Rudy preferred sleeping in but today he had told Reddy to wake him up early without making it obvious.  He could have just asked Fern to wake him but he wanted this to be a surprise.  Savage enjoyed sleeping in as much as Rudy so he would have been no help.

So it was, while he was laying with Fern, he had started off laying curled up with her but then his body had shifted about while asleep.  His head was resting on her paws, his chest and side facing her, his legs tucked in while another was out straight and stiff as a board resting on top of her rump. Rudy was sound asleep as normal and seemed to be able to stay that way if no one woke him up.

Reddy woke up with the first light of the sun.  Today once the bird was awake it started making all sorts of horrific noises as if under torture, then shutting up after twenty seconds after starting.  Reddy could beat the best alarm systems. Rudy rolled over, startling awake.  His head butting into Fern’s as his foggy mind reminded him there was someone else that slept with him now.  Head twisting about he looked blearily at Reddy, “Oh, right”  

"Speech"

She had fallen asleep in his arms, pressed into his body, listening to steady rhythm of his breathing. The smile that had been on her lips followed her into dream land, obsuring the nightmares and softening the gloom that often followed her. Fern drifts on clouds of happiness, feeling the warmth his body offers, even through layers of sleep. Rudy shifts in his sleep, pulling away from her and the darkness slowly seeps back in. The happy dreams start to twist and morph and, when Rudy’s head finds its way onto her paws, Fern starts to dream of being trapped. Her muscles  twitch randomly as the nightmares bleed over into reality. Everything is closing in around her, ready to suffocate the gray girl.

Then the loudest, most horrifying sounds shatter the nightmare and send Fern crashing back to reality. Bleary eyes try to blink away the sleep and Fern realizes she standing, stumbling away from the dying animal. Her heart is hammering hard against her ribs, stealing her breath and widening sleep filled eyes. Adrenaline courses through her veins, driving the last vestiges of sleep from her brain and preparing Fern for a fight. But… there is nothing. Rudy has startled awake, rolling over while muttering something. She looks around for the noise that had awoken her, trying and failing to find the source.

Wide eyes turn to Rudy and she blurts out, “Did you hear that horrible noise??”


"Speech"

Rudy yawned as Fern asked if he’d heard that noise.  Maybe someone had forgotten to warn Fern about how well Rudy can pull pranks if he has a mind too. “That was Reddy,” Rudy offered as he slowly stood up and stretched, “Loud enough to wake the dead ain’t he?”  Rudyard sounded as if he could easily flop back down and go right back into sleep.

Rudy gave his head a shake, double blinking his eyes, “Not sure why even dead wanna wake up this early and crazy Art does this daily,” muttered in irritation over his brother's clear craziness.  That out of the way he grinned at Fern, “well, long as we are up this early we might as well get some exercise in.  C’mon, we can run for a bit, build up our stamina more.”

Rudyard then thought to glance at Reddy, “What’s the big idea of making such a fuss at this time? Everyone else sleeps in.”  

Rudy hid a grin at the look Reddy was giving to him.  The motley boy's bird was saying something not that nice in the birds look.  It’s ok, Rudy was pretty sure it was Reddy’s idea of mock-irritation.  Birds were a tad hard to read though.

“Need to grab a bite or anything before we head out?”  Rudy was already making his way towards the door.  As was getting proven typical the wolf seemed able to go from a dead sleep to startingly awake with little time in between.  Wait until Fern learned it was all a big scheme.  At least it was a good one to hopefully enjoy the day some more.

Rudyard Carpathius

Fern’s wide ocean-hued eyes stare unblinkingly at Rudy as he yawns, seeming as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. That noise had scared given her quite the start and her heart rate is just beginning to slow down. His words are nonchalant letting the gray girl know who was the source of the horrible screeching. Worry fills her eyes as she looks to Reddy, asking the hawk, “Are you okay buddy? Did something attack you?” The hawk blinks its eyes slowly at her before shifting its head to turn its gaze on Rudy. Because of the rude awakening, Fern’s mind is slow to try and comprehend what the hawk is telling her. Her attention is pulled away from the puzzle as Rudy starts speaking again. He’s talking about getting some exercise. What? Fern turns her confused gaze back to Rudy, trying to process everything that is happening. Art had given Fern a day off from sword training and she had thought that meant sleeping in.

His glance to Reddy and words with the hawk gives the girl a chance to shake her head and attempt to clear the cobwebs. From her basket in the corner, Puff speaks up, peeking her head out from under the fur. The irritated stoat says, “Hey! Keep it down out there! Some of us are trying to sleep!” Puff grumbles as she rubs her eyes with small paws and yawns loudly. Then Rudy is moving toward the door, leaving a stunned and silent Fern in his wake. He asks if she needs food before heading out and Fern finally speaks up, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are we going? We don’t need to go anywhere. We could just try to go back to sleep.” Slowly her brain is catching up and, the fact Rudy hasn’t even considered going back to bed is suspicious. Rudy loves to sleep in. Had he planned this? Eyes narrow as she looks at Rudy’s gray form.


"Fern"|"Puff"

Fern would get used to Rudy’s games in time and at some point, she’d figure it all out but hopefully not too soon.  “Reddy’s fine,” The grey boy informs Fern.  “He’s done it before, think it was some dream or something.  Maybe he was trying to spook Puff and we got brought in on the joke.  Reddy would still be calling out a storm if there was anything wrong.” Clearly Reddy had looked to Rudyard to answer the question for him.  Reddy for his part seems to be done with the lot and goes to do a careful job making sure all his feathers are in alignment.

Rudy’s devil Savage just rolled over so it faced the wall as it tried to sleep.  The little guy didn’t know what this was about and he didn’t care when he wanted to sleep.  Rudyard glanced over at Puff and his irritating comments but shrugged it off, “So go to sleep, you don’t need to exercise with us and get stronger so that you hunt better.”

Fern was arguing about going back to sleep?  Rudy gave her a puzzled look, “Sleep is great, don’t get me wrong.  Now we’re awake though,” Rudyard shrugged, “Once I’m awake my mind doesn’t really stop.” A grin spread across Rudyard’s face, “and lately I’ve wanted to enjoy every moment I’m awake.  Ever since you came back, Fern.  So, about that exercise?  You know Reddy’s not likely to wake me up every morning for us to do this.” Rudy had always talked his way through situations, well, almost always.  Minus one failed attempt his worlds generally hit their mark in all areas of importance.  

Rudyard Carpathius

Weary eyes watch Rudy, trying to figure out what exactly is going on. When he tells Puff to go back to sleep, Fern looks over just in time to see the small stoat grumble and pull the fur back over her head. The gray girl stifles a laugh when Puff grumbles, “Just keep it down. Alright?”  When she argues about going back to bed, Rudy lays his charm on… thick. He grins in all the right places, knows what words to slip in at the precise spots and Fern… eats it up. With a heavy sigh, Fern casts one last, longing glance toward the bed before moving to follow Rudy out. As they exit their room, the gray says in a lower voice, to try to keep from waking other, “Lets grab some food from the stores before we go. If we are going to be exercising, we will need the energy.” With Fern's mind finally clearing, the pair move out into the morning.

"Fern" | "Puff"