I woke up oddly refreshed, considering last nights events. Though, I did, somehow end up waking up with my feet on the pillow, my head on the other side of the bed, my hand hanging over the edge, and small puddle of drool near my head. 

Not really sure if that means I slept well or poorly, but... Well, I slept. Definitely sure of that. 

I hastily wiped away some of the drool with my sleeves, and then I just sat in bed for a while

. . .

I looked around the room. I sniffed the air for a sec. I closed my eyes, and tried to hone my hearing.

. . .

Nope, nothin'. No catastrophe yet. 

Dangit. Guess I gotta wait a little longer before I grab S.

I mean, I guess I could just head over to the mountains and say something like "I just wanted to see your face." or something, but, while to me that would be a really impactful and emotional moment, I get the feeling he'd just look at me like I'm the biggest idiot in the universe. 

Well, I guess I should be thankful that nobody's in danger, or anything... Wooo... Great...

. . .

Well, I better wait a little bit longer. Just to make sure, y'know? It's always good to be sure.

. . .

Wait, shouldn't losing my leg count? That's pretty catastrophic, right? Nah, that's good as new already. Except my pants, they're still ripped, which is pretty annoying. 

Actually, speaking of that leg thing, pretty impressive that went as smoothly as it did. I didn't really appreciate this much at the time, probably thanks to an adrenaline fueled state of shock, but that whole process went really smoothly. Healing magic is pretty rad. Though, I guess if it's that easy to do stuff like that, I probably won't be seeing anyone with a cool robot limb or an eyepatch or anything like that. Most unfortunate. 

. . .

Y'know, now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder the deal with S's name is. I haven't thought about it much, given the fact that my name's hardly normal, but it is pretty odd. Pretty cool, too, though I'd prefer if it stood for something cool like "Serpent" or "Syringe" or some other cool sounding word instead of... "Sand." 

I can't help but wonder what his given name is, and why he feels the need to hide it. 

Also why he's so obsessed with sand. 

Come to think of it... S is kinda weird, isn't he?

He's really cool about it, though. And mysterious. And strong. And clever, and he always seems to know just what to say, and...

. . .

Yeah, looks like nothing's happening. 

Well, I've got no obligations today, and I'm sure Sis wouldn't mind more fishing time, so I think I'll just go back to sleep for now. 

I lay back down, and got myself under the covers once again, closed my eyes, and-

"Oi. Oi, sleepyhead." I heard a whisper from somewhere within the room.

My eyes shot open. Well, as open as they can get, anyway.

The hell is that? My head shot around the room. Nope, still definitely alone in here. 

C'mon, man, it's too early for this... Literally. Everyone knows ghost stories happen at night. That's just common sense. 

Wait, does this count as a catastrophe? Quick, someone get them a candelabra to throw! Or a child! 

"Psst. Over here."

My emotions racing at a mile a minute as I internally debate whether I want to be horrified, excited, or angry at poor timing, I turned over to the direction of the noise, which was coming from the wall at the opposite end of the room.

And what I saw was... Frankly, horrifying.

The woodgrain had became animated, and grossly shifted into the silhouette of a young adult man in a fedora and flowery Hawaiian shirt. 

Oh, it's just this guy. Man, they sure do love that Hawaiian shirt. Though, I don't know what the deal is with the fedora. 

"Morinin', sleepyhead!" Oh, gah, the 'mouth' movements are... 

I blinked hard a few times, and pinched myself, just in case I was dreaming. Ok, nope, this is real. 

"This might be the most terrifying thing I've seen." I whispered back to wall DYN2. "And I saw my own detached leg last night." 

"Yeah, that was awesome!" They whispered back with a laugh.

If by awesome, you mean painful and horrifying, I'd be inclined to agree. Well, I guess it was kinda cool, actually... Yeah, alright, you can have this one.

"Why are you here, like this? And why are we whispering?" I asked, changing the subject, even though I'm the one that brought it up. 

"Oh, uh... No reason." They explained. "Just thought it'd be fun. And this just feels like a whisper situation, doesn't it?" 

"Fair enough." I whispered, taking note of the fact that they don't have to appear in reflections, though I much prefer it when they do.

"Anyways, just wanted to say... Feel free to relax today, get some rest. Maybe play with some of your, eh, toys, a bit." They whispered, with a creepy smile that was made even creepier thanks to the means of delivery. "After all... You never know when you'll need to be at top form, right- Oi, why are you grinning?"

"N-no reason."

Normally getting a message like that would be threatening and terrifying, but, given the circumstances, I am far more looking forward to it than I am dreading it. 

"Huh. Whatever." The woodgrain creature said with a shrug, "Anyways, that's all I had to say. Goodbye for now! Try not to die, again!" They said with a wave, as the woodgrain began to grotesquely shift back into its original form. "Gee, it's been a while since I last said that." They added before disappearing completely. 

"Later" I whispered, though they had already vanished.

Oh, crap, I totally should have asked about that weird darkness stuff that's been seeping outa my hands. 

Ah, whatever. They said I could relax, so I'm goin' back to bed.

. . .

I can't sleep. Yeah, that makes sense. Doubt anyone could, after seeing that.

Guess I gotta wake up at some point... Oh, I almost forgot, I gotta buy breakfast from spooky innkeeper guy, anyway, as per our deal. What a weird agreement. 

I got up and stretched a bit, really get myself awake, and I made my way over to the door. 

Come to think of it, DYN2 didn't mention Sis at all, did they? Did she go back to, uh, 'Up There', or whatever? I guess I wouldn't blame her... She seemed a little out of it last night. Can't blame her, I probably messed up that whole thing for her-

"Morning, bro." 

Oh. Never mind.

To my surprise, Sis was standing in front of my door. 

"Oh, uh, m-morning." I said. "Why're you, uh-"

"I just got back from the river."

I noticed the innkeeper guy seem to chuckle a bit at his counter. Whatever he's reading must be pretty funny. 

"Oh, okay. Fish not catching today?" I asked. 

"What? Oh, uh, yeah, no."

Huh? What's that supposed to- Oh, whatever.

Sis continued, "Anyways, were you whispering to someone in there?"

"Uh, n-no." I lied on instinct. I guess I could have probably told Sis, but the innkeeper guy was within earshot, I think, and I didn't really want him to hear about the conversation I had with the man I saw in the walls.

As I said that, I noticed a full cup of coffee that looked like it had been there for a rather long time, and a very well used handkerchief sitting on the bench next to her. I opened my mouth to ask about them, but,

"So, what're we doing today? What's the plan?"

Huh. She's being unusually engaged this morning. Did something happen? Maybe she was just tired yesterday, or something. Wait, she doesn't sleep... I mean, she still might get tired... I dunno how this stuff works.  

I noticed the innkeeper guy chuckle again. Must be a dang good book he's reading.

"First things first, breakfast." I said.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."