"You don't have to." Dio said. "I've lived here in the same country as him for almost ten years and somehow we're both still alive. I'm his main concern, even if Ben is among his top ten, probably." He sighed and pinched his nose. "I'm sorry, Benjamin. I didn't know how else to tell you but to just jump into it. You're… you're relatively safe, so far. I've been keeping him off your tail as much as I can since I discovered you were here."
–
Silver gulped and pressed her hand to her mouth. Ben is going to explode and then the house will burn down and we'll die in the basement.
Miki gave Cage a strange look. "Doesn't 'blonde' mean yellow??"
Cage shakes his head. “You’re not doing my hair. It’s decided.”
Gabriel glares at the ground and Kissa suddenly flies to the ceiling, grabbing a light fixture and focusing on the wall opposite of her.
Cage grabs Miki’s arm and whispers, “what’s wrong with them?”
-
Violet stares at the table for a second.
Should.. should I tell him about the kids? Because I think we’re in more danger than he realizes.
She folds her hands in her lap and looks back to Dio. “No, thank you for letting us know and keeping his off as much as possible. We haven’t had too many issues since coming here but they’ve become a regular thing lately.” She pauses for a moment, but Ben seems to ignore them, staring at the ground as he paces and probably tries to keep himself from catching something on fire. He’s sweating already.
“Who…” she starts, “who do you think is on the top of his list besides you and Ben?”
Miki jumped. "Probably… a lot. But we already knew that." she looped her arm around Cage's neck. "It's okay, kid, Kissa's just staring at a wall. You know. Like normal."
–
Dio sucked his teeth. "He wants me, because I'm the original Water. There are a few very valuable Kavi that escaped, who he wants back. And he wants Benjamin because Ben is the most powerful Fire besides Etienne himself. He already has Airrow, his Earthling. He's looking for all escaped Elementals, obviously, but the most powerful ones are always his higher priority. He can use the perfected, powerful ones to make more. Without me, and without his favorite Kavi, he can't make any more Water or Airs. And most of his Fires burn up or go insane before they finish recovering. Ben was… Ben was always his favorite. He was very proud of himself for creating Ben."
–
Silver slowly started backing away from the door, almost tripping down the steps as Ben's emotions overwhelmed her. I can't do this. Not right now. I can't freak out now when Ben is freaking out and the sushi guy is up there.
Cage shakes his head. “Not normal. She normally stares at her phone, Mik.”
-
Ben tries to steady his breathing, but the news just keeps getting worse. His hair is wet and ringlets form around his hot face. Violet turns her attention from Dio to Ben and stands. “Benjamin?”
He puts a finger up and shakes his head leaving the room with a strangled “I’ll be back.”
She watches him leave and quietly sits back down when she hears the bathroom door close. She looks back to Dio. “He’ll be alright.” She reassures with a soft and momentary smile. “You said Etienne is looking for Kavi? Those were the first air elementals, right? Do you have the names?”
Kissa is going to be one, I know it.
Miki shrugged. "She is related to Gabriel, Cage."
–
Dio sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to tell you without it sounding as bad as it is." He swirled his wine again, but didn't drink it. "I don't know their names. He's been very secretive about the Kavi. I know several–other ones, not the two he really wants–but they don't know much." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's a lot more." He looked up at her. "Is he okay? Tell me truly, Violet: is Benjamin okay?"
–
Silver tumbled to the bottom of the stairs, almost in tears, and wailed, "Ben's gonna burn the house down!!!"
Violet opens her mouth to answer, getting ready to stand and go check on him, when the basement door slams open.
“Where is he, Sil?!” Cage shrieks, not waiting for her response and running to check the living room and kitchen.
Violet’s face goes pale and she closes her eyes.
It was bound to happen sometime.
Cage bolts to the dining room doorway, then slowly slinks back, biting his lip. He opens his mouth to ask where Ben is, but Violet answers first. “In the bathroom. Get him a glass of water please.”
Cage nods and jogs back to the kitchen grabbing some ice water.
"NO, NO, NO, CAGE!!!" Silver yelled, bolting after him. "NO, THE SUSHI MAN IS UP THERE YOU CAN'T–" she slid on the hardwood outside the dining room and crashed to the floor just as Cage raced away.
Dio froze, his dark eyes flying wide as first Cage, and then Silver appeared in the doorway. He glanced at Violet. "Are these–"
Miki groaned and rolled her eyes, trudging up the stairs to stand at the top. "VIOLET I'M SORRY." she yelled at the top of her lungs.
Dio's face paled more and he stared at Vi. "How many do you have?" he breathed.
Violet puts her face in her hands, groaning the word “four”. She rubs her temples before making eye contact with him again. “Don’t tell me. It’s bad.”
Cage bounds over to the bathroom and slowly opens the door. “Beni? I got you water.”
Kissa lands behind Mik, invisible, and quickly makes Silvers wings invisible as if Dio hadn’t already seen them.
Stupid girl.
Silver backpedaled out of the dining room, still on the floor, until her back hit the wall. She gasped for breath, staring at the ground in front of her. I haven't met another person outside my family for over two years.
Dio swallowed and nodded. "I thought you had more. No, Violet, it's alright. There's nothing wrong with protecting our own. I've done it a million times too." He leaned forward and touched her arm.
Miki strolled into the dining room and leaned against the door frame. "So you're the sushi guy. I see what she meant."
Dio stared at Miki, looking her up and down, a frown furrowing his face. He opened his mouth and turned back to Violet. "She's not an Elemental?"
Violet shakes her head. “No, no. Her and Silver are sisters. Silver is air and,” she turns a little to glance back at the bathroom. “Blonde boy is Cage. He’s Ben’s half brother. His element is water.”
Kissa stops in the doorway, gulping and staring.
Etienne's brother.
She grits her teeth.
(She’s still invisible)
Dio stared at Miki again and she stared back, giving him an obstinate look. "She's normal?" Dio asked, again.
"Yeah, dude, I am." Miki snapped, arms folded tightly. "Got a problem with that?"
Dio sighed and dropped his head. "Did you mean four as in four Elementals, or four including her?"
Miki shoved herself off the doorway and crouched in front of Silver. "Hey, babe. It's okay. We outnumber her, like a bunch. We'll be okay."
Silver shook her head. "No, it's not–I don't care that he's–" she dug her fingernails into her hands and pinched her eyes shut. "I can't."
Miki stroked her hair. "Can't what?"
She lifted her head and looked into her sister's eyes. "I can't meet him."
Violet sighs. “Elementals. It’s not good, trust me. The other two aren’t keen on new people but it’s best that way.” She stands and pours herself another glass of wine.
Kissa habitually tilts her head up a little, raising an eyebrow at him.
Hes weaker. I could take hi-
Gabriel shoves past her, invisible, and sits by Silver, turning her invisible with him.
He cups her face in his hands. “Hey, hey. It’s alright.”
Kissa rolls her eyes.
Oh please, all you’re gonna do is encourage her to run away.
Dio glanced toward the doorway. He could hear some of them out in the hall, but couldn't see them anymore. "Do you mind… if I meet them?" he asked slowly, still seated. The last thing he wanted to do was make any of them feel threatened. His own house bore the marks of multiple panicked Elementals and their reactions.
Miki snatched her hands back, feeling Gabriel and knowing it was him. She left her sister in his care and went to find Cage.
Silver gasped as Gabriel suddenly appeared, and crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around him. "He's a person, Gabe." she whispered into his neck.
Miki knocked on the bathroom door and peeked her head in. "Hey."
Violet nods. “It’s up to them, not me. They haven’t met anyone in a while, but Silver is the most likely to need a moment.”
Gabriel’s cold arms embrace Sil and he tries his best to soak up all her anxiety. “Listen, listen.” He quietly whispers, petting her hair. “He’s just a person. It’s okay. Just talk to him like you do us. Pretend you already know him, okay?”
Kissa steps out of Dio’s way, waiting for him to enter the hallway.
Cage waves to Miki, a few of his hairs singed and a few small, mild burn marks on his shirt, pants and arms. He gives her a smile. “Hi! It’s really hot in here you might not wanna come in. But he’s almost cooled off!”
Ben throws a scrubby after him, “DONT DUMP FREEZING WATER ON ME YOU IDIOT. Ugh. I had it under control!”
Dio cocked his head, pointing toward the door. "…Silver? The… the one with wings?"
Silver nodded, trying to calm her breath and stop gasping. "People are scary." she whispered.
Miki held her hands up. "Yo. Cage has freakin' burns, man. I don't call that 'under control'. Considering the sushi guy is still sittin' at the table? What did he even do to you?"
Ben slides further into the freezing cold water in the tub and glares at the wall.
“I’m going to kill you all. Why did you come upstairs?”
Cage sighs. “You were gonna burn down the house. Sil said so.”
A soft smile crosses Gabriel’s face. “Only for a little while. He slowly stands and offers her his hand. “C’mon. I’ll turn visible with you.”
Violet nods. “Yep. We’ve got… all of the ones with wings…..”
Miki nodded. "Yep. I don't know what happened but she was eavesdropping and came crying down the stairs saying you were gonna burn the house down. But that sushi guy is so small though? What did he do?"
Silver laughed a little, nervous shaky laugh. "Okay." She lifted her head and looked at him, then laughed again. "You're so dumb. That's the best thing you could offer: being visible." She kissed his nose and extracted herself from his lap.
Dio sighed and closed his eyes.
All the ones with wings.
She couldn't mean the Kavi. There might have been others besides the Silver girl who survived with wings.
Violet rubs the bridge of her nose and takes a gulp of wine before continuing.
“And before you get hopeful, yes I mean the Kavi too.” She lets it sink in a moment before continuing. “The boy, Gabriel, was sent after us but decided against working for Airrow any longer and somehow convinced his sister, Kissa, to help us as well.”
Gabriel helps her stand and keeps ahold of her hand. “He’s small, not scary. C’mon.”
Ben huffs, “nothing.” He mumbles.
Cage turns around to Miki again. “I bet it was his anxiety spiking.” He whispers.
Dio pinched his nose, swearing under his breath. "젠장 이 우선 순위가 높은 모든 목표는 어떻게 같은 집에 있었습니까?"
Silver grasped Gabriel's hand and slowly approached the doorway to the dining room, pausing just when Dio came into her sight. She opened up her senses to him and felt the confusion around him. Violet too. But there was also an undercurrent of calm.
Dio looked up to respond to Violet and saw the winged girl watching him. Her grey wings filled the area behind her, so he could only just barely see the Kavi boy behind her. Gabriel, Violet had called him. He smiled at Silver, wiping all the stress off his face, and waved his fingers at her.
"Hello, dear. It's lovely to meet you. Do you like sushi?" he pushed the dish of sushi toward her.
Silver's breath caught and she squeezed Gabriel's hand, not moving from her spot. Without responding to Dio, she floated a piece of sushi off the plate and to herself, taking it out of the air with her hand and examining it.
Dio watched in fascination. Well, that's a new one, he thought to himself. No one else had telekinesis, that he or Etienne knew about. He swore again, quietly. Ben had done a good job keeping these kids hidden. To Dio's knowledge, Etienne only knew that Ben, Violet, and Kissa were in Spain, not the Silver girl.
–
Miki nodded, watching Ben and seeing the water turn warm. "Should I get some ice?" she whispered to Cage.
Gabriel stands to the side of Silver and a few steps behind her. He still has ahold of her hand and, unlike Sil’s, his tattered, black wings lay limp on the ground behind him. He blinks, thankful Dio is more focused on Silver than him. He looks him over with a threatening glare.
If he’s one of the elemental originals, he could be here for Kiss.
Violet gives Silver a soft smile and nod. “How is it? I thought it was lovely as far as sushi goes.”
Kissa blinks, watching him take in Silver.
Is he impressed by that kid? Really? Wow doesn’t take much I guess. True potential is found in power and control. Freak here might have power, but absolutely no control.
She gives her hair a small flip before turning her attention back to Vi and Dio.
-
Cage nods. “I think so.” He whispers back.
Ben turns his head to glare at them, his water starting to boil. “No ice. I will roast you.”
Cage gives a nervous laugh. “No ice it is! Heh heh.” He turns Miki around and shoves her out, whispering, “lets get out, he’ll be fine.”
Silver took a hesitant bite, but her attention was more on Dio than the food. As it touched her tongue and she tasted it, her face contorted and she gagged, turning to hand it to Gabriel. "It's nasty." she gasped, trying not to let Dio hear.
But he did hear. And he laughed. "It's alright, darling. I understand. Not everyone likes sushi so I won't take it personally." he took one himself and ate it, giving Silver a wink that made her face alternately flash pale and red.
–
Miki nodded to Cage and shut the bathroom door behind him. "Couldn't you just… freeze the water from out here? That would be hilarious."
Gabriel takes the piece but doesn’t eat it and instead holds it in his hand. He wasn’t really found of biting something after someone else already had.
Cage shrugs. “I don’t think you understand how horrible at my element I am.” He giggles. “If I tried, I’d probably just freeze the whole bathroom. Remember when I tried to freeze one of your eggs and froze over half the counter?”
Miki laughed. "That was so disgusting. Hey! What element does the Sushi Guy have?" she bolted through the kitchen and came to a halt in the doorway beside Silver. "Hey, what's your element???"
Dio paused, another piece of sushi in front of his mouth, and stared at Miki.
Miki rolled her eyes when he didn't respond. "I was just wondering if you're water or not cuz Cage can't freeze Ben's bath from out here and we were hoping you could."
Silver whirled around and shoved Miki back. "Miki, Ben will kill you like a hundred times! And he'll kill him!" she pointed to Dio. "AND HE'LL KILL ALL OF US."
Dio finished his sushi and glanced up at Violet. "I take it this–" he indicated the chaos. "Is the norm around here?"
Violet nods with a sigh and another sip of her drink. “Would you believe me if I said the two loudest are currently not contributing? It’s normally worse.” She looks back to Miki, blinking. “If he’s cooled down enough to speak, then he’s alright. Leave him be…. why… why is he in the bath though?”
Cage joins Miki in the doorway and smiles with a quick wave to Dio before answering vi. “Umm, welll, he was burning up and scorching things again so I ran a cold bath and shoved him in it.”
She lets out another sigh. “That would explain your burns.” She mumbles before taking another sip.
Miki grabbed Cage's arm and held it out as if they needed proof of his burns. "Ben burnt him! I asked what Sushi Man had done to him cuz he's just sitting there lookin' angelic while Ben's freaking burning Cage?? I thought we were in danger when Silver said Ben was burning the house down??" She groaned loudly and flopped into the nearest chair at the table.
Dio watched this exchange in silent amazement. Slowly he started chuckling, then laughing out loud, until tears rolled down his cheeks.
Silver slowly backed into Gabriel and whispered loudly, "We broke him."
When Dio could finally speak, he wiped his eyes and looked up at Violet. "Bless you for taking care of these children. They're beautiful."
