Devouring midnight

"No it is my fault. He's worked up because I moved from where I should've been." Her hand falling to her side. "You know I'll go out anyway. I don't care about getting hurt. He won't kill me...just...don't come out no matter what you hear. I'm a big girl. I'll survive." She gave him a faint smile, walking over to the door, fingers lingering on the handle. "Okay?"

He frowned. She hadn't moved at all, he'd moved her, and now she was willing to a pay a price she didn't owe. With showing reluctance, he sat on the end of the bed.
"Okay" His hands gripped the sheets tightly, as if it might help to keep him from rushing to her side once the door was open, he looked to the ground, hating her for accepting Pyro's temper, wanting to pummel him further and save her skin.
"But I'm not going to promise that I won't kill him if he hurts you, I don't care how long I have to wait"
Outside Pyro paced hurriedly, wondering how much force would break down the door, how much he should save for Alton and just how hard he should slap Sai if she really was inside the room. From the moment he had seen the empty kitchen, he had seen red, not that the gash in his forehead that slowly seeped blood into his vision didn't add to the effect, but he was angry and every second that passed caused him to think even darker thoughts.

"Fine." Giving him the one bit of leeway she could. Her hands were trembling as she turned the lock in the door, pulling the door open and stepping into the hallway. Pulling the door shut behind her, she shuffled nervously on the spot. Pyro was beyond angry, he was damn terrifying. Refusing to give into the urge and run back inside the room, she leant her back against the door in silence waiting for him to speak first.

He stopped pacing immediately.
He turned to glare at her, the bruises were still there on her skin, they had increased in size but they weren't as bad as he thought they would be and it displeased him.
"You weren't in the kitchen" He hissed, speeding over to her. He stared at her face, clenched his fist and sent it flying into the door. It was good that he hadn't managed to strike Alton back, for the deep dent in the solid wooden door showed just what he could have done.
"Why?" The question turned into a demand, almost accusing her for leaving the kitchen where he had intended for her to stay.

Sai flinched as his fist narrowly missed her head, the door suffering in her stead. She turned her head away, fearing the burning look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I don't know how..." She replied, shuffling on the spot not wanting to create a deeper hole for herself or get Alton on the receiving end of Pyro's anger.

"You don't know? What kind of pathetic excuse is that?" He dragged his hand along the wood of the door, leaving deep fingernail marks where he tore away the first few layers. He lifted his hand to grip her chin and held her face so that she had no option but to look at him, though he didn't look as normal as he should, his eyes were too dark and his teeth clenched to prevent the heavy breaths from escaping him. He was tempted to grip her throat, but he stopped his hand and let it grab her wrist instead, he began twisting it slowly, waiting to see her cry out and ask for him to stop.
His hands let her go, his eyes closed and a look of calm overcame his as he dropped heavily to the floor.
Barnelby stood behind him looking fairly smug behind the obscurity of the goggles, closing and opening his metallic fist which he had swung into the back of Pyro's head.
"...I don't care if he wakes up and beats me...that was worth it"

Sai sank to the floor shaking in shock.
"Thanks." Running her tongue along the inside of her mouth, easing the pressure that Pyro had inflicted on her jaw. "You didn't have to do that, but thanks anyway." She breathed, leaning her head against the door, waiting for her pulse to calm.

"He was hurting you..." Barnelby said, staring down at Pyro. The door to the bedroom opened quickly, the absence of an angry word after the thud of a body had made Alton suspicious and he'd decided to peer out. He saw Pyro immediately and looked down at Sai with relief.
"What did you do Sai?" He looked up and spotted Barnelby's fist, which was tainted red with Pyro's blood.
"...We should probably move him" He said, stepping past Sai he slowly picked up Pyro by his shoulders, gesturing for Barnelby and his new arm to help lift his legs, and together they carried him into one of the bedrooms and locked him in.
"I hope he stays that quiet..." Alton laughed, though there was no life to it.

"Maybe. But it was okay." She murmured, head clouded with emotion. "If he stays that quiet I'll count it a blessing." Staring at her hands, forcing them to slowly stop shaking. With a sigh of relief as they finally ceased the unnecessary action Picking herself up off the floor, she pulled the T-shirt straight, covering as much of herself as humanely possible. Running a finger along her bruised lips, she gave them both a small smile. "Thanks."

A single smile was returned by Barnelby, though Alton carried a face of stone. He double checked that the door was locked and made sure that the key hung upon the opposite wall for when they finally saw fit to release him. He stepped over to his sister and stared at her face for a moment, he finally smiled a minuscule smile and gently touched her cheek, his pressed his lips to her forehead and turned away.
"You have tea right?" He asked as he passed Barnelby, patting his shoulder.
"Yes...I do...in the kitchen I think" Alton nodded and proceeded to the kitchen, he needed a reason to take care of the mess Pyro had created.

Sai gently touched the place where Alton's lips touched, the kindness of her brother almost unsettling. Glancing at the key on the wall, she was tempted to pick it up and tend to Pyro's painfully obvious wound that he had sustained from Barnelby. Curling her hands around the hem of her T-shirt, she turned to face Barnelby, pushing the thoughts of the key out of her mind.
"I see you got your arm working. It suits you."

His face lit up suddenly and he nodded.
"It's a little heavy and it feels strange...I'll miss the original one but having this
means I can do a ot more...Thanks Sai, I guess it might suit me, though I won't be hitting anyone that hard again" He smiled and thought about saying something else but decided his own good mood didn't match Sai's, he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"I-...I haven't been to bed yet, so I'm going for a nap before I do anything else, I'll see you later, ok Sai?"

"Sure, don't let me stop you, I was about to do the same." She laughed, though the action sounded false, even to herself. "At least now you can thump both of them and not worry about them getting back up." With a light smile, she stepped into Alton's room, too tired to even begin finding her own. "Night Barns." She said, before letting the door slide shut behind her.

He waved as she returned to the bedroom, turning off he slowly padded off toward his own, just able to hear Alton fumbling about in the kitchen, clearing everything away in the most violent way possible, it was upsetting to hear the anger in Alton's actions but he would cool off eventually. Before returning to bed, Barnelby took to cleaning his new arm, rinsing away the crimson tint. It was a precious tool and to see blood coating it's surface was unnerving, so once it was clean, he felt satisfied with the reward of a comfortable bed.
Alton remained in the kitchen until everything was neatly put away and every surface was clean, it exhausted him and he found himself returning to his room, spotting Sai. He was thankful Pyro had not woken yet.

Sai sat up as the heavy footsteps clattered across the wooden floorboards, blanket falling onto the ground.
"Oh hey Al, sorry...I fell asleep again. I'll go back to my room." Swinging her legs off the bed, wincing as the pain from her bruises rippled through her body.

He looked her over and smiled, shaking his head.
"No it's alright...you stay there, you looked comfy" He walked around to her side and gently helped lift her legs back into bed, he tucked her in and kissed her forehead.
"You just sleep and feel better ok? Good" From under the bed he pulled a spare duvet, and carried it to the door with him.
"I'll leave you to sleep, night" And he slunk away, covered in the duvet, ending up in the living room before collapsing on the sofa.

She laid back into the soft pillow, the familiar feeling of guilt washing through her for kicking Alton from his own bed. The emotion soon subsided as the gentle caress of sleep washed over her once more.

He could see stars, his whole head was buzzing with then. Colourful bursts would explode every time he turned his head and he would squeeze his eyes tightly shut to avoid feeling the sweeping waves of nausea. How long he'd been lying there he didn't know, but he was in agony, he also felt as though he would throw up. He slid himself from the bed carefully, holding his head to relieve some of the pain, why it hurt so much, he couldn't remember. He found the door and fumbled with the handle, but it was locked, and there was no key. He began to knock, softly at first, hoping that someone could hear him.
Alton stirred as the knocking got louder, and a small voice asked politely to be let out of the room. Alton grumbled, hugging the duvet.
"Go to sleep Pyro" He murmured.

Sai soon gave up the idea of sleep, as the little she got was broken and disoriented. Sitting up on the bed, she pulled the duvet over her head, the warmth engulfing her. Momentarily becoming deaf to Pyro's pleas, which were growing louder by the second, she stumbled from the bed, throat burning in need of water. Dragging the quilt with her she staggered to the kitchen, filling a glass with cold water, quickly draining it.

He ended up sat with his back to the door, his knees to his face, rubbing at the sore, bloody part of his head that caused him to stumbled when he stood and whine when he lay. He supposed something had hit him, for he couldn't remember anything past Sai, he'd wanted to hurt her and suddenly there was nothing. He felt blank, he didn't feel angry, his stress was gone and all that was left was the pain in his head. Occasionally he would call out, but his voice was fading and eventually he gave up. He crawled back into bed, and wished for the pain to subside.

Rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards, she pulled out various pots and pans, in need of something to distract her hands which were trying desperately hard to pick Alton's bedding to pieces. Opening the pantry, a cool gust of air hit her face forcing a shiver down her spine. Grabbing the various bits of food she needed, Sai placed them onto the counter. Flicking the gas on, she waited for the pan to heat before dropping in various sliced of bacon. Yes both Alton and Barnelby should be hungry when they woke.

Alton snored lightly, tightly wrapped in the duvet he was exceptionally warm in the cool living room and he had managed to comfortably snuggle into the soft upholstery. He woke for a second time while resting there after the scent of food filled his nose, and quiet footsteps entered the room. He opened an eye and spotted Barnelby, he was dressed but his hair and face still bore water droplets from a bath.
"Morning" He said, receiving a slow tired nod from Alton.
"Sleep well?"
"Mhm...do you think my arm is waterproof? I forgot it was there..."
"...if its still working I suppose it must be...but if it's made of iron it'll rust you know..."
"I doubt it is...it's not heavy enough to be iron" They both shrugged and Barnelby cast his attention in the direction of the kitchen.
"Is Sai awake?..."
"...must be"

Flipping over a few eggs in the pan, she smiled to herself as the oil crackled in the pan. Turning off the heat, she waited until the fat stopped spitting before scooping the eggs onto the already full plates beside her. The thought of ingesting the food itself made her stomach churn, picking up the warm plates she made her way to Alton's room. Balancing both the plates in her arms, she knocked on the door before walking in.
"Oh hey Barns." She greeted, realising he was in there as well. "You guys hungry? I couldn't sleep so I started cooking."

(Faaaaail, they's in the living room)

Alton sat up immediately, his hair a complete disaster though he hadn't noticed.
"Well-...that's nice of you, I guess we haven't eaten in awhile...what about you? Aren't you hungry by now?" He stretched out and heard his back creak after sleeping away from the softness of his bed.
"Thanks Sai...now that I think about it, I guess I am a little hungry..." When Barnelby thought about it, he supposed he really didn't eat or drink enough.

"Starving." She replied, handing them a plate each and taking seat at the end of the makeshift bed. "But you're welcome. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to cook." Picking at the covers, she looked up at Barnelby taking the chance to study his new arm properly. "That's so weird to me. It shouldn't even be possible..."