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Tamyra wasn't the kind of person to push herself onto others. If somebody very loudly and clearly told her they wanted her to leave them alone, she did. Why would she put herself in a situation where she wasn't wanted?

So she's been leaving Wren alone since Wren discovered her affair with Cornell. No need to see Wren's disgusted, disinterested face over and over again and make things even worse. And she was being good about it, she was sticking to it. Tamyra had a bunch of other things to do and focus on anyway. A new sister, making sure her friends didn't think she was using them, finding another person to sleep with so she wasn't thinking about Wren and her stupidly gorgeous face and legs. It was all fine.

And then she noticed Wren staring out towards the jungle in a very considering way and suddenly couldn't help but remember just how confident Wren was about her time on the jungle. About how she insisted it was easy for her. She moved before she really thought about it.

"Not thinking about heading back out there, hmm?" she asked, keeping a bit of a distance between them. "Nothing in the jungle that could be better than what's on this beach."

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren didn't realize how long she might have been standing there, staring through the trees as though searching for something. Maybe she was hoping if she looked hard enough she would suddenly be given answers to the questions she had buried deep and ignored for so long. Who was that dead body that she found at her feet? Did she really kill them? Was it all in her head thanks to the sun sickness?

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she looked, there were no whispers of knowledge being given to her. The thought of going back in there for any reason terrified her and she really hoped that she wouldn't have any reason to end up in there again.

Just as she was about to move from her spot, she heard Tamyra's voice, startling her as she wondered just how long she had been watching her for. "No, that's not what I was thinking about actually." She replied back, the annoyance slipping out. Wren hadn't talked to Tamyra since she saw her memory and while she did miss it, she couldn't help the frustration that bubbled up at the sight of her. "Trust me, I don't need you to tell me that the beach is better than the jungle."

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Tamyra was expecting not much welcome from Wren, still, when the annoyed response came out of Wren, maybe out of a pang of hurt, maybe out of annoyance on its own, but she couldn't help but take the frustration and dismissal badly.

"Sure, cause the confidence you talked about the jungle previously as if it was nothing more than a fucking vacation definitely suggested in the past that you would stay out of that hell of a place," she grunted back before she shook her head. "You know, just wanted to make sure you were alright, that you are not considering something dangerous, but I guess even that isn't wanted." Not from her at least.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Tamyra chose to argue back, as if she had any right to be annoyed by Wren's response. She had a reason for being short with Tamyra and it just made things even worse that Tamyra chose to return the same attitude back. Even while claiming she wanted to check on her and make sure she was alright.

"Me saying I was fine in there isn't the same thing as saying I want to go back." Wren narrowed her eyes at the passive aggressive comment, guess even that isn't wanted. "Sorry, are you mad at me for not wanting to talk to you right now? Like, seriously? I don't need you to check up on me. I'm not gonna run into the jungle because of you." She huffed as she turned to look away from Tamyra, pausing for a moment before turning back. "And why exactly do you care? It shouldn't matter to you if I'm planning on running back into the jungle or not."

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren clearly didn't hear herself talking about the jungle, though Tamyra remained quiet about that, didn't say anything else, instead let Wren simmer in her own annoyance.

Of course she wouldn't run into the jungle because of what happened, of course Wren didn't want Tamyra around, of course she should just not let herself get even more riled up, but when has Tamyra even been rational? And the last question hit it home.

"You know what? You're right, I don't care at all. Go ahead, stride right back into that hellhole if that's what you want, one less annoyance for me to worry about. Have all the fucking fun in there, what do I care?!" And with that she turned on her heels and walked away, only later regretting how she handled the entire situation.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren really shouldn't have expected much out of Tamyra. She didn't know why she bothered to approach her anyway, maybe assuming that Wren would just suddenly be over everything and be ready to come crawling back. But it wasn't that easy to just get over this. Maybe she wasn't planning on running off into the jungle to hide her embarrassment over all this but that didn't mean she wasn't still affected by this whole situation.

But it seemed like Tamyra didn't care which, Wren had figured anyway. Of course she didn't care, this was just something she wanted to do because it was fun not because she had any real interest in Wren besides her looks and experience. Though it still stung hearing the words shouted at her even if she already knew.

"Don't worry I don't plan on coming to annoy you any time soon!" She called back, crossing her arms across her chest. She turned to look into the jungle once more but let out a huff before walking in the opposite direction as Tamyra.

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Tamyra was perched against a coconut tree, a book in her hand. Something most people probably barely saw her do because she mostly kept to herself and did it in her own home, but she felt like basking in the sun while she was reading a newly washed up book she found in a suitcase. No good, quality clothes just rags and overly sized sweaters, but there were a few interesting books in it at least.

She wasn't even sure what made her look up, but it was like she was intentionally searching for her, her eyes finding Wren oh so easily, and she couldn't help just watch for a moment.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren had been keeping herself busy, or at least was trying to. Even if her trip to North Beach wasn't as time consuming as she wanted it to seem, she was trying to keep herself occupied. Which meant if someone was looking for help, Wren was there to be of assistance.

So even if it wasn't something urgent, a lost item in the sand, it would surely keep Wren distracted. The girl wasn't earth attuned and Wren had asked her why she didn't ask someone who was while they let they their feet glide through the sand as they searched.

Wren got distracted from listening to the girls sheepish answer when she looked up from their feet digging into the sand to notice they had been getting pretty close to Tamyra's place. And of course there Tamyra was, out in front reading a book. Of course. Wren knew she should have just ignored her though and she basically had to force herself to tear her eyes away and continue the search through the sand.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren was doing... well, Tamyra wasn't quite sure what Wren was doing, but it was something in the sand. Probably simply enjoying the sand while chatting and getting to know the girl. The girl Tamyra has seen around but if she was being honest, couldn't even remember her name. And now Wren was hanging out with her. Cool. Absolutely cool. Tamyra was not annoyed at all, no, nor was she wondering if Wren would take her to bed too, now that Tamyra was out of the picture.

She shook her head at that, looked back at her book - just a few moments before Wren looked over at her, their eyes missing each other.

Tamyra was reading, she needed to get back to that, see if the book was actually good or something. But as her eyes ran over the words over and over again, she couldn't even properly pay attention and ended up looking back up again.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

It was getting more difficult for Wren to keep herself focused on the task at hand rather than looking over at Tamyra. Maybe part of her was hoping that Tamyra would look up at her too. Even if she was annoyed with her, Wren wondered if Tamyra cared enough to keep an eye on her still.

Her eyes glanced up more than a few times while Tamyra read her book. Maybe she didn't care, maybe she wasn't paying attention to the two girls strolling on the beach scanning through the sand but Wren hoped she would.

Being playfully jostled by the girl brought her out of her head. Wren thought she might as well enjoy herself out here, so as they continued to walk and talk, Wren took the other girls hand in hers and gently swung their arms back and forth. It didn't mean anything, not to her, would it mean anything to Tamyra if she cared to look up from her book?

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

That escalated quickly. One moment Tamyra was staring at the page in front of her, the next she looked up and saw Wren and that nobody holding hand, walking around as if it was just them and nobody else was around them. As if nothing else really mattered. As if Wren didn't know Tamyra was near and could be watching.

Granted, Wren probably didn't realize, she was so wrapped up in her own little world with this other woman. And there was no reason why this couldn't be happening. Wren chased Tamyra away and Tamyra made it clear from the beginning that they were nothing more than some fun. Fun and giggles, and Wren was alright with it from the get go. They were just having fun before, and now they were not having fun, Wren found somebody else for that.

Except Wren told her she's been fantasizing about Tamyra and not some rando whose name Tamyra couldn't even remember.

But this was fine. This was alright, they were done having fun and Wren was dealing with her own shit and it was nothing new - hookups came and went and Tamyra was perfectly alright with it. It was what she wanted. And still, her fingers gripped the sides of the book so hard her nails started to tear into the paper as she looked down and told herself not to look up again. She didn't want to see them. She didn't want to see Wren with this random person who is probably very annoying and an idiot, especially considering Tamyra never took the time to remember her name. There had to be a reason for that, and it only showed poor taste on Wren's side. That was all this was.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

The girl didn't seem to mind Wren taking her hand, she seemed to be enjoying it so Wren was fine with keeping it up. It wouldn't necessarily help much in their search, it brought them closer rather than spreading them out but Wren was more focused on Tamyra than she was on this thing that was lost. She might have already forgot what it even was.

Wren did her best to keep her head down, or looking over at the girl instead of instinctively looking up at Tamyra. Just in case. If she did look, Wren didn't want to be looking back.

She felt a little stupid, she was the one who told Tamyra not to talk to her or bother her and yet...she still wanted her to pay attention to her. Everything about Tam being with her dad was still important to her, still weirded her out if she dwelled on it for too long but it was hard to stop thinking about Tamyra. Even if she had previously claimed she didn't care about what Wren did...she knew it was wishful thinking, but she hoped Tamyra did care at least a little seeing her with someone else.

When Wren did finally bring herself to look up though, Tamyra was still entranced in her book. Had she looked up at all? Wren had to assume she didn't, because it was probably better that way. She was getting what she claimed she wanted.

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Wren had been helping out on the farm, keeping an eye on the pesky goats to make sure they didn't cause any trouble. She had come to learn that some of the animals could be mischievous and some days her job was just to make sure they stayed in line.

She had stepped away to get them something to eat as a treat since they had shown some good behavior but on her way back to the pen, her path had been blocked (unintentionally for sure) by Tamyra. She stopped in place and let out a sigh, not sure why she was on the farm, in this area in particular but it really was starting to feel like she could not escape her.

"For someone who doesn't care what I'm doing, you sure do come around a lot." The words came out sounding more exasperated than intended, she wasn't ready to talk to her yet but getting the chance to see Tamyra was probably the most minor issue she could have right now.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Tamyra didn't intent to run into Wren. She actively tried to not even think about the woman, considering their latest couple of interactions (or lack thereof), though she did keep her eyes out for potentially seeing her. And somehow, it turned out to be even more than just a quick glance across the farm.

Whether that would be a good or a bad thing would be seen. Quite quickly. Like, the moment annoyed words left Wren's lips right after running into Tamyra. Great, just what she needed.

"It's almost like my best friend runs the farm and I came here to see him," Tamyra rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I do not care. I don't even think about you for the most part." Lie. Big fat lie, but Wren didn't need to know that. She wanted to be left alone, so Tamyra was annoyed-ly trying. "Now if you excuse me I--" but she couldn't finish the sentence, there came a crack and suddenly a goat was running off.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Right. Of course she came to see Tomas. Wren knew that was the clear and obvious reason why she would be coming around the farm since it wasn't to see Wren or to do any work. The additional reminder that Tamyra didn't care and that she didn't think about her at all was a bit hurtful and unnecessary but that was just making it clear that maybe Wren should stop overthinking all of this. If Tamyra didn't care, why should she?

"Well good. I don't either." A lie regardless of whatever she was referring to. She obviously cared and obviously was still thinking about Tamyra. "I'm just trying to get things done around here so you can just go find Tomas and leave me be cause he's clearly not here." She replied, gesturing to the area where it was just the two of them.

Tamyra tried to make her own excuse to leave but ended up being cut off by one of the goats breaking free, probably realizing that without Wren to pay attention it could do whatever it pleased. "Oh come on! Seriously!? Now look what you've done!" She complained to Tamyra as if any of this was her fault.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

The stupid goats and their stupid stupidity. In that moment, Tamyra could understand Tomas' annoyance towards the damn creatures (normally she was amused at the havoc they could wreak, especially if they decided to steal somebody's clothes or something else once getting out of the pen). But what was even more annoying was the accusation coming from Wren.

"What I've done?! What I've done?! Are you fucking kidding with me? Fuck off, Wren. You can blame a lot of things on me and I know you do, but putting this on me, when I've done absolutely nothing and you know that, is just messed up and I accept none of it." She took several steps back as she was talking, clearly intending to leave Wren alone with this. Why should she care to help? "You'll do just fine without me, I'd say. You don't want to talk to me, you don't want my opinion, you wouldn't want my help either, right?"

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

If Wren was in any mindset to be thoughtful and logical, she would understand accusing Tamyra of being the cause of this problem wasn't the way to go. It definitely wasn't the propery way to get them to a point where they would be able to talk to each other again, but in her twisted, annoyed way, Tamyra's presence was the reason she wasn't able to contain the goat to it's pen.

And Tamyra getting upset with her for getting upset at her didn't help her to change her mind on the subject. "Right, nothing is ever your fault right? You never do anything and no blame ever goes on Tamyra Williams, none at all!" She snapped back, perhaps still a little bothered by Tamyra trying to get herself less blame for sleeping with Wren's dad. Even if that might not have been how Tamyra saw it, that was how Wren still interpreted her words and stuck to it.

She couldn't help but to roll her eyes as Tamyra tried to get out of doing anything to help. "Not like that would be any difference. When do you ever help out around here? You just show up to have a chat and fuck around while people actually have work to do."

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

"Most things aren't my fault, but if something is, I will admit that and take responsibility for it," Tamyra snapped, though just because her perception was that she wasn't at fault, that didn't mean it was always the truth. "But I am not taking the blame for something completely pointless and something that I had nothing to do with."

She had to scoff. "You think I care if you say I don't do actual work? I really don't, you have to find something else to throw in my face if you want me to actually care. The people I come to see actually want my company while they work." Plus, her working on the farm would most likely not be a good idea anyway, thar has been established a long time ago.

"And you clearly want nothing to do with me and my company, so if you just stop talking my ears off and stop being such a stuck up, I can go on my way and you can go find your little friend you so love holding hands with, maybe she will help you find the goat. Good. Bye," and with that, Tamyra turned on her heels and stormed off in the other direction. She'd need to take the longer route to find Tomas, but so be it, as long as Wren wouldn't continue to be glaring daggers at her.

— ⋆ ✯ ⋆ —

Wren could feel her anger bubbling and she had to take a moment to calm herself down and make herself aware of how stupid it was to be arguing over this. The better option was to leave Tamyra and actually go make sure that goat didn't ruin any of the vegetation or knock someone over now that it was free from its pen. Even worse, it could make the other goats think they were allowed to break out and cause a ruckus as well.

But Tamyra's retorts continued to bug her, probably more than she was even affecting Tamyra and it kept making it difficult to turn away. All Wren wanted to do was continue the fight to keep being childish and petty and just trying to find something to strike a nerve since anything else she said didn't matter.

Wren didn't have to say anything though, as Tamyra ended up making it clear that Wren had managed to do something to catch her attention. It actually surprised her, that Tamyra had noticed her rather than ignoring her like she thought. And to use her holding hands with someone else as an argument? Wren blinked a couple times as Tamyra turned and stormed off. Did she...actually care? Was she jealous? That didn't sound right but Wren couldn't think why else she would throw that in her face.