Dennis fumbled with his keys as he kicked the door shut behind him, before setting the bags of groceries down on the table. He spotted Tommy sitting back on the couch, TV remote in hand, and the low buzz of a news report coming through.

[color=seagreen]"What are you doing, Tom?"[/color] he asked, ruffling his brother's hair as he passed by. [color=seagreen]"You never watch the news if you can help it."[/color]
In answer, Tommy just waved a hand at the screen, directing Dennis to pay attention to the woman on screen.
"-he Jotun in question is reported to be female, and has reached as far as 34th Street. Thanks to the timely intervention of the Blessed, we now know the surrounding area has been evacuated, and the threat is in the process of being contained with their forces on the scene."

The screen switched over to a bird's-eye view of a dark van, with parts of the buildings around crumbling apart from impacts of incredible strength. There was a group of people gathered around one another, but three broke off, going their separate directions - two charging directly in.

[color=seagreen]"You shouldn't be watching this..."[/color] Dennis said in a low voice.

"Why not?" Tommy asked. "You're the one who said I should be learning things - and Harvey's parents let him watch their action movies."

Dennis held out his hand for the remote. [color=seagreen]"This isn't a film or a show, Tom. This is an actual thing happening in the city - in [i]our[/i] city. People could be dying, for all we know-"[/color]

The sound of a large explosion rocketed through the TV, causing both brothers to jump, before Dennis snatched the remote and turned it off.

[color=seagreen]"Look, you're not a kid. You know what happens with these. You don't need to see this sort of stuff."[/color]

Tommy rolled his eyes before getting up. "You're such a downer, sometimes, Dennis."

Standing himself, Dennis looked at Tom. [color=seagreen][i]'I'd rather be a downer than let you lose your youth to what happens out there...'[/i][/color] he thought. [i][color=seagreen]'They don't teach you the gory stuff in school.'[/color][/i]
The thought passed, and he snapped his gaze away. [color=seagreen]"Go on - I know you've got some homework to do, go do it."[/color]

With a groan, Tommy went to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Dennis turned back to the groceries to begin putting them away - but just before he picked anything up, he cried out, causing him to jolt, knocking one of the bags to the ground. Its contents spilled across the floor - luckily, it was nothing that would have broken or smashed. A cutting pain had just shot through his throat, as though a burning needle had been drawn across it. A sickly warmth spread down the front of his neck briefly. Blinking away a blurry glaze of tears, he leaned against a chair.

Both the pain and the warmth had disappeared by the time he recovered from the sudden shock. He put a hand there just to make sure... but felt nothing. Glancing at where the bags were - and the bruised vegetables that he'd knocked across the floor, he sighed. Just... marvelous.

Unbeknownst to him, though, Tommy had opened his door and was staring at his brother. Since when did Dennis have a tattoo? And why was it the letter B of all things?