Selena stood up immediately and moved to the kitchen to give them space. Rosa slowly sat down and locked her gaze entirely on Eren before reaching across the table to grab a piece of bread from Lyra got here yesterday before Eren came home. She was just looking at them without a single word.
A heavy silence hung over the room for a minute until Emily finally broke it.
"There's an old tradition after a bonding ceremony," Emily's voice softened as she wrapped both hands around her warm cup. "The couple plants a sapling together near the totem."
Eren looked at her. "We're planting a tree?"
"It's not just a tree, silly." She looked out the window. "It grows with the bond. If the bond is strong the tree grows fast. If the bond breaks the tree dies. My parents' tree for example, is the shortest one in the garden row in this area. It shows the love between partners and my folks didn't have any apparently."
