Gray Weather
#41 of All They Knew
Ruki lifted his head to a dark room. He didn't recognize his surroundings at first-- until he remembered he fell asleep on the couch earlier. How late at night was it? Ruki, slowly and as silently as he could, slid off the couch as to not wake Skye's mother. He sauntered down the hall to Skye's room and slightly nudged open her door with his cheek. She was utterly still, likely asleep. Ruki wouldn't have intentionally left her alone, especially when she was at an indecisive point in her life. He wasn't sure if he should hop into Skye's bed now and risk waking her, but Ruki wanted to lie beside her even in her slumber. He approached and stood on his hind legs, his front landing on the bottom end of the bed. Ruki then hopped off his hind legs and was now entirely on, but his weight kept his landing from being as stealthy as he'd hoped.
Skye was a light sleeper, so it woke her, unfortunately. "Mh..." She rubbed her eyes and looked down at what she thought was Ruki frozen in place. It was still fuzzy. "Ruki?"
"Nine..." he answered, hoping Skye wouldn't be upset with him for breaking her sleep.
Skye missed him. She was glad to see him. "Come please, baby."
Ruki stepped over and lied in front of her on his stomach. She didn't seem to be.
"I had a bit of trouble falling asleep..." Skye leaned in and kissed his neck, embracing it with her arms and resting her cheek slightly below her pillow while sifting her fingers through his fur.
Ruki heard her softly sigh and gently rested his chin on her head to grant her additional comfort, and that's how they fell asleep.
--
Ruki woke up to a thunderous boom as dawn broke. Skye was still in deep sleep under him, her arms still weakly hugging his neck, and her nose pressed against his chest. Ruki was glad he followed his urge to go to her room last night. Maybe she needed it. Another abrupt and significantly louder boom filled the sky outside and reverberated for several moments, causing Ruki's ears to perk and look to the window. If Skye weren't asleep, he'd go investigate the sky. It hadn't rained in Hau'oli for a while, so this excited him.
The next few peals of thunder woke Skye in a bit of a frantic manner. Her eyes shot open, and she quickly lifted her head to meet Ruki staring at her with a bit of concern.
He reassuringly nudged her cheek with his nose.
"What was that?" It took her a moment to catch her breath and composure. Her heart was still racing. What a sound to wake up to. Skye pushed the blanket off of her and walked to the window--
which was precisely what Ruki was waiting for. He wasted no time hopping down behind her, watching her push the curtain aside.
"Oh, it'll rain soon," she said while looking up at a sky filled with dark gray clouds. It would be a gloomy day. "We should go out back for it."
"Ni!" Ruki flicked his tails. They never used the backyard, but it was ideal for a rainy day as the patio had a cover above it to catch the drops.
Skye had a small headache. She didn't get much sleep as it was, and she was woken up rather early. "All right, a bit later, though. Let me wake up." Skye knew she had to call Aaron as well, but that was during the afternoon, and it was just after 6 a.m., so she had plenty of time. Skye put on blue pajama pants with mini pokéballs printed all over them and a light blue shirt. She bought the pants three years ago, but she still found them cute. Skye didn't want to wake anyone as it was early, and Skye had no reason to go out into the living room, so she lied on her stomach atop her bed again to rest.
--
She didn't intend to fall back asleep, but it wasn't surprising. Skye opened her eyes and saw Ruki standing on his hind legs, his front paws on the windowsill while gazing out the window.
Ruki looked back at her after feeling eyes on him, his tails swaying. "Nin!"
Skye yawned quietly and stretched her arms. "Is it raining?" she asked softly.
He nodded quickly. It wasn't drizzling, either. It was raining relatively hard.
"Mkay." Skye grinned weakly. "Let's go." She grabbed her phone for a moment to check the time. It was just after 7 a.m. She'd gotten another hour of sleep, which relieved her headache some. Skye got up and put a pair of white high socks on from her dresser. Once they were out in the hall, she assumed her parents were still asleep due to how silent it was. Skye opened the door to the left beside hers, leading to a small room with a cemented floor and many full shelves lining both sides of the walls. The room was used as a storage unit. Just ahead was the sliding glass door to the yard itself.
Ruki entered the room as Skye silently closed the door behind him, then watched her go unlock and pull the backyard door to the left to open it.
She was instantly hit with a cool breeze that brought her to shiver, although not cold enough to where she'd require extra clothing. Skye stepped onto the off white marble-tiled patio and sat in one of the two wooden chairs, listening to the continuous and steady patter of rain hit the grass ahead and roof above.
Ruki sat beside her, sniffing the air to take in the rain's unique scent.
"You love the rain, don't you?" Skye reached her hand over and placed it on the back of his neck.
Ruki nodded and kept his ears on alert for more thunder. It was probably his favorite weather. He found its smell and sound soothing. Maybe it was his inner water type. Ice has to melt.
The backyard was a good place to not be heard. No one really came back here, so Skye could use it to talk to Aaron later in private. It wasn't her focus at the moment, however. She glanced at Ruki, then got up from the chair to sit beside him on the floor, leaning her side against his.
He affectionately brushed his tails against her lower back and eyed her for a moment. The only thing better than the weather was Skye experiencing it with him.
"I kind of like the way this weather makes me feel," she said, watching lightning traverse the skies in zigzags. It brought her a touch of depression and suppressed it with beauty.
Ruki could agree. He remembered playing in it as a vulpix quite often, but he usually finished with a messy, soaked coat, resulting in an immediate bath and an irritated Skye.
Skye brought her knees up and hugged them. The chilly air would get to her soon. She preferred enjoying it from her room. "But I'm not covered in fur like you... We'll stay out for a while longer."