Stormbringer, Chapter Three: Unrest in the House of Loud

>Lori wakes with a stir.
>Judging by the birdsong outside, it's around 10 AM.
>The lack of warmth on her face, however, means the sun is blocked out by cloud cover.
>She groans softly. It's the middle of friggin' summer, act like it.
>As her brain warms up, she becomes aware of a few things.
>Firstly, someone's in bed with her, spooning.
>Second, said person is pawing her boob rather liberally, if lazily.
>Third, judging by a very...assertive presence rubbing against her butt, he's very happy to be sharing with her.
>Stretching carefully to avoid waking her bedmate, Lori reaches for the hand groping her and gently squeezes it.
>"Mornin'" she whispers.
>Then she reaches behind her, stroking along the wiry bicep and shoulder until she reached his hair.
>His breath is hot against her neck. Every exhale sends a short shiver down her spine.
>Then she feels the cowlick.
>And last night comes rushing back to her like a freight train.

>Her eyes snap open.
>The first thing they see is Leni's empty bed.
>Then slowly, slowly, far too slowly to be practical, she turns her head and looks behind her.
>White hair.
>Freckles.
>Buck teeth.
>Lincoln's hand squeezes her breast again, forcing her to stifle a groan at the pleasant grasping.
>Oh God, her brother's groping her.
>Ok, Lori, calm down. Breathe. Think.
>What did you do to him, exactly?
>The storm set her off, and Lincoln walked her through it, and he allowed himself to be used like some kind of...nightmare-absorbant monkey doll.
>She grimaces. She remembers crying...a lot. And it wasn't cute. It was pretty gross, actually. Ruined eyeliner, boogers, the works.
>Then she notices the lipstick on his face.
>And his neck.
>And she can see some on his collarbone...
>Oh dear.
>Pushing the wave of nausea and guilt down, Lori carefully detaches Lincon's hand from her tit, and slowly slides out of bed.
>"Lincoln," she whispers, nudging her sleeping brother. "It's time to get up."
>Lincoln simply grunts and rolls over. All she could make out was "ten."
>She sighs.
>Ok. First, a quick shower.
>Then a check up on Leni and Luna, if they're home.
>Then, if Lincoln is up by then, she will have to have a chat with him.
>A serious one.
>As Lori slips out of her room and down to the bathroom, she notes that last night was the best night's sleep she's had all month.

>Leni's been awake since she came home.
>She's holed up in Lincoln's room. Curled up in a ball on his bed. Sulking.
>She's just laying there, staring at the door on the off chance Lincoln will walk in and lay down with her.
>Leni sniffs the shirt she pilfered from his drawer. The smell of his fabric has helped a lot with keeping her calm.
>But she starts getting antsy, and her body starts to protest the strain she's putting on her back.
>Reluctantly, she stretches out, her feet pushing against the wall, forcing her head up and bumping against the opposite wall with a soft thump. She can barely fit on the mattress without bending her legs or back.
>She doesn't pay attention to the discomfort, though. She's oddly deep in thought.
>Why didn't he sleep here?
>Sure, she was late coming home last night. But it wasn't her fault. The storm kept her trapped in her friend's bathroom.
>But the day before, Lori was sleepwalking outside his room, when they were cuddling.
>Leni frowns.
>Then, before she went to work, she tried to talk to them as they were cuddling at the table during breakfast. And again at lunch, she tried to make them take different seats.
>Something isn't right. Leni closes her eyes, racking her scattered brain to hurry up.
>Then...Lori came home before she did, and when Leni came home, she found them in Lori's bed.
>A sharp pang of jealousy rumbles in her stomach.
>Or is she just hungry?
>Suddenly sidetracked, Leni glances around at the walls, scanning around until she sees the clock.
>She squints at the face of Ace Savvy leering back at her.
>It's, uh...nine - no, ten...ten-twenty?
>Leni's ears picks up the sound of the shower starting. Time for food, she guesses.

>Lori steps out of the bathroom, fully refreshed.
>Steam cascades out into the hallway, briefly filling it with a light fog.
>Lord, she hasn't felt this good in literal weeks.
>She takes a few steps toward her room when a creak makes her pause.
>Someone's going downstairs. She glances down the hall toward the stairs, but couldn't see who it was.
>"...Lincoln?" She tries.
>The creaking stops briefly, before resuming, all but stomping down to the floor level, then to the kitchen.
>Shrugging, Lori continues down to her room to get dressed, opening her door and seeing Lincoln still snoring in her bed, rolled up like a little pillbug.
>Lori cringes. Yeah, that was Leni. She didn't sound happy.
>She'll deal with her later. Squeezing the washcloth gently, she gets to work, gently scrubbing Lincoln's face, wiping away the lipstick markings she gave him through the night.
>And not without a hint of excitement and guilt, she also took advantage of the moment to get a feel of his upper body while cleaning his collarbone and chest.
>She's curious, what do you want from her?
>His arm's have definitely gotten a little longer, and there's clearly come muscle filling in the gaps.
>His shoulders are broader, too, and Lori can just feel a hint of his pectorals developing in his chest.
>He's lost weight, too, no doubt about that. His babyfat is burning up. No wonder he's so toasty all the time.
>She sees his cheekbones and jawline are starting to emerge, too. She can't help but speculate over how he'll look when he's grown up.
>She also can't help shivering at the thought of his musculature.
>Satisfied with her cleanup, Lori buttons his shirt up, then briefly glances down at the sheets. There's a sizeable lump literally three feet away from her.
>It...it wouldn't hurt, just to peek, would it?
>You're his big sister. You need to make sure everything's Ok under the hood.
>Yeah. That's right. You're responsible.

>Lori glances at her brother's face, running the numbers in her head.
>Then, slowly, she grabs the end of the covers and starts tugging. Every few inches, she stops and watches him, taking stock of his breathing.
>Satisfied that she's in the clear, and comfortable with the rationalization she gave herself, she keeps tugging until the covers are pulled down to his knees.
>She freezes when Lincoln mutters something, aware that he's lost his toasty warmth, before slipping back to sleep.
>Lori remembers to breathe, then promptly forgets again when she sees his jammies.
>She can almost hear the elephants trumpeting in that circus tent.
>Fearfully, she glances up at Lincoln. Out cold.
>Mentally slapping herself, she steels herself for what it is that she must do.
>She decides not to use the fly, he might wake up from her fishing around too much.
>Suddenly timid, she places her hands on his pelvis, the lightest feather touch she can possibly exert.
>Stay on target.
>She adjusts her hands, placing them parallel to the middle of his thighs.
>Stay on target.
>She tickles her fingers past his elastic, finding purchase in the - holy crap, It's a blast furnace in there.
>Lori's breathing hard now, her heart's never beaten this fast before. Her lip trembling, she squeezes her eyes shut and moves for the prize.
>You're clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing and go home!
>But you're already home.
>That was fast.

>"Splap"
>Lori sucks in a ragged gasp of air at the sight before her.
>Lincoln's p...p...
>Oh God, she can't even imagine calling it that. That's just too much.
>Lincoln's...junk...
>Ok, she can work with that.
>Lincoln's junk stands tall and firm at full mast, a solid six inches.
>She can't fully describe what she's looking at.
>She doesn't even think a poet can give It justice.
>She's drooling at the mere thought of what It'll be like when he's fully grown.
>She's gone nuclear.
>It's...It's perfect.
>Lori's struggling to control her breathing, or her shaking hands.
>He doesn't have any hair yet. She wonders if it'll be white like his scalp, or more grey.
>She jerks back when It twitches. She's mesmerized.
>She can't hold back now.
>Her hand shakes as she lets go of Lincoln's jammies.
>She...she needs to hold It. Just a little a touch. A poke.
>She's wild.
>That's it. That's all she needs. She licks her suddenly chapped lips.
>Her finger stretches out, desperate to make first contact wi-
>NO.
>Lori jerks back, startled by the sound of her own internal thoughts.
>LORELEI LINDSAY LOUD, DON'T YOU DARE STEP ACROSS THAT LINE.
>With a squeak, Lori yanks her hand back at the last second.
>"What...what happened?" she whispered, shaking her head desperately.
>Her brother's snore brought her back. Oh God...Oh God. Her brother. She almost grabbed his...
>Lori quickly hooked her fingers around Lincoln's waistband and yanks it over his wiener, shielding it from her sight.
>She's broken up inside.
>She looks at the clock. 11:45.
>Ok. He's had enough beauty sleep.
>Tentatively, she presses her lips on his forehead.
>She smirks.
>She snakes her hands under his shoulders and thighs, and carefully extracts him from her sheets.
>She stands up, craddling him a moment.
>She squats down.
>"HRUP!"
>And with a loud grunt, promptly flings him towards the ceiling.

>Lincoln's eyes fling open before he leaves her arms.
>He flails desperately in midair, his instincts shrieking at him to find something to grab, to orient his feet toward the g-
>*THMP!*
>Lori winces when he slams into the ceiling.
>*CLNG!*
>It turns into a nervous cringe when he bounces off and plummets onto her bed.
>"SHEEEA-"
>Lincoln catches his breath long enough to try screaming...
>*POK!*
>Before bouncing off the mattress and promptly landing in a heap on the floor.
>Lori buries her face in her hands before he reaches the bed. She clearly overestimated her throw.
>She's literally never felt so embarrassed in her l-
>"L-L-LORI! WHAT THE HECK WAS TH-THAT?!"
>...Ok, now she's literally never felt more embarrassed before in her life. That was fast.
>"Lincoln," she starts, holding her hands out nervously. Ooh dear, he looks really pissed. "I didn't kn...I mean, I didn't mean to throw you that hard."
>"WHY D-DID YOU THROW ME IN THE F-FIRST PLACE?!"
>Lori flinches at her brother's shouting. She blinks away the tears forming in her eyes.
>"It...it's almost noon. You slept in long enough."
>Lori's brain works overtime, pushing aside the panic and scrutinizing the scene, choosing her words carefully.
>"...And you th-thought throwing me into the ceiling w-would wake me up."
>He always stutters when he gets spooked. Maybe she can save this.
>Lori looks down, spooling a lock of her hair as she slouches.
>"I'm sorry Lincoln," she whispers. "I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

>Lori can feel Lincoln's glare burn into her.
>She genuinely feels sick to her stomach. What...what was she about to do on the bed? And then she ruined a nice moment by almost hurting him.
>And now she's trying to curry favour by acting shy and posing submissively? How many times has she played this card?
>She stands up, closing her eyes as Lincoln stands up. She turns her head away as he approaches her. Her breath hitches as he embraces her silently.
>"I-it's alright, Lori. It was a g-good prank. Luan would have d-done that if she were stronger."
>She can't believe how forgiving her brother is. Admittedly, she's done worse. Her arms reflexively wrap around him and pull him close, returning the hug in full.
>It's at this point Lori realizes two things.
>First: Lincoln's definitely had a growth spurt. When once before she would bless him with a patented Lori Lock, he came up just past her belly button. Now, her bosom rests comfortably on top of his head.
>Very comfortably.
>Secondly: she can definitely feel him pressing up against her thigh.
>Lincoln clearly feels it too, quickly wriggling free, his face a deep red.
>"I-I-I-" he stuttered, freaking out again.
>"I-I-I-" she repeats, slapping her mouth closed when she caught herself too late.
>Why did she do that? She shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have mocked him like that. That was just petty.
>She's just trying to tease him. And this is just beneath her.
>"L-Lincoln," Lori stammers, clearing her throat to show she's serious. "It's...almost lunch time. I heard Leni go down already, let's go join her. I'll make bean-cheese sandwiches, Ok?"
>Lincoln's scowl flips into a stoked grin. "Oh man, I love bean-cheese!"
>He pushes past her and races down the stairs.
>Ok. That worked. Huge dick move on her part, but still. He's not upset.
>Her smile falters.
>That's right. Leni. Lori sits down on her bed.
>The room is empty again.
>"Crap."

>In less than ten seconds from accidentally poking his sister, Lincoln's already downstairs and in the kitchen.
>"Hi Leni!" he cheerfully quips.
>And then she's latched onto him, sliding her chair right against his and smothering him in a hug. It's closer to a hold, really. But points for effort.
>"Linc, I missed you," his older sister whines as she rubs her cheek roughly against his hairline. "I'm sorry I didn't come home last night."
>"It's...Ok, Leni...Couldja ease up...please?"
>"Oh, right! Sorry."
>Now free from a rather pleasant prison, Lincoln peeks over at the stairs expectantly, hearing the odd stair creak with Lori's steps.
>"We're gonna have bean-cheese sandwiches!"
>Leni perks up at the mention of food. "That's great! I was getting so hungry waiting for you. Who's gonna make it?"
>"I am," Lori says, entering the kitchen and pulling some bread from the stove. She's tied her hair back in to a ponytail.
>Lincoln had never seen Leni's face change expression so fast. On page 106, she's the definition of joy. Big smile, expressive eyes, the works.
>Turn to 107 and her eyes are narrowed, her head is lowered, and her mouth is a tight, flat line.
>Sweetie to bitch in .72 seconds. Incredible.
>It's then he realizes that she kind of looks like a mess. Bedhead, redeye, circles, shoddy makeup. Heck, her nail polish is chipped and peeled.
>"Lori." Lincoln shudders at how flat her voice sounded. Their sister doesn't miss the change in mood, and glances behind her as she waits for the bread to toast.
>Lincoln looks downward and sees his hand in Leni's. Tightly. It...kinda hurts.
>"...Morning, Leni. Food will be a couple minutes. How many slices do you want?"
>Leni doesn't answer for a moment. She mutters under her breath.
>"Sorry?"
>Another small mumble. Lincoln winces as her grip starts to bend bone.
>"I th-think she said two," he stammers, wishing to rectify the situation before he needs a cast.

>Lori takes out the toasted slices, adds a spread of beans, and a slice of cheese.
>"Tomato?"
>Lincoln is struggling to not cry as Leni nearly crushes his hand in hers. She shakes her head once, still staring straight ahead.
>"S-s-she said no," he gasps, now hunching over from the pain. "Ah! No th-thanks."
>"...Alright then," Lori answers, placing another two slices of bread in the toaster. "What about you, twerp? Tomatoes?"
>"...No," is all he could spit out. Leni's eye twitched when she addressed him, and he can see his fingertips are turning a deep shade of purple. He grasps her sleeve with his open hand.
>"Leni!" he hisses desperately. "Please! You're hu-hurting me!"
>With a snort and a few confused blinks, Leni snaps out of her mood. Goodbye apex bitchface, welcome sweet big sister. She lets go of his hand, then stares at him in worry as he fearfully nurses life back into his digits.
>"Ohmigosh! Linc, I'm so sorry," she whispers, tears in her eyes too. She gently pulls his hand back and kisses the knuckles, then strokes the back of his hand before returning it to him.
>"I don't know what came over me. I was happy to see you, but-"
>"Leni," Lori interrupts, sliding the baking tray into the oven. "If you're not busy hanging out with Lincoln later today, I need a word with you."
>She looks and watches as Leni fusses over Lincoln, while he fusses back, wishing to be left alone for at least a minute. She feels a small knot form in her stomach.
>"Leni!" she repeats, startling the younger blonde with a squeak. "Did you hear what I said?"
>"N-no, Lori," the girl answered, timidly looking her way. Lori pinches the bridge of her nose.
>"That's...fine, Leni. No worries. I just need to talk to you after dinner. Alone."
>Lincoln flinches as she addresses him. "You too, Lincoln. Before dinner. Alone."
>"Ding"
>Oh thank God. Food's ready.
>Lori places her sibling's lunch onto their plates, and passes them onto the table.

>"What about me?"
>Lori, Leni and Lincoln scream.
>"LUCY, WHAT AR-" Lori starts. "Wait, Luna? What are you doing here?"
>"I live here," retorts the punk, slumped over the table.
>She was laying so still, and didn't say a word, nobody noticed that she was there.
>"No," Lori snaps, still fraying at the spook. "I mean, what are you doing at the table? I thought you were sleeping off a hangover or something."
>Luna turns her head to glare at her sister.
>"I'm not telling you this again," she said. "That was one beer, it was nonalcoholic, and Chunk let me have it to teach me how bad they are."
>Lori could see that Luna wasn't kidding. Luna didn't move from her posture, but she could see her back tensing.
>"...Alright, Luna. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Thinking quickly, Lori follows up with a peace offering. "Would you like me to make you a bean cheese sandwich?"
>Luna stares down Lori for a moment, then relaxes and sighs.
>"Could I get some apple slices too?"
>Ruffling the punk's hair, Lori got up and went to prepare another batch of lunch.
>"Rough party last night?"
>"Something to that effect."
>"Wait," interrupts Lincoln. "If you're still here, where's Luan?"
>Tilting her head back, Luna looks over at her brother.
>"She went to a comedy camp. Took some of my stuff too."
>Lori stops cutting the apple for a moment, before resuming.
>"Think she'll be gone for the rest of the week. Thanks, luv."
>Lincoln watches as Lori gives the rocker her dish, sitting back down.
>"You're welcome. Now, let's try this again," she starts. She cuts a strip of bread, taking a bite, then pointing her fork at Leni.
>"Leni, I want you to stop sleeping in Lincoln's bed."
>"Leni's been bedding with Lincoln?"
>"You're not part of this, Luna. Eat your lunch. Leni, are you listening to me?."

>Lincoln looks at the sister beside him.
>He doesn't like what he sees.
>Leni has been picking and poking at her toast, alternating between slowly cutting the skin of the cheese with her knife, or using both utensils to pull the sandwich apart.
>Her eyes are firmly down, refusing to look at her sisters or him.
>Her lips a tight, flat line against her face again.
>He can hear her teeth click against the steel of the fork when she puts a too-small portion into her mouth.
>"Leni, please look at me when I'm talking to you."
>Leni stops finicking over her meal, breathing deeply through her nose.
>Her eyes flick up, boring holes into her sister.
>Lincoln fearfully looks at his oldest sisters. He can taste the tension in the air.
>Lori doesn't notice, or just ignores it as she continues.
>"You've been hanging out with Lincoln all week," she continues, pausing to pop another piece of toasted bread in her mouth. "You can't just use him as a teddy bear whenever there's a storm. And besides that, Lincoln needs his alone tim-"
>"Like you used him last night?" Leni mutters under her breath.
>Lincoln chokes on his drink.
>Luna starts catching on to the atmosphere.
>She locks eyes with Lincoln, and tilts her head to the door, suggesting they flee.
>Lincoln lightly shakes his head. As afraid as he is of the oncoming storm, he feels a duty as the sole male of the house to intervene if it comes to it.
>Lori returns the glare, matching Leni's intensity with ease.
>"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?"
>Lincoln and Luna flinch as Leni scrapes her knife across her plate, messily tearing apart the last sandwich.
>"You heard me."
>Lincoln couldn't tell if he was more afraid of the possible confrontation, or the fact that Leni caught him with Lori.

>Leni raises her head, staring down her sister full on.
>Lincoln's not as experienced at reading people as Lori, but he knows a red flag when he sees it.
>This is going to end in a fist fight and he knows it.
>"Uh, Leni?" He tries, tugging at her sleeve. "Are y-you going to finish your sandw-"
>Without breaking eye contact, Leni slaps her plate aside, spraying Lincoln in beans as she roughly shoves the dinnerware to his place.
>Luna jerks her head toward the stairs again, pleading silently for him to flee with him.
>He shakes his head again. He's not leaving them.
>Luna fearfully looks at her sisters before locking eyes with Lincoln again. She mouths out "not without you."
>She clears her throat.
>"Uh, Lori, luv? Do you thi-"
>"Shut up, Luna," the oldest sister orders, slowly placing her hands on the table edge.
>"I'm only going to tell you this once, Lenore," she starts, her voice even, but with a definite edge. "Don't. Do. This."
>Leni scowls. Her fists tighten on her utensils.
>"Leni, come on," Lincoln tries again, clutching her arm in an attempt to anchor her. "L-let's go watch some TV together. We c-can have the bl-"
>Leni drops her tools, clamps her hand onto his face, and roughly shoves him back.

>"You think, what, that you sleep with him once and know what that's, like, like?"
>Ignoring the innuendo, Lori knows that she needs to get back in control right now.
>"When mom and dad are gone, I am in charge," Lori states, putting a lot of effort to keep her voice level. "That means, Leni, you do as I tell you."
>Leni doesn't answer, lowering her head. Her shoulders are shaking.
>"And I'm telling you that you are sleeping in our room tonight. Am I clear?"
>Lincoln's back on his feet now, desperation on his face.
>"Lori, come on," he pleads. "It's okay, I don't mind! Leni's not a bother in m-"
>"Shut your mouth Lincoln," Lori spits.
>Leni springs to her feet, kicking her chair into the wall and slamming her fists onto the table.
>"DON'T YOU TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT!"
>She's staring daggers at Lori now. Her mouth is tightly clenched, and she's gasping through her teeth.
>Hot tears streak down her face.
>"You always think you know so much just because you're older!" she shouts.
>Luna's on her feet now, fighting against her instinct to take Lincoln and hide in the bathroom.
>"Leni, don't do thiIGH!"
>Lincoln chokes as Leni roughly grabs him, crushing him in a bear hug, twisting her body to shield him from Lori.
>"You think you're so much better than me just because you've had more boyfriends," she continues, squeezing him much too hard against her.
>Lori's on her feet, slapping Luna's hands away.
>"Lincoln isn't your boyfriend, you moron!" she snaps. "He is your brother, and this is literally going too f-"
>"LIKE THAT STOPPED YOU THIS MORNING!" Leni explodes, a fresh river of tears pouring out of her eyes. Her face is red and blotchy. She's gasping now.
>All the colour drains from the older sisters' faces.
>"I-I saw all the lipstick you covered him in," she rants, struggling to keep herself coherent. She's desperately stroking Lincoln's hair. "I saw you holding him like y-you owned him!"
>Lori licks her suddenly bone dry lips.

>Luna stares in horror at what is transpiring.
>It's like watching a nuclear-powered train launch off a ramp with rocket boosters, and slamming through a dozen Hindenburgs, each filled with a different race of babies and nice old people.
>"I saw you clean him up!" Leni continued. "I know where his hands were when you slept!"
>Luna stares in horror at the allegations hurled at Lori.
>"You think that because he likes to squeeze that means he's, like, yours?!" Leni impudently thrusts her finger toward herself. "He's done that with me first!"
>Luna interjects with a barely whispered "holy shit, dude."
>Lori quietly sits down in her chair.
>Lincoln stops protesting Leni's smothering.
>her face morphs from that of indignant rage to despair.
>"He...doesn't kick me out of the bed. He likes h-h-having me around. He makes m-me feel safe when I'm scared, and he's really nice to me..."
>She drops to her knees, burying her face in her brother's shoulders.
>"Why aren't you nice to me anymore?" She whines, muffled by the shirt. "What did I do wrong?"
>The thick silence is broken only by Leni's muffled sobs and the heavy rainfall striking the house.
>Lori's the first to notice.
>"Leni."
>She ignores her, holding her brother tighter.
>"Leni, Lincol-"
>"WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!" Leni shrieks, throwing her brother off her and covering her boogered face in her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what I to d-"
>"Leni!" Lori yells, panic in her eyes now. "He's not breathing!"
>She peeks up, uttering a confused "uh?"
>Lori springs up and starts darting around the table. "He isn't breathing!"
>Leni looks down at Lincoln, lying prone on the floor.
>Crumpled.
>Crushed.
>The raging fire in her stomach instantly freezes over into a blind fear.
>"Oh...oh no..."
>Terrified, the younger Loud reaches down and touches the boy's face.
>"...Lincoln?"
>Lori drops down across from her, shooing her hands away and cradling his head.
>"You were crushing him."
>"I didn't...I'm s...Is he Ok?"

>"Leni, shush. I need to focus here."
>Leni just sits there, staring numbly as Lori checked his vitals.
>"Lori," Leni whispers, the fight finally out of her. "I'm sorry."
>"Not now, Leni, I'm trying to-"
>"Is he alright?"
>"I don't know, Luna. Look at him, just - look at him!"
>Lori struggles with Leni and Luna distracting her while fighting back her own panic as she tries to find a pu-
>"Wait, there! I got his heart!"
>Excited, she then gently presses against his head, then strokes his ribs.
>Luna approaches, her face oddly pensive.
>"So he's alright?"
>Yanking up his shirt, Lori winces at the red lacework along his chest. She takes a deep breath.
>"He's not dead," she declares, to a duet of happy sighs. "And his ribs and neck are okay. He's going to have a headache though, and unless he's got brain damage," she cuts a glare at her sister, "he'll be Ok."
>"Good," Luna says, roughly shoving Lori aside.
>"Bih?! Luna, what are you-"
>Slapping Leni's hands away, Luna effortless picks up Lincoln's body and bolts for the stairs.
>The older sisters look at each other before jumping up and giving chase, racing each other after the rocker.
>"Luna!" Lori repeats, before tripping over Lola's table with a yell, followed by a cry when Leni crashes into her.
>Her getaway clear, Luna scampers into her room, slamming the door shut, then locking it with a click.
>Leni's at the door first, slamming her shoulder into it, then trying to pick the lock with her hairpin.
>She can hear something heavy scraping along the floor.
>"Luna!" Lori shouts, banging on the door. "You open this door RIGHT NOW, or I will LITERALLY KILL YOU AND BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH YOUR CORPSE!"
>"You two nearly killed 'im!" a cockney voice yells back. "We ain't leavin' till you two siddown and talk!"
>"OPEN THIS DOOR!"
>"SODD OFF!"
>Lori's about to slam her fist through the wood when Leni takes her hand.
>Her little sister has her head down, her other arm clutching her waist, and swaying slightly, as if in a breeze.
>She looks so small. So young.

>Luna presses her ear against the door, listening carefully.
>Hushed whispering.
>Silence.
>Then she hears footsteps retreating.
>Then a door clicking shut.
>Breathing a sigh of relief, she goes to her bed, sitting down on the mattress beside her sleeping brother.
>Smoothing out his shirt, she reaches under the bunk bed and yanks out a dusty guitar case.
>Blowing the dust off, she clicks it open, revealing an old battered guitar.
>Sitting down on beanbag, she tunes it halfheartedly.
>Satisfied, she glumly looks at her battered brother before strumming a simple, quiet tune.
>She used to do this for him, when he was younger.
>Whenever he was sick or upset, she would play music for him until he was better.
>It's one of the rare times she enjoys playing quietly.
>But now...?
>A tear rolls down her cheek.
>How did this all go so wrong?

Chapter Three: Unrest in the House of Loud
~Fin~