Angel On Fire

Tomas sighed internally but attempted to maintain some composure as he fixed Wren with one of his more stern, professorly expressions. "Animal husbandry takes more than loving them! I mean -- it's fine that you love them, that's definitely an optimal quality for the job -- but Wren, they require so much work. There's a million things that can go wrong, and they're massive when they get older! Absolute behemoths!"

She wasn't listening. She was scampering away, as fleet and light on her feet as a fawn, to crouch down to the tiny piglets with their adorable tiny piglet snouts as they rushed to greet her. "More like rushing to see if she's got food," Tomas groused to himself as he continued at his more sedate pace to reach the fence where Wren was cooing herself into a tizzy.

But she was mostly focused on getting the opportunity to see the piglets right now. Approaching the fence, and watching as a few of them eagerly came her way was always fulfilling. So to her it felt like such a no brainer, the way she got joy out of just seeing the piglets, in her mind, should have been enough that coming to lend a hand shouldn't have been a question. Maybe that was due to her parents take on things, letting her think she could do anything she wanted as long as she cared about it enough. But Tomas was trying to make sure that she was completely aware of what Wren was getting herself into by offering her help.

"I'm not gonna make you do everything. That's the whole point of this," Well, it was mostly the point. If it was the entire reason she was offering, she could have chosen anything but Wren chose taking care of the piglets specifically. "I'm trying to lessen your workload. As best as I can." What sounded like his final attempt at bargaining could have made Wren laugh amused by the such stark difference to the parenting style she was used to. "Aw, come on, you won't cut me even like…a little bit of slack?" she was teasing, of course, but before he could let out an exasperated sigh, she quickly waved one of her hands defensively.

Emre tapped on the keyboard, twirling some of the dials on the dashboard.  He was flipping through camera feeds on one screen until he got to the one he wanted.  A pair of mouse ears popped onto the screen, then danced back to reveal a prancing mouse, giggling and hugging some bored-looking teenagers.  Emre jabbed his finger at the screen.  “That’s the bugger.  Looks proper happy and fun yeah?”

It took sympathy - especially about family - for Emre to understand.  To realize his pain was shareable with Wren, tradeable.  They both lost their closest family to the teleports.  Perhaps Iyaz’s departure was more intentional than the Augustines, but it resulted in the same thing: them out there, Emre and Wren stuck here.  She started on a myriad of immediate dismissals, though, downplaying everything from the pity to her point.  But it was difficult for Emre to let go, once he’d gotten his jaws around a bone.

“Would you ever consider trading places with them?” he asked wistfully.  “If given the chance, would you swap?  I would.  With Iyaz, but Peter’d have to be part of the deal.  I’d live out there, him and Peter could live on the island.  Would you do that with your parents?”

Her points about enjoying her life, and having an overly-preoccupation with her parents got so close to hitting Emre’s truth, but not close enough.  “That’s a little cold of you,” he grunted to Wren.  “Then again, you’re their child.  Wager you’re supposed to be selfish about it, innit.  Yaz...Yaz is the same way.”

The important questions arose, and Wren was brave enough to ask them.  Emre had to admire that moxie she had; maybe shameless of her, because she grew up on this island and abnormally socialized.  “I miss you, a lot,”  Emre admitted as well.  “Dunno how we even got so close in the first place, but yeah.  I miss you loads, darling.  I’m sorry I was so cruel in the first place. I thought you were being cruel to Iyaz.”

Emre rolled her fingers between his, like he was rolling a joint.  His smile still in tact as he urgently cooed,  “Kaz is shy, that’s all.  Can’t say these things to you upfront and that.”  Emre was recklessly fibbing, for the tease of it all.  The idea of Kaz Raval being ‘shy’. “Don’t be jealous.  Just hug him more, he’s like a toothpaste innit.  Got to squeeze it out of him.”

Emre fell silent though, pondering Wren’s wishes.  “You want things to go back to what they were, you and me.  Is that it?”  Emre fiddled with her bracelet then, pushing it around and around on her thin wrist.  This felt new.  He’d gotten into rows before - plenty of arguments.  Most ended badly, or were pushed under a rug (in the case of him and Iyaz).  He’d rarely ever properly made-up with someone, without paying dearly for their forgiveness.  Rarely having his own anger minded and sorted out, the way Wren thoughtfully did.  Eventually, Emre gently pushed her hand away, turning back to look at the monitors.

“Alright.  Clean slate and that.  Fresh start, us.  Good terms, happy days...”  He glanced over at Wren tentatively, hoping she truly meant it.  No mind games, no testing.  “Normal.”

"They don't look all that happy." she pointed out as she reached in to zoom in a bit on one of the teenagers faces, rolling their eyes before moving out of frame. Zooming out again, she looked over as much of the area as she could, a bit enchanted by it all and how it managed to remain structurly sound in comparison to other places. "It looks fun. I just don't know if I want to leave. Maybe not yet."

Emre asked if she would trade places with her parents, if she would want to be out there while they got to stay on the island. Wren thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "I think so. But I can't imagine they'd want that outcome. They'd probably be a lot braver than me, jumping in the teleports without a care in the world if it meant coming to find me." There was no best case scenario unless they were able to be all together.

His response to her answer made her frown, not really enjoying that he thought she was being cold. "I wouldn't say I'm being cold. I just think the difference is that I know my parents wouldn't want me wasting away into nothing just because they're gone. But if they were in my position then they probably wouldn't rest until they found me." She paused, knowing as the words came out that was exactly how Emre had been acting. Would she want someone giving her parents shit for trying everything they could to find their daughter the same way she acted to Emre about Iyaz? "We're just on different sides of the same problem. Would you want Iyaz to come find you if you were the one out there while he was here?"

A grin spread across her face as he told her he missed her. It brought an overwhelming feeling of joy in her chest to know that after all this, they would be ok. "I miss you too. Maybe I was being cruel, I just…didn't want to lose you. It feels good to mean something to you and being left behind felt…unfair. But I know he's your brother and I shouldn't have felt so jealous." He continued to play with the bracelet, whether it was purposeful or just mindless, Wren appreciated the physical touch and what she hoped was acknowledgement of the significance of their matching bracelets.

"Yeah. I'd like that a lot. If we can." she answered, hoping it could just be that simple. Luckily, Emre was willing to give her that. Good terms, happy days. That was all she wanted for them. "Normal." she agreed with a smile and a nod. As if to seal the deal, rather than shake on it, Wren picked herself up out of her seat to go over and give him a hug. "Thank you. I'm sorry about everything I said. And thank you for holding onto the bracelet. It really means a lot that you kept it."

Orion followed her, not having any trouble to keep up as they made their way to the beach. "I don't really care too much about the wedding." was his honest response to her question. "I'm not a party person, and I'm mostly attending it because for business." After all, he didn't really know Nick or Mik all that well - but Nick was his customer and Orion doubted he'd make a good impression by not showing up. "You on the other hand seem like you'd enjoy yourself at the wedding. Like you'd be in the middle of it."

While Wren hadn't done a whole lot of fishing lately, she was familiar with the process. When she was younger she spent a good chunk of time bugging the people that worked on the docks and asking them question after question about what they were doing and how they did it and eventually there were days where they would let her and her dad join them. So she had an idea of what they were looking for and took one of the crab traps from Orion when he grabbed them.

They seemed to agree, as Wren voiced what he thought as well. Survival once supplanted everything. When the until death do us part was written in eternal sands, it had people rethinking the significance of the ceremony. "I mean. It's a big deal for them, sure. If you just want a party, you can throw one yourself. Any time you fucking want. Bet people would even dress up for it." Certainly didn't take a wedding to accomplish that.

As far as Kaz was concerned, he didn't ignore anything. He specifically chose to keep his business to himself. "Wasn't aware I needed to clear all my texts with you. Being nosey is also rude as fuck, just saying." Never mind that Kaz could also be nosey. That wasn't the situation at hand. "Not keeping a secret from you. And I've put it away, so."

He hadn't planned for Wren to give his teleport credits away. Especially not as a wedding gift, of all things. His expression soured and his tone prickled. "The hell they need those for? They got everyone running around like idiots and bringing things back on a silver platter for this wedding. Literally asked for the crown jewels. What next-- they want their initials carved on the mother fucking moon or something?" Probably, and obviously no one should suggest it either. And hopefully his response served to answer her original question.

Well, sure it was easy for Kaz to say she could just throw a party whenever she wanted to, but he didn't need to point it out. "Well maybe I want to get some pointers from people who have actually thrown a party before. I don't know, don't dissect my reasons for being excited about something."

The annoyance faded to amusement when Kaz himself got annoyed at her suggestion of giving the happy couple some of her credits as part of their wedding gift. Her grin spread wider at the more dramatic it got. The two really had everyone running around the island and the Outside just to find the best and coolest gift they could find. But in her opinion, everyone was having fun doing it so what was the harm? "Yeah but that doesn't mean they can't still get some extra credits to go on a trip. They really want to go on a honey moon." she told him, with air quotes and all because she still didn't really know what it was. "You'll survive. It's not like I'm gonna stop giving you credits forever. It's literally just this one time." As if that would make a difference to him.

"I'm not even sure what your interest in the pigs is," Tomas said baldly, as they entered the livestock pen. What they had on the island was a sort of hybrid situation; so much of the agricultural work was automated or at least decently industrialized, but when it came to the livestock, Tomas was adamant that they operate like a small, ethical farm: free range, good fodder, comfortable living spaces. The pigpen was mostly a warm place for them to shelter and sleep even though it was outdoors, and they they could be turned out into a run that was half-pasture, half-woods. Growing fat on acorns and mushrooms was a good life for a pig, Tomas maintained.

"I mean -- are you looking to maintain them? They take a lot of physical labour." He looked Wren over, not even bothering to hide his clear dubiousness at her ability to wrangle the pigs. "You gotta slop them and inspect them and make sure they don't have hoof infections or flystrike or things like that and -- are you listening, Wren?"

"They're just so cute and sweet! And they just get to roll around without a care in the world, what's not to love about them?" She knew that there was a whole lot of stuff she didn't know about pigs and what taking care of them actually entailed, but…that was something she could learn on the job, right? And she would! Eventually. Once her adoration for these little creatures mellowed out.

Which definitely wasn't now when she laid eyes on the piglets in their pen. She let out a giddy squeal of her own, completely missing all the actual important work that Tomas was going on about and running over to the fence and squatting down onto her knees to get closer to the piglets. "Hi you sweet little things. Hiii, I missed you all so much!" she cooed, reaching her hand in to feel their little snouts as a couple of them came over to her.

She was gently petting one of the piglets head when Tomas spoke up again, and she turned her head to look up at him as he hit her with the hard truth. "I know." she sighed, "they're just so precious, you know? But I understand that they get bigger and that they're a lot of work but I want to lend a hand. You do so much on your own all the time. I thought you'd like the help. And then this way I don't have to bother you whenever I want to see them."

"Kinda both." Amelia shrugged, "Tam is decking me out in black and gold, so I'm sure she's the kind of woman who'd blow a gasket if I tried to wear anything silver, but I imagine some more colourful gems couldn't hurt, and I like a lot of rings." She wiggled her bare fingers and sighed, busying her hands with making up a cup of tea. "I'm sure with all these lovely trinkets you've brought over we'll be able to make something work." She hummed softly, "perhaps I will have to try and find more documentaries for the library."

She smiled as Amelia wiggled her fingers, showing off her desire for some rings and Wren was happy to comply. "Oh, here you can try any of these on that I have and see how you like them." she told her as she slid over a container with a bunch of different rings. Most of the rings weren't any of her own creations though, those were mainly pieces that other people had found on their trips Outside and gave to her. She had found it easier to work with bracelets and necklaces, or earrings but at least she could spruce up whatever rings came her way.

"Where do you usually find the stuff you get in the library?" Wren asked when the mention of the library came up. "Do you usually go out in the teleports yourself to go find things or do you have people bring things back for you?" She also might have just been curious about Amelia's teleport habits. Even though Wren was firmly against going anywhere near them, it was fascinating to see how others saw them, especially people who had been on the island for a long time like Amelia.

"Oh, of course! I want you to try on everything that catches your eye." Wren prompted, holding out the necklace for Amelia to take it and try it on. "This will be the best way to see what you like and what will work best. We can definitely keep the accessories as more simple if the dress is gonna be the main event. That's probably the best idea."

Tamyra regretted her question relatively fast, even though she should have expected Wren's response. She really did ask her where she was going, how long she'd be on the other side of the portal, but she just assumed it was general curiousity, not the fear coming out. And she hoped Wren didn't hope this conversation would lead to her not going on teleportation trips anymore because she did not want to stop and didn't want to lie or promise something impossible. "I'm really sorry that they never made it back. Would it help if I just-- never mentioned going out there before? Only after, that way you wouldn't have the chance to be worried."

Not the kind of conversation she expected to have with Wren, but once they were in the little side-street, pressed up against the wall and each other, Tamyra's chin tilted up as she was kissing Wren, it was forgotten (she exceptionally glad she could distract Wren from all kinds of negative thoughts, really). "Never claimed I'd want to play anything other than dirty?" She kissed Wren hard and passionate and needy and then pulled back, just enough that their breaths still mingled together, "I want to eat you out so badly, so if you want me to stop, you should absolutely tell me to."

Tam offered up her condolences but how she chose to follow it up made Wren's eyes widen as she raised her eyebrows in shock that this was what Tamyra took from this. Wren standing there telling her that she was worried and wanted some information to quell that worry made her think that she should just not tell Wren anything. "I...really hope you're joking right now. Because this is not the position I want to be in to tell you how much you're missing the point."

Being pressed against the wall, Tamyra's lips pressing kisses against her skin, yeah there was no way Wren was gonna try and start a fight right now. She groaned softly as Tamyra deepened the kiss and added to the excitement with her suggestion. "You do realize it's the middle of the day." She pointed out. They were out of the way from usual foot traffic of the bazaar but considering it was broad daylight, Wren still turned her head to see just how likely it might be for someone to take a turn down this alleyway. But that extra thrill of it was such a turn on, she would be crazy to turn her down.

"Let's go in a little further first." She decided as she pulled Tamyra in deeper down the alley to give them some distance and cover. "Then you can do whatever you want to me."

Emre was very, very good at feeling sorry for himself.  It was the desi-parental way, to guilt-trip the child, then grieve over one’s own hard life and sacrifices for said child.  So he delivered his complaints about Iyaz’s purported ‘cruelty’ to him, almost hoping for Wren to lambast Iyaz for being so selfish and mean to Emre.  Wasn’t that her argument before?  Maybe, in this moment of slef-pity, Emre wanted to lean into that point.  Feel bad about himself, then feel noble for loving Iyaz despite all of Iyaz’s faults.

Instead, Wren pointed out about her own parents, blasting all that petulance out of Emre’s mind.  He’s eyes rounded out, expression dropping in muted sympathy and realization.  Once again, Wren shared a common experience; but in her situation, it was more distressing.  “No contact at all?”  Emre murmured, ducking his head to peer at Wren, try to meet her eyes.  They were dead.  That was Emre’s immediately conclusion.  Where ever the pair went (for Wren’s birthday gift, no less, poor little thing), they’d died there.  He couldn’t imagine any other reason for parents not doing everything they could, to reach out to their precious little girl.  “I’m - I’m so sorry, darling.”

He looked up at all the monitors, screens showing people out in the world, doing random things. News reports.  Social media videos from past or present, Emre wasn’t sure.  So many lives; finding Cornell and Milana was a needle in the haystack.  Emre was preoccupied thinking about Wren’s missing parents, that he didn’t balk or prickle when Wren pointed out his own hollow life.

“I can do whatever I want.  Yeah...”   Emre stayed staring at the monitors, using the buttons and dials to switch feeds on the screens.  “What’s that even mean, when it’s at home.  He looked over his shoulder at Wren.  “Without your parents, what do you want in your life, then?  What’s the point of it?”

Her reticent reply about Tamyra translated to Emre:  so her and Tamyra together wasn’t the ‘point’ of it, then.  Fair enough, if a little disappointing.  Emre’s need to matchmake everyone and envision perfect happiness, crumbled a bit.  “Sort it out, yeah?  I’m sure you two can sort anything out.”

Wren made the statement, plain as day:  And if I ever do want to go somewhere, I’d want you with me. Always.  Emre licked his lips, considering.  Then he turned to Wren and took her hand, kissing her fingers roughly.  “Deal. Don’t ever leave this island without me, Wren.  I mean it.”

That irrepressible smile returned, and Emre slumped lazily across the dashboard.  One hand supported his head.  He kept a hold of Wren’s hand, now just toying with her fingers, all her pretty little rings.  “He’s always saying lovely things about you.  Can’t shut up.  ‘Wren’s a little angel’ and ‘I can’t function without Wren’, that sort of thing.  Regular Kaz-things innit.”

A pause, and then Emre continued.  “Maybe if he’s not your fam but you’re close, it can be like that for you and me too, innit,” he suggested, unaware that Wren and Kaz had messed around.  He was just thinking about their closeness; at least, a closeness that Wren loved to gush about, and Kaz occasionally implied.  “Unless everything’s got to be unique and special for you.”

Wren didn't intend to make this a competition of who had it worse, she wasn't even entirely looking for sympathy but it was more of an attempt to have him look on the bright side. He missed his brother, but he was right there at his fingertips. They needed time apart but there was still that knowledge that he was out there. She still didn't appreciate how all of this made Emre felt, and she was sure Iyaz never considered how much of a toll his absence would cause on his brother who loved him so dearly, but Emre hadn't entirely lost him and that should make this easier than getting cut off completely.

"Don't worry about it. There's nothing that can be done. I mean, I've got people looking but. I know a text or a phone call isn't in my future and I've accepted that. I'm just saying, getting a few texts from him here and there shouldn't be an upsetting thing."

Emre tried to hit her with her same question. She could do whatever she wanted without her parents so what was her grand purpose? What was the point of her life, a question that just made her shake her head. "I just want to live. Enjoy myself, you know?" she answered with a shrug. "I don't know, I don't think the point of life is supposed to be that complicated. And if I thought my life was pointless without my parents, then I would have missed out on a lot."

Wren was half expecting some brush off of her statement. For Emre not to take her too seriously or at the very least make himself believe that she was being dramatic rather than genuine. But instead, he took her hand and pressed his mouth to her knuckles and accepted her statement. Don't even leave this island without me. A smile relaxed into her features as she nodded, both of them I agreement. "Does this mean...we're ok? You're not...still mad at me? We can start talking normally again, right?" She asked him, eyes big and round, her voice filled with hope that they could consider this over.

The smile that came across Emre's face at the mentions of Kaz were interesting. She could chock it up to the fact he was joking around with her, claiming Kaz had said things he clearly would never say, but there was something about it that felt almost familiar. "Oh yeah, that sounds like our Kaz alright." She played along, letting him toy around with her hand in his. "Kinda jealous, I've known him longer but he says all these sweet things to you? You're so lucky."

He was also high when the thought occurred, so most likely it meant nothing at all. I would have had a blast trying to get you into the wedding. "You've got a strange idea of fun, Wren," a little light tease. "I'll smile when it's appropriate to smile." His eyes went wide as he carried on with the act, monotone as ever. "That's what I've learned from observing the humans around here. And you will have to find someone else to hassle."

Wren hopped up to sit on the lip of the stage. Kaz stood in front of her in the meantime. "It is the first here, hm? None when you were a kid even?" First wedding he knew about, anyway. He caught a glimpse of the registry as it scrolled behind her and then hummed a laugh. "Not gonna be your average wedding, that's for sure. At least judging by the registry." Especially after seeing Mik's list of wants, he couldn't even blame the bulk of the OOT-ness on Nick (for once).

"I did go to a couple weddings, way back when. Never gave them much thought, personally." Not a thing Kaz anticipated for himself either. Wren's parents were married a long time, but he felt the subject too sore to be brought up then.

He looked up from the cell glued to his hand and finally slipped it into a pocket. Dark brows rose innocently. "What phone?

"I have an amazing idea of what's fun, thank you very much. It would be like those prison break shows, getting you out of the tower to make sure you make it in time for the wedding? People would go crazy for that sort of thing!" But he was already planning on showing up to the wedding so there was an amazing idea that had to be tossed into the trash. "I'll believe it when I see it Kaz-bot. And you know I'm never gonna stop hassling you so, nice try."

Wren shook her head, never recalling any sort of wedding event around here. "Yeah, I don't think anyone else had much interest in getting married here. Especially not when they thought they had lost the ability to live the life they were taken from just to be brought here." But now, life here was much better than what the Outside looked like now. So maybe that was where the flip happened, where it became a much more viable option to say this is my life and this is where I'm gonna get married.

Wren shrugged as he explained that weddings weren't really a thing he gave much thought, not at all surprised by that response. "I don't know, it seems like a pretty big deal. And yeah, Nick and Mik are making it into something huge, I'm not surprised how they're doing things isn't what a normal wedding looks like. I think that's what I'm more invested in. The big blowout party, the nice outfits, the ridiculous registry. You know, the fun parts." Maybe the making a lifetime commitment to someone part of it wasn't something that interested her, but Nick and Mik didn't seem to be approaching that part from a traditional angle.

He continued to ignore her questions about what he was looking at but he put it back in his pocket so she held up her hands to show she was giving up. "Ok, fine. Whatever. Don't tell me. Keeping secrets from your friends is incredibly rude, though." She pointed out, as if Wren had any capabilities of guilting Kaz into telling her anything.

"I'm still working on it." she admitted, since she had been pretty busy making sure to keep Nick and Mik happy and under control. She wasn't well versed in how the wedding planning process was supposed to go but she did know that keeping the couple happy was always a plus so she was doing her best. "Are you going to get mad if I donate my teleport credits over to them this time around instead of to you?" He had almost exclusively been the one she handed off her credits to after all, he could stand to miss out on a batch in favor of the grooms.

He kissed his teeth, already knowing what Wren would say next.  “And don’t mind about Kazzy.  If he gets vexed, he can come bawl at me, not you.”

Wren’s question was hypothetical but Emre was already shaking his head.  “Not about what he wants.  Is about what I know is best for him.  And all his life, I’ve been best for him.  He might not even realize it, but is the bloody truth innit.  I gave up everything for him!  I’ve kept him safe, kept him alive all this time.  And now he thinks he can just leave me?  I know it was the island what banned him, but...”

Emre paused, tugging out his phone to pull up his texts. One convo, he opened, placing it on the dashboard for Wren to see as well.  Emre tapped the phone.  “He only sends me texts, just to let me know he’s safe.  A photo now and again of him and - and Peter...”  Emre kissed his teeth, curling into his hoodie in desultory sulking.  “Is like he don’t want me to visit innit.  My own bruvver.  I beg him to let me know where he is, and he never does.  He says he needs time.  And...”  Emre glanced at Wren, with a glimmer of remorse in his eyes before he looked away.   “He said I needed time away from him, too.”

The truth was out, and Emre slapped the phone, letting it fly and skitter across the floor.  “The fuck does that even mean.”

Everything that Wren said made sense of course, and sounded so mature and reasonable.  For her.  But Emre, deep in his sulk, just snorted bitterly.  “Darling, I don’t have a life.  Iyaz was my life.  Beyond that...I don’t know.  Without him...I don’t know.”

He couldn’t help but relax though, at the thought of Tamyra living her life, being somewhat free once the teleports opened up.   But that wasn’t what he was talking about.  “There’s also you, sweetheart.  She’s got you here.  That’s...still happening yeah?”

I know you don’t think of me as your family but…you were mine.

Emre busied himself with attaching the bracelet, because Wren was letting him even as she damned him.  Emre was silent until the bracelet sat pretty on her thin little wrist.  He pushed against the beads with a finger, rotating it over her skin.  “Maybe I don’t got to think of you as family.  Maybe I don’t know what the fuck ‘family’ even means anymore.  Everything I thought...is all fucked-up innit.  My parents, my nan. Iyaz. Everyone in my family, gone.  Maybe I don’t want you gone too.”

Another pause, and then Emre asked.  “Is Kaz your family?”

What was best for him. Emre felt like he was what was best for Iyaz, and maybe in a way he was right. He had been supportive and protective and did everything to make sure Iyaz didn't have to want for anything. He had his own plans and ran off, making sure to keep his brother at arms length, sometimes pushing himself just out of reach.

She scanned through the texts that were being sent, short and sweet messages, nothing to cling to even though Emre tried. "At least you get messages." she pointed out to him. "My parents didn't even have phones so I have no way of getting any updates. Even if they found a phone I don't know if they'd even know how to contact me." Her eyes glanced over to him once he had already looked away and watching him discard his phone as it slid across the floor. "Maybe…he's right." Something Wren never thought she would say about Iyaz, especially not in this situation when she had considered him to have been so selfish for leaving.

"Maybe he's trying to help you. You say you don't have a life outside of him and I'm sure he realized that." Everyone who knew the pair realized that. "You are so much more than just Iyaz's brother. Even if you…don't know who you are outside of that yet, maybe this is his way of telling you that this is the time to figure it out. You don't have to keep spending your life focusing on him. You can do whatever you want. For yourself, not for him." Wren wasn't sure if Emre would appreciate that sentiment, but in her mind it should have been a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

Wren wouldn't have said that she was the reason for Tamyra's lack of desire to escape the island these days. Sure, they were trying this couple thing out, but Wren didn't think she could place the reasoning all on herself, and frankly, she wasn't sure she'd want to. That felt like far too much pressure for things to work out and neither of them wanted there to be any pressure in their relationship. "Yeah. Yeah, that's still happening." she told him with a nod and a smile.

Maybe I don’t want you gone too. The words made her feel warm, appreciated. Maybe she could accept that line of reasoning. "Luckily for you, if I'm not going through those teleports, the island can't get rid of me. Loophole." she tried to offer jokingly as why she wouldn't end up gone like he worried. "There's nowhere I want to go. And if I ever do want to go somewhere, I'd want you with me. Always."

She gave a nod at Wren's answer, her fingers gently running along the back of Wren's palm as she spoke, "You say you worry about getting back and being stuck out there, so you don't really go through. Does that mean you worry about us going out there, too? That we don't come back?" What would she even do, if she was kicked out of this place? Something that would have been Tamyra's dreams before the entire world went to shit, but now... now she couldn't even imagine living anywhere else. How the tables turn sometimes.

Wren let herself be pulled away and that kiss on her lips was just so pretty, Tamyra couldn't help but kiss it again and again after the first deep kiss, and started peppering them on Wren's cheeks, her jaw, her neck. "What if I am just not interested in finding a gift for those two? They will get a bunch of things anyway. And you and this, this is a whole different gift I am a lot more interested in." Was she cheesy and ridiculous? Maybe, but still, she leaned back again and pressed another kiss to Wren's lips, quickly forgetting all of their surroundings. It was easy to get lost in Wren and now that she could just do that, it was hard to just stop.

Truthfully, Wren felt like the answer to Tamyra's question was obvious. Of course she wasn't just worried about herself with these things. It seemed like anyone could go in at any time and for one reason or another, get stuck and be unable to return. Wren didn't have any control over what others did, but she could at least manage herself and make sure she didn't go through anywhere. "Well, yeah. I ask where you're going and for how long for a reason. You and Kaz who are always jumping all over the place is stressful. I've already lost my parents and Estelle to these stupid things, I'd prefer to not lose more people."

A bit of a heavy conversation topic, slowly melting away with every stolen kiss that followed. Any worry or concern about the teleports was easy to push away and ignore as Tamyra continued to kiss her again and again. Wren leaned her head back gently against the wall and let out a soft groan as Tamyra's lips journeyed from her lips and down her neck. "Okay, okay…maybe today isn't going to be the day for gift shopping then." she surrendered as her fingers slipped under Tamyra's shirt, fingertips gliding up and down her waist before tugging her closer so they were pressed against each other. "You play so dirty. You know I can't say no to you when you get like this."