SMRPG- Sleepy

He was a star spirit. How was he supposed to know he needed sleep in this world?

Still, Geno didn't bewail his exhaustion. Really, he brought it on himself, staying up the previous night (the first night they shared together, in Moleville Inn) to watch the stars. He couldn't help it, being fascinated by seeing his home from a different angle, identifying the stars he all knew once before. He had spent the entire night, up until the sun peeked over the mountains, counting them all, smiling wistfully at each one he recognized, as if seeing an old friend.

It wasn't like he regretted it all. He just felt that he could've gotten in at least an hour or two of rest. Especially now when he could hardly keep his eyes open. Though wooden they were, his clunky eyelids felt incredibly heavy.

But at least the explanation at the Mushroom Kingdom castle had gone by swiftly. Princess Toadstool had been returned safely, and Mario seemed rather glad she was alright (even though the doll could see his disappointment at her decision to stay home). Better yet, the Chancellor understood the situation with Smithy and the Star Road and insisted they continued on that journey, which came as a quiet relief to Geno. Of course, rescuing the Princess was a high priority, but any further distractions could have been dangerous. At least they were back on track now.

Still… tomorrow. They could continue tomorrow. Everyone seemed tired, but Geno just felt ready to collapse.

Stepping out of the castle's front gates, Mario yawned, gave out a full-body stretch, and swung around to face his three companions. "Right, then. To the Inn?"

Bowser grumbled and groaned and scoffed, still sore over earlier. "Yes, please," Mallow replied much more politely, and Geno gave a silent, curt nod.

Mario grinned and turned back to lead the way. "Okay, guys, good work today. Let's go get some shut-ey—"

"MARIO!!"

Geno flinched at the high-pitched cry from above that dug into his tired, lazy ears.

It seemed like the Princess had changed her mind, as she had jumped out her window and was floating down to the ground daintily on her parasol. The sight inspired awe from Mallow, surprise from Mario, and a far more appropriate incredulous stare from Bowser, accompanied with a whispered, "The heck's she doing…?"

Naturally, Mario was the first to rush up to her landing place. "P-Princess? What are you doing out here? Oof!"

"Oh, please, Mario!" Toadstool pleaded, leaping in to embrace the flustered plumber tightly. "Take me along with you, please!"

The reactions to this proposal were varied; Mario had expressed obvious uncertainty, Mallow grew excited, and Bowser groaned, muttering aside things like 'dead weight' and such. Toadstool would then go on to explain herself and solidify her convictions to do her part to help, and she seemed convincing enough.

To be honest? The entire conversation had quickly grown muddled in Geno's head. He had a moment of quiet frustration, as he was sure what they were all saying was important, but he found it incredibly difficult to focus all of the sudden. His thoughts grew fuzzy and hard to string together, all save one; that he was so very, very tired…

"Erm… Mario? Is your friend alright?" Toadstool ventured, unsure of whether standing perfectly still with his head slumped slightly forward was normal for the possessed doll.

Mario blinked, then couldn't help a grin of amusement. He knew Geno was tired, but to fall asleep on his feet?

"Geno," he stressed his name loudly, to which the star spirit did a little hop, his eyes popping open.

"Uh? What?" he slurred out, rather embarrassingly. He rubbed his eye sleepily as the others giggled and snickered. "I-I'm sorry, I was miles away. What'd we decide on?"

"Unfortunately…" Bowser grumbled. "The Princess is sticking with us."

"And we're going to Tadpole Pond to ask Grandpa about the next Star Piece!" Mallow added.

"Ah… good, good," Geno nodded vigorously, trying to shake some of the haziness out of his head. "Sounds like a plan."

He nearly jumped again when a pair of dainty hands rested on his shoulders. He looked up at Toadstool meekly; something about her presence made him act rather humbled towards her.

"However…" she spoke softly, almost maternally. "That plan's for the morning. For now, I think we all need a good night's rest. Wouldn't you agree?"

All of them seemed to be in agreement with her suggestion, but to their surprise, the especially exhausted doll shook his head, drawing away. "N-no, no… not here."

"Oh?" Toadstool gave him an incredulous pout. "And why not?"

"If we stay here…" he mumbled. "You could be caught and taken back to the castle."

Her pout quickly fell away at that. Mario and Mallow exchanged concerned glances.

"Puppet-boy's got a point," Bowser finally agreed to something.

"I'll tough it out a little longer… if you're really devoted to help us, Your Highness, I'd rather you not have that chance taken away because of me."

Toadstool's heart softened a little at that. Upon first reaction, she thought his refusal had been some machismo-pride nonsense to save face, as Bowser had done SO eloquently earlier. She had little to judge Geno's character with so far, but hearing his noble, selfless reasoning was reassuring.

"Very well," she replied, nodding. "But the next Inn we reach, I insist we rest for the night!"

Mario nodded in agreement. "We could all use some shut-eye. It's been quite a day."

Geno gave them a lazy grin, eyes half-lidded. "It has."

The trip to such a place had been longer than expected. Much longer. They passed through Bandit's Way and took a shortcut across Midas River, but it was still a long ways to Rosetown. It was evening by the time they were to pass Tadpole Pond, but Geno, who had been kept relatively alert by conversations with Mallow and the occasional jab from Bowser, insisted they may as well stop by and visit Frogfucius while they were in the area. After a small debate amongst themselves, the others agreed.

But even as Geno's devotion to his mission was ever strong, his borrowed body just couldn't keep up. His eyes blinked rapidly every so often just to remain open, and his steps grew sluggish and uncoordinated. He almost took a dive into the pond from the small tadpole bridge had not Mario been swift enough to catch him.

And once they had gathered around to partake in Frogfucius' wisdom, he had almost immediately fallen asleep in his seat.

"I have the latest news, children," the old frog started, until he was the first to notice. "A large star's been sighted on… Hrm. Ahem."

They all turned and followed his gaze. Bowser snorted in contained laughter.

Frogfucius smiled under his beard. "It has been a long day, has it not?"

"Ahhhh, yeah," Mario sheepishly replied.

Stifling his own giggles, Mallow elbowed his blue-caped pal. "Geno… Geeeeno…!"

"Mm…?" Awakening was more gradual this time, his fatigue more evident that ever in his eyes that threatened to shut up again at any moment. He gave them a rather slacked, dummy look of puzzlement that made it more difficult for Bowser to keep from bursting into laughter. "I-I'm sorry. Please…continue."

Frogfucius raised a brow. "I was about to say that a large star has been sighted on Star Hill."

Geno's eyes widened slightly, but that wasn't saying much. "S-Star Hill?"

"I see you know of it… isn't that right, young star spirit?"

The doll could only stare on in disbelief.

"He does that a lot," Mallow whispered to him on the side, grinning.

The old frog got up from his seat and hobbled his way over, leaning very close into Geno's personal space. He leaned back accordingly, blinking.

"I've heard much about you and your tale," Frogfucius began, eyeing the possessed doll. "I'll admit I found it hard to believe. But now that I've seen you with my own eyes—as bad as they may be getting…"

"But… how—"

"It's quite remarkable, to think there's a world above ours filled with spirits that grant our wishes… thanks to you, I now know of that world's existence. And now the whole business with Smithy and these shooting stars makes a whole lot more sense."

"Grandpaaaa…" Mallow moaned, embarrassed.

"…ahh, yes!" Frogfucius realized his error, leaning back. "Either way, back on track. Tell me, 'Geno,' as they call you, you've never needed physical rest before, have you? Before coming down to the surface, at least?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "Not… that I can recall."

"Interesting. Perhaps that is why you skipped last night's rest to stargaze instead while your companions slept."

Geno tensed up at that accusation; he could feel Mario and Mallow's gazes train on him in shock.

"…You never told me you stayed up all night…" the plumber mumbled, almost hurt.

"I-I…" Geno felt reeled by guilt. "I didn't think I needed it, and I didn't want to cause any worry…"

"Maybe you should've done yer homework before coming down here, huh?"

"Bowser!" Toadstool gawked, appalled. "Really! That was uncalled for!"

"Ah, but the Koopa King, as blunt as he is, has a point," Frogfucius spoke up, quieting the potential argument. He gave the star spirit a firm gaze from behind thick glasses. "Though you come from another world, you are borrowing a body of this world, breathing life into it. You should have expected this world to have rules to follow for those who live in it, even temporarily. To eat, to drink, to breathe… and to sleep."

Geno sunk his head a little low, ashamed.

"But," Frogfucius added with a smile. "Better for you to learn that now than later, in a more dangerous situation, correct?"

"…I suppose."

"Good, good." With that, the wise frog took his seat. "Now then. I can tell a trek to Rosetown would be pushing you all too far. If you are willing to stay, I'll have a dry area prepared for you to sleep in."

"Wow, really, Grandpa??" Mallow beamed. "That'd be great!"

Frogfucius nodded, giving the orders to his faithful Lakitu. Meanwhile, Bowser made a disgruntled face while Toadstool looked to Mario uncertainly. But the plumber only shrugged, silently motioning to their exhausted companion as a reminder, and she nodded in understanding.

"Return back to the shores of the lake. You'll be led to your sleeping quarters. Sweet dreams, children… and good luck in your journey."

Departing from his sanctuary, a younger frog led the group for half of the trek, before Mallow excitedly recognized the path and took the lead. "This is the way to where I used to sleep!"

"Oh… is it now?" Toadstool replied politely. In all honesty, she was confused at her the ball of puff was related to any of the frogs here, but she supposed that was a tale for another day. She was getting sleepy herself.

Mallow nodded eagerly, eventually pushing huge leafy foliage aside to reveal his 'bedroom.' It left a wide open view into the rest of the lake, where currently a series of fireflies where dancing just above the still water's surface. A set of five leafy cots circled around the area, walled in by thick swamp trees.

"Make yourself at home!" he delightfully said, marveling a few of their looks of awe.

The group meandered around the room a little, choosing their cots. Geno was left to gaze down at the closest one to him, and though the concept was mentally foreign to him, his body responded immediately, relaxing in much relief. His body was of this world; it knew what it wanted and what would provide it.

Bed.

Surprisingly enough, Geno would be the first to choose his cot, flopping onto it rather comically, face-first.

Mario stared, chuckling. "Geno?"

The star-within-a-doll was beyond hearing at this point, soaking in the new sensation. Words floated into and around his muddled head like 'soft' and 'comfy.' Never had he felt more comfortable and at ease with his face pressed against a mushroom-cap pillow. He would have reflected further on the marvels of such earthen comfort, but sleep finally did him in, and he slipped into a pleasant slumber; much more pleasant than any enemy-induced sleep spell, that was for certain.

"Awww…" Toadstool cooed. "How sweet!"

"Yeah, yeah… hope my teeth don't rot over here…" Bowser grumbled, no surprise there, as he settled on his cot and slid into his shell.

"Soooo… your Grandpa's waterways even reach Forest Maze, huh?" Mario grinned towards Mallow as he settled into his own cot. He assumed that was where Frogfucius had heard the stories.

Mallow beamed brighter than the sun, tucking himself in. "Isn't he the greatest?"

Toadstool took her time, slipping off her shoes and crown and other trinkets and setting them beside the last small bed. Before laying down herself, however, she came over to their envoy from the stars, taking the blanket woven out of tree vines at the foot of Geno's cot and draping it over him. He shifted slightly, curled a bit into the blanket, gave out a sigh, and settled again.

The princess smiled sweetly at his peaceful form. He almost appeared as innocent as a child… and technically he was a child to this world, still learning its ways so that he could hope to save it. How very charming. She was glad she would be there to watch his discoveries unfold.

With that, she settled into her cot, and with her heart currently warm and aflutter, it was just as comfy as the beds at home.