Sage had worked at just chatting with the rest of the family, helping them get ready to head out once they decided that it was time to head home. Mari had come down as they were heading out, and after bwhirkwind of goodbye hugs and kisses, the house was quiet. Maris comment caught him a bit off guard when she spoke, and he sort of just stared at her for a moment before sighing and moving towards her, plopping down on the couch with her. "I'm ok," he noted softly. He'd gotten plenty of bruises and cuts, but nothing super serious. One of the men had landed a hit on his back, across his left shoulder blade, and he'd used a mirror to put in a few stitches ..but it wasn't bad. He was ok. And it wasn't really a concern....not with everything else happening.

Mari nodded softly when he said he was okay, her eyes gentle for a moment. She wouldn't have forgiven herself if he'd somehow hurt himself while protecting them - especially when she could have helped. Sure, she was making sure the kids were okay, but Sage had needed help getting those... people out their house. The kids had been down - scared but fine. What was she even worrying about? "You're okay?" she repeated, the little comment less than what she was looking for. Maybe she was looking for something more enthusiastic as a reply, just... not that.

Sages features softened slightly and he moved to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'm not going to claim in perfectly fine," he noted softly. "Physically or mentally." He shook his head. "But it's just a few bruises and nicks. I put a few stitches in one as a precaution, in case I'd need to be ready for more. But that was it, and I'm ok," he added softly, figuring she'd figure out the extent of damage he's done on himself during the fight sooner or later. "They weren't trained fighters ...they were just here to cause chaos. the only thing close to a weapon they had was a glass shard from somewhere." He did frown though, sighing. "I'm used to chaos. But this is.... different," he noted quietly. He was supposed to be strong, to support Mari. He knew she was struggling with it all. But he wasn't sure what was going to happen. And he was scared, more than anything, that his family would be torn apart. It had almost happened twice now, and he didn't think he could live through something like that again. Especially not permanently

(Might be interesting if sage is the one who's taken this time lol, idk)

Mari's eyes closed when he leaned in to kiss her forehead, although something about it didn't bring her the comfort she was looking for. What did he mean? Physically or mentally? What was wrong, and why hadn't he said anything? the same reason she hadn't, she supposed, but she didn't want him hiding things from her. Her shoulders dropped slightly when he said he 'just put stitches in one,' though. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked in something of a whisper. She felt awful. He'd been hurt, and he hadn't felt like he could say something... she tried to be calming to everyone, but clearly she was failing with her own husband there. She sighed and patted the seat next to her, leaning in to rest her head lightly on his shoulder. She nodded in agreement. "It's not how i remember it before i went in the castle," she breathed, looking up at him curiously. "What's so different about it, though?" she breathed, almost to herself.

Sage let out a soft breath, shaking his head as he settled down next to her. "It wasn't that bad, and you were already scared enough. And we had work to do, and I didn't prioritize it." He still wasn't prioritizing himself...and honestly the only meal he'd had was the ones Mari prepared and ushered him in for. He needed to make money, replace things around the house, and keep it all together. He didn't have time to worry about himself. Though, at her comment, he bit his lip, shaking his head. "Street fighter are brutal...quick. they would have snuck in and taken me out, taken you, and sold the kids off," he noted bluntly. "It would have been efficient, quick and quiet, and they would have had weapons meant for the job." Maybe it was a bit crude....and he would have fought best he could, but he was aware of what groups from the street could do. "These guys weren't anything like that," he noted. "I don't....I'm not sure where they came from, but they weren't from around here."

Mari blew out a soft breath after a moment, then rather quickly shook her head. "Sage, I'm never too scared to find out you hurt yourself. What if it had been Liz or Silas? I'd hope you'd have prioritized them," she mumbled. She hated that. He was her husband... of course she wanted to know if he hurt himself. She could have helped him. She could have made sure he was okay. He had to look after himself too, and she would have liked to think he knew that by now. She looked him over for a moment, a soft breath escaping her. She nodded in response to his comments, staring down at the floor as she tried to process all of what he was saying. "Street fighters are the way you used to be," she mused slightly running a hand through her hair. She agreed quietly after a little while, though. These people weren't from around here. These people aren't fighters, they just wanted to cause trouble. "Yeah, I know,"n she murmured.

Sage couldn't help but wince in response to her first comment, sort of just focusing his gaze on the hand that was picking at the skin around his nails anxiously. That hadn't seemed to stop the past few days. He'd kept it well hidden, but ....well, sometimes it was unavoidable. Was she implying he wouldn't have cared for the kids if they'd been hurt? His mind blanked, the comment causing a sharp pang in his chest. The kids were exactly why he hadn't prioritized himself....because once the men were dead he'd rushed upstairs, for them and Mari. He nodded when she mentioned what street fighters were, though it didn't help the dull ache in his chest. He swallowed. "I'm not sure much has changed there, Mari," he whispered after a moment, thinking back to the incident. He'd killed them quickly. Hell, he'd been more concerned they ruined his pajamas than that he'd just killed five people.

Mari's eyes breifly landed on his hands when she spotted movment out of the corner of her eye, the cuticles around his nails torn and red. She just sighed and gave him a bit of a look. She really did hate all of this. She hadn't really noticed any of this affecting him over the last day or so, but she did feel bad for not paying more attention. She just sighed and took a soft hold of one of his hands, her fingers lacing carefully through his and her thumb running up and down the side of his hand. She glanced back up at him after a moment, her mind pondering. She still didn't undersand it. She knew he'd look after the chidren if they'd been injured. She knew he'd do anything for them, make sure they were safe and sound... so why couldn't he prioritize himself? They were fine. She would have made sure the kids were okay, and she'd have helped him if he'd told her about it. He couldn't just not tell her when he'd been hurt. Her brows furrowed slightly and she blew out a soft breath. "I dunno. You're more like a dad than ever now... much less street dude," she murmured. He was more... civil, she supposed than he'd used to be.

Sage had glanced down at his hands when she took a hold of them, closing his fingers around hers after a moment. He leaned in, too, honestly just...tired. He was tired of having to fight so much just to have a simple home with a loving family. Did whatever was controlling fate hate him so much? Her voice drew him out of his head though, and he sighed, resting his head against her shoulder and closing his eyes. "I hope so," he murmured softly. Then again, being part street dude was helpful in situations like this. He would stop at nothing to protect his family. The world could burn around them, and as long as they were safe, he'd be alright. Of course, he included Anya and att as well as their extended family and all the animals in on that after a moment or so.

Mari let him lean into her, and one arm wrapped lightly around his side and into his hair when he'd gotten comfortable. She kept her hand in his, just ... thinking for a while. All she wanted was for him to feel safe, too... he made the rest for the family comfortable, and he deserved that too. She sighed and pecked the side of his head, squeezing him softly. "It's not a bad thing, the whole street fighter in you," she hummed. "We would have already have lost Silas if it weren't for you... and you protected all of us yesterday," she hummed, burying her nose into his hair after a few moments. "But you have to look after yourself. Your job is to protect, and mine is to nurture - so, Sage, babe, you gotta let me nurture you and the kids," she mused. "If you're hurt, we need to fix that before we do anything else. It's important, and it's important to me that you at least tell me about this sort of thing," she whispered gently.

(Sorry, I just saw what you said about Sage being taken. We can totally do that! Would be cool to try and navigate it lol)