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"Unfortunately." She answers, pulling another seaweed wrap out of the package and taking a bite.
Cage sits on the couch with his peeps, eating them with a smile.
(If you wanna time skip to later so Dio! can come we cannnn)
(Suresure)(maybe Sil and Cage can get their hair dyed the next day?)
Miki finished dicing the vegetables Vi had asked her to prep. "Okay, Vi, these are done. What do you need next?"
Silver sat on a barstool, stirring the cake batter she and Cage were putting together. "I think we just need to preheat the oven and grease the cakepan now." She said to Cage.
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(Or maybe Vi will let them do it downstairs while Dio visits to keep them occupied XD)
Violet pops the lid off the steak for a second to check on it. "Would take a few pillows and blankets downstairs? Have Cage help."
Cage bounces over to Miki. "Ooh! Ooh! Are we gonna have a slumber party downstairs!?"
Ben and Kissa reenter the room from the basement, both sweaty and half dead. Vi raises her eyebrows at them as he leans on the counter.
Realizing Cage is distracted and probably didn't even hear Sil, Gabriel decides to help with the cake. "How… Do I preheat an oven?" He asks quietly.
(oooohhhh yes. more chaos i love it)
Silver smiled at him and slid off her stool. "Here, I'll show you." she lead him over to the stove and showed him the buttons to set the oven. "You just hit 'bake' and then use the arrows to tell it what temperature you want. We need it at 350 for the cake." she pressed the up arrow until the numbers read 350. "And then you hit 'bake' again and wait until it beeps."
Miki ruffled Cage's hair. "Totally, kid." she jogged up the stairs and opened the hall closet, only to yell, "VIOLET, Gabriel has all the extra blankets in the attic, remember?"
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Violet sighs. "Grab the ones off of your beds then and I'll make sure to wash them after tonight."
Cage peeks up into the attic for a split second before closing it and scurrying down the ladder. "Ew. Yeah. Not touching those blankets."
"What's tonight?" Ben asks as Kissa heads into the bathroom to shower.
"Diablo is coming over, don't you remember? Now go shower."
He gulps.
No.
Gabriel blinks, overhearing Violet's words. "Who is Diablo?"
Miki snatched up all the blankets and pillows on hers and Silver's bed and brought them downstairs. "Yeah, Mom and Dad don't want us to scare him away."
Silver glanced up, taking in Violet and Ben. "What's… you're having company?"
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Violet bites her lip and closes her eyes.
I thought he was purposefully waiting to tell them.
This wont be smooth.
"Sorry about the short notice, but yes. You will all be having an early supper and heading downstairs with the cake. Cage and Miki, will you set the T.V. from Cage's room up down there?"
Cage nods, heading back upstairs."
With another sigh, she continues. "Ben and I have been meeting with him. His name is Diablo and he is an elemental. Perfectly trustworthy, but we want to be safe. I'll text if you guys start to get too loud and don't be afraid to message me with any questions."
Diablo….. Have I heard of him?
Kissa peeks her head out of the bathroom, hair drenched and touching the floor.
Gabriel inhales and nods.
Miki tossed her arm load in the basement and ran back up to help Cage.
Silver bit her lip. "Is this…?" she stopped and turned back to pour the cake batter into the pan.
group
Violet rests a hand on Silver's shoulder, giving it a gentle rub. "We're just trying to sort a few things out and we can't do it out in the open."
Gabriel glares at the ground, trying to remember the name.
"Diablo? Diablo De Angelo?" Kissa steps back into the living room, brow creased.
Ben closes his mouth and turns to Kissa. "You- You know hi- Vi I told you I didn't like this guy."
Kissa glares at Violet, a kind of serious glare that would harbor no joke. "Diablo is one of the first. He's water, is he not? I've never met him, but I know he was one of the first. Diablo, Etienne, us birds and Airrow. Water, Fire, Air and Earth. Everything comes from those."
Violet swallows. "He's… Is he bad, Kiss?"
Kissa grits her teeth. "I don't think so. I think he went rouge on 'em. I don't know."
Silver silently put the cake in the oven and washed the mixing bowl, then turned and looked for Gabriel.
This is what Ben and Vi were fighting about the other day.
Miki hauled the TV downstairs with Cage. "Are you sure you know how to plug this thing up again? That was a lot of cords."
group
Gabriel takes Silver's hand and squeezes it, staring at Violet.
"Should he really come here if we're not sure about him?"
She leans against the counter. "Well…. It'd just be suspicious to call it off now. You all will have to be quiet down there and we'll get some answers from him. Don't worry."
Ben runs a hand through his hair, mumbling in Russian as he heads up the stairs.
I'm worrying, Vi. I'M WORRYING OKAY.
Cage huffs as they set it down. "Yeah, no problem. I got it. most of them are marked with colored tape now anyways because Ben put it together wrong the last five times." He giggles.
Silver wrapped her arms around him as soon as he touched her, squeezing him and pressing her face into his shirt.
"Hey," Miki said as they walked through the kitchen. "You know Ben will just roast him if anything happens."
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Gabriel instinctively turns himself and Silver invisible, if for nothing else than so nobody could see him kiss the top of her head.
It's gonna be fine. Ben wont let anyone hurt us.
Violet sighs. "Lets- let's not encourage roasting anyone. At least not literally." She rubs her forehead and turns around to make some tea. "Silver, Love. Why don't you all dye each others hair downstairs? You can at least do Cage's hair. I know I still have some bleaching solution in the bathroom cabinet."
Cage beams. "Yussssss. Sil, you could dye my haiiirrr." He looks around the room for Silver for a moment. "Sil?"
Silver nodded to Vi, before hearing Cage and realizing Gabriel had turned her invisible. With a sigh she said, "Got it." and felt with her mind int he bathroom for the dye and other items. She floated them out and plunked them down on the island counter. Lifting her head from Gabriel's chest, she looked up at him and mouthed, "Can we just hide in the library?"
Miki finished helping Cage get the TV downstairs and came back up. "You're a brave man, Cage, to let Silver bleach and dye your hair when she's never done anything like that before in her life."
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Gabriel gives her a soft, sleepy smile.
I dont- I don't think we're allowed.
Cage shrugs. "I only want her to bleach. And besides, we'll have Kiss down here too and Kiss is good at everything she does."
Silver sighed and rested her head on his chest again for another moment, then let him go and turned around, picking up the hair products to bring them downstairs.
Miki nodded. "She is. It's gross. But be careful, if she decides to murder you with the bleach, she'll be good at that too."
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Gabriel stands still for a moment, watching Violet tidy and clean a few things, before heading down with Silver.
Kissa says we don't need to worry.
Why don't I trust that?
A chill runs up his spine and he runs a hand through his tangled hair.
I gotta talk to her.
Kissa heads downstairs to join the rest of the group, holding a large bag and her pillow and blanket.
"Mik, if you touch my stuff, you will die."
Cage looks from Kissa to Miki. "Mmm, you're right. Maybe we should just stay away from her."
Silver raised an eyebrow at Kissa and deposited the items in the basement bathroom, then ran back up to her room and grabbed a portion of her large candy collection out from under her bed.
Miki made a face at Kissa. "Fine. Then don't touch my Cage, or you will die."
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Kissa rolls her eyes, setting her things on the ground and positioning them. “He’s not yours you possessive creep.”
Cage bites his lip and whispers to Miki, “she’s in a bad mood, maybe we shouldn’t talk to her.”
"He's my friend." Miki said, wrapping her arm around his neck in one of her weird-hugs. To Cage, she said, "You're right. Let's go have us a hair-dying and video gaming party without her."
Silver trotted downstairs again, her arms full of candy this time. She stopped next to Gabriel and glanced up at him. "Do you and Kissa really know that guy?" she whispered.
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Gabriel shrugs and shakes his head. “I was never in on anything. They kept me caged up most of the time. I know they talked Kissa through some things, but…”
I shouldn’t voice my doubts. I don’t want to worry anyone.
“Sh- she knows what she’s talking about.”
Cage grins. “Okay maybe lets not exclude her completely, but we can be quiet while playing.” He turns the TV on and picks up a remote to check if everything is working okay.
Silver nodded and flopped onto a couch against the back wall, unwrapping a piece of candy and popping it into her mouth.
Miki dropped on the floor in front of the TV. "What do we play first?"
–
Ben's phone pinged with a message from Dio that read, "I'll be there in 30 minutes. Should I bring anything?"
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Cage puts in Mario kart and sits back. “This one. We can even make characters that look like ourselves! I already have one that looks like Ben if anyone wants to play as him.”
Kissa comes to sit beside them and picks up a remote. “Imma make one that looks like rat trash here and play as it.”
Cage raises his eyes brows with a grin. “She called you rat trash, Mik. Rat trash.”
-
Ben opens the text and sighs. He hands the phone to Vi. “Will you answer? I don’t know how to speak to this man. If I tell him to bring something he’ll bring like… tofu or something equally gross.”
Violet shakes her head with a smile and takes the phone.
”You don’t have to bring anything, but if you’d like to bring something specific you can. See you then.”
Miki nodded solemnly. "I mean… it's true." she shrugged. "I embrace who I am without regret."
Silver overheard Kissa's comment and frowned at her back, refraining from pulling her hair.
–
Dio nodded to himself, reading Ben's reply, then finished packing up his sushi. Wrapping himself in a thick cloak, he carried the container out to his awaiting carriage and folded himself in, giving the driver the address.
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Cage giggles, nudging Miki. "I mean, sure. Be what you wanna be."
Gabriel leans against the wall behind them, subconsciously glaring and focusing specifically on Kissa, trying his best to analyze her body language, words and emotions.
It's gotta be a trap.
Would she do that to us?
He shivers and sighs quietly.
Don't jump to conclusions, just be ready.
-
Ben heads back down stairs, his hair damp, and wearing nicer clothes. "You think he may have been one of the originals?"
Violet picks up a few things, taking them into the dining room as he follows. "Darling, stop stressing. I don't think Diablo is anything to worry about. If he is what Kissa said then we have a powerful ally."
"Or another enemy." He adds in a low mumble.
She sets her things on the table and turns around with a sigh. "Benjamin. Loosen up for once in your life. He's has enough chances to kidnap you easily and without a trace. Why would he still be around if he was bad? Moreover, why would I not have a bad feeling about him? Hmm?" She takes his hands. "Trust me on this one, Love. Trust me and Kiss."
Silver watched Gabriel, seeing and feeling his unease. After a moment she turned her attention to Vi and Ben upstairs, and felt Ben's usual turbulence, with Violet's calm undercurrent. Realizing she was still invisible, thanks to Gabriel, she slid off the couch and silently climbed the stairs, curling on the floor by the door and peeking through the crack underneath it.
–
Dio's carriage rolled to a stop outside Ben's house exactly 28 minutes later and he extracted himself from it, carefully balancing his container of sushi so it didn't tip. He instructed his driver to park several miles up the road, closer to town, and waiting until the carriage was out of sight before approaching the front door and ringing the bell.
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The bell rings and Cage goes silent, looking up at the door.
"That guy is here." He whispers. "How long do you think he'll stay?"
Gabriel doesn't turn to watch the door, but instead keeps his eyes fixated on Kiss'a reaction, hoping that if she was lying she'd let something slip. She turns to watch the door, but only blinks, looking and feeling just like the others. Slightly worried and anxious but not showing it.
He glares.
C'mon, Kiss. Give me something to go off of.
Ben glances to the door, his anxiety finally having calmed down. "Will you get that, Vi?"
Violet gives his arm a reassuring rub and smiles.
We'll all be fine.
She heads to the door and gently opens it, giving Dio a welcoming, soft smile. ""Good evening, Diablo." She takes a step to the side for him to enter.
Silver held her breath, closing her eyes and feeling what was happening in the house. She heard Violet and Ben speaking, and tuned her ears to hear the newcomer.
Miki paused the video game and looked up toward the stairs. "Supper? Idk. I imagine the longer he stays the better it is? It means they're getting along and no one is being roasted?" She glanced around. "Where's Silver?"
–
"Mrs. Stan!" Dio greeted her, planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "Please, call me Dio. I insi–no, I beg of you." He unwrapped himself from his cloak and hung it on the row of hooks. "Thank you so much for inviting me to your lovely home this evening."
–
Silver's eyes widened as she heard him. He either sounded too nice to be bad, or too nice to be nice.
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Cage shrugs. "I guess." He looks around a little after his question and tilts his head. "You know… I don't recall seeing her or Gabriel come down stairs. Which means their either both upstairs or invisible. "Kiss, care to check?"
Kissa rolls her eyes and turns herself invisible for half a second. "They're making out on the floor." She says, turning her attention back to her phone with a glare.
Gabriel's face turns beet red. "Am nOt."
A grin crosses her face.
Violet gives a small chuckle. "Dio is fine. You can call me Violet or Vi. Either is fine."
Ben gives him a nod before leaving through the doorway to the dining room to set a bottle of wine on the table.
"Anytime!" Violet smiles. She extends a hand towards the doorway. "The dining room is right through here."
Miki snort-laughed, covering her mouth. "Well, now we know one foolproof way to find Gabriel."
–
Dio followed them and held up his container. "I brought sushi. I totally understand if you don't like it or don't want to try it, but I had a lot extra so I thought I would offer you the chance to try the best sushi in Spain."
–
Silver vaguely heard the others downstairs talking and squabbling, but she tuned them out, trying to see under the door. When that didn't work, she closed her eyes again, sensing what was happening. Silver frowned. Why would Ben let a sushi guy in the house???
