Devouring midnight

She turned to look away, hiding the massive grin on her face.
"I-uh...no?"
She burst out laughing.
"I-I'm sorry I couldn't even say that with a straight face. If it's any condolence Altie thinks you look beautiful."

--

Haru laughed at M, not bothered that he hanging by his shirt over the edge of the water. Timing himself quickly, he waited until M swung him back before wriggling out of his shirt. Landing with both feet planted firmly on the ground, he turned around, pushing M back into the water.
The water began to froth, the fish clearly pleased that they would get a second chance of revenge.

He groaned, pulling his hand away from hers as he rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah and stupid! He always thinks I'm stupid...then again I think he's an utter prick...so we're even..." He sighed and went to slump back, the mechanics of the log's design slipping his mind and in the same instant he fell back onto his head, the rest of him sliding from the log in unison.
"Ow...did you haaaaaaaave to show him? Now he's gonna tell all the guys you put make-up on me and I'll never live it down!" He tried to right himself but failed as he heard his neck click, deciding to stay in the upside down position.
"I suppose the next half of your revenge will be getting Barnelby to stitch on some boobs and parade me down a street half conscious...it just gets better" He crossed his arms and looked to the side, vaguely aware of the blood that proceeded to rush to his head.

--

He had had mere seconds to gain some insight into the actions that followed and as soon as his face hit the water he was already contemplating his options for revenge upon the annoyance that was 'catboy'. He spluttered as he returned to the surface, again forced to fight of the fish who sought to nip his flesh with their tiny teeth.
"YOU ASSHOLE!" He snarled, his mouth half full with water as his eyes locked on Haru. It wasn't long before the fish 'overpowered' him and he sunk below, two red orbs glowing within the murky water.
"...for your own safety Haru, I suggest you run...pretty fast..." Albany said through tears as she waited for the assault M was sure to bring, fueling his anger further by waiting to strike.
"...he tends to overreact when he gets owned...real bad..." She reached for the cloak and pulled his over herself as if attempting to shield herself.
"I don't think cookies have the power to stop him this time" She whispered, an edge of forced fear in her voice and she fought back giggles.

Sai tilted her head at Pyro as if she was considering the option of giving him a boob job.
"Tempting, tempting. But no I think I've done enough."
She let go of his hand, pressing her lips to his cheek she stood up stretching. Her ivory tail swaying from side to side.
"I'll see you inside." She said to him before walking back to the house.

--

Haru clutched his side, the fit of giggled threatening to consume him.
"I-I really really should. But.."
He tried to run, taking a few staggering steps before doubling over in laughter.
"My sides hurt." He said through laughter, feeling tears starting to run down his face. He started to run properly, eager to get away with his victory.
"If I'm alive when I get back, remind me to thank Jesus." He yelled to Albany as he disappeared into the woods.

He sighed, his hand feeling a little less comfortable now that it had nothing to hold, reaching up to the spot where her lips had previously been.
"uh huh" He mumbled in reply to her distant voice. He remained silent for awhile, realising the blood must have began to pool in the back on his mind as he lay upside down against the log, deciding it must have been bad for him. He shuffled into a seated position and rubbed the now aching patch on his head.
"Note to self...logs have no back" He closed his eyes once more, listening to the sounds that he usually ignored, admiring them for their simplicity.
"...screw this" He said, walking back to the house.
"Sure I saw some beer...somewhere"


--


There was an explosive eruption as a furious beast like M flew out of the water, landing in a steamy crater he himself had created.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE INGRATE!" He roared, racing after him, a tree collapsing as he catapulted himself into a faster pace by kicking off from the trunk, which fell bearing a deep scorch mark in the same shape as a footprint.
Albany collapsed from laughter, trying to hold her breath which resulted in her chest burning.
"he is soooo pissed!" She giggled, trying to catch her breath, watching as a few fish began to float belly up with the heat M had created.
"Aaaaaw, he didn't have to take it out on the fishies again!"

Sai walked up the stairs, letting herself into the room where Barnelby was situated.
"He's calmed down and he's coming back to the house...eventually just keep yourself to yourself and for the love of God don't sing that tune. I really don't fancy stapling you back together."
She gave him a small half smile, flopping down on the bed, her legs dangling over the edge.

--

"Oh dear God." He murmured as he heard the tree crash into the ground an echoing roar across the treetops reaching his snowy feline ears. "Don't kill me..." He muttered, still laughing to himself. He only noticed running into something when he fell backwards.
"What the-?"
"Cal?"
"Yeah, what the hell is going on?"
"I'll explain later." He grabbed her hand that she offered him, picking himself off the ground, he dragged her after him. "Run!" He laughed.

Alton grinned, his glass still full of icy water, whether he'd simply refilled it or just hadn't taken a sip yet, was impossible to tell.
"So how'd you get it so hot in here anyway? It's a big place..."
The ice was still held firmly to his face even as he shifted, bringing his knees upward as if to shy away from them.
"....boiler gets hot..."
"...one boiler and you can melt the whole house?..."
"...it's a big boiler" He shrugged and moved the ice to a more painful area of his face in need of it's talented cool. A door somewhere in the house opened and closed as footsteps could be heard entering the distinct tiles of the kitchen.
"OI BARNEY! WHERED YOU PUT THE BEER?!" Pyro called up to him, his carefree question masking his still fresh longing to cause him harm, though Barnelby was still able to pick up on it, his knees pulling ever closer to his face, eyes hidden by his less than presentable mess of hair which even managed to cover his goggles. He was trembling so subtly that it was barely noticeable, he couldn't remember being so afraid before.

--

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE FELINE FREAK STOP RUNNING AWAY YOU STUPID LITTLE COWARD, LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT WHEN YOU SWIM WITH THE FISHES!" There was a trail of destruction leading all the way back to the lake and it continued to form as he neared his target, eyes hungry for some payback of his own.

Realising Barnelby was trying to hide, she walked out the door leaning over the banister.
"It's in the pantry you slag!" She yelled down before walking back to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
She knelt down on the hard wood floor, taking Barnelby's hand in her own she gave it a comforting squeeze before she let go.
"He won't hurt you, I got the little bitch on a leash."
She laughed.

--

Caliga looked around in confusion at the rampaging M.
"What the hell did you do to him?"
"Uhhh...I'll explain later. Run faster please."
He skidded on the debris as he took a sharp left, dragging the female with him.
"He's going to kill meeeee!" He said back to her as he picked up the pace realising how close M was to him.

Barnelby was still for a moment, the shivering ceasing with her touch. He nodded slowly. Alton tilted his head behind them.
"Wow...what the heck happened to you? You went all scared for a sec there, you're not afraid of him are you?..."
From downstairs there was a triumphant cry as Pyro stumbled upon the untouched crate of beer hidden away deep within the pantry.
"Thaaaaaaaaaaaank youuuuuuuuuu hooooooney!" He called to Sai, helping himself to a few of the bottles. He could suddenly be heard bouncing up the stairs in a cheery guise, already half done with the first bottle. He opened the door, holding up the bottles he'd evidently brought up to share, in the same moment, Barnelby had launched himself at Sai's chest, cowering in as small a form as he could muster, leaving both Alton and Pyro to stare.
"um...wow...what did you do to him?..." Alton said quietly into Pyro's ear as he continued to stare, an edge of hate twinkling in his eyes.

--

M glared down on him from the tree in which he had perched himself.
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" He snarled as he leaped down, feet once more founding the earth as he strode toward him, barely registering the second form which accompanied him.
"DON'T YOU DARE RUN! TURN BACK AND FIGHT LIKE A REAL CAT, BITCH!"

She looked up at Pyro, seeing the malice in his eyes.
"Don't..." She warned him, allowing Barnelby to stay where he was. "Just...breathe." She reminded him noticing that his chest had stopped moving.She stretched up taking a beer from his grip.
"Thank you." She twisted the cap open, raising the alcohol to her lips she took a swig. The icy liquid running down her throat.

--

He carried on running, not bothering to turn around.
"Does that mean I get to climb up your legs and scratch at your nuts?" He yelled back. Dragging Caliga deeper into the woods in a futile attempt to lose him.

Pyro blinked when he noticed his hand become lighter. He forced his temper down deep into his gut and sighed. He silently stepped around her so that what was left of Barnelby's visible form had it's back to him. He extended his arm, holding out another bottle. Barnelby failed to notice the gesture until Pyro very gently tapped the back of his head with it. He turned his head to face the bottle, eyes still covered by a messy fringe. He took the bottle timidly, turning away again as his breathing resumed. Several moments later he received a series of similar yet much gentler taps. This time when his hand reached out, a long thin straw was placed in his palm, which he slid into his drink, slowly sipping at it. Pyro turned and returned to his place by the wall when the tune softly rose into the air.
"...four bottles of beer to go 'round...four bottles of-"
"DON'T YOU DARE YOU LITTLE JE-" Pyro stopped, halfway between launching from the wall and attacking Barnelby, Alton fisting his shirt tightly as he continued to drink.
"Let go Al!"
"Say sorry"
"FOR WHAT?!"
"Scaring the living shite out of him and purplfying his face"
"Never! Now let me go!"
"Never."

--

"WHEN YOU'RE BIG ENOUGH, RUNT!" The almost inhuman voice rippled through the trees as he darted in several directions to close in on his infamous prey. He propelled himself onward, spotting him as he and the other ran deeper and deeper into the shadows.
"Here kitty kitty" He growled, leaping through a gap in the trees, losing his footing in his rush to catch them, his arms reached out and his eyes lit up as he saw his hands closing around Haru's leg.

Sai stood in the gap between Pyro and Barnelby.
"Enough! For God's sake it's like living with fucking children! You will both apologize to each other and mean it before I make you both eunics."
She was trembling lightly with anger.
She growled. "Now you can either both play nice and make the whole living situation tolerable or Pyro will be sleeping on the couch for the rest of his life and Barnelby will be sleeping with Alton."
She made an apologetic face at Alton after the last sentence.
"Great...now I sound like my mother."

--

Haru fell to the ground, Pulling Caliga down with him. Hooking his leg around M's ankle he made sure to make the male fell down as well. He felt all the weight of the male on top of himself as he realised he had caused M to fall on him.
"Wow M, I never knew how much you liked to be on top of me." He laughed, knowing that this would just provoke him more.

Alton gave a light shudder.
"...Scary bitch"
"Apologize? Why the hell would I wanna apologize to THAT?!" Pyro screeched, gesturing to Barnelby who was still sipping at his beer.
"HE'S AN OBNOXIOUS LITTLE GIT WHO ONLY KNOWS ONE SONG AND SPENDS ALL HIS LIFE IN A DARK LITTLE CORNER! HE SHOULD APOLAGISE TO ME FOR HURTING MY EYES!" He panted as he recovered from his outburst, the now empty bottle slipping to the floor.
"Besides, he started it"
"...I'm sorry I endangered your pups" The voice was so tiny it barely sounded as if it had been spoken by Barnelby's lips, full of regret and fear even though the somewhat protective Sai was stood between him and the potential danger.
But Pyro simply blinked. It was over. His pent up rage and need to fight no longer had a reason, he was somewhat lost.
"b-b-but...BUT WHAT ABOUT THAT ANNOYING SONG?"
"...song?" He stared at the innocently purple face as it looked at him, showing no sign that he knew what he was talking about.

--

"Oh yeah!" He hissed, pulling his face closer to Haru's.
"It gives me so many little advantages, so many little windows to toy with" His voice quickly succumbed to a soft purr of malice.
"I can't see why you like being on the bottom so much, must be because you're sick of always being the dominant factor in your relationship, must drive you utterly crazy" His lips continued to play softly into his feline ears but ever so slowly he pulled himself away, bringing his knee up forcefully, colliding with his crotch hearing a satisfying thump and he rose to his full height, strolling back along his own path of destruction, a smug smile playing across his lips.

She growled, her ears pressing against her head.
"IF BARNELBY CAN BE MAN ENOUGH TO APOLIGISE THEN WHY CAN'T YOU BE MAN ENOUGH TO EXCEPT IT? NOW SIT THE FUCK DOWN AND APOLIGISE, STOP TRYIING TO PICK A FIGHT BEFORE I DAMAGE YOUR FACE WORSE THAN WHAT YOU DID TO BARNELBY!"
She stared him down, her golden eyes burning with anger. For some reason feeling far more angry than she should.

--

"Fuck....." He cursed, doubling over where M had struck him. Caliga rose a brow, stood and ran after M.
"Morgethius!"
She waited until the male turned around at the sound of his name, taking a running kick at his crotch hearing a loud crunch.
"Drama queen." She muttered before strolling off.

There was still fight in Pyro's eyes as Alton pushed him down.
"Better do what the scary lady says" He muttered.
"Shut the fuck up moron" Pyro hissed, arms folding as he looked away.
"I'm not gonna apologize to such an idiot as him" He heard Alton sigh behind him, backing away to the wall where he resumed sipping at the beer, eyes watching as Pyro glared back at him.
"I'm sorry for breaking your face and calling you names and threatening to kill you, but just because I'm sorry doesn't mean it's not true and that I won't. So there" He shrugged as if such a half hearted apology was satisfactory, yet even if it wasn't, it would still take allot to make him mean it from his heart.
"And apology excepted, but you better hope you never get a woman pregnant"



--

M blinked, startled by both the use of his full name and the blow to his crotch. He tilted his head as she left then shrugged, unharmed but still mildly confused.
"What the hell was that for?...overreacting cow" He continued down his breadcrumb trail of destruction, planning to return to Albany, wondering if she would be in as good a mood when she discovered what he'd done. More concerned about her reaction than he was with Haru or Caliga's.

She patted Pyro's head with a smile, before wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest.
"Good boy." She muttered, pretty sure that he could feel her smiling. She looked up a pout on her face.
"I'm not that scary am I?"

--

Haru stood after a few moments, the burning sensation fading. He walked off, whistling to himself.
Hmm and there was me thinking he would kill me
He shook his head, following the path that M had so graciously carved along the forest.

He looked down at her with little emotion on his features, still recovering from the embarrassment of having to apologize. His eyes finally softened and a small smile appeared.
"No, not at all...no more scary than me...well, maybe a little scarier" He leant in to plant a small kiss upon her lips before resting his head atop hers.
"You scare me in so many ways" He murmured, watching as Barnelby stood and left the room, leaving the empty beer bottle to stand alone.


--


"Is he still alive?" Albany asked, dipping a stick into the silent water, watching the small fish follow the patterns she so gently made.
"You think I would kill him? He can't even fight back, there'd be no sport in killing something that's no threat to me-"
"You kicked him in the jewels didn't you?" She sighed, hearing his jaw drop from her ability to guess his every action.
"Well...he may not be able to make fish babies...that is correct" He went to speak again but found himself falling backward after receiving a harsh fist to his cheek.
"Do it again and I'll see to it that you can't so much as get hard, chastity belt or no chastity belt" She turned and sat back by the water's edge, resuming her patterns in the water, leaving M to twitch on the floor.

She looked amused, her feline ears unfolding from her head.
"I scare you? But I'm so tiny and you're so....huge."
She laughed, flicking her snowy bangs from her eyes.
"N'awww you're scared of little old me?"
She reached up to kiss him back, unable to keep the grin off her face.

--

Haru strolled past M, retaining the smile on his face as he twitched on the floor.
"Wow, remind me not to get on the wrong side of you." He muttered, keeping his distance in case Albany was pissed at him. The pain that M was in did not seem fun, hell it looked like it hurt more than a kick in the knackers and he wasn't sure if he fancied getting hit by a girl, At least he could hit M back if he wanted to...

He smirked, pulling her closer.
"Yeah you scare me, you and all your evil little thoughts and plotting, everyone should be scared of you, scared and jealous because of how beautiful you are, and when faced with beautiful people, size doesn't matter, my scary little kitten"
Behind them Alton simply stared, realising that Barnelby had made a quick escape before the soppy collapse of their complex personalities had the chance to unfold. He quickly darted from the room as a blush appeared on his cheeks, unsure of the exact reason, but deeply disturbed by it.


--


"mmm, he's so veeeery intimidating" She mused, dipping a finger to where a gang of baby fish swam clumsily to avoid her then taste her.
"He thinks he's sooooo bad" He other hand was contracting repeatedly as she tried to gain some feeling in it, lifting her sleeve she could see the reddening mark from where her hand had collided with M's stone hard cheek, aching deeply, she pulled it up further and noted the piece of glass that lay embedded there, she didn't know how but she had managed to forget about it, and it seemed almost impossible to remove now, she sighed, lowering her sleeve once more as she returned concentration to the tiny colourful fish.

She shook her head and laughed.
"Roar."
She muttered, about to put her head back on his chest. She looked around blinking in surprise.
"Where did everyone go?"

--

Deciding it was safe he plonked himself on the floor next to her, watching the fish with interest.
"He's fairly intimidating, but he's better when he's being nice."
He paused to laugh as one of the fish tried to jump out of the water, maybe to get a better taste of Albany, but fell back after making it only a centimeter into the air.

He quickly studied the empty room, spotting the beer bottles left in the places the other two should have been.
"...Guess we weirded them out or something...that or it's way past Barney's bed time...though I've never actually seen him sleep...so your threat to have him sleep with Al might have been a lost cause..." He shrugged, his hands sliding away from her as he leant back to support his weight on them.
"I still don't know why you're so eager to defend the little-...ugh...nevermind...I suppose if he keeps the food stocked up I can tolerate him...him and his...googly eyes"


--


"Ah but he doesn't get what he wants when he's being nice, so he'd much rather try and intimidate the cookies out of us by getting mad at the bath" She giggled, still able to see a few floating bodies from M's previous attempts at getting clean.
"God forbid we find somewhere where ducks like to swim...it could be a very messy end to a partially clean M..." She glanced over her shoulder as she heard M finally pull himself into a sitting position, gazing out over the lake to the dead and dying fish.
"...Think they taste any good?" He asked.

She tapped his nose with her forefinger.
"No I am eager to save his ass from the big mean bully who picks on people who cannot defend themselves. Besides I would've still made him go in the same bed as Alton...and that guy kicks a lot."
She walked away from his position, picking up the bottles that lay scattered around the room.

--

"...I think it should be the bath that's mad at him, that water will taste disgusting for years. All the villagers will speak of one dreaded morn when their water supply was doomed to taste of ass..."
He reached into the water and pulled a dead fish out, throwing it over to M.
"Try it."

He grinned , trying to shove the image of Barnelby and Alton in the same bed, almost able to picture a traumatised expression even beneath the heavy specs.
"Careful, he may try to hire you as his bodyguard and his maid" He mused as she picked up the bottles.
"No wait...seeing you in that kind of getup would be a sight to see...carry on kitten" He stood and stepped over to the door casually, he could hear Barnelby's uneven footsteps heading off to the left wing of the confusing structure and below he could hear the sound of meat being cut through, apparently Alton had given into his stomach.

--

Even as M inspected the dead fish Albany couldn't help but cry out with laughter.
"Not M ass! They'll be poisoned! We'll have wiped out an entire village by accident!" M hardly looked impressed as he rolled a finger up the fish's side watching as it bubbled slightly, darkening until cooked.
"No eating like an animal?" Albany spoke as if surprised, M taking a bite of the no longer raw fish.
"I may eat raw flesh but raw fish just isn't the same...it's fishier" He put it's entire body into his mouth and chewed, pulling the bony spine from his mouth once he was finished, tossing out to join it's brethren.
"Mmm...wasn't too bad"

She rolled her eyes, gathering up the remaining bottles.
"It's only because if I didn't do this you guys would be living in squalor..." He looked at him, her eyes wide. "Maids? Really? Hmm...well we'll just have to see what we can do about that."
She gave him a cheeky wink before leaving the room, searching for a bin.

--

"Yes it wasn't that bad because M enjoys the taste of ass." He murmured to Albany, pretty sure that M could still hear him though. He picked up another corpse and tossed it to the greedy male.

He smiled, watching her as she left the room, waiting until all was silent in the upper floor. He could still make out Barnelby's position, he wouldn't venture down into his torture chamber while they were still there, he was fairly sure of that, which meant that for now, there would be little to do, and his grudge, while still fresh, was fading slowly, Sai had seen to that. With boredom threatening to wash over him, he slowly padded over to the window, there was a long drop and a few skinny branches incapable of carrying his weight, the view mostly consisting of leaves and abandoned bird nests.
"...No wonder he went loony" He sighed, staring out at the wall of green.

--

He caught the limp body and lay back as he proceeded to run a burning hand across it's congealing flesh until it's silvery scales turned brown.
"Well since I enjoy the taste of ass so much, perhaps it won't surprise you when yours ends up on my menu, right?" He sucked the dangling fish into his mouth and crunched down, a small amount of fish blood sliding down the side of his mouth. Albany cringed and closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the undesirable eating sounds, able to picture the fishy body being ravaged by pointed teeth.
"Ew, M! Must you eat like an animal?" she hissed, turning to glare at him, quickly covering her head as a mangled fish skeleton was tossed their way.

Sai walked through the corridors, droplets running down the walls from the sudden cooling. Her arms grasped the bottles tightly, but she could not see a bin anywhere. Sighing to herself she began to hunt for Barnelby, hoping he would be able to tell her where to dispose of the mess that the others had *Oh so generously* left behind.


--

"Knew it." He muttered under his breath. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon and inky blue colour on the other edge of town.
He stood up, his bones popping from staying in the same position for so long.
"So do you want to sleep inside tonight? Or would you prefer the woods?" He smirked to Albany as he offered her his hand