He was in the kitchen, humming to some hymn he no longer remembered the words to, meticulously preparing dinner. His parents were coming over—along with some of their other friends who still hadn’t met Rhenei. It had been a while since he had that many guests over, and he found the best way to reassure his parents was to show them how capable he was of doing things on his own. Though that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate Rhenei’s help.

“I came back with the stuff you wanted!” she said cheerfully.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. “Thanks. Set it right over there, I’ll get to it in a minute.”

“Is there something else I can do?”

“Have you set up everything?”

“Yep! Exactly like you told me to.”

“Then all you have to do is relax for a little while. My parents are probably going to come a little earlier than the rest—maybe in another half hour or so. I’m almost done with this part and the rest is kind of hard to get right without a lot of practice…”

She looked like she might’ve tried protesting, for a moment, before there was a knock on the door. She eagerly darted to get it.

At that moment, he didn’t think anything special of it. His parents must’ve just come a lot earlier than usual. Or, that’s what he thought, until he realized that Rhenei was not giving them a warm welcome.

“Who are you?” she asked, sounding more curious than afraid. Calum slowly moved away from what he was preparing to head towards the front door.

Then came two other familiar voices, which made him relieved, but also mildly annoyed.

“It doesn’t concern you,” the first, Jun, declared without hesitation.

“We’re friends of Calum’s!” the second, Bottle, said almost at the same time.

Calum forced a smile when he came out of view. “Ah, you two! Good afternoon, it’s… great that you decided to stop by.”

“Calum, who are they?” Rhenei asked, looking between him and the other two.

“They’re Jun and Bottle. Something like acquaintances from work.” It took everything in him to try to act like he actually wanted to see them. “What brings the two of you here, unannounced?”

“Our… ‘work’ does not wait for your convenience,” Jun remarked simply.

Bottle wandered inside and right to Rhenei. “Who’s this cutie? Another friend of yours? I thought all your friends were those older people your parents spent time with! Didn’t realize you had one younger than that.”

“That’s Rhenei,” Calum explained, “she’s staying with me for a couple of years. It’s nothing that concerns you.”

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Jun shook their head. “Not until it interferes with your work. You already need to comply with the whims of those parents of yours. Now you’ve let someone into your home, too?”

“Am I supposed to understand what you’re talking about..?” Rhenei etched a bit closer to Calum to mumble, “Kalleira doesn’t like them…”

“The instructions for dinner are on the counter,” he said, only partially acknowledging that it half solved both problems. “Can you finish it up for me, while I talk with these two?”

She gave a more nervous nod and left.

Calum’s smile dropped the moment he was assured Rhenei wouldn’t see it. He could have no guarantee that Kalleira wasn’t watching—but it was better to act like she wasn’t, and not keep everything hidden.

Still, he gave his warning with a sigh: “She has a strong connection to a spirit. Her parents weren’t all that nice to her, so she’s staying with me until she’s old enough to be on her own.” It might’ve just seemed like some more background information. To the three of them, though, it told them not to mention anything that could raise more questions than what can easily be answered.

He dropped his tone even lower, with that out of the way, to say, “Now, care to explain why you’ve come? You can’t just randomly show up at my house. I’m not like most of you. I didn’t do this because I didn’t have anywhere else to go—unlike you, I still have a life and family.”

“Our tasks are urgent and cannot wait for you. Abandon the others.” Jun casually sat down. “It needs to happen eventually. Sooner or later they’re going to realize you’ve stayed the same over the years.”

“Give him a break,” Bottle mumbled, flopping down beside Jun. “He’s like a baby compared to the two of us! He’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Let’s try this again. Why are you here?” Calum asked.

“Why else? Vaso requires you.” Jun looked around, undoubtedly noting the set table and the smaller decorations he only set up for guests. “Though it seems you’re going to be busy.”

“My parents and their friends are coming over. I’ll talk with Vaso myself once this is all over, but I can’t cancel on them now.”

Jun did not move. “Well, then I suppose we’re going to have to stay for a little while longer. I can speak with your parents personally about the importance of ensuring that you are ready to receive all orders from your… employer. These are important matters we’re dealing with. World-altering ones.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. But I can’t have you talking to my parents—I’ll try talking to them about it myself. If this isn’t something that can be solved in an hour or so, then can you wait in town? I’ll send a note when it’s over.”

Bottle pouted. “I wanted to have a party with Calum’s parents!”

Calum was already trying—and failing, mostly—to motion them up and out of his house. “They’re definitely not going to want to have a party with you. This isn’t even a party. It’s just like a boring adult conversation, except it lasts a couple of hours over dinner. Seriously, most of it is going to be my mother worrying about me. The same mother that’s probably going to be coming soon, so do you think you can leave?”

Jun slowly got up, giving him a cold glare. “I suppose we can wait for you… this time. Just remember—”

“One day I’m going to have to choose between my life here and my duty as a Messenger,” Calum finished. “I know.”

They let out a chuckle. “Yes, it seems so.” They casually walked out, Bottle scrambling to follow them.

Calum was too grateful that they were gone to wonder what might’ve needed the Messengers of the Creator, Water, and Earth in one place. He simply decided that was a thought for later, and went back to the kitchen to help Rhenei.