When Chico opened the door, he surely didn't expect to find what he saw in front of him. The living room table was covered in books and sheets, and behind it there was Irissa, explaining something to Banshee who was stirring something smelling awfully good in the biggest pot they had. Both the girls turned towards the door when they heard it opening and the reactions were quite different.

«Oh hi, River! What are you doing here?» Irissa chimed waving happily.

«Irissa, darling, this is a lucky surprise!» chirped River with a charming smile.

«Chico whatever the fucking hell?» shouted Banshee, pointing her wooden spoon towards the giant at the entrance.

«Woah woah que no cunda el pánico Banshee! He comes in peace! What is she doing here?» rebuffed Chico, who had instinctively taken a step sideways to be able to run out the door at the first sign that Irissa could go crazy again.

«She's helping me study Enhance Worsen! What's he doing here?»

«He needed to talk to us! What's your problem now? He's the jefe's brother, I thought you went along fine!»

«We kinda did until he went on flapping that fecking mouth o' his!» she flipped, reaching for a wooden spoon. River raised his hands.

«Woah! What would I have done now? I already tried to ask you on the phone!» he said, defensively. «I did nothing wrong, and I don't remember you being particularly unhappy during the whole...»

«Ye told people!»

«Woah! Told people about what? You didn't tell me anything!» Irissa intervened, with her unquenchable thirst for juicy gossips.

Banshee turned towards the girl with her eyes wide open.

«He didn't?»

«Nope! I didn't! A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.» smirked River with an angelic expression.

«The holy bloody fuck you don't kiss and tell!» she yelled, her face so red her freckles had disappeared. «The Chief chewed my head off!»

River laughed merrily and then walked towards her. Banshee got in a fighting stance and Irissa cautiously left the table to reach the sofa. Chico remained near the door, checking her movements with the corner of his eye. But the teenager was polarized on the obviously excessive drama going on.

«Aw come on. It was an innocent bro-bragging, I didn't tell anyone else, not even Irissa, you see? Come on, let's just hug and make peace, shall we?» he offered, smiling dashingly at his best. «Plus.» in his eyes passed a strange light. «I bet that was a very interesting conversation, wasn't it?»

Banshee threw the spoon, he dodged it.

«Leave me alone, or you end up in the stew!» she threatened. River laughed again and tried to grab her. She managed to dodge the first two arms and started to understand there was something strange going on when she realizes she had been dodging way more than two arms. Everyone's favorite polymorph had sprouted four more arms per side and was trying to grab her like a giant octopus.

Right in the middle of the fight, the doorbell rang.

«Yes?» Chico went to the intercom.

«Are you, group of tragicomic oxygen-waste, at home?» asked a very familiar voice, who made Chico quite glad that their door phone wasn't on speaker.

«Yeah, we are, is there a problem?»

«I need to talk with you all about the pressing matter of the concert, and I thought this was a good occasion to indulge in such an event.»

«Yep. This is just the right evening to indulge. You couldn't have chosen better. I'll buzz you in.» Chico smirked, anticipating the incoming scene.

«No need.» were the last words on the door phone.

Then Garaham appeared right in the center of the room.

To the scene of River grappling Banshee with his eight arms right in front of the stove.

Chico reached Irissa on the couch and sat beside her, now feeling better with two Enforcers in the room.

«Chief?»

«Oh, brother! I didn't know you hanged out around here!» smiled River, containing Banshee's hysterical squirming in his arms.

Garaham stood perfectly still for some instants. Then he took in a deep breath, assessing the situation. Politely nodded towards Irissa. Shot a murderous glare towards River and Banshee. Then talked to the only person there who could answer.

«What. Is. Happening.»

«Irissa's here to help Banshee study, River wanted to talk with us, then they started doing that...» Chico summarized, shrugging with a peaceful smile. «... then you arrived. What an eventful day!»

Garaham was regretting the instant he chose to try this folly. He had always dodged any kind of reunion with his underlings, but with the transfer coming in just in a few days and the trap to plan...

Apparently, he had the worst timing.

Hadn't he always.

«River let me go!»

River laughed and let her go.

She tried to recompose herself.

Having Garaham in front of her was doing nothing for her already shaken nerves. If finding out that River hadn't really told anyone else about them, not even his own Coven, had calmed her down a bit, she was still raw about what had happened three days before.

Garaham had disappeared and hadn't even called her, or them all, to discuss the upcoming concert, he had dropped from the face of the Earth itself. She was angry at him, as well. But now that he was there, in front of her, it was increasingly difficult to ignore the little voice that was happily jumping around just because she could finally see him again.

So, there they were. The two brothers and her. And her very poor life's decisions.

That kind of situation would have never been solved by anger.

They needed a parlay.

«So, Chief, it's almost dinnertime. If you want to stay then we'll all... talk.»

«Thanks, but I didn't call before coming, and I don't want to impose on your dinner plans. We can just send the others home, and just plan, and I'll be out of your hair in a jiffy.» he replied.

«Are ye kidding? There's enough stew for everyone here! Let's all eat now, we'll have time to plan later.» she said, pointing her hand towards the bubbling pot that was sending out a mouthwatering smell.

«Everyone? You mean we can stay for dinner as well?» asked River, with the deepest of hope in his voice. «It's been some time since I ate homecooked meals. Well, since you were so kind as to bring some to me.» he blatantly ignored Banshee's signals to shut up.

«You brought my brother homecooked meals?» the low growl coming from Garaham made the floor tremble. Everyone tried to ignore the sound of Chico warming up popcorn in the microwave.

«That's how I present meself to people. And, aye, I don't let people leave me home hungry. So, we can all eat together or ye can leave now and we'll see ye tomorrow in your office.» she plainly challenged him, and they exchanged a glare for some seconds.

Garaham looked her in her eyes, flaming with his usual inner rage. Then said nothing, turned his back and took place at the table, arms and legs crossed. Chico went to call Vopros, as Irissa started to pack up books and notes. River, in a rush of feeling helpful, put his eight arms at good use, setting the table with the weirdest and more mismatched service of plates and cutlery Garaham had ever seen. There was no plate of the same color, size, shape, or a fork like another. The napkins were clearly obtained from old curtains and the glasses varied from soda glasses to shot glasses. Those, particularly, set in a row right in front of Vopros's place.

Banshee put her chair right between River and Garaham. Chico took his usual place, and Irissa insisted to sit beside Vopros, who was quite puzzled at the whole situation but, as always, didn't comment.

Banshee served the stew in more than generous portions. It was a strange mass of vegetables and various kinds of meats, with a thick gravy and a tempting smell who had impregnated the entire room. Garaham played with it for a while. How could, in the name of everything, such a truck-driver void of any grace be ever able to cook...

... the most amazing stew he had ever eaten.

He looked at her sideways, she was laughing about something Irissa was telling.

With the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of River's hand which, as naturally as a summer breeze, was slowly crawling to end up on Banshee's shoulder. He took advantage of the cover given by the Banshee's back to slap him bluntly. River shook his hand for the impact, then retreated. And tried again some seconds after. To the same result. The amazing fact was they managed to continue this little hand war while eating with perfect manners.

Irissa bludgeoned Vopros with questions about Russia, to the general surprise of everyone, especially Vopros's himself, who consumed row after row of vodka shots to try to answer in the most polite manner as possible.

«Why don't ye tell us about the farm?» Banshee intervened at a certain point, to take the edge off Vopros. Garaham, at his third helping of stew, blocked his fork mid-air and looked at her with eyes as wide as saucers.

«And how on the earth would you know about the farm?» hissed Garaham, going back to his serious and quite pissed self.

«She looked at your albums when you sent us in the garaje.» Chico revealed. Banshee looked at him as if she wanted to kill him.

«Aye aye, I admit it.» there was no point in denying, especially now that she didn't really have anything to lose anyway. «Strange though, I never saw River in your family photos, the one at the farm where you are surrounded by all those anim-»

«That was our home, and he was the animals. All of them. One new for every family photo.» Gaharam grunted while River laughed heartily.

«Ah, good memories those. Our grandparents have a farm, anyway, we used to spend our summers there. You never told them?»

«Those were the worst summers of my life.» grumbled Garaham, munching some stew.

«Aw, come on! Just because you kept spending them reading all the time instead of running around some! No wonder you've always been so white and pale and sickish!» River made fun of him with what really looked, brotherly love. «Come on! You never told them about our summers? Oh, tell them about the chair!»