By the time Mirabel's room was finished he was a bit more comfortable talking to the rest of his family. It, perhaps, might have been pushed along by Felix's new game called "cat and rat" which was simply a game of hide-and-seek that Bruno had no idea he was included in. The man could be big and obnoxious and loud but he was also quiet, inexplicably happy and disarming, and was fairly good at figuring people out. He was married to Pepa after all and, as such, he was also very good at alleviating a person's anxieties. He knew when to push, when to let off, and when to drag someone, kicking and screaming, into the light of day. When it came to Bruno, usually it became the latter option as the soothsayer had never really been one to voluntarily step out of his comfort zone, even before he spent ten years living in complete isolation. Felix liked to bother Bruno because it helped assure him that Bruno was back and that he was here to stay.

There was always the worry that Bruno would run off again, that he would leave because he didn't feel comfortable, didn't feel safe, around them and that hurt Felix more than he could voice. He considered himself a pretty easy going guy and was almost always happy about things. He saw the brighter side of life. He liked people and he liked making people happy. The idea that Bruno wouldn't feel safe around him, could be scared of him, was not something that the man was processing very well. So, he spent a fair amount of time thinking of exactly how it would be best to approach the timid man and, furthermore, how to handle him.

But the more Felix dragged him out of hiding spots, he had a million of them, and forced him to have a little interaction with the family things became a bit better. While his voice was still quiet he actually answered questions and, sometimes, would actually initiate a conversation instead of just waiting for the other person to start. There were still a lot of questions surrounding Bruno and darn it if Felix wasn't a curious person. It was that curiosity that had him tailing Bruno as he crept through the house. It was broad daylight and he was still so easy to miss. Felix wondered if it was the colour of his ruana that helped hide him so well. Maybe he should see if they can't get him to wear something other than green.

So Felix wound up strolling into the kitchen minutes after Bruno had. He'd struck up a mild conversation with his sister about what the family's plans were in regards to a celebration of some thing or another. Felix hadn't really been listening.

"You just want to know how to avoid it all." Julieta teased at his questions.

"Yes, y-yes. That is exactly what I want to do."

Felix couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips. Julieta began laughing alongside him.

"Wh-why are we laughing?"

That only made the pair laugh harder.

"Oh, no, no, no." Julieta shook her finger at him. "No wiggling out of this one hermanito." She scolded and Bruno glanced to the side as if looking for an escape and she thought she saw a shimmer of green in his eyes before he winced and tossed a handful of salt over his shoulder.

"I don't see why it's so important." He said after a long sigh. "I don't want to go and I'm pretty sure there are a lot of other people who feel the same way."

"Why do you always do that?" Julieta sighed in exasperation as she reached over her cutting board for the flour.

"Do what?" Bruno replied, eyes turned to the side as he gulped.

"Do that!" She flung out a flour coated hand to point at him. "Assume the worst. People are changing, have changed. You're not giving anyone a chance!"

"Five." Bruno whispered.

"Five?" Julieta's brows creased in confusion.

"Five." Bruno looked up. "I was five the last time anyone in that village liked me."

That made Felix pause, who was about to wedge himself into the situation.

"People...people don't change that fast." He said quietly. "T-they, no one, really wants me there so I-I really don't see how it's a problem-"

"No one? I want you there. You're family wants you there!"

"Th-that's n-not what I said."

"You said no one!"

"You're v-very loud."

"Bruno Madrigal I swear!" She growled lifting the thick, flour dusted, board. "I swear-"

She felt a dull pain on the side of her head just as she had lifted the board to eye level. She wasn't quite sure why she'd picked it up. An overly dramatic gesture? Maybe she was going to throw it at her brother. The last thing she heard was his voice calling her name before everything faded to black.

She came to, slowly realizing that Felix had caught her and trying to sort out the litany of voices around her. She brought a hand to her head, feeling the lump by her temple and the swelling on her cheek. Near as she could figure something had smacked the cutting board against her face. Hard.

"Julieta?" She heard Agustin's voice call out.

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to throw it!" Luisa's voice cut through the noise.

"Throw what?" She said after swallowing a bite of her leftover cooking that Agustin had shoved into her mouth.

"Well…." Mirabel winced. "We were just outside helping out with a few extra repair kind of things."

"I wanted a cactus garden." Isabella blurted out. "But we thought it would be best if it was fenced off. So, we were building the fence."

"The hammer slipped I swear!" Luisa covered her face with her hands.

"Hammer?" She looked around and found both her cutting board, one corner in splinters, and a single hammer laying on the ground.

"If that hammer had hit-" Felix was cut off by Agustin.

"Don't say that." He said as he yanked his wife into his arms for a tight hug.

Felix let out a breath and looked around quickly before finding what he was looking for. Bruno stood in the far back corner of the small room. His hands nervously picked at the frayed ends of his green ruana as he bit his lip. Felix watched him knock on the door frame and throw another handful of salt over his shoulder before repeating the process two more times. He looked back over at the scene and Felix caught his gaze as he looked up from his sister. The look in his eyes was not something that Felix had seen before. He looked terrified. Not anxious, not startled, terrified. But it didn't seem like it was the situation itself that scared him so badly otherwise he'd be right by his sister's side. He looked relieved and scared and haunted all at the same time. Felix watched him quietly slip out of the kitchen and there were too many people in the room for Felix to be able to follow him.

That was one of the days where he couldn't find Bruno.