[ The nice thing about the overabundance of malevolent attention directed his way is that it equalizes the pressure. From his point of view only, obviously. Not being a natural participant in the Morrison family dynamics, his presence is intended to be an unbalancing intrusion, an irritant plucking too many strings of the spider's web, and it is a truly fascinating view — as long as he keeps things going rather than bear the brunt of everyone's displeasure at once.

With that in mind, Brandon smiles at them both, gaze sweeping along the empty seats without lingering long enough to suggest he has the sense of invisible, yet dark attention emanating from there. ]

Having spent such a short time here, I am already in awe of the strength, and persistence, of the Morrison family... of how profoundly a family and a place can belong to and define one another.

[ Bland pleasantries, with an underlying ambiguity that Haran might not care about and Qetzi'ah might not be in the mood to accept, but it's mean to taint what follows with a similar meaninglessness. ]

The House seems to be full of them. Rich with their memories. It's to them, and what you have inherited, Master Morrison, that I would like to honor.

[ ... he'll wait to see how that goes down before lifting his glass. ]