During the time we spent together in the big house, we had already started experiencing some mishaps. Merlin and Aiden, two dominant characters, were not getting along very well; whenever one of them got the upper hand, the other would crush him out of male pride, and they would show off their strength each time. A simple example would be the conversation from our first dinner, which made the girls burst into laughter every time we remembered it.

First Dinner:

Everyone at the table was looking at each other tensely, but it was Alpha who broke the long silence.

Alpha: "Alright, lab rats, dig in!"

Aiden: "The chubby ones should start first."

Veronica: "Aiden!" *giggles lightly and steps on Aiden's foot*

Magnus: "Then could someone please pass that damn chicken already?"

Violet: *laughing* "We need to cut Luna's butt."

Luna: "Isn't this joke getting old, guys?"

Merlin: "Why is no one eating my delicious salad?"

Alvin: "Guess it's not delicious." *grins*

Alpha: "Use your mouths for eating and eat your food."

A topic we discussed the previous evening with Luna came to my mind, and I guided her to throw out an idea by calling out to her in my mind.

Luna: "I wonder who would win if Aiden wrestled Alvin in an arm-wrestling match, huh Violet?"

Violet: "We need to try it out, are you in, guys?"

Merlin: "But if we're being fair, shouldn't the girls wrestle the girls and the real men wrestle the men?"

Veronica: "Then it's you and me first, princess."

As everyone shouted and made noise, the excitement in the atmosphere intensified.

Alpha: "Ladies and gentlemen, everyone to the backyard!"

Merlin: Subterfuge!

And we all gathered around the ivy-covered table that appeared in the middle. First, Merlin and Veronica placed their hands on the table, and after explaining the rules of this table's feature, they would roll a die to determine how many volts of electricity they would receive if they broke the rules, so it was going to be a fun game.

Veronica: Are you ready, wizard boy? *grins*

Merlin: Go ahead, hybrid.

And they joined their hands together. Alvin had become the announcer again and began to narrate excitedly.

Alvin: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am opening the bets for Merlin.

Alpha: Two boxes of jewels for Veronica.

Luna: Hey, that's ruthless, but this *laughs*.

Violet: All the Perliculus pearls for Merlin!

Aiden: Imagine Magnus has eaten all of Roni's stash.

Alvin: And folks, here comes an incredible move from Veronica. Is Merlin getting old?

Merlin: You're not helping at all!

Alpha: Come on, wizard boy, are you going to lose to a girl?

Violet: *Staring at Merlin* Invictus! *whispers*

Alvin: And the winner is Merlin!

Everyone was clapping and excited, and the next duo was Luna and Aiden. Alvin was a bit tense.

Alvin: Bets are closed, Luna has won! Next up!

Everyone: Alvin!

Aiden: After you, mademoiselle.

Alvin: I don't understand what's with this damn French; one says "Bonjour jeune demoiselle," and the other says "mademoiselle" like I'm Prince Napoleon.

Violet: It's not about the French; it's about how you say it.

Merlin: Exactly, my friend. *turns to Violet* Que cela reste notre secret, ma belle.

Alvin: Well, I’m definitely going to learn this stuff too.

Luna: Hey, should we start now?

Aiden: It's nice that you're so eager to lose, my brother.

Everyone was surprised when Aiden called him "my brother"; after all, we hadn't developed that kind of closeness yet, but it was a nice development in our bond.

Luna: Haha, you're so funny, Aiden. Save your jokes for later.

And although Luna struggled at first, she eventually defeated Aiden in one move, and everyone screamed to congratulate her.

Veronica: Aiden, you seem a bit rusty, babe.

Aiden: Beginner's luck, darling.

Luna: Yes, what did you say? Eager to lose? *laughs*

Alvin: There’s my beautiful and strong wife.

Alpha: I guess it’s clear who’s in charge at home now.

Magnus: Yes, what do you say, old wolf?

Alpha: Hahaha, you and me?

Magnus: *becomes serious* Yes.

Alpha: After you, son.

Watching Magnus and Alpha was very enjoyable; both were true leaders and embodiments of ego. We could compare this to two horses that can each pull two tons alone, but when placed side by side, they get competitive and can pull up to sixteen tons together. That’s exactly what this duo was doing right now. They were tugging at each other, but there was nothing bad about it; on the contrary, they were having fun and were adorable.

Alvin: And the winner is Magnus!

Aiden: Could the wolf really be getting old? *laughs*

Merlin: There’s actually a way to find out.

Merlin pulled Alpha's hair and started running in a transformation. Alpha turned around and shouted:

Alpha: You cursed wizard kid! *laughs*

Merlin: Aren't you joining the fun?

Alvin: I'm right behind you!

Aiden: Merlin! Let's race to the statue.

Magnus: Wait for me too!

And just like that, they started running into the forest, playing tag. Meanwhile, we tidied up the surroundings, went inside to clean the table, and even popped some popcorn thinking we could have a movie night. Later, we went down to the swing in the garden and started chatting while waiting for the others.

Veronica: Thank you so much for your help on behalf of me and my siblings.

Luna: It's no problem, I guess we’re your only option, right V?

Violet: What’s he like, Roni?

Veronica: Is your brother Hector?

Luna: Oh yes, Hector! We haven’t seen him since that day, have we?

Violet: No, Luna, and I have a bad feeling about it. I don’t know him, but I wish I did.

Veronica: Actually, V, he’s very generous and smart—like really smart. He was almost escaping from Victor, but he wasn’t aware of your existence, and I think he’s a bit emotional and serious. It must have been really hard for him to accept that he has a brother and that you left him there.

Violet: But I didn’t leave him there! I was trying to win the battle and keep him safe. What I did to Victor was just a bluff.

Luna: But he didn’t know that, V.

Violet: You’re right. Oh my god, I was just trying to protect him.

Veronica: He slipped away with us before the battle heated up and stayed with us for a few days. He was close friends with Magnus. They knew each other before Victor adopted us. There was someone who brought us sweets when he was in the hospital, that was Hector.

Violet: Oh Magnus, I think I have a lot of questions for him now.

Luna: What about you and Aiden? It doesn’t seem much like sibling love, though. *giggles*

Veronica: Ahaha, we’re not really siblings, I mean, we’re three orphans who don’t have a blood relation to each other.

Luna: Wait a minute, I really thought you were siblings.

Violet: So you’re that close, but Aiden seems a bit different.

Veronica: Our sibling relationship lasted until our teenage years, but as we grew up and discovered some feelings and started to protect ourselves from the world, we became even closer.

Luna: What do you mean by being protected from our surroundings?

Veronica: An orphanage is a very oppressive place, especially if it's Dr. Quinlan's. It's impossible to leave without being taken by someone like Victor and Victoria.

Luna: Actually, there is a way. Merlin was meeting with a special child there, but he was younger than you. His name was Oliver, and the two of them had found a solution.

Veronica: Merlin is a talented wizard; that's possible. But not everyone has a Merlin, and our only chance was each other, along with Hector, who occasionally brought us sweets.

Violet: What about when you were with those two?

Veronica: Victoria was usually a bit more merciful towards us, at least except for the last incidents, but we were very close because of Victor's experiments. It was unpredictable which day he would torture whom.

Violet: I understand, tough times.

Veronica: And Aiden kept an eye on us during those times, and something developed between us.

Luna: Just like a beautiful love story. And Magnus?

Violet: Magnus didn't seem very romantic to me, but I'm curious, Roni.

Veronica: Ahahaha, girls, yes, Magnus isn't as calm as he seems. Once he gets used to you, you'll have another Alvin, and he loves both girls and his own kind.

Violet: Now that's an interesting situation.

Veronica & Luna: Ahahahaha.

While we were chatting, Alpha and the others had arrived home, and we could hear laughter. We went upstairs to join them; they were all sweaty and tired.

Violet: Ugh, what happened to you all? You're all sticky!

Luna: *holds her nose* Merlin, I hope you have an extra bathroom; I can't stand this smell.

Veronica: Did you kids go into the creek? What is that smell?

Alvin & Magnus: Uh, well, ahahahha.

Merlin: These two tricked us.

Aiden: They got lost for a while, and just when we were looking for them...

Alpha: These two geniuses dumped two buckets of mud on us from the trees.

Veronica: Ahahahhahahahha.

Luna: Oh my god, this must be a joke! *laughs*

Violet: You kids, each of you go to the right bathroom.

Veronica: Right now!

Alvin: Ugh, all the popcorn is ruined then.

Magnus: If we behave and wash up, can we join the movie?

Luna: Absolutely! Let's go!

And each of them went straight to take a shower. After everyone had washed and cleaned up, we settled in front of the screen and started watching the movie we had collectively decided on. It was a nice moment of bonding, but by the next morning, we realized that we needed to find a solution to our problems.