Whenever the three siblings weren't wreaking havoc together, Dot knew she'd find her oldest brother in the castle library. Sometimes it took a while to find him in there, though… it was pretty big. This time she found him sitting by one of the windows, and from the way he occasionally glanced outside, Dot could tell his mind wasn't entirely on the book he was reading. Although she couldn't really blame him; her mind was on the same thing.
As Dot approached, she saw Yakko's ears twitch before he looked up. He smiled and set the book aside.
"Hey, sis." He cocked his head. "Something on your mind?"
Dot let out a slight huff as she crossed her arms.
"Yeah… how long is that lady gonna keep Wakko out there? She said they were just doing basics."
Her brother raised a brow.
"Do I detect some concern there?"
Dot glared at him for a moment, then sighed.
"Well… yeah," she mumbled. Yakko stood and walked over with a knowing grin.
"I get it."
A grin tugged at the Warner sister's face as well.
"Yeah, 'cause you go mother hen over everything."
Yakko let out a sheepish chuckle as he shrugged.
"Hey, I'm the oldest. That's my job."
Just then the siblings heard the door swing open, then running footsteps. Before they could move to investigate, Wakko charged around a nearby bookshelf. As soon as he saw them, a huge grin spread over his face and he ran over.
"Guys! Guys, I did it! You won't believe what… it was amazing, I…!"
"Whoa, slow down!" Yakko said with a laugh, then cocked his head. "You okay?"
Dot stifled a giggle as the middle sibling rolled his eyes.
"I'm fine! Little tired, maybe, but Jayna said that's normal. And she said I should wait a little while before I do anything else, but I can show you after that!"
Yakko grinned and patted his brother's shoulder.
"So, what can ya tell us till then?"
Wakko returned his grin, almost bouncing with excitement.
"Well, she said that the most important thing is to focus."
Dot couldn't resist raising her brow with a smirk.
"You, focus? I thought you only did that when you have to."
Her immediate older brother shrugged, his grin never faltering.
"Yeah, but I wanted to! I wanna be able to do something good with this."
Remembering his similar words from a few days ago, Dot felt a twinge of concern. Did he still feel like he had to make up for something? But before she could say anything, Wakko went on, his voice full of eagerness as he described what Jayna had told and shown him. Soon Dot's smile was back, and a glance at Yakko revealed the same on his face. After seeing him so down through the previous week, it was heartening to see him this excited about something. It increased her hope that he was finally starting to put everything behind him.
After a few moments, Wakko stopped talking and cocked his head, looking between her and Yakko with a quizzical expression.
"What?"
Her smile widening, Dot walked over and gave him a gentle hug.
"It's just nice to see you happy again," she said softly. She felt her brother return the hug, patting her back.
"I'm fine, sis. Really."
And this time, Dot could tell he wasn't just saying it. Yakko walked over and ruffled Wakko's cap and hair, still grinning.
"So, been long enough for you to show us a little?"
Wakko perked up even more, his tail wagging.
"Oh, yeah! Yeah, I think so! C'mon, we've gotta be by water!"
He rushed back the way he came, and his siblings followed close behind. After dashing through the halls and down the main stairway, they emerged out a back entrance into the gardens. Wakko ran to the fountain, Yakko and Dot on his heels. He looked around, apparently making sure no one was watching.
"Okay," the middle sibling said. "Watch this."
Drawing in a deep breath and releasing it, he held out his hand and gazed at the water with a look of intense concentration. Despite herself, Dot couldn't help feeling impressed; it wasn't very often that he showed this kind of focus. Finally, after a few moments, a shimmering dome of water lifted from the surface, floating in midair. Dot's jaw went slack as she stared, and she was pretty sure Yakko looked the same way. Wakko lifted his hands, the water forming into a long, slender shape. He then thrust one hand forward, and the water snapped like a whip. The middle sibling then lowered his hands and the water lowered with them, back into the fountain.
"It took me a few tries, but that's the most complicated thing I learned!" he said in an excited tone. "Jayna said when I get more practice, I'll be able to do a lot more."
Dot heard her oldest brother whistle, clearly impressed.
"That's awesome, sib." His voice was somewhat teasing when he spoke again. "So how many times did you get soaked trying t' do that?"
Wakko just shrugged, his wide grin never fading.
"Just once… it fell on my head the first time I tried."
Dot started laughing.
"Wish I'd been there to see that!"
Wakko's eyes moved to her, and his excited grin became a sly one. He lifted his hands again and another small stream of water rose from the fountain. Dot blinked, then narrowed her eyes.
"Don't you dare…"
But before she could finish, her immediate older brother whipped his hand again and the water dropped on her. It wasn't much and didn't get her too wet, but she still yelped. Shaking her head, she shot him another glare.
"Oh, you are dead."
Wakko stuck his tongue out at her before taking off around the fountain, and she pelted after him. He managed to stay ahead of her, but with a small burst of speed she caught up enough to snatch his hat.
"Hey!"
With that their roles were reversed: Wakko racing after her as she ran around the fountain.
"Dot, give it back!"
Dot held his hat away with a smug grin.
"First say you're sorry for splashing me!"
"Why?" Wakko sounded genuinely puzzled. "You barely even got wet!"
The youngest Warner sped up, still holding the hat.
"Take it back!"
"No! Gimme my hat!"
He was doing his best to sound annoyed, but Dot could hear the laughter in his voice.
"I can do this all day!" she called.
Wakko didn't answer, but she heard his running steps speed up, then she heard him leap. Before she could swerve away, he tackled her, and they went rolling in the grass. She tried to keep holding the hat away, but when he started tickling her she squealed and finally dropped it. Just as Wakko snatched it, Yakko scooped them both up and spun in a circle. Finally he flopped on his back with an arm around each of them, all three laughing.
Dot felt lighter than she had in days, playing with her brothers like they always did and knowing that the middle sibling was happy again. That one thought made getting splashed completely worth it.