Michalis lay on his bed, sleeping peacefully as his soft, warm, and cozy covers enveloped him.
Yet, Michalis' sleep was anything but peaceful, as he was having a rather strange and vivid romantic dream.
In the dream, he and his crush, Clair, were on a date – an adult-like affair that seemed peculiar given their young ages of 11 and 12 respectively.
As the date progressed, the weather suddenly took an unexpected turn - it began to snow.
Michalis found this development particularly unsettling, scrunching his face in discomfort, not enjoying the cold feeling of the snowflakes on his skin.
Just when he thought the date couldn't get any weirder, a horrifying sight unfolded before him.
A massive, demonic ice golem resembling his mischievous sister, Vasiliki, came crashing down from the sky, wreaking havoc and destruction in its path.
"Huff, huff," Michalis heaved, cold sweat dripping from his face as he awoke with a start.
"What a horrible nightmare. She wouldn't even give me a break in my dreams," he muttered, shaking his head in frustration.
Click !!
Suddenly the sound of the house entrance opening suddenly drew Michalis' attention.
'Oh, that must be Draco nii coming to wake us up,' he thought, preparing to get out of bed.
As he was about to get up, Michalis noticed some strange.
Straining his ears, he listened more closely, and realized that the footsteps were too light, almost as if someone was trying to sneak in.
Michalis knew this pattern well – and a sudden shiver ran down from tip of his ears, all the way down to his furry tail.
'That's not how Draco nii walks. He wouldn't sneak around either, and there is only one person I know that would purposely do such a sneaky thing, and that person is Vasiliki,' he reasoned.
Memories of all the pranks Vasiliki had played on him over the years flashed through his mind.
"So, she's here to mess with us huh. Judging from her footsteps, she hasn't decided who to go after first. But my guess is that, she will be going after Vasileios first, then probably Nikolaos before me," he deduced, his mind racing.
Michalis mind quickly begun formulating a plan to turn the situation to his advantage. "How can I use this against her?" he pondered, a devious grin spreading across his face.
..........
Meanwhile, Vasiliki quietly slipped through the front door, stifling a gleeful giggle.
She believed that her three brothers were still fast asleep, unaware of the impending chaos she had in store for them.
Pausing for a moment, she let her eyes adjust to the room as she surveyed the familiar surroundings.
"Time to have some fun," she whispered to herself, rubbing her hands together with excitement.
Vasiliki made her way up the creaky staircase, carefully placing each foot to avoid making too much noise.
She knew the layout of their home like the back of her hand, so navigating the shadowy halls posed no challenge.
'Who should be my main target?' she thought, considering her options.
'Waking one of them up would likely wake the others too, so it's best to set up something outside the doors of the other two while I deal with my main target.' she pondered. With that plan in mind, Vasiliki got to work.
She balanced a freezing bucket of water from the bathroom above Nikolaos' door and did the same on Michalis' door.
It wasn't the most original prank, but it would serve its purpose.
'Ah my dear Vasileios, you will have to be the main course today,' Vasiliki thought, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she approached the room.
Michalis, meanwhile, had been carefully observing Vasiliki's movements through the opening on his door.
Vasiliki had to open each of their doors slightly to balance the bucket unaware that he was already onto her.
After observing for a while, he had a pretty good idea of what she was up to, and he wasn't about to let her have her way.
"Alright, Vasiliki, let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine," he whispered, quietly removing the bucket placed on his door.
As Vasiliki approached Vasileios' room, she couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement.
She knew that he was a heavy sleeper, and she was confident that her prank would definitely catch him off guard.
Just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, a sudden noise from behind her made her freeze in her tracks.
'Shit, damn floor' Michalis thought, quickly hiding in the bathroom.
He wasn't really worried, if there was anything he was confident about, it was his stealth skills.
Looking behind her for a bit, Vasiliki didn't see anything wrong, so she continued with her plan.
Pushing open Vasileios' slightly ajar door, Vasiliki peeked inside.
There he was, sprawled out on the bed, snoring softly.
A sly grin spread across her face as she quietly approached his slumbering form. Reaching into her pocket, she extracted a small, feathery object - a turkey feather, to be exact.
Carefully, she began to lightly tickle the tip of Vasileios' nose, stifling a giggle as he scrunched up his face in response.
"Ugh, stupid mosquito," Vasileios muttered groggily, swatting at the air, his ears cutely twitching in response.
Vasiliki quickly pulled the feather away, watching with glee as his hand fell back down to the bed.
She repeated the process, gradually increasing the intensity of the tickling, until Vasileios' eyes suddenly shot open.
"Wha-what?! Who's there?" he exclaimed, jolting upright.
Vasiliki darted behind the door frame, biting her lip to keep from bursting out laughing.
Vasileios' head swiveled around, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the room suspiciously.
"I know someone is here," he growled, slowly getting to his feet.
He believed the culprit to be either Michalis or Nikolaos.
"Come out and face me like a - Achoo!" His menacing tone was interrupted by a sudden sneeze, much to Vasiliki's amusement.
Seizing the opportunity, she emerged from her hiding spot and shouted, "Boo!" Vasileios yelped in surprise, stumbling backwards and tripping over his own feet onto the bed.
Vasiliki erupted into a fit of giggles, delighted by his reaction.
"Vasiliki, you little - ! I'm going to kill you!" Vasileios exclaimed, his face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.
"Catch me if you can!" Vasiliki teased, egging him to follow, before darting out of the room and down the hall towards the staircase.
As Vasiliki raced down the hallway, she could hear Vasileios' angry fits of rage behind her, spurring her on.
As planned, Nikolaos jolted awake due to the commotion and rushed out of his room to find out what was happening.
As soon as he opened his door, he was greeted by a cold bucket of water.
Nikolaos yelped in surprise, his eyes widening as the icy liquid drenched him from head to toe.
"What in the blazes?" he sputtered, shivering from the unexpected chill.
Vasiliki's laughter echoed through the hallway as things were going as planned.
Just as she was about to reach the stairway, she noticed a faint glimmer on the floor.
Slowing her pace, she cautiously stepped forward, her eyes quickly scanning the area.
Suddenly, a tripwire became visible, expertly placed between the bathroom door and the wall just before Michalis room.
Vasiliki's eyes widened as she realized that someone had set a trap for her.
'Fufufu, this is likely Michalis' handiwork. So he was awake' she thought.
Carefully, she stepped over the wire, silently congratulating her brother on his cleverness.
It would have worked in the past, but since they begun dungeon diving, Vasiliki made it a habit of always observing her surroundings.
Draco had warned her repeatedly that as a ranged fighter, she would almost always be the first target during an attack.
Just as she was about to continue her escape, a loud creak echoed through the hallway.
Vasileios, who had been closing in on her, had stepped on a loose floorboard, betraying his position.
He had noticed that she was distracted, so he wanted to reduce the distance between them sneakily.
Vasiliki grinned mischievously and turned to face him.
"Nice try, Vasileios, but you're going to have to do better than that!" she taunted, her voice filled with a playful challenge.
Determined not to let her get away, Vasileios lunged forward, only to find his feet got tangled up in something.
With a startled yelp, he tumbled forward, his arms flailing as he lost his balance.
Vasiliki couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight of her brother's misfortune.
As Vasileios struggled to regain his footing, Vasiliki looked up and noticed another contraption that seemed connected to a bucket of cold water, likely the one that she had placed on Michalis door earlier, its contents sloshing menacingly.
Recognizing it as Michalis' touch, she quickly deduced that the bucket was also meant for her.
Glancing back at Vasileios, who was still entangled in the first tripwire, she devised a plan.
"Oh my, Vasileios, it seems you've fallen into a trap!" Vasiliki exclaimed, feigning concern.
"Let me help you with that." She stepped closer, pretending to offer assistance, but as she did, she subtly reached up and pulled the rope that held the bucket in place.
But nothing happened, the wire had been a distraction and wasn't actually connected to anything.
Suddenly the bucket came crashing down directly on Vasiliki, drenching her instead of the flustered Vasileios with a torrent of icy water.
Vasiliki burst into laughter, unable to contain her amusement at the sight of her own predicament.
"Michalis, you've really outdone yourself this time!" she called out, knowing full well that he was likely watching the scene unfold from a safe distance.