John choked down the rest of his breakfast.

As much as he hated the plain flavor of the bland oats, something the addition of cinnamon and honey did little to improve, it did feel good to have something in his tender stomach. It landed heavy in his gut, but the sore churning eased with every bite until it was gone and he was full. Brenda lovingly kissed her son’s forehead as she picked up his bowl, putting it in the sink to wash later.

“You still have a fever, so no intense gaming,” the milf called as she picked up her purse and keys. She turned back just in time to catch the gamer’s reflexive eye roll and smirked. “I mean it. I haven’t changed the wifi on you in a couple years, but I will if I have to.”

John couldn’t help but chuckle. ’Like that’s ever stopped me for long.’ “Yeah, yeah. Alright.” He raised his hands in surrender and made his way to the couch, sending a light cloud of dust into the air as he flopped onto the cushions. He covered his cough with another throaty laugh and snatched up the remote.

“There,” the lycan winked at his mother by the door, “just TV. Happy?”

Brenda’s giggle was sweet with relief. “Yes. Very.” Her smile brightened her face and smoothed out the worry lines that were beginning to crease her delicate skin. “I’ll be back around 5, okay?”

“Sounds good, Mom. Have a good day,” he mumbled absently as he started flicking through channels for some background noise.

Mrs. Newman hesitated with the door open, anxiously looking over her sickly son, and John sighed. “Go, I’ll be fine. Might even make dinner if I’m up for it.”

“Don’t push yourself,” she said softly as her son pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch. She stepped out of the house calling back over her shoulder with a slight hint of a threat, “Get some rest. I’ll call you later.”

The gamer smiled to himself as she closed and locked the door. He listened to the sound of her SUV’s electrical click followed by the muffled purr of the engine pulling out of the driveway before releasing the tension in his muscles. He shifted in place, adjusting the boner her lingering scent was giving him in his jeans. Until he got some more herbs, John was worried about letting himself relax around her.

Once the show he had on turned to commercials, he hoisted himself back up to try making that tea again. Sure, the sip he had had was disgusting, but if it kept him from hurting Brenda and helped keep him under control while he was out, he’d suffer through it. He was unsure if he could add sugar or anything to make it taste better, so John just poured still-steaming water from the kettle into a mug and added a pinch of the herbs.

’At least this time Frank won’t be here to knock it out of my hand. Hopefully this will give me back some control.’ Leaning on the counter, he watched the water slowly change color before taking his first big swig. Ugh, sharply bitter with the burning sting of hot peppers. It was worse than he remembered. He gagged, **** on the now tepid liquid before forcing himself to swallow it.

John wrinkled his nose, staring at the offending mug, and plugged his nose before taking another gulp. Eyes wrenched shut, refusing to breathe until he was done, he chugged the rest of his drink and rinsed out the cup and his numb mouth when he was done.

“Nope,” he groaned, adding the mug to the sink. “That is the last time I try that shit. I could burn all the taste buds off my tongue and still not be able to take that. That ring had better work.” He pulled out his phone, looking back up the address of the shops he was planning on hitting today.

’Alright,’ he sat back on the couch, ’herbal shop first. They’re right by a bus stop and maybe they’ll know a better mix that won’t taste as shitty. Then I’ll hit Tir na Nog for my ring before going out to the forest to see Tala.’

He opened his character sheet to check his funds and was surprised by a pop-up.

New Quest: Stasis is rude, you know
Let Chester have some fun.
Reward: 28xp, $32.00, +1 Wis
Accept Refuse

His stomach was in knots as he hit accept, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the tea or from nerves for the coming adventure. After his fight with Frank yesterday, he needed to figure out how to get a grip on himself. Increasing his wisdom stat would only solve half the problem, if he understood the balance right.

John stared at the Inner Balance percentage and looked at the number that represented his money. ’Hmm, how do I access this? And without it being obvious?’ He pulled his wallet out of his inventory and none of the cash was in it. ’Oookay. That’s curious. I wonder if the book trick will work.’ The gamer tucked his simple wallet into his back pocket, closed his eyes and focused on the cash when he reached to pull the leather square back out.

This time, it was stuffed full of all the money he had in his inventory and barely looked like it could contain it all. He pulled out a bill and groaned in dismay. It was all in singles.

“Oh, come on. I’m not a stripper.”

Couldda fooled me.

He sighed again, tucking the wallet back in place before he tried again, focusing this time on exactly how he’d like the money to appear in his wallet. ’There! Much better.’ This time, it was simply in twenties and fifties with just the change left as small bills.

His phone buzzed on the seat next to him, and assuming it was his mom, John picked it up to answer. There was a text from Brenda on the screen, saying she’d made it safe, but that wasn’t what sent the wave of terror down the lycan’s spine. The moment he opened the text to respond with his usual ‘K’, his phone made a horrible screeching sound. The screen went blank and turned to a solid bright red as the device grew unbearably hot in his hand.

The words seemed to burn into his eyes as the phone shut down and refused to power back up.