Wren stretched as she finished arranging the pantry. It was the last thing on her to-do list for the day, and now she could finally relax. She shut the door and made her way over to the study to retrieve her telescope and star maps. She was hoping she could calm her senses enough to see something other than clouds for once—that was all she wanted at this point.
Things had honestly been great for a while now, so she couldn't quite figure out what was weighing her down. She had tried everything she could think of that had calmed her down in the past, but nothing really seemed to work. The only thing she could guess was that she was still technically stuck in another universe, but she didn't truly miss home. Sure, it would be nice to go back eventually, but it was no longer a priority. Home just wasn't home anymore, and she had no desire to be reminded of that fact.
She bundled everything neatly into her bag, double-checking that she had everything. At this point, all that was missing were snacks and Simon. She knew Simon would show up soon enough—he never missed heading out with her—so in the meantime, she could collect whatever snacks she wanted. She found herself back in the kitchen, digging around in the fridge for strawberries and Cool Whip. Even if the skies refused to clear up, they could still have a nice evening together.
Meanwhile, Jesse crept down the hall to where she was, his heart pounding and his mind racing. He had Jack's staff gripped tightly in his hands. Over in the living room Marsh and Coeur stirred restlessly, the sound of feathers ruffling met his ears as they picked up on an uneasy feeling in the air. He was at the entrance to the kitchen now. All that was left to do was sneak up and catch Wren by surprise. It should have been easy, but something gave him pause. Uncertainty had set in, and those two sides of him were at war again. He glanced back to the stairwell where Jack was peeking out of, quietly searching for some reassurance. Jack gave him a thumbs up and with a deep breath he turned back around. He could do this. He had to. For the sake of his freedom. Readjusting his grip on the staff, he was about to head in when he heard her approaching from around the corner.
Wren whistled at Coeur, trying to catch her attention. Typically, the birds started acting up whenever they wanted out. Usually, she would wait for Simon to figure out what they needed, but he could still be a while. Coeur chirped at her, but it sounded more like a warning, which worried Wren. She reached out to pet her, but she suddenly felt eyes on her from somewhere else. Realizing Coeur was staring at something, she followed her line of sight straight to where Jesse was.
"Oh, Jesse!" Wren called out, realizing he was there.
Damn it. "Wren," he returned in a low voice, he gripped the staff tighter.
Wren stood and looked him over carefully—something seemed off. He sounded tense. Was he okay? His posture suggested he was nervous about something, but whatever it was, she had a feeling he wouldn't tell her. She had come to realize he wasn't big on sharing his feelings, so she usually tried her best to play things by ear. Even if he wasn't willing to open up, she still wanted to help him in any way she could. She analyzed him a bit more before noticing the object in his hands.
"What's going on?" she asked quickly. Whatever reason Jesse had for holding Jack's staff, it couldn't be good—especially considering the last time he had it, he broke it.
Jesse gritted his teeth. There it was again, that patronizing tone. It came every time he was about to get a lecture, or get put on blast for some minute reason. His anger rose again as he remembered what had transpired that day, the way she nitpicked everything he did, always acting like he wasn't taking things seriously, always trying to hold his hand through every task. He dug his foot into the floor, ready to spring forward.
Wren took a step forward, trying to figure out what was going on. The way Jesse was acting was starting to make her nervous.
"Where's Jack? Why do you have that?" If there was one thing she knew, it was that Jack always had his staff, no matter what. So if Jesse had it, what had happened to Jack? Tension began to rise in her as she worried about what could have possibly led to Jesse holding the staff.
