«Here it is!» Nana pointed to the page «It says, er, er... the LORD brought a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God, from the belly of the fish and said, 'I cried out to the LORD out of my distress, and he answered me; I cried out from the depths of Sheol, and you heard my voice. You cast me into the abyss, into the heart of the sea; the flood surrounded me, and all your waves and all your billows passed over me... this must be the fish, right?»

«But it's just called 'fish'» Martine complained «You can't call the people of Sangreal fish, there are too many of them in the ocean»

«It says 'a great fish'» Nana swept her eyebrows with a wink «It wouldn't be bad if they were called Great Fish»

«And could it be... could it be this?» Seraphin turned his phone toward the others, showing them a mosaic depicting a creature, a long, red-crested fish, like a regaleco, swallowing a naked man whose feet were held by another man on a boat»

«Well, it's something that's eating a person» Nana admitted, squinting to see better «But what is it?» 

«This is in Italy, in the Basilica of Aquileia. And that little butt» Seraphin pointed with his pinky to the person protruding from the fish's mouth «Is Jonah»

«So that's the 'big fish' there»

«Yeah, it's a pistrix. The page tells me pistrices were used to indicate danger and fear of the unknown on maps, so...».

Sangreal nodded solemnly.

«Sea monsters» He said «They call us that»

«Wow» Nana closed the Bible with a thud «Like sea monsters. I don't know if that's rude or absolutely awesome»

«We're sea monsters» Sangreal shrugged «We've never been called anything that didn't emphasize that. Maybe that's why we prefer not to have names»

«Wow» Nana repeated. Marti and Celestine exchanged a look.

Seraphin pursed his lips, displeased. «Most prejudice is a sign of great ignorance. Here, my friend, we believe science»

«And what does science tell you?» asked Sangreal, with an almost challenging smile

«That they also called your little oarfish brothers, my favorite fish, sea monsters, and wrongly so, too. In fact, the image we know of pistrici probably comes from them, even if the name seems connected to the ancient name for sawfish, prístis...» 

«He just read it on the Internet» Marti whispered playfully, raising an arm to gently ruffle his hair

«He never stops studying» Sangreal added

«It was said» the researcher continued with a chuckle, intertwining his fingers with his sister's to stop her «that these poor pistrix would bring about the apocalypse. Well, then the apocalypse happened, and they had nothing to do with it»

«But you have no proof of that» the other objected, amused

«They are beautiful fish, but I doubt they have the strength to exterminate the false gods. They don't even seem like much troublemakers» Seraphin smiled «I know very little about you, but I'll need more solid proof to think the oarfish or your people are monsters, Sangreal»

Sangreal weighed his words «Do you want proof?»

«No, no... that's not quite what I meant» Seraphin sounded embarrassed «I don't know, do you have something you want to show me?»

«Hm. I don't think so»

«Fine, then»

«But eat the chips» Nana insisted

«Yes, I eat the chips» Sangreal agreed, leaning over to take another from the bowl «They're so dry... and, you like chips?»

«Of course. Don't you like them like that? Do you want some kind of sauce?».

The table was soon occupied by a tray with small bowls filled with various condiments: guacamole, yogurt sauce, mayonnaise, salsa rosa, "panormica," a couple of more difficult to identify. The "panormica" was a dubious sauce, which changed composition every week, prepared in shifts by the Panorme sisters by mixing the leftovers from other sauces and ingredients of their choice. Various drinks were also brought to accompany it all, but nothing alcoholic in sight.

Sangreal seemed both curious and wary of all the variety, holding his potato chip aloft while deciding what to try first. He didn't comment on the lack of alcohol.

«I like mayonnaise» He declared

«Me too» Marti agreed «High five from a distance. Do this, raise your hand. There!».

Smelling that delicious smell, the small figure of a black animal emerged from under a piece of furniture and began to approach, uncertainly, one step in front of the other. It stopped a short distance away, its large green-yellow eyes wide.

«Fili» Seraphin called sweetly «Fili, come meet our guest».

The animal trilled questioningly.

«Hmbbr?»

«You have pets» Sangreal observed, delighted

«Yes, more than one! She's our cat, her name is Fili»

«From Filiform» Martine clarified «Because look at her, all eyes and long feet. And it's not that she doesn't eat well, she's just like that» 

«Ah yes, I know something similar» the man replied affectionately «My pet is like that too, he has the build of a malnourished child. He also has eyes that are a very similar color to your Filiform»

«What animal is it?»

«Oh, I'm afraid it's not very conventional. It's a... um, a fish»

Seraphin's eyes lit up.

Marti shook her head. «Sorry, Sangreal, I think you'll be getting Seraphin's aquarium tour by the end of the night»

«You have nothing to be sorry about. I'd be happy»

«So? What fish is it?»

«It's a tube»

«A what?».

While they were distracted, Fili plucked up courage and jumped onto the table to eat all the chips. Celestine had to quickly grab her and lift her away from her bowl, while she stretched like a puppet to try and lick the sauces.

«You're a cat. A carnivore. Why do you want our carbs?»

«Wuyaou» Fili complained

«Go to the room of shame until we're finished eating».

Amidst animated chatter, bottles were opened, glasses filled, bowls emptied. Already resigned to her fate and remembering she had her own food to return to, Fili meowed twice and then gave up.

«So, Sangreal» Marti raised her eyebrows, smiling mischievously «Want to join us for a dance?»

«Hm» the man took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his lips «Like I said, I'm not a good dancer, I'd rather not. But please, if this is part of how you normally celebrate, don't stop because of me»

«Fine. Someone keep him company, come on!»

«I'll stay» Seraphin struck a flamenco dancer pose and winked, making his sisters giggle «I'm sacrificing my dance performance for tonight».

Sangreal frowned. «You don't need to stay for me, go dance»

«I'm fine»

«No, no, it's fine» Seraphin lowered his voice, his tone conspiratorial «I don't feel like dancing right after eating snacks and sauces, I'd rather stay on the couch for a moment»

«Have you studied dancing too?» Sangreal inquired

«Unfortunately, no. Not yet»

«You want to study also this? You're a marine biologist» It didn't sound like a reproach, but rather polite disbelief.

«In fact, I haven't taken lessons and I'm not very coordinated, but!» He fixed his forelock with a dramatic gesture, smiling «Despite my natural grace, if you had competed against the Panorme sisters, I wouldn't have been your enemy tonight. No one has Ionia's lethal precision in dancing»

«I need to go to the bathroom for a moment» Ionia announced, standing up.

«Okay, then you'd be safe»

«Quick, we'll teach you how to dance before she gets back!» Nana urged, and laughed loudly while covering her mouth with her hand «Let’s start with something we don’t need to know anything about to dance, come on. Dance with us»

«I’m really afraid I can’t accept. Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in your group activity. I know it’s a very kind gesture of you and I appreciate it… but I think it’s best for me not to take part».

Seraphin hadn’t missed how Sangreal stood as little as possible, combined with the tiredness he’d complained of at the Alkahest Tower and his preoccupation with which chair was most comfortable for something as simple as getting up. Either he was truly lazy, or there was something wrong with his legs.

«Nana, leave Sangreal alone» Her brother urged her.

Nana shrugged and crouched in front of the speakers to change the music, putting on something more suitable for the Blender.

The Blender, or blender dance, was a group dance that became very popular in those years because it was both a game and a dance, and because it was very easy to learn, even when the members of the groups had different skill levels or had never met before.

The Panorme sisters were a little surprised to discover that Sangreal didn't know the Blender, but not too much: it was the type of dance you could easily find at fairs and festivals around the large panormo, but Sangreal had already mentioned that he had a different cultural background, and it was certainly not a dance common at the high-society parties he attended with the president.

The idea was that the Blender music would start slowly. The group would form a circle and walk in circles; one at a time and in order, the dancers would spin around and could dance however they liked when it wasn't their turn, always continuing to move in a circle. The further the game progressed, the faster it got, and dancers who stopped walking, dancing, or failed to pirouette on their turn were eliminated (in game terminology, they were blended), handing victory to the last person standing.

Seraphin went to open the door to the "room of shame" and grab some cheesecakes, making sure Fili jumped into his lap when he returned to sit next to Sangreal.

«Of course, Nana chooses the nausea dance after eating» He laughed. He poured a handful of cheesecakes into his hand and held out a clenched fist to Sangreal «Want to give Fili a couple? You'll be friends in no time, she's a big eater»

«Thank you» Sangreal cupped his hands, accepting the treats that were dropped into his palms «The same technique would work with my little tubefish. In some ways, they're surprisingly similar»

«You know, I still haven't quite figured out what a tubefish is? Do you happen to remember its scientific name?«

«I can't tell you right now, sorry. I'm not like you. I'll try to find out».