She blinked at what lay before her, shock taking her words away as a smile spread over her lips. In the fear, the panic, and the worry— they all melted before a familiar sight.

Ravi sat before a table, wide and long and absolutely laden with foods of all different kinds. Risa took a step closer, noticing Leo also sitting at the other end; he looked up, nodded in acknowledgment, and then resumed watching Ravi with a mild interest. Risa couldn’t help but grin as she watched the familiar scene playing out.

Ravi had two full plates in front of him, food sliding down his chin, a chicken thigh in one hand and a hunk of bread in the other. He was attacking every bit of anything that he could possibly get his hands on, and his mouth was perpetually full. She was pretty sure that his silverware— lined neatly on either side of his plate— had never been touched, but from the growing stack of empty dishes Ravi had been there for quite some time.

Risa held back a giggle as she felt her heart ease. Ravi had been like this ever since he was a child; when he would come back from a long day or a trip to a neighboring village, or even just recovering from being sick, he would eat everyone out of house and home. Nothing was safe from him, even some moldy bread that had then made him sick for a week. She would never let him live that one down.

Smiling unabashedly Risa walked over to the table and sat down next to Ravi, pulling out her chair loudly enough that he was forced to look up over the sound of his chewing. He gave her a wide mouthed grin, showing the remains of some chicken he was in the middle of, and then turned back to refill his plate.

“Did you save me anything?” Risa asked incredulously, looking at the masses of empty plates that had become obvious when she got closer. How was he even eating that much?

“Your friend has put my kitchens to work,” Leo said, crossing his legs and raising his eyebrows in amusement. “While some appetite is to be expected, this…” He trailed of, motioning to the carnage before him.

“It is alright to eat, yes?” Risa asked. Leo nodded, confirming her assumption that he wouldn’t save Ravi just to let him die over food.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Ravi mumbled, though she could barely hear him through the mouthful of whatever he was eating now. He didn’t pause for her to answer, though, and instead bit down on the roll he was holding. With his free hand he picked up one of his packed plates and then plopped it down in from of Risa. “It tastes delicious, eat some.” Through the roll, she could barely make out his words.

“Your scraps?” Risa said with a laugh. Ravi paused in his chewing, glared, and then returned to his mission of clearing every plate on the table. Risa picked up a fork and looked at the spread before her.

Every type of dish she could imagine was there, from her favorite simple comfort foods to expensive and rare dishes she had only had once or twice in her entire life. There was countless things she had never even seen before— and didn’t have any idea what they were— which Ravi had noticeably eaten very little of.  There were even desserts, a blueberry pie already decimated and down to a single slice and a platter of cookies nearly empty.

“You could feed the village for a week with all of this…” Risa murmured, and then speared a chunk of chicken on her plate. “Are you sure you’re not going to get sick?” She said to Ravi, who was busy inhaling some kind of soup.

“Absolutely fine,” he managed between gulps. Risa glanced at Leo, knowing that she would probably be apologizing for Ravi later, but Leo seemed more amused than anything, and that too gave her hope. Her stomach growled, tired of being denied with such a feast in front of her, and she took the bite she had waiting.

And froze. Now it made sense as to why Ravi was eating like an animal. The food was utterly amazing. Savory in taste, tender in texture— it was like a dream. Quickly she moved on to the next dish, and then the next, sampling everything as though she had never seen food before.

Risa was vaguely aware of Leo watching her, eyes sparkling in amusement, but she hardly cared. He wasn’t Hades, after all, and his cold persona from earlier had steadily diminished. Besides, he had supplied her with delicious food, and how could that be bad?

For a little while, Risa was able to be herself again. Simple and happy, nothing too complex on her mind; for a little while, her biggest concern was whether or not Ravi would get the last slice of pie first or if the fish needed more salt. And finally, after eating more than she could imagine and more banter with Ravi than she would have thought possible in her situation, she was finished.

She leaned back in her chair, looking up at the smooth-stone ceiling. She was full— almost painfully so— but it brought her back to herself. “I don’t know who made this,” she said, turning to Leo, “but please pass them my regards. That was phenomenal.”

Leo didn’t smile, which wasn’t a surprise, but nodded again with that amused expression still on his face. Ravi had his head down and arms at his sides, mumbling something about dreaming off food for a week. He would need to scrub himself for an hour to get all the grease off of his hands and face.

“If you are both quite finished…” Leo stood and trailed off, looking at the absolute carnage that was wrought to the dinner table. “And since there is nothing left to eat, I assume you are, then Risa, I have something to show you.”

Risa jumped a bit at hearing him say her name, surprised mostly by the smooth way he pronounced it. It was much more sophisticated, somehow, much more gentle. “Ah, yes,” she got out before turning back to Ravi and poking him in the side. “Are you alright?” She checked quickly, but he just waved her away without looking up.

“Fine, fine… just going to… rest a bit…”

Risa bit back a smile as she watched him start to fall asleep at the table.