The boy flinches at the sound. He nearly dives off the bed when the stairs descend, but thinks better of it. There's barely two feet between the edge of it and the wall. He's not nearly small enough to go skittering around on hands and knees.

Alright, then. He squares his shoulders and raises his fists instead. He's nowhere near as strong as he once was, half-starved and feverish with sickness, but he'd rather lose a fight than take a beating.