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Breakfast in the Sadril household wasn't that unusual compared to that of the average family. The three boys sat at one end of the dining room table, while the two girls were at the other. Each seemed to have their own choice cereal; Vincent had a bowl of fruit loops, Joshua had honey-nut cheerios. Kaleb had neither; he had a bowl of Captain Crunch. His spoon was halfway to his mouth when he caught sight of his older brothers exchanging grins. "What is it?" he asked.

"I know a song about Captain Crunch," Josh said, sharing another grin with Vinny.

"I remember that song," Vinny mused, returning his brother's grin. "Bet Kaleb hasn't heard it yet, though. Why don't you sing it for us, Josh?"

"I was thinking about it," the oldest agreed. "Alright, I'll sing the chorus." He picked up a spoon and held it up to his mouth much like a microphone.

When the toast is burned
and all the milk has turned
and Captain Crunch is waving farewell
When the big one finds you
May this song remind you
That they don't serve breakfast in hell.

"Isn't there a part about fruit loops and cheerios too?" Vincent prompted.

"Yeah, but that's not part of the chorus," Joshua explained, before grinning at Kaleb's astonished expression. "It's by the Newsboys," he added. "Mom doesn't play them as often now because they broke up, but when Vinny and I were little, she was always listening to them."

"You know some of their songs," Vinny added, smiling at his younger brother. "We sing some of them in church." Not that Vincent ever sang; no, he felt that Joshua had the talent in that area.

"Entertaining Angels?" Kaleb guessed, through a mouthful of cereal.

"That's one. He Reigns and I Am Free, too. And Kaleb? Don't talk with your mouth full, it's gross."

"Take your own advice, Josh." Vinny observed, shaking his head. "It's gross."

"You too, Vin."

Vincent decided to ignore this and instead of replying, glanced at Kaleb. "So Kal, have you been seeing a girl with freckles, pigtails and a cute upturned nose?" It was such a change in subject that it caused Joshua to drop his spoon with a clang. His green eyes were upon Kaleb like spotlights; he wasn't bothering to retrieve his spoon.

"Well?" he asked, with keen interest.

"Girl with an upturned nose?" Kaleb echoed, looking puzzled. "Are you describing Sammi?"

"I don't have an upturned nose!" Samantha called from her place at the table. She shot a glare at the two older boys; they would be in for it when breakfast was over. Joshua half expected his hair to burst into flames. (Sammi could do that sort of thing; she controlled fire.)

"No," Vinny said, shaking his head and giving his sister a cautious look. "We've heard from anonymous sorces that you've been meeting with a 'cute little girl with freckles, pigtails and an upturned nose.' So are you?"

Kaleb smirked at his brothers' eager faces. "And did Mom tell you that the only reason I was meeting up with her was to do homework?"

"...No."

Joshua sighed. "And here I was hoping our baby brother had finally become normal! We could have shared some common ground..." He looked so disappointed that Kaleb found it comic. Time to play a game, he decided.

"I suppose she was rather cute," he mused, grinning as he watched his brothers' eyes widen, begging for information. "Might ask her to the Spring dance."

"What's her name?" The older boys demanded in unison.

Kaleb was silent, silent but grinning. It broadened at the groans of his brothers. "That's one piece of information I won't willingly give you," he said. He knew quite well that his brothers tended to take advantage of his giving nature. He had to draw this out.

"But..."

"You know all about the girls we like!" Joshua protested. "It's only fair that you tell us--"

"Everyone knows you like Nataya," Kaleb pointed out. "And everyone knew 'Cent liked Lissy even before he started dating her, except maybe 'Cent and Lissy. Even Mom knew." At this, his older brothers exchanged looks.

No longer grinning, and suddenly quite serious, Josh said, "Mom knows everything. Forget eyes in the back of her head, she's got invisible eyes and ears everywhere. Even if you don't tell us, we'll eventually find out. You know how she likes to talk."

Oooh, moon and stars!

June had always been a good time for seeing stars with elves; even stories spoke of it. It was the month when the skies seemed most alive. At least, in Ben's opinion. So he had drug his wife, children, and residential shadow out into the backyard around nine forty-five. Just as it was beginning to get dark.

Oliver was clinging to Thali's hand for dear life. "Scared of the dark," she explained, grinning at Ben as her husband passed carrying the telescope out for Joshua's benefit.

"Do you really think we'll be able to see Mars, Josh?" Vinny asked, looking up at the sky.

Joshua adjusted the telescope once their father set it down. He looked through it, before grinning at his brother. "Maybe!"

"And Neptune?" Sammi asked hopefully.

Joshua hesitated, but this time it was Thali who answered. "Maybe we'll get lucky," she said from her place on the grass. She lifted Oliver into her lap. "Oli, look," she said, pointing up at the sky. "The moon's half full, there won't be any werewolves out tonight," she joked. The moon being only half full meant the stars would be brighter.

"Ver?" Oliver sounded concerned. Werewolves? What were those? Where they scary? Were they mean? Did they like eating little shadows for dinner? He decided he didn't like the sound of werewolves at all. "Ver..."

Thali patted his head. He didn't have enough hair to ruffle, or she would have done so. "Don't worry, Oli," she said. "Nothing will bother us tonight. Not with me here."

"Oli?"

"Really," the elf assured him. She had gotten good at guessing what her shadow was saying, just by focusing on the tone. "Oh look, it's Lupus!" she pointed to the North. "It's a wolf constellation," she explained. "I don't know how they got a wolf out of that shape, though..." She paused, and turned to grin at her husband before returning her attention to the sky. "Oh, and the little dipper!" she pointed to Ursa Minor. "The North star's always the brightest. Can you see it, Oli?"

"Ooooh... Oli!" Oliver looked at his host, clearly waiting for her to tell him more about the stars. This was interesting! And the stars were so pretty! He wondered if he could steal one. He thought a star would make a very nice night light--if only he could plug it into the wall.

"And Libra!" Thali said, pointing to the constellation. "The scales. They're known for being a symbol of balance and harmony."

"Oooh... Oli?"

Thali hesitated. It was clear that for a moment, the elf was puzzled. Her eyes traveled along the vast sky. She looked to Ben for help.

"And the Crown," Ben said, sitting down next to his wife, and pointing to a U shape in the sky. "It was supposed to be the crown of Athena in Greek mythology."

"And Hercules!" Thali pointed up above her. "Hercules was a hero in Greek mythology. He fought the hydra, and the Nemean lion, and--"

"Oli? Li?"

"Let's just say he fought pretty much every monster in Greek mythology," Ben finished, putting an arm around his wife's waist, and smiling down at Oliver. "You find Mars yet, Josh?" He glanced back at Joshua, Vincent, and Kaleb, who were taking turns looking through the telescope.

"No," Josh replied, looking slightly disappointed. "We found something, though. We just don't know what it is."

"Think we found some unidentified planet," Kaleb added.

"I've never seen it before," Vinny agreed.

Thali kissed Ben on the cheek, placed Oliver in his lap, and stood. She made her way over to the three boys and bent to look in through the telescope. "Guys? That's the moon."

"So guys, what do you think I should be for Halloween?" Kaleb asked seriously, studying his brothers. Vincent had decided to go as a pirate; a costume that suited his personality, the younger spawn thought privately. Joshua on the other hand, was content with being what he always was; a prince.

His brothers glanced up from their newest model; a wooden plane. "I think you should be something steampunky," Josh said with a shrug. "Maybe a pilot. Devin's going as a cat. Howl's going as some kind of... I don't really know."

"Some kind of wizard, I bet," Vinny said, grinning. "You really should go as a steampunk pilot, Kaleb. Your wings would really fit the costume. It'd look really cool. You could come to a party with us, if you like," he gave his younger brother a smile. "Josh and I were planning on going to one with Howl and Loki. You could come."

"Yeah," Josh agreed with a nod. "Unless you want to go trick or treating with Devi and Leyla." He rose an eyebrow at his brother and smirked. Clearly trick or treating with their younger cousins was not an option.

"No, no," Kaleb grinned. "I'll go. Are Sammi and Reiya going too?" He briefly wondered what his sisters were going as.

"No," Vincent shook his head. "They're going to some dance." He made a face, as if he disapproved; though Josh and Kaleb both knew that if his girlfriend Elisabetta had asked him to go to a dance, he would have jumped at the chance.

"A dance, huh? Cool. Yeah, I think I'd rather go to the party."

"It's at Uncle Natvii's place. He says it's haunted enough for us," Josh explained. "Apparently he's got that one house in Halloween town no one's lived in for ages."

Dear Lissy,

Hey, it's Vincent. You haven't called me in a while, so I thought I'd write. I miss you! Could we meet up sometime? I found this restaurant a couple days ago and thought we could go together. My treat, of course. I think you'd like it, really; it has all sorts of pastas, salads and sandwiches. My personal favorite is the turkey melt; but I also like the spaggetti. The dessert there's also really good--though not nearly as good as my mom's. She says she'd like to see you again sometime.

Some kind of backwards tradition, I think. Isn't it supposed to be me that comes over to meet your family, since we're dating? I don't know, but if you'd like to come over--I'd be sure to make sure mom didn't tease you too much. She seems to really like the idea of us being together.

And I do, too, Lissy. I hope you agree with us. Maybe we could meet up before Christmas. I have something I want to give you--and that must sound strange, coming from me. It's something I really think you'll like.

I love you,

Vinny