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Flailing, kicking, a fury.
Within a second, Barnaby is awake.
His first conscious thought is to rush out and check the henhouse. It only takes a moment before his eyes dart and settle on the lamb next to him.
He isn't at the farm.
Then a small wave of relief washes down the adrenaline. Along with a kick to his thigh.
Ow.
Barnaby grimaces. His snout crinkles as he uses his paws to grasp onto Dolly's hooves as gently as possible. Enough to hold firm, but not to hurt.
"Hey, Doll, Dolls-?"
His soft shaking of her legs, along with Barnaby's soothing tone were cut short by Dolly yelping awake. Her eyes darted open, bursting open with tears overflowing off of her cheeks.
Her breath was shaking and heavy, with her flailing now replaced by a tremble. It filled her whole body. His heart tore at the sight.
"Wooah, hey... hey... S'alright, see? It's all alright... It's just me. Your pal Barnaby is right here for ya'."
A few nervous chuckles cracked through his calm tone.
Dolly's eyes seemed to soften, and the tension in her body relaxed. Barnaby let go of her hooves, moving his arms to scoop up the lamb in his arms.
"Just a crummy dream. Ain't nothin' gonna get you here."
He mumbled as he got up from the bed. The strange little routine they had after her nightmares. He flicked a knob on the small table, and the radio crackled and flickered to life.
"Poor thing. Second one this week."
The static buzzed just a bit over the music, but in a way it sounded almost warm. Comforting.
"You wanna talk about it, lambchop?"
Barnaby prodded the question gently. He set her into bed first, before padding his way into the bed. She rolled the hem of the blanket in her fingers with a stubborn hum.
Finally, she shook her head with a mumble.
"No, thank you."
His head nodded in slow agreement. He had to admit that he was a bit disappointed each time. But he was hardly going to be the one pushing that subject. Anything that scares Dolly that much has to be serious.
"Seams like we're gonna have a long night, huh Dolly?"
He yawned out. Pulling the cord of the lamp beside him, the room lit up in a hazy golden-amber glow.
She shifted and squinted as she adjusted to the glow. Stretching her legs out, she smoothed the fabric of her pajamas against her fingers. It was just a dream..
She always felt such awful wave of guilt after the wave of fear ebbed away down to the tips of her hooves. The things poor Barnaby has to endure to house me...
The thought weighed heavy on her.
Though Barnaby never looked upset by her nightmares, even when she thrashed or screamed. She knew it was always just a matter of time before he would. It was the words that came after that she really feared.
Turning a lazy smile to the lamb, he bows his head toward her. Maybe out of a canine instinct, maybe just because he thought laying his head on top of someone felt nice.
His ear flopped above her softly beating heart. The rhythm was always soothing to him.
"How about a story to distract ya?"
Dolly's downturned eyes shone with a glimmer of excitement. He could never resist a captive crowd for long. Misiu chuckled warmly and closed an eye.
"I knew y'woudn't be able to resist. I'll make it special for ya."
As if a quiet 'thank you', Dolly's hand moved to pet his head.
Even as she spoke more and more, Barnaby couldn't help noticing how much Dolly used her actions to talk for her. It was something he found unique and endearing.
She hadn't been in the neighborhood long from when she had wandered into their little neck of the woods. The poor lamb was lost and afraid, and the neighborhood agreed to lend a helping hand to their new neighbor.
Dolly and Poppy's temperaments were similar enough to get along quite well at first. Poppy was more than happy to have a little extra space in her soft nest. The problem only started a few days after.
Night terrors.
Barnaby wasn't sure why, but she had them terribly. Dolly had a tendency to kick, hit, flail and fight while asleep. Being much bigger and with a considerably fluffy guy, the problem wasn't so much her strength as much as her hooves. He was certain that one day he'd get knocked out himself trying to wake her.
"Alright, I've got one for ya."
He lifted his head from her stomach, laying down beside her. He cradled an arm around Dolly.
"When I was a little puppy, my ma told me a campfire story that scared the spots right off me! I was a real wreck, and nothin' could make it right. Nightlights didn't make me feel any safer."
Dolly's lip was pursed in a little pout as she placed her head onto his chest.
"Hey, I promise this story ain't a pity party. Just ya wait. Patience, lil' Doe!"
His chuckle lightly bounced Dolly's head, bobbing up and down as her nose scrunched up and her tongue popped out from her lips. With a roll of Barnaby's eyes he continued on.
"Anyway, one day it hit me. I wasn't afraid of some made-up fairytale. I was jus' afraid of my ma getting hurt. Sometimes I just needed a night to sleep in her nest. Though, that excuse started to fly a whole lot less when I hit my growth spurt."
Dolly's eyes had closed with a little smile and a giggle.
"Plus, y'know.. Learning to use ma's revolver helped plenty of those worries, too."
Just as quickly as her eyes closed, they opened with a raised brow.
"Ain't jokin' ya. You're outta luck, though. I don't have one a' those."
Dolly gave a little hum as she closed her eyes and furrowed her brows. A gentle scratch behind his left ear seemed to whisper a 'thank you' to him.
"Now get some sleep. You sheep aren't gonna count yourselves. Other than ewe, anyway. I'll keep ya safe."
As if to prove the fact, he gently squeezed the arm wrapped around her. Dolly's hand reached to pet Misiu's cheek. Her smooth hooved fingers gently rubbed against his furry cheek. He closed his eyes as he nuzzled against the cool feeling.
The radio crackled as the faintest sound of raindrops pattered on the window.