"ZAVERIEL!"

He drops the vial he's holding at his name being called in such a manner, with such a tone, and little Araton jumps forward to keep it from shattering on the floor and spilling it's contents, looking up at him with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

Zed leans over her shoulder for the vial she holds, chuckling at his youngest brothers expression, one of shock and horror mixed all into one. "That doesn't sound good." He reaches forward with his free hand and pats the youngest Virtues cheek. "I'd take this time as your headstart."

He doesn't need to be told twice, the young man turns in quick succession, darting for the exit.

The Apothecary turns to the other end, an amused smile playing at his features as his Captain and brother make their appearance, dripping some sort of paint on the floor, where their baby brother gets all his materials, they don't know, but he never fails to produce, and it never fails to amuse.

They look about, eyes searching for their target, and the predators eyes meet those of the preys in a mere moment. Zaveriel's eyes widen as theirs narrows, and as he turns to bolt away, they make their way forward. Oren and Akriel on are a mission, and make their way through the crowd fluidly, he waves at them as they pass but they pay him no mind.

Araton giggles softly at their appearance from behind her hand and he smiles down at her.

Near the door, Gzel laughs at her guardians appearance, pointing at him as she bends forward in her immense humored state.

But they pay them all no mind, focused on the back of their retreating prey, vowing not to lose him in the crowd.

Zaves makes the chase all the way down the stairs, taking them two at a time, hoping down them as quick as he can, listening to the thundering of their boots as they slowly draw closer. He stops, pauses, only once at the bottom of the staircase, turning to peer at them over his shoulder, and yelps as he jumps forward when he's almost caught, darting into the crowd that is the Axis.

He peers over his shoulder every so many moments, to see if they're still there, of if he's lost them yet. Akriel and Oren have had practice in keeping up with him, they've all had practice, but them two especially. They dart through the crowd fluidly, people jumping out of their way, clearing the path, turning to watch as the two Virtues make chase after the young healer trying to evade their grasp.

He skids as he turns so suddenly, nearly falling over to the side, but he manages to catch himself even if he stumbles a bit as he does, darting up the dirt path that leads to the Garden. He can hide there, hide up in the trees, wait until they give up, for the time being, and hide out there until something happens that causes them to forget why they're chasing him in the first place.

The ponds and streams are all fresh water and there's fresh fruits in the treetops, he'll make it a good month before he has to return to the Loft, and by then something will have come up and they'd have forgotten all about this prank he'd played against them.

Joshua waves at him as he enters, and he spares the Gardener a quick wave in return, a flash of a smile, as he darts into the thick tree line. Jumping over stumps and upturned tree trunks, he peers over his shoulder again, yelping at the distance that is quickly being closed between himself and his predators.

Akriel and Oren are still fast on his tail, he hasn't managed to shake them, and their closing in quicker then he's beginning to manage to evade.

He's midair, midjump over an upturned tree trunk, when one of them manages to get a hold on the back of his tunic. He flails as he's yanked back, mid jump, falling through the air, he barrels back into someone and they go toppling over to the grass below.

They wrestle for a minute, he's fighting for his life, grappling for freedom, but he's flipped over onto his back and they manage to pin him despite his best efforts.

Oren straddles his waist, and from above him, Akriel kneels, fingers curled tightly around his wrists as he positions his hands above his head. They're all panting for breath from the extensive chase, he tests the grip on his wrists, and the fingers tighten their hold when he gives an experimental tug.

Oren sits back slightly, smiling down at him, hands resting lightly on his thighs as he falls into a comfortable position. "Hello, baby brother."

He returns the smile. "Hey, Ori, nice shade. Blue suits you." He earns himself a sharp jab to his belly and he yelps, for his cheekiness, he is in no position. "You're in no position to be so cheeky." His Captain, his older brother, reaches up to brush his hair back, looking down at his hand as he pulls it away to see it covered in blue paint. "But I absolutely love what happens next, so by all means, be as cheeky as you want." He leans forward to smear his palm of blue paint over his baby brothers face, chuckling softly as he scrunches his face up, inhaling sharply. "It gives us even more of a reason to torture you."

"H—Hey guys," he looks up from Oren to Akriel above him, and the specialist smiles down at him fondly. "Let's talk about this!"

"It's been some time since you've pranked us." Akriel leans forward slightly. "And, at the same time, no less." He adjusts his position, trapping his hands under his knees gently, and pokes him in both underarms, another yelp is pulled from him at the action. "We've neglected you terribly so, if you hadn't thought to think twice about it."

"It was our mistake," Oren draws his attention back to him, and he smiles, in the way that big brothers do when on the verge of torturing their younger brother to tears. "One that we'll be sure to rectify." He reaches for the bottom of his tunic, making a show of it, as he gently pulls it out from under the belt, pulling it up to reveal his toned pale belly to them both. "Let's get this out of the way, shall we?"

He knows them well, knows how they operate, and he shakes his head as Akriel helps him pull it up over his head, covering his face. Perpetually blindfolded, keeping him on edge for what's to come, it makes it that much worse because he doesn't know what to prepare himself for before it happens.

Fingers tap against his lower belly, ten in all, and he giggles lightly in anticipation from under his tunic.

"Listen to him giggle." His oldest brother sounds so amused. "We're not even doing anything yet." Ten fingers poke lightly into his belly and he chokes on his giggles. "He's like a fledgling."

He growls, bucking lightly, tugging harshly at his hands.

Two fingers poke at his right underarm and he squeaks, his growls overthrown by a wave of giggles, and he curls to the side, leaning away from the fingers. They jump from the right to the left and he jumps to the other side, they follow him, no matter which direction he goes, and his giggles become steadier with every relentless light poke.

"What should we do first, it's our move, and we have him right where we want him." A finger pokes under his belly button and he jolts. "He's all ours."

The two fingers pull away from his underarms and he falls back, breathing deeply, it's the light touches that are the worst in his opinion.

"Try his belly out." Akriel's fingers brush over his curls. "It's always been your favorite."

Ten fingers scribble over his bare belly, and he snorts, arching his back as laughter spills from him. "Try his little belly out, you say?" He pinches at the skin on either side of his belly button. "What about it baby brother?" Zaveriel sucks in a deep breath, trying to suck his belly as much as he can. "Should I give your cute little belly some attention?"

Their younger brother shakes his head quickly, giggling breathlessly, it sounds like it did when he was just a small mischievous fledgling. He's still just as mischievous. Just not a fledgling anymore. And his reactions to their punishments haven't changed in the slightest. "Nohohoho!"

"No, why not?" He digs his fingers into his lower belly, and he shrieks brightly. "Could it be that your bitty little belly is ticklish?"

His older brother is teasing him, like he's some sort of fledgling, and it makes him growl again. "Stop teasing me!"

"Stop teasing you?" Fingers spider lightly in circles around his belly and he squirms with every stroke and poke. "It's fun to tease you." He growls again and bucks harshly. "You try and knock me off again and you're going to get it."

"He's thinking about it." Akriel sounds amused and strokes a finger down the side of his neck. "He wants to kick you."

"You do, baby brother?" Fingers poise themselves over the center of his belly and he stiffens. "Such naughty thoughts should be deterred."

"I do not!"

"He's definitely thinking it."

"Shut up, Ak! I am not!"

"He said 'shut up' to me." Akriel snorts.

Oren wiggles his fingers a bit and he shrieks again, squirming under his skillful tortures, jolting one way and then the other. "Would you like me to punish him for it?"

"I would appreciate it."

The fingers pull away and he sucks in a deep breath. "I'd be glad to." Theres a brief period of silence, stillness, neither one of the are touching him.

And then it happens.

Then he feels them.

A pair of warm lips press over his belly button and sit there.

They laugh at his reaction, despite nothing happening, and his reaction is to squeal brightly. "Such language gets you the beard, baby brother, I know how much you love it."

"Nonononono!"

He hates the beard! He's tried shaving it off, once, only once, Oren hadn't been amused and he hadn't laughed as hard as he had that one time, since then. Oren chuckles darkly, kissing his belly button lightly, and he squeals again. "Oh, yes, the beard."

He arches his back when he shakes his head and burrows in, rubbing his beard deep into his belly, nuzzling into the sensitive skin under his belly button. Fingers curl around his waist, to keep him from moving, as he takes a deep breath. Zaves screams when he blows, shaking his head against his belly, boisterous laughter exploding from him. He moves from the center of his belly to the side, takes another deep breath, and repeats all over again.

"Wait, wait, Ori." Akriel's his saving grace, he loves Ak, he loves him so much. His chest heaves for air as his older brother pulls back, no doubt to look up at their brother, he doesn't see the look that's passed between them, and he doesn't need to, when Akriel speaks next. "Together."

Two lips, two beards, press into his belly. One from below, the other from above, and he just screams. He screams. Arching his back, tugging at his hands, bucking his hips. He screams with laughter, over and over again, until his laughter falls silent and tears gather in his eyes.

Fingers joining the mix soon enough. Ten digging into his waist and the others under his arms. He manages another scream, a loud bright echoing squeal, and his feet kick from behind his older brother.

This, this is the part where they're teaching their lesson, this is the part where they make sure he'll remember to think twice about pranking them. Individually or at the same time. That part doesn't matter. It's the big picture that matters.

His chest is heaving, he's breathless, giggling deliriously by the time they pull away. Akriel's knees move away from his hands, and Oren climbs up off his legs, he hears them chuckling at the mess they've made of their baby brother.

He just lays there, Zaves doesn't move an inch, arms still raised, fingers curled inwards slightly, tunic still pulled up over his face.

The young Virtues hears their knees pop as they kneel beside him, a hand rubs at his belly and he giggles wildly at its being there, completely overtaken by the torture he's just experienced. "Calm down, baby boy, we've finished."

Someone pulls his tunic back down, Akriel smiles down at him, patting his cheek lightly. "And I'm sure you'll remember to think twice next time too."

He just giggles still, softly, airily, and they smiled down at him adoringly. Oren brushes his curls back. "That was a bit mean." He holds his hands out, and waits for Zaves to nod slightly, before curling them under his arms and pulling him up. He's getting a bit big to carry around, but he's still just small enough, and he pulls him up as he stands, resting him lightly on his hip. "Lets get you tucked into a nice bed. You're completely spent."

Zaves nods weakly, laying his head down to rest on his older brothers shoulder, giggles starting to space out between each one.

They carry him out from the trees, Joshua shakes his head at the sight of them, turning back to his caretaking when Akriel wiggles his fingers at him, and he watches as they disappear from his garden.

He'd be back.

Joshua would be prepared for it.