Devadas frowned and tilted his head to the side. "How come? Did they abuse you?" He couldn't imagine such as thing if the one boy, Charmase, was so sickly. Not even the worst parents would neglect a child like that. Would they?

Pyre chewed her lip and stared pointedly at the ground, seeming reluctant to speak about it.

As his other three siblings shied away from the subject, Charmase sat up a bit more. "He did abuse us," he replied, calmly. "Our mother died in childbirth, with Hardee. Our father ran a brothel. As soon as Mother died, Father made my siblings and I the 'stars' of his brothel..."

Devadas didn't know the meaning of brothel, but he knew humans did not think highly of them most of the time. The word was spoken as if mentioning scum from the deepest pit of hell. He frowned at her explanation. "...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," he apologized.

Charmase smiled, charmingly. "Oh, it's okay! I'm the only one comfortable talking about it, though...don't feel bad."

Pyre sighed, going to sit with her two older brothers on the only bed in the cramped dwelling. "It was the worst for Charmase. He...can change his gender, at will. Our father made him the lead 'star.'" She noticed his slightly confused stare, and once again hesitated, hating to explain bad things.

Charmase coughed lightly before taking charge once again. "Brothels are...well...in our case, anyway...a place where people are detained and forced to engage in sexual activities against their will to line the pockets of the owner or owners," he replied, tonelessly.

Devadas' eyes went wide. This boy could talk about something like that so calmly?! He looked around at them all again and sighed. This was really a strange group. "Again, sorry to bring it up...how about anything you all do for fun here?" That would hopefully be a much lighter subject. He wanted to get away from that awkward topic before it snowballed into something horrible.

"I know a good indoor game we can play. It's simple and the village children are often the only ones that play it. But it can be a fun way to pass the time. How about it?" Devadas offered.

Devadas went out for a moment and came back with a handful of pebbles. He sat down carefully at the end of Charmase's bed and handed out two pebbles each to them. "The object of this game is simple. We each take a good look at each others rocks, and then one person closes his or her eyes and place theirs on the ground, or just holds them out with palms flat. Then one other person carefully switches one with theirs, and then the other opens their eyes and has to guess which one the new rock belongs to," he explained.

Devadas saw the other's distasteful expressions and laughed a little. "Or if you have dice or cards, you could teach me one of your games," he suggested.

"We don't have anything here, at all. Except each other," Pyre added, sheepishly. "It's why we're bored all the time. Well...strike that, Charmase is never bored. But Harc, Dee, and I all get really bored with nothing to do.

It seemed Charmase was someone she really looked up to--admiration coated her voice as she spoke about him.

Charmase smiled, happy to just be involved instead of sleeping and/or hacking all day.

"Alright then. Everyone take a good look at each others," Devadas instructed.

Pyre did as instructed, squinting at hers carefully. He ears were perked straight up, excitedly. She seemed to be the only one in her family with animal-like features.

Charmase rolled his around in his hands, eyes closed, and then opened his eyes to study them, pleasantly.

Harcle tossed his up in the air individually, eyeing them warily. He always seemed to have a big grin on his face.

Hardee simply stared at his, slightly lazily.

Devadas looked around at them with a smile. "Okay, now close your eyes Hardee."

Devadas reached over and carefully switched one of his with Hardee's. Then he sat back. "Okay, now open your eyes and try to guess."

Hardee opened his eyes, glancing around idly. "I'm blaming Pyre. Because she's...Pyre," he stated, finally, a slight grin curling his features.

Pyre smacked at his arm, playfully. "You blame me for everything, shrimpy," she scolded, amused.

Devadas laughed and shook his head. "You guessed wrong. You're out for a turn. And no giving hints from the sidelines either," he added.

Pyre pointed at him, triumphantly! "Ha! Na-na-na-na-naaaaa-na! That's what you get, squirt! Sweet, sweet karma..."

Hardee wrinkled his nose at her, frowning. "No wonder you like Freckles so much," he drawled, pointedly--obviously referring to Charmase, who had a slightly freckled face. "You're both insanely weird."

"Alright, now everyone gather around closer. Your turn to close your eyes Charmase."

Charmase smiled and closed his eyes, as his siblings scooted closer.

Pyre hugged Charmase around the middle tightly, earning a slight 'oof,' before releasing him, smiling. "I love you, Lucky Charm..."

Charmase giggled softly at the nickname, keeping his eyes closed. "Okay. I'm ready."

Devadas nodded silently to Harcle, indicating that it was his turn.

"Alright, now try and guess Charmase."