Slippers are obtained for him. They're beige and fluffy on the inside and slightly too big but stretchy. 

"Dinner's in a couple hours, my husband's running late at work. He may have his brother over, if that's all right with you? Pevas used to live with us when the children were little, he's part of our family." 

"Uncle Pevas is coming too?" Elix lights up. 

"If he can get away from the office, you know he's busy this year." She turns back to Bruce. "I'm Cassea, by the way. Leaning Lawful, right now, but I'm pretty integrated, so no need to keep track of another name." 

"Does your Chaos you who's dangerous and scary have a name?" Elix asks Bruce. 

"Pleased to meet you, Cassea. I look forward to meeting your husband and Pevas." Then to Elix, "Well, yes. He's called Hulk."

"Ha. Nice one." 

"Elix, honey, don't be pushy. Bruce, please don't be shy about telling my son to stop being nosy, if it's too much. Anyway, would you like to sit down with us for some tea and snacks? ...Oh, Ronda, you're here too! Sorry, didn't see you. There's a bag in the laundry-room of your things that got mixed in with Veth's laundry." 

"Aww, thank you, Second Mom." 

"You're welcome, hon."

Cassea leads the group of them down the hall to an open-concept kitchen and dining room, which opens onto another, much bigger deck in the backyard. This one is a bit less tidy; there are two enormous oak trees in the backyard, and a smattering of fallen oak leaves on the deck furniture.

"Bruce, you can help yourself to anything in the snack fridge - it's that one." The kitchen has two narrower-than-usual fridges on opposite sides of the stove and sink, rather than one standard-size one. "I mean, you can also poke in the ingredients fridge if you want, but I like cooking from scratch so it's mostly not, uh, especially in edible forms yet. Do you have any dietary restrictions, by the way?" 

"I don't want to be an inconvenience and I don't have any health issues but I prefer not to eat anything that come from animals for personal reasons." He hasn't actually been a houseguest anywhere other than with family for more than a night or two since he went vegan and somehow managed not to realize how embarrassing it was going to be. He really needs to get a job as soon as possible.

"Right, right, of course." Cassea doesn't seem judgemental at all, just sympathetic and curious. "I can do a plants-only dinner, I have some of that new brand of not-beef that's made out of - gosh what was it -" 

"I think it's the one made out of that really cool fungus they found in the Underworld down south?" 

"Ewww, I don't want mushroom-meat, can I have something else Mom?" 

"Seriously, Lixie, it's not mushrooms. Different thing. You ever paid attention a single time in biology?" 

"Shut it. It's basically mushrooms."

"Kids." 

(The kids immediately shush.) 

"- Anyway, Bruce - we can do that, but is your objection more about fundamental-dignity," (this is a single word in their language), "or unpleasantness for the farmed animals? We don't have good neighbourhood meat, here, not since the Atters went and retired on a farm, but we've got neighbourhood eggs and goat-milk - if you want to see for yourself we could take a walk over and I can introduce you to the neighbours...?" 

"I'm alright with eggs and milk if the animals are living good lives, and fungus beef sounds fine too." Plenty of his neighbours in Brazil had goats or chickens, and it was nothing like the factory farming that turned his stomach in America. There are a lot of people he wouldn't have wanted to say that to, for fear that they would decide a rule with exceptions was no rule at all and they could just hand him whatever and lie about it, but Cassea seems to get it.

"Makes sense! Why don't you go sit outside with the kids - oy, Elix! can you clean off the deck chairs? - and I'll bring you guys some tea and snacks." 

Veth leads the way out onto the deck. 

Bruce helps Elix clean up the deck chairs, unless this consists entirely of returning things to proper locations that he doesn't know what they are.

Elix is pretty good at giving helpful instructions, for a kid who looks about twelve! Mostly cleaning up involves brushing off leaves, though at one point Elix darts back and grabs a cloth to wipe some bird-crap off a table. 

Cassea brings out a tray with a teapot, cups, and some attractively arranged crackers and toppings. 

Ronda settles herself onto one of the lounge chairs. 

"So. Should we try to set you up with someone?" 

"Ronda! He's avoiding the Underworld." 

"So? Sometimes people go on dates on the Surface too." Glance at Bruce. "...I can stop if you'd prefer, though."