[center][color=darkcyan][h1]Emile[/h1][/color]

[img]http://65.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmjw70IWxH1qg0puro1_500.gif[/img][/center]

It took a few minutes of awkwardly hovering in the doorway before Emile decided to see what was going on in the rest of the house. Hopefully, he'd happen upon one of his favourite siblings - Nat, or Art, or one of his sisters. Although seeing Esi would be awkward, to say the least. If she even arrived. They hadn't exactly talked since [i]that[/i] last holiday, and it was perfectly probable that she could be lying comatose over some random person's hotel room couch... It made him a little sad, and the corners of his mouth drooped down as he walked.

His thoughts were interrupted by a maid, who'd caught his eye and hurried over. The servants of the house had never been as scared of him as they'd been of some other members. He tilted his head slightly at her, knowing already what she was going to say. And as she did, his heart sunk slightly in his chest. He hadn't even gotten the chance to greet anyone yet, and now he was being summoned to the den. Emile smiled in that lopsided way he usually did at news like this, one corner of his mouth rising, closed-mouth. "Thanks," he murmured, changing direction toward his destination. His tongue flicked out between his teeth, wetting his lips nervously.

Hopefully they wouldn't ask him [i]too[/i] many questions about his course. It was still in the medical stream, so there was that. It would have been so much easier if he'd just told the truth from the start, but... He had a terrible habit of lying to avoid conflict. Call it an instinct for self preservation. He paused just outside the room, taking a moment to just [i]breathe.[/i] He could do this. They were just his parents. What could they do? [i]Other than hurt you,[/i] a little voice whispered, but he buried it and pushed open the door.

"Hi Mom, and Dad," he greeted them, smiling - this time, more normally. Okay, so he was sort of scared (especially since he was the first here) and his heart was beating faster than he'd like, but it had been a while. And... maybe he wanted a better relationship with them. Something about the heart growing fonder with distance. Emile hesitated for a moment, before moving toward the table. There were a few options here - he could sit on his father's left (definitely not), far away from them both (awkward), or next to his mother. Emile was a sensitive guy; he didn't want to hurt her. To be honest, gatherings like this were extremely uncommon. What if they had bad news?

And so, with a nervous licking of his lips again, Emile drew out the chair next to Cassiopeia. He gave both of them another good-natured smile, a blink of his eyes, and he took his seat. Oops. Should he have hugged her? Shaked his hand? At least he knew not to hug Lee. [i]You can get through this.[/i] What to say? [color=darkcyan]"Sure is storming out there. Crazy!"[/color] he commented, gesturing vaguely to the window. The weather was always a safe bet.