Lock snapped his teeth at the vine nearest him in retaliation to Carver patting his head, but the pumpkin creature was already pulling herself back together, so to speak. He grumbled as he got the lights, being the last one standing. Lock then trudged to the empty space between Shock and Barrel. At least he got the favored pillow tonight.
Well...for the first hour or so, anyway.
After a few more lovingly exchanged insults among the group as their form of bidding each other good night, Lock, Shock, and Barrel all settled down. They often started with a little bit of space between them, but as they each drifted off to the land of nightmares, they began to shift and move. Every citizen in Halloween Town knew that in waking hours, the trio often found trouble, whether it was a prank, an argument, or just messing around. Few knew the same held true in their sleep.
Barrel started it tonight, with a gentle shove against Lock, who in turn smacked him with his tail in retaliation. Shock remained peaceful the longest, gently curled up near Carver while her brothers shoved each other around. She joined in when Lock shifted too close to her, and got a knee to his calves for it. Her foot found Carver's cage not long after.
Over the course of the night, limbs kicked and punched, blankets and pillows were tossed around and stolen, and bodies piled on top of each other. Only Carver - and Lillith, when she spent days curled up with Lock - had witnessed this nightly cacophony enough to know that the more the sinister siblings squirmed and retaliated in their sleep, the better their moods. Barrel didn't shift as much as his siblings did tonight, as he was still down from screwing up earlier, but that he still shoved his siblings around said enough that he was bouncing back from it. Only in the last part of the night, when the sleep cycle came close to its conclusion did the trio settle down again.
By morning, none of the three were where they started the night before. Barrel was now resting against the wall, his body replacing all the pillows. One of the blankets tangled in his legs. Over the course of the night, Shock found her way to the middle of the group. She used Barrel's stomach as a pillow, had one of the blankets draped around her shoulders like a cape, and held the favored pillow under one arm in nightly victory. Lock was partially draped over her back, with one leg haphazardly draped over Carver's cage. The rest of the pillows were shoved in a pile under him, and the last blanket had been kicked completely away from the group.
Barrel woke first with a deep yawn. He lied back for a moment, then sat up, feeling a bit better than he did last night, but still uneasy at yesterday's flub. Well, today was the big day, so maybe after a good breakfast, things would be better. He immediately felt better at the thought of a hearty meal. Barrel shoved Shock off of him so he could untangle himself from the blanket and get up and get started. Shock simply muttered something in her sleep and shifted for comfort against the floorboards. She then pulled the blanket up over her head to block out the sun shining in from the windows.
Lock got up next. He crawled onto all fours, then arched like a frightened black cat. His tail straightened, and several loud, audible cracks and pops sounded as he worked the kinks from his spine and limbs. He grinned as he saw his sister, then yanked the blanket away.
"Time to claw out of the grave!" he said cheerfully.
Shock barely managed to grab the other end before he took it completely away. She tried to pull it back.
"Inamoment," she muttered.
Lock tugged on the blanket and shoved her spine with his foot.
"This was your plan," he reminded her.
Shock kept her grip on the blanket. She moved the favored pillow under her head and yanked the blanket back.
"'N th' plan can wait five more minutes."
Lock glanced to Carver.
"I think she needs more incentive," he said.