[PRP Yael] Full House [Zekiel | Ko]

[MissMisnomer]

“Oh, well, I’m glad to hear that. I just worry about what he might get into when I’m not watching him, so that’s a relief,” the woman sighed, smiling at Zekiel. “It is never a burden to host someone such as yourself; this family is always happy to serve the Sanctum in any way we can. I’m honored you decided to grace our table.”

Glancing a moment into the kitchen, her brow crinkled a tad, addressing her daughter instead. “Dear, would you lead Father Zekiel through the other entrance? It’s a little more...composed.”

“Of course, mom, I wouldn’t be daft enough to take him any other way,” the girl stated matter-o-factly, looking at their guest. “Please follow me, Sir.” At that she paced to the end of the short hall, past the door of the kitchen that her mother ducked back into as she closed it. Opening the portal, they stepped outside again, descended the few steps to the ground, and followed the short path to the other door a little further down the building. She opened it up for him, stepping inside after as a warm, wooden smell greeted their noses. “Apologies for the roundabout trip, but mother likes to keep the kitchen a mystery for our guests. She’s a spectacularly neat woman, all things considered, but it’s hard to not make a bit of a mess when cooking for so many.”

This hallway rather mirrored the other, with the added pinash of glossy wooden paneling on the walls. From one of the doorways, Ko poked his face out, color now restored to its usual mocha hue. “Mr. Zekiel, do you like wine? Want a glass with your meal?”

[8/10]

The Only Black Uke

 

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

It occurred to Zekiel to express in some fashion that ‘someone such as yourself’ was an unnecessary qualifier. He wasn’t here as a hand of the Sanctum on this occasion, and deserved no more special treatment than any other friend of the family. But, he was accustomed to such commentary and it likely didn’t bear dwelling on—he was pleased to be welcome, and knew that mentioning he needed no special favors would not likely change her offer.

Best just to be appreciative.

As Embryelle lead the way, Zekiel found occasion to look around, and smell, drawing in the combination of fresh outdoor air, the lingering wisps of cooking food, and a natural scent of wood. “It’s no concern,” he assured, “the day is lovely, and I wouldn’t wish to stress her.”

Not that he could imagine himself finding anything wrong with the woman’s kitchen almost regardless of what he might have seen there. Such spaces were the foundation and building area of creation. They all but had to show their chaos at some point. The natural state of the world wasn’t neat, after all, and things could not become anything without stages of unfinishedness in between. But, he was also aware that feelings were not based so much upon what another’s reaction would actually be but more so on individual perspective, which was more critical to understand when trying to avoid upset. If she preferred not to have him about because she was uncomfortable with the state of things, then it was only his business to oblige.

It also occurred to him to mention that he was impressed enough with persons who managed to keep a tidy space even with only themselves. Eventually the habit of picking up after himself had been drilled into him as a growing prentice at the Sanctum—but it was certainly not a natural habit. So far as he could tell the world tended naturally towards anarchy when the gods and their instruments were not actively bringing order back to it, and it required a concentrated effort worthy of recognition to keep anything in a state of stability.

He glanced, though, at the question. Wine? It wasn’t something he often had occasion to drink, certainly, but his experience such as it was had left a positive impression, and it was difficult to imagine the drink being out of place when paired with food and good company. “I would, thank you.”  

[MissMisnomer]

“Alrighty, I’ll try to find one of our nicer ones then,” he quipped, disappearing again as his voice grew more muffled. “Hey Dafielikha, is the nice wine the one with the blue leaf on it? Or the one with the shiny S that looks like a Keldari?”

“It’s the leaf one, Ko,” Embryelle mumbled, obviously out of of earshot but putting her two cents in anyways. She sighed, leaving it up to her older sister to lead him the right way. “So Father Zekiel, would you like to take a seat in the study for a moment? They’re just working on finishing up in there and it could take a bit of time-”

“Oi, move your skinny arse out of the way Embryelle, you’re blocking the way!” came a voice from behind the pair, indignant in its evident desire to get past them as quickly as possible. With a huff she stepped aside, making way for a gaggle of boys to pass by. “Where have you been? Mother has been looking for you.”

The the slightest of the bunch spoke up, gripping the sleeve of his brother as he looked over towards Embryelle, murky eyes directed at the wall behind her head. “We were outside is all. Trystaan was showing us the thing he’s been working on the past couple of days, but you have to be pretty high for it to work-”

“Uzi, the heck?!” his twin piped in, clamping a hand over the blind boy’s mouth. “Don’t tell her that!”

With a frown, the girl looked over her three brothers, landing on the tallest one. “Why would you take them onto the roof? You know mom doesn’t like anyone being up there, especially Uzi. You know better, you’ve been told off before.”

The freckled boy sheepishly removed his glasses as he cleaned them, caught in the act. “I didn’t take them up there, they came up on their own! And they would’ve anyways even if I tried to stop them, so at least I made sure they didn’t break their necks. Plus, we all had the harnesses clipped to our belts, so it’s not like anyone could fall-” He put the glasses back on, squinting for the first time at Zekiel. “Holy heck, how long have you been standing there Father Zekiel?”

“What? Is he here?” Uzi questioned, muffled words escaping as he pried his brother’s fingers off his mouth, stilling as he focussed on hearing for his voice.


[9/10]

The Only Black Uke

 

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

MissMisnomer

Zekiel opened his mouth to say that he didn’t need—but then, he reminded himself that it was pleasing to give and share, and it would be more gracious simply to appreciate the opportunity he had to share it with them. So, instead of words, he found his lip curving up with quiet amusement at Embryelle’s never-to-be-heard wisdom—at least, not by the ears that needed it. At the question, he nodded.

“I could-”

The interruption, though, cut him off as much as Embryelle, and he watched instead as the boys filtered in. High? Though it was evident they weren’t meant to be doing the full extent of—whatever it was they’d been doing—Zekiel couldn’t help the curiosity inspired by the conversation. Was the boy with the weakest stomach the inventor? He had had occasion of course to meet them all at various points, but usually within the context of church service. Only Ko had he come to know more closely, particularly when it came to personal interests—such as his music, passion for general theatre and performance. He didn’t know the details of the other siblings’ pursuits, though Ko spoke of them often enough it was familiar, just sometimes difficult to keep track.

Harnesses?

That did sound like an adventure.

As Trystaan cleaned his glasses and finally noticed him, Zekiel chuckled. “Perhaps…two minutes, at this spot, or less. What is it you have been crafting that makes the roof the wisest location to make use of it?” he asked. “It sounds like quite the creation, to inspire everyone skyward against their mother’s wishes.”  

[MissMisnomer]

“Wow, maybe I need to get these adjusted…” he mumbled, fidgeting with the lenses on his nose. “It’s going to be pretty cool when it’s done, but you need the wind-”

“No no,” Embryelle interrupted, pulling him by the scruff of his shirt towards the doorway Ko had disappeared into. “You need to get your brain adjusted more than anything else. Now get in there and help with getting lunch ready before I tell mom where it is you’ve all been loitering at. You two as well, git going!”

Ezu proceeded to stick his tongue out at his sister’s turned back, scooting into the dining room. Uzi however stalled for a moment, looking where he’d heard Zekiel’s voice coming from. “I’m not sure why you stopped by today, but I hope you enjoy lunch, Father. I’m sure she won’t say it, but mum is probably very excited to have someone from the church sampling her food. She does think very highly of you all.” And at that he walked off as well, fingers gliding over the various notches in the wood paneling as he disappeared through the doorway.

“Apologies again, they’re such a boisterous bunch…” Shaking her head, Embryelle padded along down the hallway with Zekiel at her side. She opened a solid door, stepping inside as she gestured at a rather plush looking chair opposite a large desk. “You’re welcome to take a seat here. I’ve been told it’s the most comfortable of the bunch, but whether or not Ko can be taken as a reliable source on the general comfort level of armchairs is up for debate. He tends to sit rather oddly on everything, fidgetter that he is…”

Selecting the more stiff chair behind the desk, she rested her closed hands on the wood grain, pursing her lips. After poking at some of the supplies on the desk to straighten them all up, she continued. “When we hear that bell over on the wall chime, that means lunch is ready. It’s turned out to be one of the few of Trystaan’s inventions that have actually contributed to some efficiency in this household, rather than more chaos. Surprisingly.”

[10/10]

The Only Black Uke

 

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Ze peered at the boy and wondered, not for the first time, what a peculiar challenge it must put on life to have one’s vision impaired—though of course, it was not so distinct a test as the one put on Uzi. Fortunately, at least in Trystaan’s case, the gods had given them the materials for a remedy, if perhaps ‘in need of adjusting’ (or simply cleaning) from time to time. Less fortunately, his curiosities weren’t apparently meant to be answered just yet.

But, he supposed that was just as well and likely to be expected, given the chastisement the activity had given rise to. Embryelle seemed to function almost like a second mother, shepherding the boys along like distractible goslings. When Uzi turned back, however, Zekiel hummed in acknowledgement.

“I am excited for the chance to sample it,” he said. “I have heard only great tales so far.” His attention followed the path of the boy’s fingers, noticing the detail to the wood that he hadn’t before—until Embryelle’s voice pulled his attention. He smiled. “On my word there is nothing to apologize for. The energy in the house is a beautiful thing…not every home is blessed in such abundance. Yours is very special, and it is a treasured thing to behold. I can only be happy to share it.”

As he passed over the threshold from the hall, Zekiel made a symbol of blessing at his chest before following in the young woman’s wake.

“Thank you,” he said, and yet, while he trusted Ko’s taste in comfort as much anyone, he found himself lingering at a stand when Embryelle did, his attention moving instead to the mentioned chime with curiosity. “He designed it?” He couldn’t guess the full mechanization of it, but it sounded useful, and given that Embryelle was impressed, it must have passed muster. “He has a gifted mind.”

The gods truly had bestowed many blessings here.  

[MissMisnomer]

The girl hummed in agreement, scrutinising the thing as she often did while in the room. “Yes, he does have a talent for this sort of thing. It has translated into a disinterest in the more generic aspects of our family business, but opened other doors as well. We’re all left in the dark as to what his future might hold, but I am sure it will be interesting, if nothing else. He’s always lacked a taste for the ordinary.”

At that she began divulging the contents of her mental inventory for Zekiel, recounting the different things the boy has attempted to ‘improve upon’, with varying levels of success. She couldn’t remember every little thing, but it was still an impressive list. But what it really helped to do was pass the time. So when the aforementioned bell finally chimed, she finished her thought and rose from her seat, smoothing out her dress. “And there it is. I’ll take you to the dining room, since they’re evidently ready now.” Her skirts whispered over the rug as she opened the door once again, guiding their guest along.

Upon entering the dining room, a space that would seem large were it not for the sizeable table taking up most of the space and the bodies moving about putting final touches on things, Ko scooted past his mother to greet Zekiel again. “See, not too long of a wait when you’ve got lots of hands on the job! This is your seet right here Mr. Zekiel,” he said, pulling out a chair to the right of the head of the table. “Sorry we don’t have any fancy forks and plates and whatnot, there’s really only one course to this meal. Not like that party I got to go to the other day, that was just CRAZY. They had these teeeeeny-tiny little forks JUST for eating oysters with, can you believe it? And there were like...three glass cups at my spot, I wasn’t sure WHAT I was supposed to drink first, so I did when everyone else-”

“Ko, you’re rambling again. Let the man have a chance to think,” a deep voice said, Ko’s father stepping into the room from the other door. He wiped his hands off on the rag at his hip, stopping to give his wife a quick kiss before he moved on to Zekiel. “Thank you for blessing my family with a visit today. I hope your day has treated you well thus far.” He extended his hand for him to take, three more of his children entering through the door after him.

[11/20]

The Only Black Uke

 

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Zekiel listened, fascinated, as Embryelle spoke of her brother and his various experiments. It was fortunate, at least, that he had opportunity for education, and a family that supported his efforts—even if they were not always strictly ‘successful’ that was the way of discovery. He felt no sense of waiting, only listening until very suddenly, they were timed out by the chime. He followed again, and there was little in his vocabulary to describe the sense of wholeness that came from stepping into a space so filled with love and life. And energy.

He glanced down to Ko.

“I admit I didn’t notice it at all,” he said with regards to the wait, stepping to where Ko indicated but pausing as the boy went on. And on. It did paint quite a picture. His eyes warmed, and he opened his mouth to say that truly, the family was far too full of apologies for all its wonder even if it didn’t have tiny oyster forks—but instead, a new voice moved in, and immediately, Zekiel’s attention was there on the other door and the man in it.

It was curious, how some voices easily commanded attention even in a busy room without force. He took the man’s hand when it was offered. “Mr. Deokka…I am as blessed for the company of you and your family and thank you for your welcome and hospitality. It has.”

His eyes moved once over the room to note that it did seem that the full clan was in fact finally gathered before his attention returned to the head of household.

“As some of your family has already heard I came bearing news I thought to share in person. But first, if I might…I would open the meal with prayer, when everyone is ready.”  

[MissMisnomer]

“Of course, I'd have it no other way,” The broad man said, retracting his hand as he took a seat. And with more general shuffling and chair scooting, everyone else did as well. It was a packed table, with the exception of two empty seats: the eldest Deoka sons had families of their own to share lunch with, and Ullana was noticeably absent as well. But her absence was excused and accounted for, so there was no need to her parents to show any concern. They had plenty of other children to keep their attention occupied.

The group linked hands at either side of their bowls, ready to begin the prayer. Mr. Deokka, for his part, left his open palm for Zekkiel to take when he was ready. Ko on the other hand was far more eager to have the chance to participate in prayer directly with such a prestigious member of the church - and someone he looked up to - slipping his fingers into Zekkiel’s hand as he curled them closed. He bowed his head, glancing up at Ze with a smile on his face before quickly shutting his eyes.

[12/20]

The Only Black Uke