The mattress could hardly be considered the most comfortable thing to rest on, but that was pretty much the last thing on Wakko's mind as he sank down on it. In fact, he wasn't sure he could really remember how it felt to sleep on a nice bed. Some of his clearer childhood memories were he and his siblings bouncing on each other's beds and snuggling together on them while their mother sang to them, or their father told them a story, but he could never recall what sleeping in them was like. In all honesty, it didn't seem like the most important memory to hold on to.
The past hour was a bit of a blur, mainly because Wakko was still pretty tired, but he couldn't deny that it was a welcome relief from the near constant apprehension he and his siblings had been living with recently. It seemed too soon to say they felt safe here, but it was well on the way. Though there was no getting around the somewhat unnerving fact that they weren't just here to hide… they were there to take action, and a lot of very big problems waited outside these tunnels. But it didn't seem too much to assume they could at least have somewhere to come back to, where they wouldn't have to worry about being unwanted or unprotected.
As much as Wakko wanted to be brave, he still couldn't stifle that nagging part of him that longed for safety, for protection. Maybe because for some reason he couldn't for the life of him understand, he didn't want to stifle it.
The middle sibling was pulled from his thoughts by an almost blissful sigh from his sister, and he grinned at her as she slumped onto another mattress in the alcove the three had been given.
"That mean you're okay with sleeping here?" he asked teasingly. Dot gave him a playful glare.
"It's clean, it's temperate, and the mattresses are at least kind of comfy… I think I'll manage."
"I'll take that as a win," Yakko said as he flopped back on his, laying spread eagled as he stretched. "Just hope it's easy enough on my back."
Wakko raised a brow.
"You've got back problems?"
Dot snorted.
"He's just being dramatic, Wakko. He's not an old man."
Yakko lifted his head to smirk at her.
"Might not be old, but I'm still older than you, sis."
Both younger siblings chuckled, and Wakko leaned back on his elbows with a quiet sigh. He let his mind drift as he gazed at the shadowed ceiling, first to the previous events of the day and then to those coming tomorrow. They would be having a meeting with the main resistance leaders here to decide the next move… Wakko might have been surprised that they were putting it off even that long, but he hadn't missed the concern and sympathy in the looks directed at him and his siblings. And he knew people well enough to tell when those kinds of looks were genuine.
"What d' you guys think we'll have to do?" he asked softly.
A moment of silence passed. Then Yakko spoke again, his voice still light but a little more solemn now.
"Not sure, baby bro. But I don't think they'll have us doing recon missions into Salazar's place or anything like that."
Dot gave a soft huff of laughter.
"I'd hope not. Though I wouldn't say no to it if it meant throwing a few screws in whatever his twisted little head's cooking up."
Wakko let out a snort.
"Ditto," he said, despite the nervous squirm in his gut. He meant it, though… after finding out what Salazar had been doing this whole time, the middle sibling was determined to do whatever it took to stop him. He was scared, and he certainly didn't have a death wish, but that wasn't going to stop him. Not this time.
"Well, anyhow," Yakko said, breaking the silence. "It's not something we gotta worry about till tomorrow. And I'd like t' not worry about something for at least a few hours."
"Me too," Wakko said.
"Me three," Dot chimed in.
For a few moments, the siblings sat in silence, and Wakko felt like even though he was finally able to sit down and rest his mind didn't seem to have gotten the memo. His thoughts continued to race, over everything that happened the past few days and everything Pip had told them.
The middle sibling knew it had been years since they'd been able to live without fear, but the danger had somehow seemed so distant up until now. Now here it was right in front of them and was apparently even worse than they thought. He couldn't help but wonder just what it would take to fix this, and a small, skeptical part of him that he tried to keep buried wondered if it even could be. From long years of practice, he quickly shut that nagging voice out.
No, it can be fixed, and we'll fix it.
Someone clearing his throat made Wakko look up to see Scratchansniff standing in the entry of the alcove. Despite his obvious relief and happiness to see them he looked anxious, but the middle sibling was pretty sure by now that he always did. With shared delight, all three siblings leaped into the man's arms.
"SCRATCHY!"
The former councilor sighed, but there was no mistaking the fondness in his voice.
"I vill assume zere is still no point asking you not to call me zat."
Dot batted her eyes at him with a look of utter sweetness.
"Of course not, silly!"
Rather than annoyance, the man reacted with a warm chuckle. Wakko felt his smile widen as his tail wagged furiously. As much as he liked messing with people, he took just as much joy in seeing people happy… especially now that it didn't happen nearly as much as it should.
"I just vanted to see you vere, as you say, settled in."
Yakko grinned and draped an arm around Scratchy's shoulders.
"One of the best places we've stayed the past couple years and believe it or not I'm not lying."
"He's not," Wakko confirmed. Scratchy nodded.
"All vight." His smile grew concerned. "And you're sure you can meet tomorrow? I know you have been through a lot."
Wakko saw a shadow cross his brother's face, but he just shrugged.
"Who hasn't?" His smile returned. "But we can do something about it, and the sooner we start the better."
Wakko saw Dot nodding in tandem with him.
"Give us a good night's sleep," his sister said. "And we'll be there."
"Bright eyed and bushy tailed," Wakko added, making his own eyes go wide and shiny and puffing out his tail for emphasis. He didn't even care if dark dreams haunted him tonight… if it meant he'd be ready to go tomorrow, the fear would be worth it. And besides, fear hadn't been a stranger to him or his siblings for a long time.
