The door opened.

Blinding light scattered across the floor. But the thing was quicker, and it scrambled away across the floorboards before the light could touch it, squeezing under their bed and disappearing.

“Josie?” Marigold’s familiar voice rang across the room, her talons clacking across the ground. “Are you home?”

Josie slowly took the covers off of their face, looking around left and right to make sure the thing was dormant again before finally pulling the sheets down to their chest. “Yes,” they whispered.

“What the hell happened here? You look like hell, and this place is a mess,” she said, walking over to their bedside and peering down. “What’s up?”

“Oh Mags, I’m feeling just awful,” Josie said pathetically.

They could see her nostrils flaring. She was judging them. “That’s for sure. When’s the last time you’ve showered, even?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

She knelt down to help them out of bed, and they reluctantly stumbled their way onto their feet. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” she said, pushing them into their bathroom and closing the door in front of her to give them some privacy.