"Yo boys."
Zeke waved as he appeared in the sitting room.
A beat. He looked around at the empty space.
"Oh. No one's here."
"BOYS!!!"
He amplified his voice with mana, the word bouncing off every wall in the house with unnecessary force.
"Why are you shouting!"
Anton's voice came from under the table. His body followed shortly after, unfolding from beneath it with the unhurried dignity of someone who had made a considered choice about where to sleep and was not embarrassed by it. He stood, stuck a finger in his ear, and wiggled it.
"What are you doing under the table?"
"It's comfy. What's your business? Why were you shouting — you woke me."
"Where are the rest of the boys?"
"There are more than boys in this house."
Yeon's voice drifted down from the stairs before she did. Aaron appeared a step behind her.
"Oh. Zeke's back."
"Your reading adventure has ended?"
