#and that should be all the asks Celest sent in phew!!!

[starlitwishes]

After a while of sitting with him, Wrenn found that he was finally ready to return home.

Having calmed down almost completely, his eyes were a bit red and puffy from how much he had cried. Yet the villagers who had crowded him before now felt like a comfortable presence, like a warm blanket.

Though, before he can turn in for the night...

"Hey, stay for a while. I gotta share these Pita Pockets with someone," says Ashpazi.

"Pita Pockets? With me?"

Ashpazi wanted to share some food with him? Well, Wrenn couldn't find himself complaining. Ashpazi was quite the chef. He had tried his cooking before when he was too busy to make his own, and they had shared meals once in a while. Though he had to wonder if the other grabbed some food to help cheer him up...

The idea made Wrenn chuckle.

"Yeah, you should join us. I like spending time with you. It's nice,” says Amir.

Wrenn sniffled before he rolled his eyes a bit, shaking his head as he sat down with them. Yet there was a soft smile on his face, something that couldn't fall so easily. "You guys really want me around? Even after the scene I just caused?"

"Yeah, sure! It's pretty nice, this thing we've got going on,“ says Tuman. "No matter what, a man's gotta eat, right?"

Tuman then shoved a Pita Pocket into his face, and Wrenn snorted. The spirit was there, even if he wasn't completely right on the necessity of eating--for Wrenn, at least.

Still, Wrenn took one of the Pita Pockets, and started to eat them. The flavors felt familiar and warm, only further reminding him of where his 'home' was.

The other three men spoke plenty for Wrenn, thankfully, having a merry old time with their food and messing around. Their antics even got Wrenn to laugh a little. Though one antic was a little too funny, and it made Wrenn laugh as he was chewing his food--and he started gagging, some of the Pita Pocket going down the wrong pipe.

"Hey! You all right?" Ashpazi called out.

Wrenn held up a hand to him, nodding once. "I'm... I'm fine, just swallowed it wrong."

Amir handed over a canteen. "Here, have some water."

Wrenn took it with a small nod, and chugged about half of it. Though his throat still burned, the water did help quite a bit--and he sighed as he pulled his lips away from it.

"Hey, looks like even dolls can choke, huh?" Tuman started.

Amir winced. "Hey now, that's not..."

"... It's fine," Wrenn started. "But... yeah. I guess it's true."

"Then don't take a bite of food when you're laughing!" Tuman scolded, patting Wrenn a bit roughly on his back. Wrenn winced, but it didn't hurt. "Take better care of yourself!"

"You say that, but it was you who made him laugh while he was eating..." Amir pointed out.

The three men before him started to banter again, with Wrenn simply snickering and finishing his food. He watched them all for a moment, not noticing that Amir's dog (or, was it even his dog? Wrenn wasn't fully sure), Sag, had trotted on over to him. He butted his head into Wrenn's hand, and Wrenn instinctively started to pet him.

Though after a few sniffs from Sag, the dog barked, and jumped up onto Wrenn, making him yelp.

"Sag! Get down, no jumping on people!" Amir scolded.

Sag only whimpered and whined, not heeding his master's command. Instead, he started nuzzling his snout into Wrenn's cheek, and started licking his face.

"H-hey...!" Wrenn protested, half heartedly pushing the dog away. "I don't even have any more food...! Why are you begging from me?!"

"Maybe he's just trying to cheer you up," Ashpazi suggested. "He's a smart dog, knows when people are scared or upset."

Sag whimpered again, giving Wrenn more kisses to his cheek.

"All right, all right! I get it!" Wrenn continued to protest, finally shoving Sag back down onto all four paws. "I'm fine, really."

Sag grunted and barked, circling in front of Wrenn before flopping down at his feet, grunting softly.

"Seems like he's gonna sleep with you tonight," Amir said with a smile. "That's what he does when his mind's made up. Sorry about that."

"... Heh. I don't mind. Guess I'll have to actually sleep tonight then." What a fantastic idea--just the thought of sleeping now was making Wrenn feel exhausted. With his own mind made up, Wrenn stood up. "Thanks for the food. I'll... be going to bed early tonight."

"Sure thing," Ashpazi said with a nod. "Have a good night, Wrenn."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite! They hurt!" Tuman teased.

Amir sighed and shook his head at Tuman, but turned to face Wrenn with a smile. "Sleep well."

With a soft nod of his own, Wrenn started to make his way back to his abode, with Sag grunting and hurrying to stand to trot behind him.

"... You really are gonna stick with me the whole night, huh?" Wrenn mused. "Well, whatever. Come on."

Wrenn opened the leaf-curtain for Sag to walk inside, and Sag did so without hesitation.

Wrenn, however, took a moment longer, deciding to look up at the sky--or at least, what little he could see through the canopy. The soft twinkling of the star, the cool breeze of the night...

Wrenn closed his eyes, cherishing the sight burned into his mind.

Sag's bark brought him back to reality, however, and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay! Needy dog..."

Wrenn let the curtain close on his little home, a yawn breaking through as he got settled into his bed.

Sag took no time to make himself comfortable at the foot of the bed, huffing and curling up right at Wrenn's feet. "Don't blame me if I kick you in my sleep, Sag. And don't bite me, puppets don't taste good."

Another grunt, and Sag sighed through his nose. Wrenn didn't know what that meant, but maybe that didn't matter.

Finally, after such a long time, Wrenn's eye lids started to feel heavy. Then slowly, but surely, his eyes closed.

Though he was finally asleep, tears swelled in his eyes and dripped down his face--but he was smiling. The horrible feelings that he was so used to took a back seat to the love and warmth the villagers gave him that night, and his dreams were sweeter than they had been in a long time.