Dinner
/ˈdinər/
Noun
1. the main meal of the day, taken either midday or in the evening
“Concept: Your hand on my leg under the dinner table.”

Witches were very territorial. There wasn’t any reason for it anymore, it wasn’t like they were fighting for resources now. Keeping humans as servants had been outlawed for more than a few centuries, and familiars weren’t hard to come by. It was simply engraved in their DNA. This was a huge problem in bigger cities, where many witches lived together. New Orleans for example? They had the highest crime rates among witches than any other place in America. It was one of the reasons Keir’s family had moved away from Miami, a smaller town meant a quieter and more peaceful life. This wasn’t their territory though. The Erebus family had been here for centuries, and the Delaney’s were technically intruders.

It was no surprise when Ciaran Erebus requested a formal dinner with his family after the graveyard incident. His family was no stranger to these types of things, but they were usually the hosts. So, in their traditional robes, his family quietly rode in his dad’s 2019 Acura RDX. Reid was there too, but only because it was required since he would be considered part of their household until he went back home.

His mother and himself were in deep green robes to signal that they were Naturalists, with a sapling on the sleeves to show that they specialized in plant manipulation. When Keir had put on his robe today, the sapling on his left sleeve disappeared, a storm cloud taking its place. They were enchanted to show their main powers, and now Keir officially fit in the ‘Atmokinesis’ category. His father’s robes had the same symbols, but his was a deep red showing that he was a member of the Coterie. Reid’s robes were the same color, with all-seeing eyes for his symbols. He’d been incredibly quiet since he’d woken up Saturday afternoon, and refused to talk about what he’d seen during Silas’s attack. Whatever it was had scared him, and Keir still wanted to beat the snot out the of the brat.

Keir felt silly as he picked at a loose string in the robe, but it would be disrespectful not to wear them. These dinners were less about socializing and more about sizing up competition and negotiating peace. These made it so that no one could hide their abilities and blindside the others.

They pulled up to the now familiar house, and all piled out of the car. His parents were incredibly tense as was Reid. None of them knew that Keir even knew anything about the family, as he had never mentioned them. His parents didn’t necessarily have a problem with Necromancers, but they didn’t exactly want their son being friends with them.

It didn’t take long for the door open, revealing Ciaran. He was as tall and as intimidating as ever, but Keir wasn’t particularly worried about this dinner. The Necromancer didn’t seem particularly benevolent, but more like a spider minding its own business. Creepy to look at, but as long as you left it and its web alone, it wouldn’t try to bite you.

“Please come inside.” He said, and Keir realized that they were walking right into his web. Maybe the spider analogy wasn’t the best way to describe him. A bear maybe? But bears were probably the most cuddly apex predator there was? They didn’t really fall in the creepy category.

Michael, Nyx, and Silas were standing in the foyer, waiting for everyone to be introduced. They were all in black robes, with skull and cross bone symbols on their sleeves, except for Michael. He was a human and was probably only wearing the robes to show that he was apart of the family. It occurred to Keir then that Michael must be married to Ciaran, which was a really weird thought.

“Keir! It’s so good to see you again!” Michael rushed forward, presumably to hug him, but fortunately Ciaran stopped him. “Dear…”

“Wait, how do you know our son?” His dad asked, looking incredibly tense. Keir wondered if now would be a good time to learn how to teleport.

“I am under the assumption that our sons are friends. I found them together in my cemetery the other night. You did not know?” Ciaran asked, and moved his scary, sclera filled eyes toward him. Keir wondered if Nyx and Silas’s eyes were like his too, and they just had enchantments to make their eyes appear normal.

“Keir and I aren’t just friends, Dad. We’re dating.” Nyx cut in, and Keir’s eyes just about bugged out of his head.

“Is this true, Keir?” his heard his mother saying, concern clear as day in her voice. Keir was too busy looking at a smirking Nyx. The blond quirked an eyebrow, almost challenging him to answer.

“Yes, we are.” Keir said, and it was Nyx’s turn to be surprised.

Dinner could have been worse.

Everyone was introduced, Ciaran and his dad seemed to get along fine. Whatever they were talking about was too boring for Keir to listen in on. His mom and Michael were talking about kale recipes, and Silas had actually apologized to Reid. Reid had politely accepted, and now they were having an innocent conversation about Tarot cards.

“So, Nyx,” Keir began as he stuck a piece of broccoli in his mouth. Michael had made an entirely vegetarian meal for his family, which was really thoughtful, “Since you’re my boyfriend now, when are you going to take me on a date?”

Nyx promptly choked on his drink, making Keir laugh. Teasing him instead of the other way around was a nice change of pace. “Like, for real?”

“Yeah. Show me the best places to go in this boring town.”