"Go away Whit." Smalls snapped. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his older brother's teasing. At fourteen, Whit thought that he ruled the world and everything in it. Smalls had to bite back the temptation to remind him who exactly had the Green Ember. But that would be wrong, and prideful. Sigh. Still, it was tempting. Smalls was eleven, a whole two years younger than Whit.

"Yeah, go away." Picket reinforced. He was looking up from his battered history book (Which was entirely his fault; Picket was nine and hated history more than anything. He had a bad habit of chucking it across the room when he was frustrated) Heather was attempting to help him understand the theories on the Leapers, but was making little progress. Heather was ten, and possibly one of the smartest people Smalls knew. She briefly looked up from the book to glare at Whit and then promptly started ignoring the world again.

"Oh? And why should I?" Whit taunted. Smalls gritted his teeth and ignored him. "Am I bothering you little brother?" He asked mockingly. "Want me to leave you alone with your girlfriend?" Smalls shut his book with a snap. That was it. He knew exactly what Whit meant, and it made his face burn with embarrassment.

"Get. Out. Now." He said through gritted teeth. Whit laughed. Finally and fully losing his temper, Smalls leapt straight at his brother, crashing into him and bringing them both tumbling to the ground. Picket looked up in shock, and Heather was so startled from this sudden turn that she nearly toppled from her chair. Emma looked up briefly, shrugged, and turned a page in her book, continuing to read. Meanwhile Whit was so startled by his younger brother's sudden outburst that for a moment he didn't even fight back. Then he did, shouting and yelling,

"Ack! Get off you little pest-" Smalls didn't comply. He might have been several inches shorter and quite a bit lighter, but he could throw a punch just as strong as his older brother. And Whit knew it.

"What is going on in here?!" A voice called, bringing everything to a startling halt.

"Oh, Hi Wilfred." Emma said, the only one who appeared entirely unaffected. "Whit was teasing Smalls and then Smalls finally lost it and this is what happened." She turned a page in her book. "Please make them stop, they're really loud."

"By the leapers." Wilfred sighed, rubbing his forehead.