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The night was quiet. It was a full moon, so his spot on the lake pier was pretty well lit. The uneven wood of the pier dug into his calves were they dangled over the water, and aside from the occasional owl, it was almost creepily silent.
Shane scoffed at the thought, cracking open a new can of beer. The whole fucking valley was creepy. You went too far into the forest you got whacked by slimes. You go into the mines you got dive-bombed by bugs bigger than your head. You got real unlucky out and about at night you'd get sucker punched by one of the rock golems that crept around in the dark. Really, quiet was good. Meant there wasn't anything about to try eating him.
A flash of white on the other shore caught his eye and he silently added the potential of being stalked by a chick with dead eyes to his mental list of bullshit hiding in the valley.
Yarn noticed him immediately of course. She stared at him from across the water, and he had to grit his teeth to stave off his immediate impulse to flip her off.
Instead he called, "Hey. I've got beer if you're interested."
He thought he probably saw her nod - it was bright for nighttime, but still damn dark - before she disappeared again. He started drumming his fingers on the wood, trying to pull together what he wanted to say. It had been a few days since Yarn had saved Jas and as far as he knew nobody had tracked Yarn down to thank her.
He was a dick. He knew that. Embraced it, really, he fucking hated people- But that wasn't the point. Marnie and Jas were the only two people he'd ever cared about. He'd have been in those Yoba cursed mines in an instant if he'd known Jas was in there. So he was going to suck it up and act like the adult he definitely wasn't and thank Yarn.
Sooner than he'd expected, Yarn ghosted up next to him and took a seat. He muttered something about giving him a damn warning, then cleared his throat.
"You, uh, want one?" he asked, offering a beer.
"Thank you," she said, taking the can without once touching his fingers.
"You're talking to me?" he asked before he could think better of it.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"You never did before. In the saloon I mean."
Yarn considered it, taking a sip of the beer. "I suppose not. It's loud in the saloon, and I can't raise my voice."
"Because of the, uh…" He gestured at his throat.
She nodded.
"What's up with that, anyways?" he asked, then immediately regretted it. Wow, no wonder he had no friends.
"It is just how I speak."
Later he'd give himself a pet on the back for not pressing the issue. Instead he grunted, looking back at the lake and trying to be subtle with his fidgeting. Yarn, weird bitch that she was, didn't seem to notice how awkward it was getting. Eventually Shane decided he was entirely too tired to screw around and just bit the bullet.
Heh. If only.
"Right. I just wanted to say thanks and everything for getting Jas outta the mines. She says she's thanked you too."
"You are welcome, but there's no need to thank me. I just happened to be looking for Duggies nearby."
"Right. Well whatever. I said thanks, now Marnie'll stop bugging me about it." Son of a- He sighed. He really sucked at this thanking people thing.
Yarn nodded, and he finally bothered to look at her. She actually looked even worse than usual, which he'd say was a pretty impressive accomplishment. The dark half circles under her eyes looked like his after spending a few nights awake staring blankly up at his ceiling.
Maybe it was that that made him ask, "You ever feel like everything's just pointless? Like you're stuck where you are?"
Yarn nodded, then drained her can in a few quick gulps.
He laughed. "Woman after my own heart."
Yarn gave him an odd look, but seemed to shrug it off. "Joja drains your will to live."
"Yup. But if I weren't working there I'd be sorta pointless, wouldn't I?" He didn't wait for a reply, heaving himself to his feet with a groan. "See ya."
Yarn nodded. He left her sitting there, staring at the lake without seeming to see it.