"Am I interrupting anything?" Esme asks as Arista opens the door.
Shaking her head she gives her sister a smile, "Not at all, we were just sitting down to some chicken soup and biscuits. Would you like some? I set out an extra bowl." She says while stepping back from the door to let Esme in.
Giving Esme a hug as she comes inside she says, "Besides, there's someone I want you to meet."
Rajni lets out a satisfied sigh, "That was absolutely delicious mama."
"Oh?" Esmerelda asks as she steps inside.
She nods while closing the door behind them, "Yep, let's go to the table and I'll introduce you two."
"Thank you, Rajni," Asha says. "I'm always glad to hear that my cooking is appreciated."
She nods, "Oh it is, very much so."
Esmerelda goes to the table. "I'm assuming it's not Alethiro or Celine."
"Not today."
She shakes her head, "No silly, it's my brother Theon."
"Brother?" Esme asks, surprised. "Did...did we have this conversation or not? I don't remember."
"I'm sure you have," Theon says, butting in. "She talks about me a bit. You look pretty nice for a vagrant."
Arista turns beet red, "Theon!" Giving her brother a look she turns to Esme, "Don't mind him, he likes to tease."
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"As long as he's not a hugger," Esme says, sitting down. "Are you a hugger, Theon?"
"No, not unless you're family. Well...Arista considers you like a big sister, so...maybe...I think you have a seventy-five percent chance of being hugged," Theon quips.
Arista gives Esme a mock hurt look, "What's wrong with hugging?"
"You are definitely not like your sister," Esme remarks.
"I mask my discomfort with poor humor," Theon says. "It's nothing personal."
"That's because I got all the good genes." She says before sticking her tongue out at him.
"I can go..."
"Theon's just getting used to being home," Alethiro says to Esme. "Please...stay."
Esme raises an eyebrow, caught off-guard by Alethiro's request. "Sure."
Looking up her lip trembles, "No go auntie. Be nice mommy."
Feeling bad for upsetting her daughter she goes to Celine and gives the top of her head a kiss, "I'm sorry Celine, everything is okay. Don't worry, Aunt Esme isn't going anywhere. Eat your soup honey." Gesturing to the place she set for Esme she goes back to her own seat and sits down.
"Alright, alright, stop teaming up on me," Esme says.
"What do you do around here, Esme?" Theon asks.
Celine watches Esme for a couple of minutes, making sure she's really staying before going back to her soup and biscuit.
"That's Esmerelda to you," Esme answers. "Oh, I used to be a devil hunter, now I just do a bit of vagrancy here and there."
While everyone else talks, Arista takes the bowl from in front of Esme and fills it with the hot tasty soup before taking it back out to her. She passes her the basket of biscuits before going back to her own dinner.
Arista just sighs and shakes her head.
"Sorry, Arista was setting a place for you," Theon says. "I thought she really was taking in people."
"She sort of...attached herself to me," Esme says, taking a spoonful of soup. "But I don't do much these days."
"I don't take them in, I just cook enough for an army and I like to share. It's nice having friends again." She says, looking back down in her soup.
"I never said there was anything wrong with being a vagrant," Theon says, taking a drink. "Or taking them in."
Esme turns to Arista. "There's nothing wrong with hugging. I just don't like excessive hugging."
"She's not a vagrant, and I don't hug as much as I used to. I'm trying not to be so clingy, but I can't help that I'm a little more emotional these days than I used to be." Looking around the table for a moment she gets up, "I think I forgot the butter, I'll be back."
Going into the kitchen she rummages through the cold box as she looks for the butter and tries to get her ridiculous emotions under control.
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Alethiro goes to Arista. "Are you okay? Maybe he wasn't ready to be around other people..."
She shrugs while pulling out the butter, "I'm probably just being emotional and over reacting to my brother's teasing. In some ways, it feels like I haven't seen him in years, andc in others...it's Like nothing changed. He's gonna have to get used to being around other people though. This town isx full of them, and he can't just be a grumpy recluse for thed rest of his life." She sighs, "Maybe itf was a little soon, butf he's always had a hard time socializing with people off the battlefield. He's not just my older brother....he's a person with his own thoughts and feeli mgs and that's something that I need to get used to."
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"Just give him some time, okay?" Alethiro suggests, lightly rubbing Arista's shoulders.
Theon finishes his food. "I'm going to step outside for a bit, Ari."
He gets up and heads out the door.
Arista nods at her husband as she leans back a little into his strong hands while he rubs her. Sighing a little she looks over at her brother, "Okay, just don't stay out there too long and get sick."
"Aren't aasimars resistant to cold, love?"
She shakes her head, "So...then why is Konstantyna always telling me to stay out of it? I don't know honey, I've had so many people telling me stuff I can't even remember anymore."
Alethiro shrugs. "Me either. I was just guessing that it wouldn't do much."
"I'm sorry if I made things uncomfortable," Esme says.
She kind of shrugs, "Eh...it's whatever. I should get this butter back out there. I don't want to leave Esme all by herself." Giving his cheek a kiss she heads back out to the dining room with the butter for the biscuits.
Sitting back down at the table she shakes her head, "It wasn't your fault. I think he's just gonna need some time. I just didn't want people thinking that I was trying to keep him a secret or something. I don't know....maybe I'm just being weird."
Esme shrugs. "I really wouldn't have thought anything about it. He's very different from you, though. You sure you're related?"
Giving Esme a small smile she says, "Yeah...maybe it's because he's the oldest. I don't know...he's always had a hard time just talking to people. We just...we have battle in our blood and associating with comrades, or giving orders on the battlefield, is easier than everyday conversation?"