Hooligans: Adventures Recounted

12: Actual Cannibal Shia LeBouf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI

The next morning, Aylin and Aera awoke with no memory of the night before. Neither was sure why they were in the same room, but could only assume they'd passed out from excessive intoxication and someone had moved them up to the same room. Below, the tavern was relatively quiet, but the scent of breakfast wafted up through the door. Each member of the party dressed and prepared for the day, meeting downstairs to discuss what to do with Shay before she woke up.

"The way I see it, we have three options," Corus offered, "we kill her, return her to her island to fend for herself, or leave her here for the townsfolk to deal with."

Aylin was already shaking her head, which felt like a lead weight, "I don't like any of those options. She'll either die or turn into a full hag."

"But is that really our problem?" Aera asked. It wasn't like Aylin to have concern for anyone outside the group.

"We're responsible for bringing her into this," Aylin said, "And... I mean, she's a kid. She didn't ask for any of this. I think we should talk to the Kuo Toa about taking her in. That way she'd be safe, and they would see her as she is now, so the curse might not advance."

River interjected, "But what if it does? And then the townsfolk have another angry hag on their hands. And we kind of got rid of their main line of defense, remember?"

Bromash cleared his throat, "I uh... may reverse that issue. I shifted into Fortin Hara yesterday and convinced a lot of them to leave for Waterdeep and the surrounding towns. That's probably why the town is so quiet today - only the oldest families want to stay behind."

"So we should take Shay to the Kuo Toa," Aylin persisted, "She's just a kid, you guys."

Just then, they heard a little cough. Everyone turned to see Shay standing at the foot of the stairs, biting her thumbnail. Her eyes were moistened, and her half-warty nose was pink with crying. She flinched at the party's gaze, looking over them with scared eyes.

"What do you think, Shay?" Aylin asked after an eternity of silence, "What do you wanna do?"

Shay looked back and forth between the party rapidly. Her voice was barely audible, "I... don't think living in the woods would be so bad."

Aylin stood, walking to Shay and leading her to the door, "Let's get you some fresh morning air, hm?" The others got up to follow, but did so quietly.

Shay walked beside Aylin for a while, looking sadly on as the remaining townsfolk eyed her hatefully. She stopped when they reached the burnt spot where her father's house once stood, staring down at the tombstones for her sisters.

"Dad had a statue of me put up a few months ago," she said, "I think it helped him remember what I looked like before..." she said.

Aylin did her best to ooze supportive sister-ness, "I didn't know that."

Shay nodded, "Do you wanna see it?" Aylin smiled, nodding her head. Shay took her hand, leading her up a nearby hill just behind the remains of the house. A stone statue rested there, untouched by the fires. It portrayed a little girl, with plump cheeks and happy eyes - a ghost of what Shay once was. The little girl gazed up at her old self with a wistful smile, letting out an enormous sigh.

She jumped as a little green form rushed out of the bushes to attach itself to Aylin's legs. It was Melvin, and he was not alone - dozens of Kuo Toa emerged from the bushes, chanting "Floopdoodle!" as they spotted their goddess. Aylin bent down to hug Melvin, finally not shocked by the cold stickiness of his skin. He broke the hug, gurgling a greeting up to her with a cheerful tone. She answered him in his language, and then she asked about Shay, pointing to the girl. The Kuo Toa turned to gaze at the little girl, who blushed at the sudden attention.