Techno lived far out in a national park. A cold, Alaskan woodland, where there was a lake expansive enough to have a smaller island inside it, and Techno could walk for hours and still be well within the woodland's domain.

If Techno was stubborn enough and had the patience to spend half a day stuck in a snowmobile, driving along several frozen river roads and small rock-filled paths, then out east from here there was a single small mining town.

Techno, quite frankly, could not bother to go there - it was a shithole then and he was sure it was still a shithole now, even eight years since his last visit. Especially after his supplier stopped dropping by his cabin some five years ago, which was rude, but whatever. Techno had enough things in his home to be self-sufficient.

His house was simple; there’s a hallway, a door to his storage and then something best described as the living room, but was rather the kitchen, living area and bedroom rolled into a glorious one

“Hey Steve,” Techno hummed, easily navigating through the dark lit room and straight for a little nook of his home and the best creation humankind has ever produced; the fireplace. There were leftovers of wood from the morning peeking out between the coal, and Techno supplied it with wooden sticks. With a hit of coal and flint, the dark room slowly brightened and the fire casted a golden glow against the walls.

Steve barely lifted his head in greeting, preferring to lay curled in his claimed spot on the carpet. If the lack of heat had been bothering him, then Steve certainly wasn’t showing it, but that’s probably an advantage of being an eight-hundred-pound polar bear and having a thick covering of white fur to protect himself.

Techno nodded, “Yes, yes, right on, I can see how lonely you are. It’s truly a tragedy to have to sleep in torpor by yourself all day.”

Steve, who definitely could have gone outside at some point during the day as he knew how to open doors and could have come looking for Techno.

Someone was knocking on his door.