Countervail

Chapter 10

"Love you, I do. Stay here, I won't. Want to make it fun, don't trust anyone."

After every member was finished with their meal and had cleaned up accordingly, the family gathered around the dinner table once more to await Dakedei to start the meeting. He usually and patiently waited for each person's attention and interest before beginning, and tonight he seemed particularly amiable and patient. To Meo it didn't seem like too much of a meeting-type air around the area, but perhaps she was once more over thinking everything. She knew Dakedei well enough to know that he wouldn't be smiling and chatting so lightheartedly if there was something serious to announce. Not wanting to partake in any conversations, Meo sat quietly, simply listening to Kazuna ramble on about some new line of nail colors to Kiriaki. Dakedei's attention was mostly captured by some story Emilia was telling, and there was certainly no interrupting her. Not that anyone was in a rush to get to this meeting. They had had their share and then some, with some resulting in rather misfortunate occurrences, like fights and break-ups. It was rather difficult to reminisce on.

But Emilia's story seemed to end sooner than expected, for Dakedei called for attention and waited for everyone to settle down and hush. He was seated at the head of the table- which normally would've been Dragonov's seat- and was slumping in it comfortably. That was a particular thing Meo liked about Dakedei; he was laid back and placid all of the time. He ran a hand through his dark hair, blinking twice before beginning. At first the suddenly-serious atmosphere made Meo tense, but soon enough Dakedei was smiling again and it began to wear off. Slowly, but it was leaving.

"Drag suggested something to me the other day, and I was thinking about it," Dakedei started, tapping lightly on the armrests of the chair in an aimless manner. "It's about time we had another vacation."

Vacation? She thought to herself. She hadn't expected that--not in the least! Already her mind was racing with how to prepare- after all, the only "vacation" she had taken with such a large group before was a summer camp for her youth group years ago. Where on Earth would they go that would fit eighteen—or rather, seventeen people? She raised her eyebrows but said nothing as an excited murmur arose from the other members.

"And since we never agree on anything full-heartedly, we'll have to leave it to a vote." He looked around to each person. "Suggestions?"

"The beach!" Emilia chimed in first before anyone else could. "In Italia!" She added with a flourish of her native accent.

"We go there every time." Ryu cut in, grumbling.

"So?"

"Well, we will leave that option to the voting, alright?" Dakedei soothed them both.

Immediately other suggestions popped up and small arguments arose, to each which Dakedei attended to. Meo thought to herself, wondering why—if the Foxfire deal was so important—they would want to just pack up and go on vacation. Perhaps it was just a distraction. Maybe Dragonov just wanted everyone to forget about it for awhile and handle things himself. Not that there was anything to handle much anyways at the moment. She focused on the trim on the ceiling, tuning out the entire conversation and getting lost in her own thoughts. She hated to let herself to get so distracted, but things had just been so wound up that she had no interest in serious matters. Well, if this counted as serious.

She was nudged in the arm by an elbow, and her attention snapped to. She hadn't noticed Nitrous sitting next to her, but he, along with the rest of the family, was staring at her. It was his elbow that had met her arm, and he was giving her his usual blank stare. She immediately searched for Dakedei's gaze, who was smiling kindly at her. "What?"

"What's your vote, Meo?" he responded.

She gave a light giggle in embarrassment. "What are the choices?"