Amythrall Threst regretted agreeing to stay for dinner with the family head.
There was nothing wrong with the food, it was well-made and quite delicious.
It was the discussion she was currently having with him.
The small talk had started off normally, they had chatted about her accomplishments, her current job, her hopes in the future, normal small talk.
But slowly, the talk had shifted to her situation within her family, and she soon realized that she had spilled a bit too much.
Obithal leaned back in his chair as the talk came to a pause.
He has learned everything he needed. Now, the only thing left was to confirm the facts.
But he could offer a bit of bait until then.
"Tell me, are you satisfied?" He started.
"Excuse me?" Amythrall looked back up at him, breaking out of her stupor.
"Are you satisfied with your current situation?" He continued. "From what I can gather, your family refuses you the support you deserve as part of it. You are basically non-existent to them."
She did not answer, so he continued.
"I have an offer for you."
That brought her attention snapping back to him.
"Are you interested?" He gave her a chance to back away.
A moment passed in silence.
"Tell me more."
***
"They really let you in?"
*Smack*
"Don't listen to him, well done!"
Place smirked as his younger brother winced in pain and rubbed the back of his head.
"Thank you, oh, beloved sister of mine." He replied with a grin on his face, enjoying how her face scrunched up.
"Seriously? I was giving you a sincere compliment, you should at least reply seriously."
"What was not serious about my words?"
"Everything."
"I see nothing wrong with my words." Place's face broke into a grin as his sister let out a sigh.
"Of course you don't, why would you?" Despite her words, there was a smile on her face as well.
"So you'll be leaving tomorrow?" 'Ooo' stopped rubbing his head and spoke.
"I don't know, but most likely yes."
"Mom's going to be angry." 'Ahh' muttered.
Place let out a hum in affirmation.
"Huh? Why would Mom be angry?" Their brother piped up, and both of them just stared at him for a moment.
"What's wrong?" He asked, fidgeting. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Sometimes I wonder how the two of us are twins." His sister spoke in an exasperated tone.
"Mom is going to be angry for missing such a big event." Place explained calmly.
"What big event?" His brother asked 'wisely'.
Place shook his head in disbelief as his sister pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Anyway, I have preparations to make, later, smaller childs." Place got up and left.
"Hey!"
"That's a new one."
"I'm not a 'childs'! Whatever that means!"
"Ugh..."
***
Place stepped into his room and closed the door.
"Are you there?" He asked aloud.
"Of course I am." The Thing appeared, floating out of his bed.
"I must say, you really just went for it!"
Place raised an eyebrow.
"Did you expect anything different?"
"No, no, just a bit refreshing. You would not believe how long some people take to make a decision." It paused for a second, then the grin slammed into place.
"But you are not here for small talk or storytelling, are you? You want something else."
"Hurry up." Place chided it.
"No need to be so hasty." It said, weaving some symbols into the air.
"Your reward is not going anywhere."
It connected the symbols and twisted them into a spell circle.
"Prepare your mind for this, it's not going to be pleasant."
Place heeded the warning, he sat down with his back to his bed and placed a few pillows around him.
"Here it comes." A small blob of light emerged from the circle and started floating over to him.
Place could not help but feel uneasy as it drew closer, he had no idea what was about to happen, but he trusted the Thing enough to not move.
Instead, he closed his eyes and exhaled, calming himself while also bracing for whatever was to come.
The light floated in front of his forehead, then suddenly sped into his head.
"Ungh!" Place grunted as his mind was suddenly assaulted.
It felt like something had just swung a hammer and struck his head.
A ringing spread through his head as pain rippled from his forehead to the back of his head.
His brows furrowed and his eyes clamped shut as he endured the sensation.
The sensation faded quickly, it lasted only a few seconds.
He rubbed his temples and forehead, futilely trying to soothe his mind against the discomfort it was feeling.
"You did that on purpose." He complained.
"Hmm? What makes you say that?"
"You could have made it seep in slowly, but you made it slam into me all at once!" Place glared at the grin plastered on the Thing's face.
"Maybe, but it does require much more time and effort, you know?"
Place snorted and continued glaring at it.
"Set that aside, tell me, are you satisfied with your reward?"
Place stopped glaring and focused inwards, on what he had gained.
A few moments passed in silence as he integrated the knowledge inserted into his brain.
...
"What is this?"