Raph sat alone in his room, working through his homework, continuously listening for the small signs that his sisters were in the other room--a giggle, flipping pages, the occasional bang as Zoe dropped something or knocked a wall--but it remained silent. All too often he'd wished away the small noises that told him Zoe was nearby, and now they were gone, he wanted them back. They were background noises he'd grown accustomed to that, strangely enough, helped him concentrate.

With a sigh, he leaned back against his bed, defeated.

Two nights to himself. He should be enjoying them while he had the chance and he couldn't even enjoy the feeling of finishing a worksheet. He eyed his homework. It was pretty much done anyway. Maybe his mum would be up for something to keep him distracted. Maybe he could even convince her to order take-out. That was a luxury that they hadn't been able to afford until a few weeks after Athira had arrived, thanks to the well-timed raise at the hospital.

It was strange. He knew his mum had been worried about supporting a third kid Colour-wise, yet they'd been more comfortable than ever. Zoe always had her Om-Nom bars in the cupboard, treats weren't as rare, and his mum was usually home earlier than he remembered her being in the past. Maybe the universe had finally got around to dishing out their share of good karma, he didn't care. Whatever it was, he just hoped it kept coming.

Raph piled up his work and opened his bedroom door, setting out into the hallway. Almost immediately, he heard the low voices, voices that didn't want to be heard. Instinct softened his steps the way Athira had taught him before he continued the last few metres to the kitchen door.

He hesitated around the corner, getting a stock of the situation before he poked his head into view. Even from this distance, it was hard to hear what they were saying.

Raph recognised his mum's voice instantly. "You can't be serious. She's barely thirteen. Her Colour is more out of control than it's ever been, it's hardly done maturing!"

"Hardly done maturing, Miela?" The second voice took him a second to place. Felicity, his mum's 'friend' that acted more like the kids at school who were nice to him so they could talk to Zoe. "She can clearly control it. If it's as rampant as you're claiming it to be, surely half your house would be destroyed by now, mm?"

"It's not like that. When she's frustrated or angry, it--"

"Which is why you're going to make this transition as smooth and easy as possible," said Felicity, cutting her off. "She trusts you at this point. Convince her it's in her best interests. Make up something if you need to--the hospital's making cutbacks, you can't support her anymore, I don't care. But within a month, we'll be expecting to collect her. If you can't honour the deal we made, then we'll be taking payment in... other ways until the agreement is fulfilled. Do you understand?"

The woman's icy voice had nothing to do with the chill freezing over Raph's body.He couldn't breathe. Could barely think.

His mother--his own mother had made a deal to hand over Athira?

There was no way they were talking about Zoe. Zoe's Colour had matured, it was strong, but it had nothing on Athira's. The raw power to Athira's Colour was phenomenal. It still terrified him on occasion, and that was when she wasn't trying to use it against him. Hues be bleached, people had already tried to manipulate Athira for her Colour, and--

It hit him.

Felicity was part of the group that'd kidnapped him and Zoe, that'd tried to use them as bait to lure Athira in. They hadn't been able to contain Athira by force then, so they'd let her come back, they'd monitored, watched, observed, waited until... until her Colour had matured. Until she was thirteen, realised Raph.

"I understand," said his mother, a vicious snarl to her words that he'd never heard before. "She's not stupid, and you're scared enough of her Colour that you won't take her by force, so where does that leave you once she figures it out?"

"I rather thought we might turn it back on you," said Felicity in a voice that could accompany her usual carefree shrug. "Finding out that you're accepting Colour from the same people who kidnapped her friends--people who she seems rather attached to, might I add--knowing full well what they did. Well, my own independent faction might just have to step in for her own welfare, wouldn't we?"

"You wouldn't--"

Raph lost his balance.

His knee hit the wall with a resounding thud, and the conversation cut off. Heels clicked on the floor towards him, faster than he could right himself. When he stood, Felicity's snow-capped irises glared down at him.

"Hello, Raphael," she said. There was no question about whether he'd been listening. She knew. "Your mother should have taught you eavesdropping is rude, but I feel she's lacking severely in the discipline department."

Somewhere in the pit of his twisting stomach, Raph found his voice. "What were you talking about?"

A smile cracked Felicity's face. His mum's face appeared over her shoulder, terrified.

That only knotted his stomach harder.

"Funny you should ask," said Felicity. All pretense of friendliness evaporated. "We were just discussing the details of that time last year when you and Zoe found yourselves in a spot of trouble, if you remember? Awfully silly, walking home alone like that. If only your mother had bothered to pick you up, but she was too busy giving her time and Colour to others at the hospital, I suppose." Felicity's gaze never left Raph's, but her next words weren't directed at him. "It's too bad that she seems to care more about other's children than her own."

"You can't have Athira," said Raph. Felicity looked as surprised as he felt as he spoke. He didn't think about it. The words just tumbled out, one after the next. "I don't know what you want to do with her, but you can't have her. She's part of our family, and she's more than just her Colour. You'll have to go through all of us to get her."

Felicity seemed amused. "I suppose you're thinking those little self-defense classes she's been teaching you after school are going to help?" Raph ignored his mum's curious expression and focused on Felicity. "Yes, we're aware of those, but you're kids with Colour that's barely matured. Even Athira can't keep my own family at bay forever, Colour or not. You're outnumbered, outpowered, and frankly, I'm tired of arguing with you all over it. If it were my decision, I'd take you all and force her to come to us, but my boss would rather her come of her own, free accord. Either you get that to happen, or my personal method comes into effect. Tell the girl and you'll regret it."

Felicity turned her back on him. "Miela, you have my card. Call me when you change your mind. Don't lie if you've told her or not, I'll know."

And with that, she left.

Raph's legs were locked in place as his mum rushed over and wrapped him in her arms, squishing him into her body.

"Oh Raph," she murmured, stroking his hair. "Please, please don't make her mad. It's already hard enough to just--"

"Why didn't you tell us?" said Raph. "You did it to protect her from them, didn't you?"

His mum grimaced and dropped her voice, mouth close to his ear. "I've been trying to figure a way out of this for almost a year, Raph. If I let you three know, it would have just made everything harder. I refuse to risk you and Zoe again. If they touch you two again, I can't promise I won't kill them all."

"You can't let them take Athira either," insisted Raph. "She's just as much of our family as Zoe is, and--"

"I'm not going to, Raph," she said. "Not if I can help it. I'll find a way. There has to be something we can do, something they've missed--but for now, don't tell Athira or Zoe. I don't want Athira doing anything she'll regret, and Zoe's not good enough at lying to keep it from her." Raph opened his mouth to protest, but his mum gripped his arms. "Please, Raph, please. Think about what she did when they took you two the first time. They weren't trying to hurt her then. If anything, that was a test, but... I can't have Felicity taking you two again. This time, I don't think they'd be so gentle."

Raph looked his mum in the eyes. He saw the fear, the desperation in them that she'd kept hidden all too well, even from him.

"We'll work it out," he said. "Together. Okay?"

She gave him a small smile, pulling him into another hug. He let it happened, sensing she needed it more than he did. "That's my Raph."

It was a long minute inside that embrace, but Raph's mind was already working overtime, turning over the situation inside his head and viewing it from the various angles.

He'd come up with a plan.

Athira had saved him twice already, and somehow, he'd pay her back.

He'd keep their family together.

*+*+*+*

A/N - Short chapter, sorry! Just wanted to post something to let you know I'm still alive--just a combination of renovations/no computer/sick/cosplay events/last-minute-cosplay-making-dammit-jade going on has left me with a severe lack of writing time, BUT hopefully should get getting back on track ^_^ 

Sorry if the writing quality in this chapter was crap too xD Haven't written anything in two weeks so, uh, yea. Getting back into it O_O