InsaneJournal

The tables at the end of the upstairs hall fell first, caught in the hail of the ruckus as the three children slammed against the wall. A chorus of screams went out, a yelp and a snarl, something heavy and glass breaking as the smallest of the group went flying out onto the rug. She fell with a shout, scrambling to her feet and throwing herself into the fray yet again.

Something small and metal fell out of the knot, followed by Jasdero. Debitt and Rhode were still struggling as the blonde started to scramble down the hall, but his giggle of delight gave him away, and the two were on top of him in an instant, scratching and pawing viciously. A warning call came from the bottom of the stairs as they hit yet another wall, but it did nothing to prepare them for what came next. The door at the end of the hallway slammed open, hard enough to make several pictures fall off the wall, revealing a seething Tiki. His shirt was unbuttoned, the drawers in the room behind him opened and dug through wildly.

”The key, Rhode.” His voice was dripping poison, danger emanating from every inch of his body. The mess of bodies froze, the soft sound of a small, metal object sounding in the silence as the key hit the rug from one of the children’s hands. All eyes were focused on the enraged man, lungs frozen in terror as he took several slow steps forward. ”Give it to me.” Tiki held a hand out, breaths coming heavily as he stopped.

Jasdero managed to slide out of the brawl as Tiki took another step, sprinting down the hall and disappearing into the room he shared with Debitt in an instant. The key was obviously not produced fast enough, because Rhode was dragged out by an ankle before a few seconds was through, held upside down by her leg. Her pajama pants made for a slippery grip, but Tiki certainly didn’t plan on letting go.

“Give it back now, Rhode.” Debitt was trying to pick it up while keeping his eyes on the fearsome Tiki, having a bit of trouble finding the key without looking. Rhode pointed toward the boy with a sheepish smile, cringing a bit as Tiki let her pass through his hands and drop to the floor. She rolled, used to the scuffles of the household, but Debitt was unfortunately in the way. Tiki stepped on his hand as it closed over the key, putting pressure down when Debitt tried to pull away. “I believe that’s mine, boy.”

“Y- Yeah, actually, I think it-“ He cut himself off with a high pitched squeal as something cracked in his hand, the fingers releasing from the metal out of reflex as the pain shot up his arm. Tiki bent down and picked up the key with a slight sneer. Debitt curled up around his injured hand with a whine as soon as the foot was removed, watching Tiki’s calm retreat toward his room with a wary expression. The oxygen could disappear in a matter of moments if they weren’t careful- it had certainly happened before.

    “The next time one of you sets foot in my room while I’m not in there, you’d better pray that god’s with you, because I will be on you like white on rice. Do you understand me, brats?” They nodded mutely in response to his threat, watching the door slam behind him once more and flinching as a precariously hanging painting crashed to the ground.

    “Good job, asshole.” Rhode hissed the words as Debitt started to crawl back toward his room, eyes narrowed in irritation. “If you two hadn’t raised the dickens over that piece of shit we wouldn’t have been caught!”

    “Oh, shut up! As if he didn’t know, you’re the only one who knows where the key was!” Debitt snarled the words, spitting angrily as Jasdero peered out the door to see if they were still alive. “Besides, we already trashed the place. Putting the key to his room where you found it wouldn’t keep him from finding out!”