You’d gotten a call from Marnie half an hour ago. You could hear in her voice that she was concerned, yet doing her best to stay uppity, as she often did. She said Shane didn’t come home until late last night. By the time he got there, he was an absolute wreck. He was out again, she said, and she had a feeling he’d be even worse. He hadn’t answered yours or her calls, and both of you were starting to worry.

You’d searched for him all over Pelican Town. It was beginning to get late. The sun was lowering over the horizon, draping the valley in shadow. There was only one place you could think of to look for him.

You stepped into the Secret Woods, sword at your side. It was quiet, aside from the distant squelching of hostile slimes and the buzzing of cicadas. You walked slowly, weary, more than aware of the dangers that lurked there. That’s when you found Shane- laying on an old blanket, empty beer bottles scattered around him, his head propped against an old bag.

Your eyes met and he didn’t react, just blinked slowly.

“…What do you want?”