Holiday [Izaya x Violet/Everyone Else?]

Big Family (Paprika Isn't That Important In The Long Run)

        With a sigh of nervousness, Violet stepped forward and knocked on the door of her old home. She hadn’t seen her family in a few months due to basically running away and staying in hiding. As a result, she couldn’t be sure whether there would be resentment or open arms. She could feel Izaya’s hand curled around hers in an attempt at comfort, but…

        The door opened to reveal her twin sister, Azure. Mostly, the two were identical, the only differences being Azure’s more rounded blue eyes. She blinked at the pair before her for a moment or two, and then gave a warm smile. “It’s been a while, sis. You...have a guy with you. Hi, guy.”

        Izaya waved with his free hand and introduced himself incredibly politely. “You must be this sister I’ve heard so much about. Azure?”

        “That’s me! I guess you guys are here for the party.” She turned her head to glance around inside the house. “Should be okay. Come on in! Oh - I hope your English is good, Izaya, because it’s the only language we all have in common.”

        They followed the brunette inside quietly, Izaya looking around curiously and Violet’s head down in something like shame. A large number of people were already wandering around and not paying them much mind. Dark-skinned Uncle Ian was talking quietly with his brother-in-law, Dad Gropius. Ian’s son, D.D., was skimming something on his phone in the corner of the living room. He looked like his father...if Ian were to become an emo teen. There was a calamity in the kitchen - probably J, the mother of that trainwreck of a family. She was the cook every year since the rest of the Gropius family was...lacking in that department. Something smelled good to Izaya, at the very least, and so he decided to leave his companion to her own devices and check out whatever food was brewing.

        Jaelyn “J” Kabra was about six feet tall and dressed like an artist, not a chef. Her hair was the color of honey and her eyes aquamarine, but instead of coming off like the high-and-mighty princess she was raised to be, she simply looked like a child. “Paprika, paprika, where are you hiding?” Currently she had three chairs in a stack and was perched precariously on top, bare feet stretched to their limits. It was a wonder she hadn’t fallen yet… “Found ya!” And down to the floor she came with a complicated series of acrobatics, the spice bottle in her hand.

        Then she noticed the dark-haired male standing nearby, and just blinked. “...hello? Who are you?”

        Izaya bowed slightly, one hand sweeping across his stomach to give the full effect. “I’m a dear friend of your niece, Violet, and she invited me here to spend some time with her family! Would I be right in assuming you to be the possibly-insane artist, Jaelyn?”

        “Yeah, but I like J better. Please.” She gave him a little grin before turning back to the stove to get back to work. “Go away for a while and socialize with the others. You’re that super lonely info broker, right? There should be more than enough people for you to get to know here. Dinner’ll be ready in an hour...maybe.”

        Violet’s mother walked in, dark brown hair tumbling over her white dress like a waterfall. “The Fowls are here, where should we seat them?” From there a conversation sprung up about seating arrangements, and so Izaya took his leave. There were more men in suits chatting around the fireplace, and a woman along with who was the spitting image of the boy right beside her. More twins? Violet and Azure, Mom Gropius and the so-far-unseen police officer Bianco, this new pair. What an odd family.

        From the snippets of conversation, Izaya decided that the young ones were part of the Fowl family and not actually related to Violet. Old family friends. Their names were Artemis and Apollo, of course. What better names for a pair of filthy-rich twins who could destroy large organizations in a heartbeat? They were pale, with dark hair and an air of smugness about them. Izaya moved on.

        A woman stood boredly in the doorway to the hall, arms crossed. Her hair was black, but faded to a fierce crimson toward the tips, and those eyes shone like amber as they narrowed. “What do you want?” Her accent was faint, but clearly Russian.

        “Who, me? I’m just making my rounds and looking at who’s here, that’s all. No need to be so...defensive~” He was smirking in that way he would when he had someone cornered. This woman had a dangerous aura, like a cougar preparing to strike. “My name is Izaya.”

        “...Jamie Kabra.”

        Ah. So she was Ian’s sister, and an infamous assassin he enjoyed hearing about. “What brings you over here? The party is behind me, you know.”

        The woman turned to the shadows of the hall with a deepened frown. “Violet is alive...but it concerns me less than the fact that she has retreated to her bedroom. Her sister followed. They were not happy.”

        “I suppose I’d better go and check on them, then~ I’d hate for my dear companion to miss out on all the fun…” And so he waltzed past.

        Violet’s old room was at the very end of the hall. The door was shut, so Izaya pressed his ear up against it to eavesdrop. He wasn’t a good person, after all.