Lavi's luck was good so far in his game of Senet with Tamiz. He'd managed to land on some squares which helped his progress in the game and completely avoided the "pit of death" square which causes the player to automatically lose the game. A dangerous square that was.

Tamiz played by the oldest form of the rules, not the modern interpretations. For most of the world, those rules had been lost, only interpretations remained. Yet Tamiz knew the traditional rules. Perhaps it was something which carried within his Noah memory. A strange thing to remember, yet for a form of justice, a game about destiny and eternal justice seemed fitting.

The game was really the first opportunity Lavi had to observe Tamiz. His mannerisms were a bit strange, rather stiff at times and he had a strong tendency to fold his arms while waiting his turn. Tamiz also tended to feel the bumps placed on the edges of the throwing sticks, Senet's form of dice, which indicated how many spaces to move. Lavi was quite certain that Tamiz was at least partially blind, though the extent he didn't know. Most of Lavi's questions were met with silence or "In time..."

"Might I interrupt you two for a moment?"

Lavi glanced up to find Cyril's frail wife, Trisha, asking the question. Honestly, Lavi hadn't expected to see Trisha any time soon. Her health had taken a turn for the worse, but it seemed she had gotten better, standing completely on her own. It was a rather quick recovery, one which had Lavi a might suspicious. She seemed still completely herself, perfectly human. Perhaps the doctors had found a new remedy to use.

"The tale is complete," Tamiz replied, placing his piece on the divine square, effectively winning the game. Lavi hadn't been far behind, trailing Tamiz's piece the entire game.

Trisha tilted her head for a moment, pondering what exactly Tamiz had meant, then brushed it off as some part of the game. "I've set out more tea and some snacks over in the team room. Cyril will soon be home with a surprise."

...

Cyril's surprises were always odd at best. Lavi sat in the tea room idly wondering what sort of thing Cyril had in mind. It had to be a human thing as Trisha had joined him and Tamiz in room. Lavi ate cookies with his fingers like an uncultured heathen, shedding crumbs about the place instead of attempting to catch them in a napkin, while the other two had taken to drinking tea. Neither seemed to concern themselves with Lavi's methods, and Trisha simply passed it off as some foreign mannerism.

In the distance, the door opened, and the big white dog had begun to bark wildly and excitedly. Lavi glanced up to see Rhode and Tyki enter, formally dressed though looking a bit weathered. The two had been caring for the Earl for the past week, but they'd been on an aside mission, invading the Order secretly and fighting an ancient villain, the Apocryphos. Surely they'd fill Lavi in later, but for now, it was time for formalities.

Rhode threw herself around Lavi's shoulders, excitedly snuggling up next to him. "I have an adventure to tell you later~" she whispered to him, offering Lavi somewhat of a sly grin. Lavi could only guess that Rhode and Tyki had been up to something this past week, something big and important. Cyril had even been absent, as of late, probably up to Noah business as well.

Tyki soon followed, taking a seat next to Trisha. He pulled off his hat and gloves, placing them on the table before grabbing himself a cup of tea. Laying on the charm, he struck up a conversation with Trisha about particularly pointless subjects, like how the dog was or what sort of fruit was in season right now. Lavi didn't particularly care what they were discussing, though he listened to them chatter on. He didn't get to hear Trisha that often, so it was, in a way, interesting to listen to her speak so incredibly formally and softly.

It wasn't long before the front door opened again. The dog barked wildly and excitedly, and the maids bustled about, preparing for something. Someone was coming to visit, though they didn't seem particularly pleased about the arrival. Lavi caught the word filthy a few times.

Cyril entered the room alone, looking particularly pleased. He leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. She blushed profusely, pleased with the affection. Cyril, however, seemed to be going through the expected motions, much like Lavi did at parties. Cyril was a good actor, surrounding himself with a large family and even a human job, all for the thrill of doing so. Just because, really. Trisha ate it up, believing his actions to be completely genuine.

"I have a surprise for you all!" Cyril announced in a rather sing-song tone. Lavi couldn't quite tell if that was genuine excitement or him playing the role again. "One I think you'll enjoy a lot, Trisha, darling~" Cyril took a seat next to Trisha as she poured him a cup of tea.

"Oh wonderful," Trisha smiled. Her husband always had such lovely surprises, as rare as they were.

"What sort of surprise is it, Papa?" Rhode asked, laying on the charm. She knew how to play the game and it always worked on Cyril, causing him to fawn over her endlessly as he smothered her with attention.

"It'll be here soon," Cyril replied. "I promise!"

And sure enough, a few minutes later, a servant walked into the room and whispered something to Cyril. He left with her only to return a moment later, something behind his back. "Everyone," he announced in a happy, sing-song voice, "I'd like you to meet the newest addition to our happy little family. This is Wesley."

Wesley emerged from behind Cyril with a rather flat expression, seemingly indifferent to the situation. He wasn't very tall with messy dirty blond hair and pale skin. He smelled of an offensive amount of fruity bath soap.

Trisha was immediately infatuated and nearly leapt from the couch to hug and smother the boy with affection. Rhode seemed rather excited over the news. Tyki, however, nearly choked on his biscuit. Lavi was surprised by Tyki's reaction, and began to scrutinize this 'Wesley' character. Then it hit him. That hair, that flat expression, those very observant eyes.

Lavi nearly dropped his teacup. This wasn't some ordinary kid Cyril had adopted off the street. Wesley was Wisely.

…

Author's notes:

A play on the 4koma omake in one of the volumes where the Earl sends Wisely to live with Cyril and they joke that he's just another hobo in the family. I've given Wisely a human name. I imagine the Earl picked that name to be funny. Haha.