Oi! Jones!” The dwarf bellowed crossly as he slammed down his sack of groceries in the middle of the foyer of Lalna’s cottage (also known as the step leading into the lounge). From behind him, Xephos heard Lalna make a yelping sound in panic on the other side of the room in response.

Xephos and Lalna had originally both been sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Honeydew to return, but in typical Lalna-fashion, the man had gotten up to pace around the kitchen floor as he spoke. Honeydew had caught him mid-lap, standing on the far side of the kitchen, which was probably lucky for Lalna since that meant he was outside of throttling distance.

“It wasn’t me!” Lalna shouted instinctively, his face screwed up in an expression that was half-pout, half-please-don’t-kill-me. Xephos hid the slightest smile beginning to form on his lips behind his hand. Honeydew shouting ‘Jones’ never seemed to have anything good to follow.