Stardew Valley - Dark Blue: When The Chickens Came Home To Roost (Shane)

Chapter 11: As For Us

It was 2:00AM when Shane was startled awake by an abrupt slamming sound. He'd been in and out of sleep for hours, and Marnie was huddled into a chair in the corner of his room, snoring softly.

And then, like a flash of lightning, there she was. Litha — the apparent cause of the slamming — came barreling through the treatment area doors in a frenzied state. She was dirty and red faced, the sword at her back dripping green slime and the boots on her feet tracking in snow and grime.

Harvey was directly behind her. "Miss Litha! You can't —"

"I can do whatever I want," she snapped as her eyes scanned the room frantically. Shane only watched her in his half asleep state, reveling in her concern for him while he waited for her eyes to find his. It only took a split second.

"Shane," she whispered, her mouth falling slack as she rushed toward him. "I've died a million deaths on my way here. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Why are you here?" He asked tightly as she sat on the edge of the bed and buried her face in his neck. She smelled earthy, like decay, and her soot coated hands dirtied his medically white sheets. Though he'd ordered her by name, he didn't expect anyone to deliver.

"I asked Dr. Harvey to call her," Marnie said flatly from her corner, lips pressed into a line as she watched Litha embrace him.

Litha pulled away to look at his face, studying every line and imperfection carefully. "I would have come sooner, but I was in the mines," she said softly. "Not much reception down there, laddy."

"You didn't have to come," Shane said, averting his eyes from her worried gaze.

She placed her hands on either of his cheeks and forced him to look at her. Her fearful countenance had been replaced by determination. "What happens when you die, Shane? How are any of us meant to go on?" She demanded with an uncompromising glare.

Marnie shuffled awkwardly out of her seat. "I'll go grab a coffee, I think." She gave the two of them a pointed look on her way out, though neither of them paid her any mind.

Shane was silent for a moment, just watching her emotions cycle through her eyes as she processed it all. Maybe she did love him. "I don't know, Li," he said dryly. "What happens when the clouds run out of rain?"

"What do you think happens?" Litha prompted, her brows bunching in frustration.

"There are no more rainy days. Everyone moves on," he said, shrugging slowly.

She kissed his chest. "No, Shane. The rivers dry up, the flowers die, and nothing is ever the same again." Litha kicked off her boots and discarded her slimy sword haphazardly onto the floor before wedging herself in bed beside him, careful not to disturb the IV stuck in his arm. "You can't leave me, sweet boy — you just can't."

He pressed his nose into her dirty hair, unbothered by her musty cave smell. He was just glad to be near her. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Tell me a story," Shane mumbled, inhaling slowly.

Litha huffed a laugh. "About what?"

"Tell me about your home," he prompted, stalling the inevitable fact that she'd eventually have to climb out of his hospital bed and leave him to stew in it all. He wrapped an arm around her back, hauling her closer.

"My home," Litha sighed. "Okay." She looked up at him. "Galdora is a terrible, spectacular place full of beautiful, cruel people. The air reeks of magic, the sun shines for days at a time, and sometimes, when I think about the fact that I'll never see it again, I want to die."

Shane's breath caught in his throat. "Why will you never see it again?"

"I told you, Shane — I was banished," she explained, sounding far away.