Jack fidgeted as he watched the brightly lit hallway below. “That lady said she was bringing hot chocolate and biscuits. What’s taking so long?” Tan glanced up from the old wooden chest where he was looking for the blankets. “Be patient, she’ll bring your hot chocolate.” “She's really nice to let us stay in the attic,” said Jack. “How’d you do it without any money?” Tan gently lowered the lid on the chest; the blankets weren’t in this one. “I have to patch a few holes in the roof tomorrow, and you’re painting a fence.” “Oh, that’s really smart. I just slept in ditches and ate rotten apples I found on the ground.” Jack leaned so far over the attic access that he almost fell through. He grabbed the edges of the floor and pushed himself back. “I told you not to lean over the opening,” said Tan. Jack grunted. “You sound like my dad.” “He must be a very smart man,” Tan quipped. Jack understood the joke and grinned, it was nice having someone to talk with after all the weeks he’d been alone and on the run. “After you drink your hot chocolate, I want you to go downstairs and take a bath, you smell like a goat. The lady has a set of her sons old pajamas for you to wear while she washes those filthy rags you have on.” Jack lay out flat on the floor and stuck his head down through the access door to look for the promised hot chocolate. He wasn’t going to argue about taking a bath, or doing some chores tomorrow. This was the first time he’d felt safe since he’d fallen through the gate. Maybe everything was going to be okay. *** Special Notes, edited after posting: You know, in hindsight, this does look a little creepy. It's supposed to be Jack waiting anxiously for his promised hot chocolate to arrive. Tan turns and sees Jack teetering dangerously at the edge of the attic access door, and then sees Jack nearly fall. Tan then takes on a sort of fatherly role at that point at says, 'I told you not to lean over the opening.' Tan then goes on to instruct Jack that he would be doing chores tomorrow, and that he'd be taking a bath after he drinks his hot chocolate. All of this is to show why Jack subconsciously sought out the right person to provide him something he's been desperately needing since he got lost. Hence, Tan's purpose in the story. However, what it ended up looking like is a crazed serial killer in the attic with his victim, and the victim trying to decide if he can jump to safety. I guess I should have added a spotlight to remove the sinister shadows from Tan's face. Meh, okay, well, see the story you like best and run with it. It's all good. P.S. Since this isn't the book, but just a storyboard, I'll give you a hint. Tan wasn't intro'd at the start of the story, making Tan an ancillary character. The ancillary character is part of the primary character's support system. However, things don't always end well for later intro'd ancillary characters. Tan might as well be wearing a red shirt. (if you don't know that reference, google: redshirt stock character). This doesn't mean Tan's fate is sealed, it will depend on his potential usefulness in later chapters. However, Tan should probably be very wary of tigers.