Wake Me up Inside

[Tobias]

Toby turned away from the sun shining through the window, reluctant to wake up fully. After a few moments, he caught a memory from the feast, then another, then more. He sat up in his bed and checked his paws. Normal. He rubbed them together to make sure. Was it a dream?  No, it couldn?t have been. Yet his head felt remarkably clear, and last night (if it ever happened) was one of his rowdiest. But it was so vivid.

He figured a walk would clear things up. The architect dressed and headed for the east wall. Same construction detritus in front of the castle. Same guards milling around the parade ground. Same guards in the northeast bastion. Though it was too late for the shadows now, same east rampart. Well, until his footpaw stepped into a gaping hole.

Toby yelped in surprise, feeling a split-second of free fall, but kept his balance. He quickly sprung out of the hole with his right footpaw, cursing whoever mortared the stone, for he didn?t do it well at all. The mink looked to the ground to see if he could find the fallen stone, but then realized where he was: the midpoint of the wall. He inspected the hole again. The sides of the surrounding stones were clean. This was where the last stone was placed. But how?

?Tobias!?

He knew that voice well. Sure enough, Adrian was jogging toward him. ?How did you know I was up here??

She stopped just before the hole, panting slightly. ?I saw you go up. Yvo is looking for you, and he isn?t happy.?

?Why does he want me?? he said. He couldn?t have dreamed the feeling of relief that came with his last day of work; it was still with him.

Adrian shot him a strange look and pointed towards the west horizon. ?Does it look like they?re working??

He followed her claw to the largest storage attic. Or what should have been the attic. The room was clearly exposed, revealing only one partially constructed wall and plenty of scaffolding. There didn?t seem to be any movement.

His nerves prickled and his heart gave one noticeable palpitation as he processed the image. ?But?that?s not possible. That was finished two days ago.? He knew it was.

She gave a small smile, but still looked a bit concerned. ?Toby, I know you hate your job, but pretending like it?s over won?t make it over. Now come on!? She started steering him toward the bastion. ?Yvo is probably going ballistic. He really wants this place done before the feast.?

Before the feast.

No. No no no no no. That didn?t happen. If he died, he would be dead. Simple logic.

?When is the feast?? he asked as casually as he could. A part of him really wanted her to be teasing him right now. The rational part knew she wasn?t.

?Alan announced it last night, Toby. About a week, unless you don?t get your tail up to the roof.? she said, and another look followed. ?Are you feeling alright??

He brushed her arm off and stopped. ?Yes, I?m fine, I?m still waking up.? He wished he never did. ?Where is Yvo??

?He?s up there trying to do as much as he can without you. Toby, you really need to go.? she said.

This was going to be a very bad day.  ?Okay, okay. See you at lunch??

?If he doesn?t kill you before then!?

It wasn?t a very comforting joke. He started running to his room, thinking about the visit to the Dark Forest. So he was dead, but now he wasn't? Hellgates! Who else was in that group? There was that fox, Rexim, who never looked at him in a remotely amiable way. If he will agree to what happened, then it must have been real.

Toby burst into his room, grabbed the roof?s blueprint he knew would be on the table, and made for the attic. He could already hear the wolf?s yells as he climbed the wooden staircase.

The architect stopped as he entered the room. ?Overseer Yvo.?

Yvo spun around. ?You! Where the ?gates have you been?!? Toby would have gone deaf if he was standing next to the overseer; thankfully, they were about twenty paces apart.

The mink stiffened but left his face blank, a trick his father taught him. ?I apologize. I?ve had a strange morning.?

?I?d love to hear about it.? he growled. It sounded more like, ?So what?s your excuse??

?I don?t think it matters what I was doing, as long as I am here to rectify my mistake.? Toby said, twisting the rolled up parchment in his paws a little.

Yvo maintained a death-glare similar to Alan?s and held out a claw. ?One?and I mean one?more delay and you will receive a wake-up call every morning. From me.?

He could only imagine the number of ways Yvo could get him conscious without rendering him unconscious in the process. ?Understood.?

Though he needed to speak with Rexim, Toby remained in the attic the rest of the morning to make Yvo happy. Just before lunch he left for the cellar.

He found Rexim sitting at a table stationed by a barricade of wine barrels. The tabletop held seven wine bottles, three of which were empty and the other four on their way. The fox was asleep, head on the table and one hand caressing the base of one of the empty bottles.

The mink sighed. He shook Rexim?s shoulder once, twice. ?C?mon mate, wake up.? No reaction. He tried three more times before taking one of the empty wine bottles and smashing it next to his footpaws.

He awoke with a surprised grunt. Toby took the chair opposite to him. Rexim took a few seconds in adjusting his eyes, and when they passed over Toby, they narrowed. ?What are you doeeng here??

?I?d like to ask you a few questions.? Toby said, clearing his table space of bottles.

?About what? How you could have beelt Kotir beeter? I can geeve you pleenty of answers to that.? he said, smiling in the most unfriendly manner possible.

?Er, no?? What had he done to earn the fox?s animosity? ?What did you do for the feast last night?? he asked.

?I was down here, weeth all the good wine. Besides, I might have run eento you,? Rexim responded, ?but you ruined that plan, as you do your own.? He took the nearest wine-filled bottle and popped off the already loosened cork.

?But the feast was last night, correct??

?Of course eet was, you eediot! How did you get to be in charge of thees build asking questions like that?? He took a swig of wine.

?And what about Vulpuz and the Dark Forest??

Rexim didn?t seem fazed by this disclosure. ?Yes, I had a dreem that I was dead. You were there too, thank Vulpuz. But that was all eet was. A dreem.?

Toby continued ignoring the fox's insults. His anger could wait after he thought he was sane. ?It wasn?t.?

The fox smiled. ?Prove eet.?

The mink had already thought this out in the attic. He?d start with the observation he wasn't so sure about. ?Did I just wake you up for the first time this morning??

?What do you theenk??

?Um, yes??

He took another swig. ?Maybe you?re not as hopeless as I thought.?

Toby stared hard at the bottle closest to Rexim's face. His father might have said that.

?Do you have a hangover??

The fox looked at him a while before responding. ?That doesn?t prove anytheeng.?

Toby shrugged. ?Maybe, maybe not.? At least that was true for both of them. ?Do you want more proof??

?Yes.?

?Show me where the wine for the feast was taken.?

The builder grunted and sat up. ?I do thees only to prove you wrong. I like to see you be wrong,? he said as he stood.

?Watch the glass,? Toby said. Rexim looked down, then shot him a malevolent look and stepped around the shards.

The architect followed him through the chest-high wine racks. He stopped when one of the cellar walls came into view. ?They took all of thees?? The words died as he pointed to the fully stocked racks and barrels shored against the wall. He spun around with as sour an expression as the wine of which he smelled. ?What sort of treek is thees, Forst??

?No tricks. Do you want more proof??

Rexim looked at the bottles on the racks around him and picked one out. ?I have only so much patience for you.? He produced a bottle opener and uncorked the bottle.

?Let?s go visit our good friend Captain Blacktip.?

He took a drink from the bottle and looked satisfied. ?The good mink??

?Yes.?

The builder headed for the door. ?I really want to prove you wrong, Forst.? Toby followed.