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The silence didn't upset her; she had somewhat expected this. She had a brother of her own, and had been less than kind when she'd met his ex-wife for the first time. Alex gave a knowing smile to the younger Delaran, lowering one of her hands to gently touch Aphimset's leg. It's okay, she wanted to tell him, but Isi spoke up after the prolonged silence in his own gruff manner of acceptance.

She shared the chef's concern, however, tilting her head and giving a patient smile. It seemed the previous incident with Lazarus had melted from her mind - or at least, it was easier for her to focus on others than herself. It was just how she worked. "It's okay, Isi. You don't even have to answer now if you don't want, or not in front of me." Alex tapped her fingers against her mug, recalling her behavior towards her brother's then girlfriend. "When my brother brought his girlfriend home for us to meet, I hated her. I mean...really, if looks could kill, y'know. Nice girl, but he was my brother. He was all I had in the world."

The woman crossed her legs, her ankle resting upon her knee, her elbow upon her thigh. "I'd never, ever put either of you through that feeling. So Isi, you better tell it straight when you're ready. I depend on you to be honest. No matter what, I'm still going to dote on you like a madwoman and nothing is going to change between us." And Alex was satisfied with her schpeel, taking another long sip of her cocoa. "Aphi, you really are amazing. Thank you!" she held up her mug in gratitude.

The demon's expression fell. His blue eyes lost some of their vibrancy and the edges of his smile faded, not enough to lose the expression but enough to drain the warmth from it. As Rivener chastized the other Sigel, Zul didn't look away from this...Eirdirsceol. How was this being, who spoke in such a language that he wasn't sure it was English, so much like the humans? Was he corrupted? Brainwashed? It was like hearing Alex talk to him when he'd first been attracted to Rivener. No, it wasn't love then and it still couldn't be until he grew, but he knew now - he wasn't a child!

His fingers laced with the Scorpion's, tightening, holding. He would not be talked down to like this! "No," the demon disagreed, his gaze trained upon Eiry. "Love is not complicated. It's butterflies and making each other happy and knowing he thinks of me." Rivener loved him. If there was anything he had learned from his Sigel, it was that love was the stuff of songs, of music - it moved you, simply. Alex had taught him much, too, without meaning to, and Bear and Zeke...he would not accept that love, that being with Rivener, was so damn twisted and weird!

"When I grow, I'll know love, too," he inadvertantly admitted his inability to return the Scorpion's feelings. It didn't matter though - he didn't like the way Eiry was talking to Rivener. For the first time in his near year of existance, Zul found himself at odds with another Raevan, and it was not settling well with him that it was Rivener's brother!

Aphismet's reassuring smile, the one he'd been giving Isi the whole while the boy was being spoken to, slowly grew into a wide beaming grin. Isi was really alright with this! The young Delaran then took the icing on the cake by walking around to Alex's side, all but proposing to her all over again on both brothers' behalf. Aphi laughed brightly and tilted his head with clear affection, pushing off from the kitchen counter to join the others by the island. He slipped one arm around each neck and gently pulled into a great big group hug, happy beyond reason.

"Thank you, Isi! This means a lot!" The chef's bubbling laughter was nigh on impossible to stop as he leaned in to nuzzle Alex's hair, kissing at it happily. "I'm so glad we're all going to be one big happy family!"

Who would have thought? Alex's near-tears phone call, her traumatic morning, and now everything was turning out like this? The Universe sure had a strange way of dealing with things, but Aphismet would certainly not complain! Releasing both his hug-prisoners, Aphi moved back to his seat and flopped onto it, taking a deep gulp of his cocoa as he watched the others with glowing, sparkling cocoa-colored eyes. "So when do you want to do this?" he asked Alex, obviously excited to take this big step in their relationship.

Rivener frowned as Eiry refused his extended hand, shoving a brown bag in his hand instead. The Scorpion took the offered gift (or so he assumed that's what it was) and just kept staring at the other Sigel. "WHAT don't you like, dammit? Speak clearly, I've no idea what's bothering you so much!" Rivener had never been so baffled by his brother's behavior before. It was like Eiry was speaking a whole different language. Why was he trying to talk Rivener into not showing his feelings for Zul? Why was he trying to tell Rivener that this couldn't be Love?! The Scorpion was getting rather frustrated...

Suddenly something happened. A small thread in Rivener's mind snapped and he couldn't stand having the mouthy little brat around anymore. This was his time with Zul, and Eiry was always such a stupid twit that made him so FRUSTRATED and god dammit, the little terror needed to be taught a lesson. Growling rather uncharacteristically, Rivener swirled up a poison into his wingtips that he hardly ever used: the Ghost Toxin Eiry's blood had granted him. Just a small dose, just enough to make Eiry sick and get him to leave the two amorous Raevans the hell alone.

Moving forward swiftly, Rivener raised his wings and tried to strike before the minty boy knew what was happening.

Before Isi could do anything else, he was caught up in a sudden tangle of arms as both Alex rushed close to him and Aphismet pressed the three together in a tight hug. The boy laughed despite himself, trying to angle his head so that he could breathe in between the two bodies he was getting crushed against. He felt awkward in the face of such affection, like he didn't deserve it, but that didn't stop him from absorbing each moment and touch with the hunger of a wolf. Regular every day life didn't call for hugs like this and the pat on the head from Aphi, the ruffle of the hair, was appreciated, but Isi needed more than that sometimes. He would never admit it, grumpy as he was, but there weren't enough words to express the gratefulness he felt for having Aphismet and Alex there, surrounding him and making him feel safe.

"You guys! GUYS! As much love and fun times as this is, I can't breathe and my legs are going to give out any minute!" Which was true. His thin legs were trembling and he was standing still simply because he was wedged underneath Aphismet's embrace. When Aphismet moved back to his seat, Isi released his grip on Alex's hand and made a lunge for the kitchen counter. Thankfully he was able to find support in time and he easily lifted himself up onto the counter top with his strong arms. He knew that Aphi wasn't too keen on letting Isi sit on the counter, but Isi needed somewhere to rest his legs. So he rested there, leaning forward to massage the life back into his calves, and listened in to the adults.

"Big happy family..." Isi muttered in a bewildered echo, he laughed again in disbelief, "I never would've thought that things would've turned out this way when I met you on that street corner, Aphi." Then he turned his gaze to Alex, nodding at her, "Alex, we're open to have you move in any time that you're ready, although we'll probably like you to come sooner than later!"

Eiry searched through his mental thesaurus of words, his red eyes flickering back and forth for something, anything, that he could piece together to explain to his brother what he felt. He wanted to speak clearly, but his idea of communication was far too different and this wall that it created was driving him deep into frustration. He had only a few moments to think before he let his eyes flicker up to where Rivener was advancing upon him, dark intention written over his angered angled features.

"Brother, complexspeak, my. My speak. Can't...Big brother?" His voice shrunk, mimicking the reaction his body had as Rivener overshadowed his glowing form. This was strange...What was Rivener doing? Eiry had never seen this kind of predatory look in Rivener's eyes before, he had never been approached like this in their arguments. The rumbling growl in the scorpion raevan's throat was the stimulus that sent Eiry's body instinctively into intangibility. His shoulders pinched near his neck and his red eyes widened, watching his stingers swell up as the distance between them shortened.

It was his stubborn belief that Rivener would never hurt him, that kept him fixed in place. Big brothers were supposed to protect their younger counterparts. That's what Rivener said. That's what he promised. Big brother would always protect him, and that's what Eiry believed.

"You're both sweethearts," Alex proclaimed with a happy curve of her lips, eyes dancing over the rim of her mug as she took another hearty drink. She wasn't quite sure what they meant about street-corners, but it could be a question for another day. Licking her lips free of any excess chocolate, she outright laughed at the demand of sooner than later. "Okay, okay! Give me like...like four days to sort things out with my firm. That should be enough time for me to get some boxes and pack up my life. I don't actually have much furniture, so I probably wont need more than my brother to help me get stuff put in the truck."

The excitement was getting the best of her, ready to go and get started - now! Her mug was just about drained of its delicious contents with she heard Rivener's voice, glancing over to the Sigel, who was leading her charge by his hand. Alex didn't immediately think anything about the snide comment. Maybe they'd somehow tied the ghost Sigel up or blocked him in a room somehow? She'd see about that in a moment, but first, she had to stop the Scorpion from leading Zul off; if she let them go now, she wouldn't see them again for the rest of the evening. Maybe the week!

"Hey, Riv, wait!" she called, jumping off the stool (stealing a swift kiss from Aphi's chocolate lips) and jogging after the two. "Riv! I need to take Zul home to pack." Alex grinned up at the two, despite the sudden and alarming feeling of something not quite being right - mostly by the look on Zul's face before he turned to really look at her.

"Pack?" the demon echoed, his hand still firmly holding onto Rivener's. Zul had no real opinion of what had happened other than he had truly seen the potential devastation Rivener was capable of - and how wonderfully it could be used to neutralize pests. He found it to be a wonderful bit of information to think on later, to perhaps ask about the next time they saw each other. As of that moment, the Frei still wanted his time with the Scorpion in a manner that surely involved their mouths but minimal words.

The woman nodded, pushing aside her odd feeling in favor of a cheeky grin. "Aphi and Isi asked us to move in with them, Zul!" The joy spilled over and she bounced a little at the edge of the stairs, one hand extending towards her charge in a bid to encourage him to follow her. "What do you say?"

Zul's expression lost the smug satisfaction of having Rivener and the cold pleasure of being free of Eiry in favor of complete shock. "In with...?" His blue eyes turned rapidly between Rivener and Alex. "If you're joking," he started in a rather angry manner, pursing his lips, his trademark smile painfully absent.

"I'm not joking, what are you talking about?" Alex laughed, shaking her head and beckoning for Zul to come back down the stairs. "C'mon, the sooner we get things done at home, the sooner - the sooner this becomes home." Her green gaze flicked beyond the dark-skinned demon to the Sigel he was so fond of, giving Rivener a gentle smile. "If, of course, that's okay with you, Riv."

Aphismet smiled at Alex's surprise kiss before she dashed off. The chef remained where he was, smiling at the woman but knotting his eyebrows in worry at Isi. The boy wandered off to seek out Eiry, and Aphi figured he'd best stay put in case someone needed him. Besides, with Alex announcing the news to the Raevans and Isi fetching his Eiry, there wasn't much need for the white-haired man anywhere just yet.

Rivener glared over his shoulder at Alex, half expecting the woman to pry them apart or something. Zul turned with him, and the two of them looked at Alex with mildly annoyed confusion. The Demon frei asked out loud what both were thinking, and Rivener watched Alex grin at them and declare that-... that Alex and Zul would be moving in?!

Riv stood shocked as Zul glanced at him multiple times before threatening Alex if she was joking about this. Rivener agreed completely. If she was joking, neither Raevans would be very pleased. But no, Alex continued on to claim that it was all VERY true, and they could move in relatively quickly to boot. When those green eyes looked past Zul to Riv, asking the Sigel's permission, Rivener grinned widely, flaring his wings in a display of approval.

"Of course it's okay with me! That's wonderful! Go, Zul, Go home and pack! Then when you come back you'll never have to leave ever again!" Beyond happy, the Scorpion even gave Zul an encouraging little push towards Alex, nodding. "This is going to be so great!"

Aphismet blinked as he heard Isi's voice near the front of the house. Frowning lightly, the chef left his mug and moved that way, finding the front door open with the younger Delaran half outside... "Isi?" Aphi asked, glancing out the door to find- "Eiry!"

Why did this have to happen? Things were getting good, wobbly and unsure, but good! They were having cocoa, there were friends around him and he was happy, Alex looked so right there, sitting in the kitchen tucked underneath Aphismet's arm. And Aphismet, he looked so happy, so very very happy. His face was aglow and that was something that Isi hadn't seen, that intensity, in a long time. A very long time.

Now this.

Isi struggled to pick up Eiry, waiting impatiently for his ward to melt back into reality. His arms went through his body a couple times, and growling in frustration, the boy kept on until he was finally able to lift up Eiry's light body into his arms. He hardly noticed as Aphismet came up from the doorway behind him. He didn't even really pay attention as Alex followed in his footsteps with her frei following behind. All Isi was concerned about was his raevan. Eiry's head lolled dizzily in his arms and he blinked as if he was just woken up from a deep sleep, but every time Isi tried to shake him, the blinking got slower and slower. From Isi's standpoint, he just looked very very sick, and shocked. Isi felt his forehead, checked over Eiry's body and discovered the swollen pinches in his shoulders. Anger flared up in his freckled cheeks and he turned his grey eyes to Aphismet, trying to hoist himself up onto his weak legs while trying to carry Eiry.

There was blame in his eyes.

He let the hard blame pass over to Alex and then to Zul, who nonchalantly claimed that his raevan got in the way.

"Got in the way? Got in the way of what?" Isi snapped, glaring at the raevan. He couldn't help but feel the red hot paint of ire tag the frei before him, a frei he hadn't even had the pleasure of being introduced to. If Isi didn't have his own raevan in his arms, he would've stomped over to the raevan, launched himself off of the porch railing and introduced Zul to all five of his knuckles on his left fist. Instead, Isi held Eiry and shouldered his way to the door frame.

"Aphismet," he said, his voice caught between worry and rage, he only said one word. He only needed to say one word in order to get everything he meant to say out on the floor, "Rivener."

Isi tried to shoulder his way into the house. He wanted to get to the medicine cabinet.