10-13-2014, 04:46 AM
"Hi there." With a charming smile and a friendly wave, Bran stepped back a bit, finally releasing his hold on the dogs. The Doberman padded off in the direction of the couch, now uninterested in the visitors after the all-important first sniff. The tiny Welsh Corgi rocketed forward instantly, sniffing at the legs of these new and exciting visitors and making snorting sounds as he did so. The tiny silver tag on his red collar revealed that his name was Bacon. "If he's too much for you, I can put him in his travel crate for a while," Bran offered genially. Bacon was his brother's dog. He didn't understand why his brother adored this dog so much--he was very irritating. He never stopped moving around, not even during the nighttime. He twitched and wiggled around even in his sleep!
"You will not be locking him away simply because we have company."
The foreign voice came from the rather plain-looking blonde in the kitchen. Bran blinked a couple of times, and then something suddenly seemed to occur to him. "...Oh, yeah!" He motioned to the blonde, still friendly as ever. "This is my brother. Edgar." Edgar glanced briefly over his shoulder at their company, eyes half-lidded. He didn't seem very interested in them, and he only gave a simple nod before returning to his cooking.
Even if these visitors didn't recognize Bran or really know who the Royce brothers were, the name Edgar ought to ring at least a small bell. Edgar was the darling of the university. He was well-known for being a genius, and very well-known for participating in, and winning, various academic competitions across the country. Why, just last week a couple of scouts from Harvard visited the campus just to talk to him!
"Ehm...come in, come in!" While he was frustrated with Edgar for being so distant, he couldn't claim that he didn't expect that to happen. Edgar was not the friendliest of people. His appearance mistakenly tricked people into thinking he was the nicer of the twin brothers. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. "You guys can sit down here." The glass dining table, which sat just next to the living room area, seated about eight people. "He'll be done pretty soon."
At this, Edgar finally turned around again, still stirring the pot. "I made egg drop soup and a Mexican-style casserole. No seafood. They're both nearly done." His voice seemed oddly flat. He spoke quietly. Calmly. Yes, this brother certainly differed from Bran. "I hope that's all right." Everything about these brothers seemed to be mixed up. Bran looked threatening, but seemed harmless. Edgar looked harmless, but...there was a strange aura that surrounded him.
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