No matter how many times Simon reviewed this journal, he always found it fascinating. Troglodytidae, more commonly known as the wren, was a family of passerines made up of 88 different species. These birds were mainly known for being mostly out of sight, their presence marked by their songs. However, there were some outliers. The Campylorhynchus genus within the Troglodytidae family was particularly bold in behavior, making themselves known and seen to the world. But one thing was consistent across the board: they worked best in solitude and quickly became territorial with those they cared for.
Simon was very familiar with the varied personalities within this family of passerine birds, and he found that his own Wren shared many of the same traits as her namesake. She was known for keeping to herself, but when she spoke, it was wise to listen. She was like a spark in the dark, moving quickly to get things done, spreading light to everyone, but content to stay in the dark herself. Simon knew she was strong and always had things handled, but it never changed the fact that she was so obviously tired.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief anytime she worked the Starfire stone, an item that almost always left her exhausted. As awful as it sounded, it was the only time she ever got rest, and when other people besides himself would seem to care about her, taking a moment to think about their actions. It wasn't fair that this was always what it took, and even then, it wouldn't last very long. She would wake up, everyone would continue to be worried about her for maybe a week, and then it would be back to how it always was until the next incident arose. Simon never expected others to care about her the way he did—they were together, after all—but a little consideration would have been nice.
One thing that Simon always found interesting about the Troglodytidae was that there was a culture that had an entire day dedicated to them. Wren's Day was a tradition long held in Irish circles, where people would gather to hunt a wren, kill it, and parade it around on a pole. In more recent history, they started putting a decoration on top of the pole rather than an actual wren, but the idea still made Simon's stomach churn. The wren was seen as a symbol of the old year, and by killing and sacrificing it, people believed they were making way for a new beginning.
It seemed like Wren followed in the same cycle as well, being put up on a pedestal as a sacrifice to make way for some type or change or save someone. It just wasn't fair. Simon had grown up with her, had challenged her, and loved her. He's seen the damage that this lifestyle has caused, even if she doesn't allow it to be seen, he knows the toll it's had on her.
He finally decided to look up from his journal and over to her. She lay still in the bed, looking nothing more than asleep. The only true indication that something was wrong was the washcloth on her forehead that was there to help combat the fever she was currently running. He sighed, closing it up and getting up to look at her. He sometimes wondered if she dreamed when in this state, if she was able to allow herself to think about herself or if she was still concerned with everyone else. He would hope she took a moment for herself, but he doubted it.
Simon tried his best to be there for her, along with Coeur, but he wasn't able to take care of her the way she took care of anyone. Sometimes Jack would also try his best to make sure Wren was truly doing alright, but he always had his own things happening, so Simon couldn't really come after him for it. He figured that at this point, it would take everyone for Wren to finally get the care she needed, but he knew logically that that would never happen. Why would you take care of the person who takes care of you?
He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a small whine coming from her. He quickly popped up to look over her, to make sure nothing was wrong before finally looking to check her facial expression. She seemed pained in a way, but it was nothing physical from what he could tell. Whatever was going on through her mind, it was causing her distress. He sighed and sat back down into the chair next to her bed and stared. Even though his gift wasn't in healing, he could sure have used stardust right now. Even with as little knowledge he had about healing magic, it would have still made her healing process a lot faster than what it currently was. He could have been able to make sure she was okay, but with no magic, it was harder to do so.
He sat and watched as she tossed and turned a little, trying to get comfortable. He reached for her hand and held onto it for a little bit, watching steadily for her to stop moving. She eventually did settle down, but she was still obviously pained, which in turn pained him. So many things had happened in the past few weeks, with Jack going missing, Fletcher also in recovery from the incident, and Jennifer hiding away all of the stardust from him. Control had completely been lost, but there was one thing he was still able to do. Sit and wait for her, like he always did.
For a moment, he could see her open her eyes. She still appeared pained, but she was quick to make eye contact with Simon. He knew what it was that she wanted, but he wasn't going to give it to her.
"I'll tell you what happened later, dear."
Wren obviously wasn't content with this answer, but there wasn't anything she could do about it as sleep took hold of her once again.
Simon stood up again, getting ready to go heat up some chicken broth to feed her. He looked at her once more, gently pushing her hair out of her face and removing the washcloth from her head. "It'll have to be changed out," he thought to himself, examining it before focusing back on her.
The Troglodytidae were considered to be the king of the birds. Folklore stated that a contest was held between the birds to figure out who would be the one to rule them all. The one to reach the heavens would be the one who took all. An eagle would be the one to beat them all out, but thanks to some clever planning, a wren ended up as the winner. The wren, although inconspicuous, was the ruler of them all.
But even as ruler, you can't protect yourself from everything. Unless willing to accept help, the wren could try to defend as much as it can, but it's still small and easily crushed. Wren would never allow people to know how she truly felt, and Simon knew this. He was the only one truly allowed into her world, and he was the only one to know how easily crushed she could be. He would never allow that to happen, regardless of what she wanted. Maybe he was selfish, but he wanted her safe.
He finally gave her a small kiss on the forehead before turning away to go take care of things. Jennifer Wren Matthews was his in the same way Simon Barker was hers, and he would make sure that she was taken care of.
