Randall sat down at the table and Cassandra was bringing tea and water, ready to take a seat when Ezekiel extended his hand towards her. Under the table he was squeezing River's hand, and simply by habit Ezekiel initiated the evening prayer, thanking God for the meal, parroting what Father Lamont had beaten into him. He changed very little. He wasn't sure yet if he was grateful for the reunion or not, still nervous and tense, so he didn't add it in. Randall stared between them once the boy was finished, jaw clenching. He shook his head a moment though he kept his voice from rising.<br/><br/>“We didn't teach him that. Not those words.” They were more lax, sometimes praying but mostly it was during special occasions and family get-togethers and the kids were never so meticulous. Randall looked to the pair intently.<br/><br/>“Who taught you that?” he asked, unable to stop himself from prying. Ezekiel let go of Cassandra's hand and only shook his head.<br/><br/>“No one,” he said softly, looking for confirmation that they could start eating. Cassandra nodded, taking her seat, urging her husband to let the boys relax. Randall was trying, getting frustrated.<br/><br/>“What if someone comes looking for him?” He asked her, turning his attention back to the pair, thinking about how as the man of the house he'd need to protect his family. “How did you two leave after all this time? We can put whoever it was away but I need you to talk to us. I need to know what happened.” Randall hadn't touched anything in front of him though Ezekiel had started on his plate, avoiding eye contact with the man, hoping his half answers and whatever River filled in would be enough.<br/><br/>“No one will come looking. There isn't anyone,” Zeke said softly. If they didn't cause trouble, anyway. His fear for Lamont was still far greater than his fear of Randall. “We're of the age to be on our own; to make our own decisions.”<br/><br/>Randall pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and they could hear the sharp intake of breath. A noise of patience slipping and Zeke stopped what he was doing to stare at him now, watchful, like something unwilling to take his eyes off a threat. They weren't being compliant and he knew what non-compliance earned them.<br/><br/>“We just want to move on. It's time for us to move on.” Ezekiel had spent a lot of time after being turned out and returned thinking about what would happen when River was of age. He was optimistic that they could make things different but it would seem that even free of father Lamont they weren't in control of their lives. Anger mixed with the unease and Zeke balled his fist under the table.<br/><br/>“I don't want to talk about any of this.” He held Randall's gaze for a moment, frowning and angry. If he had looked at father Lamont in such a way he would have been backhanded faster than he could process. Randall didn't though. Simply stared dumbfounded and settling back into his chair, clearly still irritated but unwilling to apply force to get the boys to say what it was he wanted. He zeroed in on River.<br/><br/>“I suppose you don't want to talk about it either?” Randall said, shifting his attention and all the fury in Ezekiel dissolved like his weakness had been found out. Directly they could be difficult. Lamont had known that, but used against one another anything was possible. Randall didn't seem to understand this yet but Zeke worried it was only a matter of time. He was considering making a scene at the dinner table, some sort of distraction when Cassandra cut in.<br/><br/>“You boys said you've been with each other for a long time. Can you talk about that? About each other instead? Were there any others or just you two?”