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Sudden crashing and yelling from elsewhere in the house jolted me awake. I looked over to the lone window in our room, but it was still sometime in the middle of the night. It couldn't have been more than a couple hours since our bedtime. The light filtering through the window was just enough to make out the shape of Sura and Connor on their sleeping mats, Sura slowly sitting up in waking from the commotion.

"Saffron, what's going on?" she asked groggily, slowly blinking herself awake.

"I...I don't know," I answered, my eyes darting around the room. "It sounded like something fell over, but there's nothing in here."

Another crash.

"There it goes again," Sura said, picking up Connor who'd been startled awake. "The hell's going on? Are we getting robbed?"

"...Uh, where's Harley?" I whispered.

Between the crashes my ears perked from a noise of hushed sniveling coming from the closet. My eyes adjusting, I could just make out that the doors were cracked open. I rose to my feet just enough to crouch and slowly pace to the closet.

"Harley, are you in there?" I inquired. "It's okay, it's just us."

A small black hand reached for the edge of the door, so I did the same and folded it back. There Harley sat, hugging her knees tightly to the rest of her person.

Yet another crash and unintelligible yelling emanated from just down the hall. It was enough to make her jump from the closet and into my arms. I had never seen her shaken this badly before; her face was wet with tears as though she had cried for hours. I held her as best as I could as an uncanny, uneasy feeling rose in my gut. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"You two, get over here," Sura said, a tinge of panic in her voice as she motioned toward us. "I don't know what's going on out there but you'll be safer over here."

With a distraught Harley in my arms we both slowly made our way back to Sura and huddled together. Sura put herself between the door and the rest of us should someone try to invade.

"Harley, what's wrong?" Sura asked, pulling her closer.

Harley just held a thousand-yard stare, frantic and lost in her own thoughts.

"Please, tell me what's wrong," Sura gently shook Harley as though to wake her from a nightmare. "It's just us, you can tell me. I've never seen you this upset before."

Harley came to, but before she could answer another loud crash came from just down the hall, louder than the last one. The yelling and cries sounded like they were coming from the home staff and, now that it was close enough to hear it better, some of the crashing noises seemed to occur from what sounded like bodies being struck.

Footsteps grew louder down the hall, some quickening to a trot. There was more than one to start, but after a few slams and yelps only one person's footsteps could be heard.

"He's mad," uttered Harley. "I did something wrong."

"Who's mad?" asked Sura.

"...Riv," Harley answered, staring right through her.

"That's Riv making all this noise? What could you possibly have done?"

"I...I told him a secret."

Something about how that sounded immediately put me on edge, and it looked to do the same to Sura. Her ears raked back and eyes widened, not wanting to ask further but having little alternative.

"...Can I ask you what the secret is?"

Harley looked down to the floor and fidgeted with her shirt, unsure of what to do. Sura tilted her head down to offer her ear so she didn't have to say it aloud. Harley hesitated but took the offer, covering her mouth before speaking. Sura's face slowly turned from shocked to pained, telling me all I needed to know. Freeing up an arm she grabbed the small child and held her close, resuming a quiet snivel. Her face was so wet I don't think she had any more tears left to shed.

The four of us sat there in silence, collected in the corner of our small room as the hits and slams grew louder before the footsteps finally stopped just outside our door. We turned toward the door but didn't move as the handle jiggled, some incomprehensible muttering heard from the other side.

The door finally opened and light from the hall filled the room. Through the bloom Riv's figure could be discerned, holding a club and looking around the dark room for any sign of us. He finally spotted us in the corner behind the door hinge.

"Pack what you care about," he said flatly. "You got a few minutes."

Something about his expression shook me to my core. I'd seen him mad before, sure, but nothing like this.

"Riv, what's going on?" Sura cried. "What are you doing?"

"Fixin' mistakes," was all he said before turning away to continue down the hall.

A strange shape in the light caught Sura's eye. "What happened to your ear?"

"Not important."

With that said his figure disappeared back into the hall. We quickly hopped to our feet to grab what little we had to our names as more slamming could be heard down the other side of the hall. We moved as fast as we could, knowing exactly where he was headed and it wasn't far from this room. We had everything valuable to us hastily packed away in only about a minute. Sura picked up and carried Connor on her back and I took our bag.

"Where we going?" Connor asked in a sleepy fog.

"We're going to some other place, don't worry," Sura reassured. "Everything will be alright."

She gave the room a quick look-over before stopping at me.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I don't think any of us are," I said with a nervous laugh, grabbing Harley's hand. "Right now we have bigger issues."

Sura responded only with an anxious smile before stepping through the doorway and out into the hall. Tons of broken decorations and several staff littered the place, knocked out or heaving. We only had enough time to see it in passing as we fled toward the front door. Harley stopped just short of the door and looked back toward the hall, tugging me to a halt.

"Harley, we need to keep going," I said, tugging back.

Riv's shouting could be heard in the distance. He found his goal.

Harley let go of my hand and ran back toward the hall without saying a word.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I yelled, running after her. "We need to get out of here!"

Sura turned round and ran after us with Connor still on her back. We all stopped just before the hall, peering around the corner to Father's door now ajar. He could be heard just slightly through Riv's yelling, but it was too quiet to make out from where we stood. Harley walked closer and the three of us cautiously followed, trying to get her to come back.

"Yanno, I knew something was off about you, 'bout this whole thing," Riv sneered. "This past year just tryin' to win over the trust of defenseless kids so you could do sick shit like this."

He slowly sauntered toward the terrified man on the floor, smashing his club against a nearby table and vase and making Father flinch and inch back farther.

"You never done a single genuine thing in your life, have you? Was always what you could get outta people, 'specially us. Can't even see us as people, but walking labor and favors. What a way to crawl through life, even one so highly respected and revered like yours."

"Celadon, you don't have to do this," Father said from the ground, holding his side. "Please just let me go, I'll never do it again!"

"You know that ain't my name," Riv spat. "Dunno what wires got fucked in your head and not sure I care. We both knew it'd come to this-- why're you so surprised?"

He struck another small table and sent it flying across the room.

"After all, this ain't the first time..."

Riv stopped just short of the crumpled man on the floor, clenching the club handle in a white-knuckle grip.

"...But I can surely make it the last."

In a flash Riv raised his weapon and crashed it down against Father in the shadows of his headmaster's room. While we couldn't quite see everything, we heard all of it-- cries of pain and calls for help that could only fall on deaf, incapacitated ears. Sura covered Connor's ears as best as she could and I tried to mentally escape to somewhere else. That concentration was broken before long as Harley ran the rest of the way from the hall to the headmaster's room. I lurched forward and ran after her while Sura and Connor followed, stopping at the doorway.

The noise had ceased.

I stuck my head past the doorway to behold Harley grabbing Riv's swinging arm, keeping him from striking further. Riv had frozen in place as he towered over Father, still alive but horribly maimed and caught in a coughing fit.

"...Hey, kid," Riv said quietly, coming back to his senses.

"Please...stop," Harley choked. "Please."

"...Yeah. Okay."

Riv stood back up and wiped his eyes and mouth. Harley clung to his side, trying not to look at the mess of a man just in front of them.

"'m sorry...you...had to see that," he murmured, patting her head and stroking her face before bending down to pick her up.

With Harley in his arms Riv walked back toward the doorway where the rest of us stood in wait. He turned around at the last second to face the only parental figure we'd known all this time, raising his club and gesturing menacingly.

"I see you 'round us again, or doin' the same shit again, I'll end you. Mark my words."

---

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Description
***

Sudden crashing and yelling from elsewhere in the house jolted me awake. I looked over to the lone window in our room, but it was still sometime in the middle of the night. It couldn't have been more than a couple hours since our bedtime. The light filtering through the window was just enough to make out the shape of Sura and Connor on their sleeping mats, Sura slowly sitting up in waking from the commotion.

"Saffron, what's going on?" she asked groggily, slowly blinking herself awake.

"I...I don't know," I answered, my eyes darting around the room. "It sounded like something fell over, but there's nothing in here."

Another crash.

"There it goes again," Sura said, picking up Connor who'd been startled awake. "The hell's going on? Are we getting robbed?"

"...Uh, where's Harley?" I whispered.

Between the crashes my ears perked from a noise of hushed sniveling coming from the closet. My eyes adjusting, I could just make out that the doors were cracked open. I rose to my feet just enough to crouch and slowly pace to the closet.

"Harley, are you in there?" I inquired. "It's okay, it's just us."

A small black hand reached for the edge of the door, so I did the same and folded it back. There Harley sat, hugging her knees tightly to the rest of her person.

Yet another crash and unintelligible yelling emanated from just down the hall. It was enough to make her jump from the closet and into my arms. I had never seen her shaken this badly before; her face was wet with tears as though she had cried for hours. I held her as best as I could as an uncanny, uneasy feeling rose in my gut. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"You two, get over here," Sura said, a tinge of panic in her voice as she motioned toward us. "I don't know what's going on out there but you'll be safer over here."

With a distraught Harley in my arms we both slowly made our way back to Sura and huddled together. Sura put herself between the door and the rest of us should someone try to invade.

"Harley, what's wrong?" Sura asked, pulling her closer.

Harley just held a thousand-yard stare, frantic and lost in her own thoughts.

"Please, tell me what's wrong," Sura gently shook Harley as though to wake her from a nightmare. "It's just us, you can tell me. I've never seen you this upset before."

Harley came to, but before she could answer another loud crash came from just down the hall, louder than the last one. The yelling and cries sounded like they were coming from the home staff and, now that it was close enough to hear it better, some of the crashing noises seemed to occur from what sounded like bodies being struck.

Footsteps grew louder down the hall, some quickening to a trot. There was more than one to start, but after a few slams and yelps only one person's footsteps could be heard.

"He's mad," uttered Harley. "I did something wrong."

"Who's mad?" asked Sura.

"...Riv," Harley answered, staring right through her.

"That's Riv making all this noise? What could you possibly have done?"

"I...I told him a secret."

Something about how that sounded immediately put me on edge, and it looked to do the same to Sura. Her ears raked back and eyes widened, not wanting to ask further but having little alternative.

"...Can I ask you what the secret is?"

Harley looked down to the floor and fidgeted with her shirt, unsure of what to do. Sura tilted her head down to offer her ear so she didn't have to say it aloud. Harley hesitated but took the offer, covering her mouth before speaking. Sura's face slowly turned from shocked to pained, telling me all I needed to know. Freeing up an arm she grabbed the small child and held her close, resuming a quiet snivel. Her face was so wet I don't think she had any more tears left to shed.

The four of us sat there in silence, collected in the corner of our small room as the hits and slams grew louder before the footsteps finally stopped just outside our door. We turned toward the door but didn't move as the handle jiggled, some incomprehensible muttering heard from the other side.

The door finally opened and light from the hall filled the room. Through the bloom Riv's figure could be discerned, holding a club and looking around the dark room for any sign of us. He finally spotted us in the corner behind the door hinge.

"Pack what you care about," he said flatly. "You got a few minutes."

Something about his expression shook me to my core. I'd seen him mad before, sure, but nothing like this.

"Riv, what's going on?" Sura cried. "What are you doing?"

"Fixin' mistakes," was all he said before turning away to continue down the hall.

A strange shape in the light caught Sura's eye. "What happened to your ear?"

"Not important."

With that said his figure disappeared back into the hall. We quickly hopped to our feet to grab what little we had to our names as more slamming could be heard down the other side of the hall. We moved as fast as we could, knowing exactly where he was headed and it wasn't far from this room. We had everything valuable to us hastily packed away in only about a minute. Sura picked up and carried Connor on her back and I took our bag.

"Where we going?" Connor asked in a sleepy fog.

"We're going to some other place, don't worry," Sura reassured. "Everything will be alright."

She gave the room a quick look-over before stopping at me.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I don't think any of us are," I said with a nervous laugh, grabbing Harley's hand. "Right now we have bigger issues."

Sura responded only with an anxious smile before stepping through the doorway and out into the hall. Tons of broken decorations and several staff littered the place, knocked out or heaving. We only had enough time to see it in passing as we fled toward the front door. Harley stopped just short of the door and looked back toward the hall, tugging me to a halt.

"Harley, we need to keep going," I said, tugging back.

Riv's shouting could be heard in the distance. He found his goal.

Harley let go of my hand and ran back toward the hall without saying a word.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I yelled, running after her. "We need to get out of here!"

Sura turned round and ran after us with Connor still on her back. We all stopped just before the hall, peering around the corner to Father's door now ajar. He could be heard just slightly through Riv's yelling, but it was too quiet to make out from where we stood. Harley walked closer and the three of us cautiously followed, trying to get her to come back.

"Yanno, I knew something was off about you, 'bout this whole thing," Riv sneered. "This past year just tryin' to win over the trust of defenseless kids so you could do sick shit like this."

He slowly sauntered toward the terrified man on the floor, smashing his club against a nearby table and vase and making Father flinch and inch back farther.

"You never done a single genuine thing in your life, have you? Was always what you could get outta people, 'specially us. Can't even see us as people, but walking labor and favors. What a way to crawl through life, even one so highly respected and revered like yours."

"Celadon, you don't have to do this," Father said from the ground, holding his side. "Please just let me go, I'll never do it again!"

"You know that ain't my name," Riv spat. "Dunno what wires got fucked in your head and not sure I care. We both knew it'd come to this-- why're you so surprised?"

He struck another small table and sent it flying across the room.

"After all, this ain't the first time..."

Riv stopped just short of the crumpled man on the floor, clenching the club handle in a white-knuckle grip.

"...But I can surely make it the last."

In a flash Riv raised his weapon and crashed it down against Father in the shadows of his headmaster's room. While we couldn't quite see everything, we heard all of it-- cries of pain and calls for help that could only fall on deaf, incapacitated ears. Sura covered Connor's ears as best as she could and I tried to mentally escape to somewhere else. That concentration was broken before long as Harley ran the rest of the way from the hall to the headmaster's room. I lurched forward and ran after her while Sura and Connor followed, stopping at the doorway.

The noise had ceased.

I stuck my head past the doorway to behold Harley grabbing Riv's swinging arm, keeping him from striking further. Riv had frozen in place as he towered over Father, still alive but horribly maimed and caught in a coughing fit.

"...Hey, kid," Riv said quietly, coming back to his senses.

"Please...stop," Harley choked. "Please."

"...Yeah. Okay."

Riv stood back up and wiped his eyes and mouth. Harley clung to his side, trying not to look at the mess of a man just in front of them.

"'m sorry...you...had to see that," he murmured, patting her head and stroking her face before bending down to pick her up.

With Harley in his arms Riv walked back toward the doorway where the rest of us stood in wait. He turned around at the last second to face the only parental figure we'd known all this time, raising his club and gesturing menacingly.

"I see you 'round us again, or doin' the same shit again, I'll end you. Mark my words."

---

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