When the Stars Fall (Stardew Valley Fanfic)

Strange Decisions

"Sebastian's not just going to come out after that," Sam told her when she asked after Sebastian. "It's kind of something you get used to, the fact there are certain things that make him shut down. On top of that, he's really not the type of person to go out in the first place, see."

The fact she'd not seen Sebastian honestly bothered Ardyce, but that most certainly wasn't the answer she was looking for in the long run, though in the back of her head she wondered what kind of answer she was looking for. "You've most certainly taken an interest in Maru's older brother given the fact he turned out to be nothing like you expected, but you weren't far off in telling Sam that Sebastian is your type in that so far there's not anything that contradicts that and everything going for that. Still..."

As Maru's brother, she definitely wanted to respect his personal space, particularly after learning he was autistic. What she didn't want to hear was that he locked himself up into his room, particularly since she wanted his help in finding out what happened to Maru. Ardyce found herself bothered by the fact the police investigation targeted Sebastian as this meant they weren't looking for the actual person who'd supposedly harmed Maru.

The supposed came from the fact they'd not yet identified the body, as the newspapers reported online. This made sense given the fact the body found was decomposed, so there were no facial features that might identify her, meaning the police would need to turn to DNA for identification purposes, but the DNA tests would take time to get back. Despite the papers reporting the fact the body was supposedly Maru's, everywhere online people said it was her.

And, everywhere online there was someone suggesting it was in fact Sebastian who killed her, but there were some comments from sources Ardyce didn't recognize claiming to know the Goth kid quite well and that because he was Goth that he must have most definitely have been the one to have killed his sister. This simply made her stomach churn violently, given the fact the young man she'd met didn't seem like a killer but blaming his weirdness—in other words, his autism—seemed wrong on so many levels.

The conversation took place at the Stardrop Saloon, but she'd ventured into the arcade area of the place to speak with Sam regarding the fact she'd not seen Sebastian in a while. Speaking with Sam wasn't her original intent; instead, Ardyce simply planned on getting a hot meal at the only place in town that one could do so, which is where she also overheard Elliot speaking with another girl Sam would identify as Leah, the local artist.

"It must be him. I mean, who else could it be?" Elliot asked. "And maybe this isn't such good material for a book after all. I mean..."

"You just realized that it hits too close to home?" the redhead who could almost pass as Robin's sister rolled her eyes. "Well, you also need to realize that it couldn't be Sebastian either. I've met the kid, and he's actually a sweetheart. Bumbling in his interactions, mind you."

"Did you say he was the artist type, so you might actually be a bit biased in that regard?"

"Well, maybe."

"And I've heard from good authority that he's quite kinky." Elliot then added in. "You know, that girl who helps out at the general store at times?"

"That girl..." Leah shook her head. "Is named Abigail, and she's quite... different."

"So's Emily, and Emily is fine."

Emily was the barmaid with the vivid blue hair that Ardyce knew had to be dyed, just as Abigail dyed her hair. Why either one of them loved that vivid coloring, she did not know, but the young woman shook her head. "Sebastian wouldn't hurt a fly. Anybody here in Pelican Town who grew up with him would actually know that, but you should have seen him when he and Maru were younger. He absolutely adored having a baby sister. He just didn't know what to do with her when she got older."