fuelled purely by spite.
"Aeron and Eola were married—" Oh that must be where all the tension is from. "— and please don't think of them as weird or anything. Their marriage was something Althea willed…" He'd rather not know who Althea is.
"That grumpy one is Nash. He's… reserved." Right… reserved…
"The overly enthusiastic woman, sitting over there, is Zera." Zera gave him a cheerful wave which he reciprocated nervously.
"Hey… everyone." He greeted shyly.
As if all the impulse took over, Zera walked over to where he was standing and immediately started talking rapidly.
"You look so cute! I love your pretty blond hair and your golden eyes! Your outfit is lacking though, we might need to do something about it. Anyways, welcome to the family little brother! You might be older but I don't care! You're your youngest baby brother now! Hehe~" Zera chattered on and on and on.
It was starting to hurt his ears a bit, but he wasn't complaining. At least now he had someone to talk to now.
"Oh! I forgot to mention, but I live in Solstria as well! So even if you don't want to, you'll see me much more often than you think."
That's… actually great for him. He's got a friend, or sister, in her and he has a feeling they'll get along really well.
So naturally, he listened and chatted with Zera for the next two hours. Eola and Nash left as soon as they could, which meant they left immediately after Zera approached him. Aeron talked with Mun for a few minutes before leaving as well. Mun then retreated back into his office to do some last-minute paperwork.
Which left him and Zera.
Still talking.
For hours.
It wasn't so bad when his conversation partner and him had so much to say on almost anything. They discussed the upcoming spring festival and their plans for it. He was planning to cook Mun, Yanxi and himself a meal and celebrate indoors before exploring the market. Zera was thinking about throwing money around at random stalls until her money runs out.
"Instead of just going around the market all by yourself, why not join the 3 of us for dinner before going out?" Zera beamed at that.
"Really?! You'd let me join you guys? Eek! Yes, of course I'll join you guys. A meal that is shared between friends and family always tastes best." He agreed enthusiastically.
"I can't wait!" They moved onto the next topic right after that.
When the day of the spring festival came around, Zera showed up with a basket full of fruit with a face with the brightest smile.
"Renren! I brought fruit and wine. If you need any help with the cooking, allow me to be of assistance." She walked in and set the basket on the kitchen counter before rushing off to who knows where.
He examined the basket to find berries, apples and peaches along with a bottle of red wine. It was a generous offering. The fruit would've been enough but the wine was a welcome addition. He appreciated the effort.
Now all he had to do was prepare the ingredients for dinner and start cooking. Contrary to popular belief, cooking was calming. If one puts their mind into it and actually enjoys it, cooking is a pretty rewarding hobby.
Think about it, all the different kinds of food you can eat made by your own hands. Thinking about it was starting to make his mouth water.
Drool was already starting to build up when Zera waltzed in like she owned the place.
"What should I help you with?" Zera seemed excited.
"Can you cut the vegetables?" It was the least she could do and it's hard to mess up cutting some veggies—
…
Maybe he shouldn't have expected too much from her.
The vegetables were cut, but it wasn't cut properly… in fact it looked like someone gave a blind man a knife and told him to do whatever. At the rate she's going, a blind man could cut vegetables better than her.
"Did I do well?" She smiled at him. She was still holding the knife like she's about to stab someone with it. She looked so innocent and proud of what she had done it was hard to get mad at her.
"Yup! Guess what? I'm almost done with the prep work, so why don't you just go socialize with our siblings? I'm sure there's a lot you guys have to catch up on." He practically pushed her out of the kitchen. He could not let her unintentionally sabotage dinner.
"But you haven't even finished boiling the—"
"I can handle it just fine Rara! Please I'm sure Mun or Yanxi will entertain you for a while…"
"But I already—"
"See you at dinner!" He made one final shove and closed the kitchen door shut. He even locked the door as an extra measure.
He needed to recut the vegetables again or else he'd cry out in agony.
He was grateful for the help that Zera graciously offered. But he'd rather she does anything else but step foot in his kitchen ever again.
Outside, he heard the distinct voices of Zera calling out for him to open the door but he ignored her. If he tuned her out, he could focus on the cooking and finish by evening. He just hoped that Zera wouldn't kick up that much of a fuss while he worked.
With a goal locked into place, he began working his magic. Heating up the pan, oven, chopping the vegetables (again), fluffing the eggs, frying the vegetables, roasting the turkey, boiling the potatoes. You name it, he's probably doing it.
With a mind so set on finishing dinner before nightfall, he completely forgot about Zera, which, looking back, was more of a boon than anything.
By the time he finished cooking the 4 dishes, the sun was already beginning to set. He wiped the sweat that was building up on his face and finally opened the kitchen door. The aroma full of smells immediately wafted out of the kitchen into the connecting hall.
He hadn't expected to find Zera sitting right outside the door, looking like she ran a mile. When she looked up, she immediately burst into tears.
"Wahhh! You kicked me out…" Oh no, he's not equipped to deal with overly emotional siblings.
"For good reason! I, uh… was conserving your energy for later! I'm going to need help carrying the plates and I know neither of us can carry the food if both of us are tired!" It was a big fat lie. He could only hope Zera was gullible enough to fall for it.
"Really?" Hook, line and sinker. He can't believe that worked.
"Yup! Here, I've already plated everything and now all you've got to do is bring them over to the dining table. After that, you should go call the other two for dinner, okay?"
"Okay! I'll do that right now!" She practically raced herself to the trays. Even if she claimed to be the older sister, she sure acts like a young child.
He reminded her to watch her step so she doesn't drop the food and ruin all his hard work and watched as she diligently worked. It was exactly child labour if the child in question was thousands of years old, allegedly.
He made one last exhale before running up the stairs and into his room. If he was going to share a meal with his family, he's not going to do so in kitchen garbs. The least he could do was dress appropriately for the sake of others. Eating with only Mun and dressing up in simple clothes is alright, with others… not so much. Especially Yanxi, he would hate to see his youngest brother looking like a 'peasant' at mealtimes, or anytime really.
He took a quick shower to wash off the kitchen smells and sweat. Put on one of the many outfits Yanxi gifted him and combed his hair. He took one final look at himself in the mirror, still as handsome as ever, and went downstairs to join his family.
They were chatting among themselves, waiting for him. It made him really happy to see them gathered around like this. Yanxi was the first to notice him and beamed the moment he set eyes on him.
"Oh my dawn! You look so handsome in that suit! Eek! I knew I made the right choice with the outfit. It compliments you so well. Come sit, we've been waiting for you." He smiled at his older brother.
They had come so far, from hating each other guts to being as close as thieves. Which took only a day, but they really have improved their relationship over the past few months.
He sat down beside the ever-joyful Zera, who proceeded to talk his ear off for the entirety of the meal. He'd tolerate it for today, because he did kick her out quite rudely. He silently vowed to buy her anything she wants at the market later today; she deserved that much.
Up above, the four gods looked down below in their gilded thrones. There was a fifth throne that was currently unoccupied.
The god who sat on the highest podium had multiple eyes but no head. They had hands but no arms nor legs. Their legs couldn't be called legs, as they were just a bundle of tentacles. She was very interested in what the beings of the lesser world had to offer.
Another god sat on her left side, though she possessed no body at all, her entire being was a black void. She sat there, disinterested and unmoving, like a statue.
The throne on the right side of her was empty. The once occupant, Soren, currently serving his banishment in the lesser realm.
The god sat on the right of the empty throne looked solemn and dejected. He too stared at the lesser realm. In his case, to search for one specific person.
The fourth and final god was a single feather, floating around the other 3.
Not one of them spoke for two couldn't speak, one didn't feel the need to and the last couldn't find the words to speak up. Through the unspoken words they had one agreement, it was significantly less chaotic after Soren got banished.