It probably ought to be harder for Aster to drift off to sleep, given their close encounter with the women in the woods, but he and Dan have a routine that gives him comfort. Knowing that Dan is awake most of the night, to raise any alarm that might need to be raised, makes Aster feel safe enough to fall into a few hours of deep sleep.

He wakes up a little earlier than usual. There's no mist in the dark of pre-dawn, but Aster still takes his portable growlight with him to walk the fields.

But when he walks back from his morning round, Dan's balcony doors are open, the light inside still on. It's cold out, a frost on the dew, and Dan doesn't run hot.

Something feels off about it. Aster goes inside to knock on Dan's door. "You still up?" he calls. If Dan wasn't able to sleep after last night, they might as well talk about it.

But there's no response from within, and after Aster knocks harder to no response, he forces the unlocked door open and finds the bed unused, the fireplace cold, and in the bathroom, Dan passed out completely in the cold tub with his lips blue and his chin in the water.

Aster rushes over to check that Dan isn't already dead. The couple of empty wine bottles on the floor fill some gaps in the story for him as he pats Dan on the face, tugging him a little out of the cold water. "Wake up. Hey," he says, a little too forcefully, as he recognizes movement and that Dan is alive. He only recognizes his heart is racing too hard now that he knows he isn't about to bury another person he cares about. "Get up. What the hell are you doing?"