The sound of the knife scratching against the plate as Father finished cutting up the next slice of meat filled the silence that had fell after everything had been said, and right now Leo was staring blankly at his own plate as he thought about tomorrow.
There was little doubt amongst us all that the youngest sibling here would manage to have the 'easiest' time getting his foot through the door leading to a better life, because where Giovanni was learned and hardworking, Leo was genuinely talented when it came to plants.
He could spot a dying or thriving plant far before most, he knew how to take care of them perfectly and understood what he needed to do to get the most from them, and he was also just very adept at figuring out all sorts of nifty things about them.
Like last year he had taken some of the first seeds of Rubble Potatoes we had and 'bred' them with another set of seeds, somehow merging the ever reliable potatoes with something that enhanced their flavor just a little bit.
Going from completely bland to having even just that little bit of flavor was so very incredible for our lives, and he had done it on a whim without any problem whatsoever, something that showed his talent for this sort of thing... or maybe I was just biased.
Either way I - and everyone else at the table - knew that he had a much higher chance than all of us to make something of himself, but that would only go so far if he managed to gain a little more confidence in himself, which I don't see why he couldn't be confident about his abilities...
And of the three of us I was the more confident and straightforward sibling, yet my own abilities were to just... hit things hard or carry heavy things for a long time, something that just wasn't all that impressive when compared to being good with plants or numbers...
But hey, everyone always needed someone who could hit things or carry things, so perhaps that was a 'hidden' blessing for me, though until I passed that Elder's test in a few weeks time then I wasn't that certain about anything just yet.
Though because of that Father 'tossed' the thick cut of meat straight onto my plate, drawing me from my thoughts and making me blink a few times in confusion when I saw that I had a slice of meat that was larger than what anyone else would be getting, including himself.
"Ye need it more than me, Izzy. With the coin we just made we can afford to give ya some extra food. Yer gonna need it for the Elder's visit."
His tone offered no avenue for discussing this, yet I still stubbornly tried to refuse the plate simply because he was the one who really deserved the nicer things, though all that did was earn a glare from the older man as he shook his head.
"Eat it, Izzy. When ya make it to the Sect and start makin' lots of coin ye can just buy me a steak or two in return."
My rebuttal died on my tongue as I just nodded stiffly, feeling the pressure even more now as I stared down at the juicy, perfectly cooked meat resting on my plate; when another small chunk slid onto it I blinked, wondering if I was seeing things only to realize Leo had cut off some of his to give to me.
"You need to get stronger, sis! I heard that most Seventh Foundation or higher people around twenty get taken into the Sect without much issue! You're close to that, right?"
His innocent smile and hopeful gaze made my heart jump a little in joy as I nodded, blinking back the tears and reaching over to ruffle his hair, ignoring the grumble he let out as he pouted at me because of it.
When Giovanni received his piece he did the same, giving me a small, lazy smile as he said "This'll just ensure you owe me a few meals when you're an Outer Disciple, Izzy.", and when I tried to reach over to do the same as I had to Leo he just easily swatted my hand away with that indulgent smile.
"Alright, enough... Let's eat, it's only getting colder. Izzy, dear, you'll make it into the Sect, I know you will. You're too talented not to, alright? All three of you, you're going to have a much better life than your Father and I had at your age... but we've been blessed with three talented children..."
Looking over us all with pride, Mother smiled before she turned towards her plate, cutting her meal down into smaller bites whilst idly glancing at all of us as we began to eat as well; Giovanni mimicked Mother, Leo started with his potatoes first, and then... well...
I didn't need to cut as much since I just sort of... devoured most of the meat the moment it was between my jaws, earning a glare from Mother that just made me smile and shrug before I returned to 'eating', focusing more on stuffing my belly than savoring the taste.
When Leo slid another piece over to me I didn't complain, and even Mother - as she continued to shake her head at me in exasperation - 'sneakily' placed a few of her pieces on my plate too, which I did actually savor compared to my original meal.
Nowhere near as refined as the others, but that didn't bother me one bit as I had my share and then some before washing it down with the nice herbal tea that Leo had brewed, enjoying the warmth of both the meal and the atmosphere as I looked around at my family.
I knew then that there wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to fail that test, because now I needed to pass it for more than just my own reasons; I needed to pass it for them, to repay them just a little and take care of them like they took care of me.
And funnily enough, one of the things that I needed to do to help secure my current Cultivation level was to sneak out of this house after dinner was finished and everyone was getting tucked into bed, though like always in this small house being quiet was almost completely impossible...