forum •Hollow Tune• [one/one]

Started June 30, 2022 by @Dayzed business

tune

Kohen's eyes lit up at what he assumed to be more openness from Beck. A crooked smile painted his face, his demeanor now relaxing as well, as he casually stood there.

At Beck's instruction to take his shoes off, his face flushed red for a second. Right. Manners. He quickly went to work on slipping his shoes off and setting them beside the others, lining them up so that they looked neat. He hadn't done that before- maybe when his mother had been alive, but that was a while ago. His father didn't care about things like these, the whole house was a mess from the amounted mass over the years. Kohen had tried to keep it clean when everything had started but soon grew tired of it.

He nodded at Beck's words, silently following him as they led him up the stairs. There was a silent awe that was plastered on Kohen's face as he looked around the new place. A sort of jealousy sparked inside of him at seeing the cleanliness. He wished his home looked like this all the time too.

As soon as Kohen entered Beck's room and saw the cat, he froze. A small look of horror mixed with bubbling excitement.
"Oh my god…" He muttered softly at the sound the cat made. He acted like he had never seen one in his entire life. He took a step closer to the animal, his nose twitching slightly. He then took a small step back as if in regret, suddenly covering his nose and sneezing. Oh great. His allergies were going to kill him.

"O-Oh, yeah, we can work in here- your room is very neat. It's nice" Kohen commented awkwardly. He wasn't sure if that was an odd thing to say.

(hello, it's me-)

They didn't end up having a significant amount of time to work, as soon enough Maria was calling up the stairs that dinner was ready, come down and eat. Beck took the lead, leading Kohen from the bedroom, down the stairs, and out into the dining room, where the rest of the family was gathering. Lily wasn't there, since she was still out with her friends, but the others were there. Beck's other three siblings, and both Mrs. Altair and Mr. Altair.

Rowan was the tallest in the family, with the long limbs of the basketball player that he was. The burn scars that marred his skin made him a little bit more intimidating to look at, but the relatively friendly smile that he gave Kohen helped to nullify the more intimidating portion of his appearance. He and Lily were twins, and while they were not identical, if she had been here it would have been immediately clear. Mr Altair was a man of average height, with brown hair and a beard and a gentle demeanor to him, who gave both boys a smile as they came into the dining room.

"Hello," he greeted, "Kohen, right? Take a seat, it's good to meet you." he was busily helping his wife finish bringing the food to the table, while the kids all found their seats. The youngest was Mark, at 9 years old, while Rowan and Lily were the eldest. Once the table was set, Mr Altair settled down at the head of the table, with Maria at the other end of the table. Mark was next to Mrs Altair, and the young teenage girl from earlier, Julia, was on her other side. Rowan sat between his father and Mark, leaving the seats next to Julia and the other next to Mr Altair open.

Beck paused for a moment, letting Kohen decide if he would rather sit down at the end of the table, near Beck's father, or next to Julia instead.

(hiiii !! :D)

Kohen had been oddly silent for those first few minutes when he was alone with Beck. It seemed like he wanted to say something- like it was itching at him, but he decided against talking. Only now and then could Kohen's mutterings be heard as he focused on the assignment, nearly avoiding all eye contact although his chestnut brown eyes would flicker to land on Beck for a split second before he quickly looked away again.

Once they had been called Kohen seemed to tense. Maria's voice wasn't at all threatening but some part of him felt like he was in trouble. Logically, he knew he wasn't, this wasn't even his home, but it didn't stop his body from developing a slight tremble.
It needed to stop. So with a lot of effort, he shoved the building anxiety down, knowing this wasn't the time to be freaking out. And before long he was following Beck down the stairs.

Kohen's shoulders tensed a little at seeing five people in the dining room, usually, it was only him and his father, but eight times out of ten he didn't have to deal with presenting himself at the table to eat. He found that not being home and eating fast food on the streets was a better option than whatever would happen when he went home.
He looked over at Rowan when he caught him staring, the smile he gave him making Kohen immediately look away, a slightly embarrassed blush on his face. Kohen's face stayed neutral for the most part- if looking a little like deer in headlights at the moment.
Kohen seemed to snap out of it however when spoken to, looking eerily present, like he was forcing himself to concentrate hard on the person who had addressed him.
"Oh- yeah, I'm Kohen, it's nice to meet you too…thank you" he spoke, his voice firm and loud enough yet a polite undertone to it. Just like his father had taught him. It seemed casual more than anything but it also gave the impression that Kohen was trying to overcompensate, the whole thing feeling odd to him.

He gave a shaky smile to the father before he tore his gaze away to watch the kids take their seats. It seemed that everyone knew where they wanted to be seated so Kohen hung back, wondering where he would be put.
But when Beck didn't move Kohen realized that it meant he got to choose.
Oh.
Kohen looked around at the faces before quickly taking a seat by Julia, not wanting to hold up the family dinner any longer than he had to.
Once he was seated he looked to Beck, as if silently asking for help. He didn't know what to do from here, were they going to pray? Did he have to hold hands with the people beside him? Or were they just going to dig in? It would be rude to start eating without knowing if there was a ritual for it, and for a second Kohen's mind went in circles. At alarming speeds. Though curiously enough looked well put together on the outside, like nothing was going on with him.