Post by pinksoyuz on May 19, 2010 1:42:07 GMT -5
Seated opposite of her brother, Haifa ate without so much of a sound whilst under the hawk-like and critical gaze of her father, Adel. She fixated her eyes down on her plate to avoid accidentally exchanging looks with her unimpressed father, though she did offer her much younger brother a kind, albeit forced smile to help make the atmosphere somewhat bearable for the lad. Beux, her older brother, busied himself hocking down as much of their mother's cooking as possible since military canteens weren't known to be terribly easy on the palettes. His not-so-subtle eating noises, accompanied with the occasional clang of utensils on fine china were all that filled the atmosphere.
It was her father who spoke first, setting his silverware down carefully on his plate before asking in a disgruntled tone, "I don't like what I'm hearing, Haifa. Did they make you do this?"
Immediately she looked at her father whose eyes seemed to slam her entire sense of courage out of her, even forcing her stop chewing the piece of well seasoned lamb that her mother cooked. "Well, let me explain, dad," she said nervously before downing the food. But Adel was impatient; he didn't want to wait for this dilly dallying that his daughter employed all too many times.
"Beux," he said without missing a beat, "did the Zeon assign her to the front lines?" The Arab man's sharp attention still maintained its lock on his daughter, so Haifa could barely look away when her brother answered.
"No," replied Beux in between bites of the same meat Haifa had, "she signed up for it herself." The cool and calm way that her brother said it went to show that he was in no hurry to lie to their father just to delay the inevitable. Haifa knew this as well, but she still cursed at her brother for the moment.
Looking back at her father, she wasn't terribly surprised to see his facial expression the same as it had been all evening, so she ventured to look the other way at her mother. The fair skinned European woman was currently heaping another serving onto her youngest child's plate and appeared to be in another world, smiling and talking softly to him.
"Elsa, do you have anything to say?" Adel asked, hoping to gain some legitimacy with his concerns.
"Adel, I think she's made up her mind. I don't think anything we say will change her mind," the mother replied in a compassionate voice. "She's a big girl."
Adel then realized he was alone in his visible opposition to his daughter's new assignment, and appeared to avoid further comment on the matter as the entire family finished their meals. Silence once again settled all across the table, and Haifa resumed dining in ever slight discomfort. A few minutes later, after everyone more or less finished, Adel placed his napkin on the table and abruptly excused himself and retired into his bedroom, allowing his wife's pleas for him to have dessert to fall on deaf ears.
Seeing her three children turn their attention from Adel back to her, Elsa effortlessly hid her look of concern on her face. Beaming once more, she quietly got up and said, "Well now, I suppose I'll get the dessert then."
It was her father who spoke first, setting his silverware down carefully on his plate before asking in a disgruntled tone, "I don't like what I'm hearing, Haifa. Did they make you do this?"
Immediately she looked at her father whose eyes seemed to slam her entire sense of courage out of her, even forcing her stop chewing the piece of well seasoned lamb that her mother cooked. "Well, let me explain, dad," she said nervously before downing the food. But Adel was impatient; he didn't want to wait for this dilly dallying that his daughter employed all too many times.
"Beux," he said without missing a beat, "did the Zeon assign her to the front lines?" The Arab man's sharp attention still maintained its lock on his daughter, so Haifa could barely look away when her brother answered.
"No," replied Beux in between bites of the same meat Haifa had, "she signed up for it herself." The cool and calm way that her brother said it went to show that he was in no hurry to lie to their father just to delay the inevitable. Haifa knew this as well, but she still cursed at her brother for the moment.
Looking back at her father, she wasn't terribly surprised to see his facial expression the same as it had been all evening, so she ventured to look the other way at her mother. The fair skinned European woman was currently heaping another serving onto her youngest child's plate and appeared to be in another world, smiling and talking softly to him.
"Elsa, do you have anything to say?" Adel asked, hoping to gain some legitimacy with his concerns.
"Adel, I think she's made up her mind. I don't think anything we say will change her mind," the mother replied in a compassionate voice. "She's a big girl."
Adel then realized he was alone in his visible opposition to his daughter's new assignment, and appeared to avoid further comment on the matter as the entire family finished their meals. Silence once again settled all across the table, and Haifa resumed dining in ever slight discomfort. A few minutes later, after everyone more or less finished, Adel placed his napkin on the table and abruptly excused himself and retired into his bedroom, allowing his wife's pleas for him to have dessert to fall on deaf ears.
Seeing her three children turn their attention from Adel back to her, Elsa effortlessly hid her look of concern on her face. Beaming once more, she quietly got up and said, "Well now, I suppose I'll get the dessert then."