Chapter 6 Wren
Wren
Hart: He was arrested?!
Ash: loooooool
Ash: Midas! Time to pay up buddy!
Hart: You bet on this happening?
Ash: When we first joined as a team, me and Midas bet on how long it would be until Wren got his ass arrested
Hart: WHY WOULD YOU BET ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!
Ash: It was harmless fun
Hart: How are handcuffs harmless fun?!
Ash: …
Ash: You don’t want me to pull Cane in here and embarrass you do you?
Hart: asgsdkfodnm
Black: HA! You broke him
Fix: Wait…what is happening?
Fix: Is that Wren in the picture?
Fix: Black??
Black: Everything is fiiiiiiiiiine
Black: Dandy
Black: Glitter sparkle fantastical
*Photo attached*
Ash: Is that the jaguar in the back of the cop car with you? He and Wren have the same glare
Ash: Also Midas! I can see you reading these messages. You’re not getting out of paying up skinflint!
Fix: I’m heading to the station
Black: Might want to check Hart hasn’t had a heart attack first. I have it under control here
Ash: Comforting, mate
Black: Go choke on a lollipop, fire hazard
Wren rolled his eyes as the messages flew by on Black’s screen. He could feel his own phone vibrating in his pocket over and over, Blu’s little talons poking into his head.
In the front seat, Cyrus was white-knuckling the steering wheel as Sable huffed down the back of his neck. Wren wasn’t going to tell him to stop; the man could endure it.
It probably didn’t help his mood that Wren was digging his feet into the back of the chair as well.
Oops.
“Cyruuuus,” Black crooned, putting his phone aside.
“If you ask me—”
“Are we there yet?”
“I will ram this car into a pole, I swear to god!”
“Awww, someone is grumpy,” Black said, unbuckling his seat belt and climbing over into the front seat.
“Black!” Cyrus yelled.
“I’ll be quick. I want some snacks.”
“I don’t have any snacks. Sit your ass down.”
“I put them in the glove compartment, duh,” Black said, continuing to climb over. Small as he was, he still jostled Cyrus, making them swerve around on the road.
“Black!”
“There’s no traffic. Don’t get your panties in a twist—ah!” He ended up face down in the passenger side footwell. “I’m okay! Oh, look, my best sparkly pen! I wondered where that went. I already held a funeral for it.”
“I should retire,” Cyrus grumbled to himself, running a hand over his face. “It might be forty years early but I’m sure they’ll understand. I’ve fucking earned it.”
“RISE FROM THE DEAD!” Black yelled, brandishing his pen as he righted himself, blond curls messy with static and crop top completely askew.
Cyrus stared at him for a moment. Two.
“Put your fucking seat belt on.”
Black grinned, seating himself and doing as he was told. He popped the glove compartment and a thousand snacks poured out.
Cyrus’s eye twitched.
“Want something?” Black asked Wren over his shoulder.
“Is the extermination of the human race in there?” Wren asked, pretending to be interested.
“Nope,” Black said, popping the P.
Wren hummed and shrugged. “Then, no. Thank you.”
The car filled with rustling and crunching, and Black making comments to Cyrus, who mostly grunted in return.
Wren tuned them out, instead glaring out the window for the rest of the trip, watching as greenery gave way to industry.
They passed factories, then office buildings. Above them, the train clattered along, blowing out plumes of steam and rattling the ginormous metal struts that kept it suspended.
“Thank all that is holy and right, there’s the station,” Cyrus almost whimpered an indeterminate amount of time later.
Wren’s stomach squirmed with dread as he brought his gaze down to fix on it.
It wasn’t exactly a pretty building, but it nestled into Slatehollow perfectly, squat and gray but sprawling over an entire block.
The tallest part of it was the parking structure that was attached to the courtyard out front, closed in by concrete walls and two iron gates that opened regularly to allow police cars to move in and out.
Here was the highest concentration of cars you would be able to find in Slatehollow.
Cyrus pulled in, flashing his badge to the scanner and then proceeding into the parking structure. He went up a few floors before parking in his designated spot and almost flying from the confines of the car.
“Where’s the fire?” Black asked obliviously. “Ash isn’t here.”
“Har har,” Cyrus grumbled. “Get out. And bring your wrappers and crumbs with you.”
“So bossy.”
Wren kept his gaze forward as Cyrus opened the back door. “Time to go, troublemaker.”
“HEY! That’s my nickname!” Black complained.
Wren ignored both of them.
“Why do we always have to do this the hard way?” Cyrus reached in, barely avoiding getting his hand bitten off by Sable while Blu told him off with defiant chirps. He cursed and jumped back. “Listen…I will drive this car through the side of the building into my office if I have to.”
Black continued to munch on his gummy worms, watching them in amusement. “Let’s do that plan!”
Wren rolled his eyes, catching Sable’s brooding gaze. It seemed to say “I can still eat him if you want.” He nudged their faces together before pulling back. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
He motioned Sable out, then scooted over, following him.
“Thank you,” Cyrus sighed, leading them toward a nearby elevator.
They piled in, the metal bucket rocking under Sable’s weight. Cyrus pressed the button for the first floor and tucked his hands into his armpits while Black began to lick the gummy worms and stick them to the mirrored glass.
On floor two the elevator paused, the doors opening to reveal a normal officer who did a double take as soon as his brain registered what was in front of him. Sable growled, curling his lip, and the officer darted backward, nearly falling on his ass.
“What’s the holdup, Worther?” Cyrus snapped. “Stop messing around and get in here already.”
“Oh, uh…I forgot something in my car, sir. I’ll, uh…get the next one.” Worther’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
“Fine.” Cyrus hit the button and the doors shut. He shook his head. “They don’t make them like they used to.”
Wren gave him a sidelong look. “Black has warped your perception beyond recognition.”
Cyrus frowned down at him. “What do you mean?”
Wren looked at Black, who was now putting the finishing touches on the skull he had made out of worms. He shook his head. “Nothing.”
The doors opened and Cyrus led them through to the lobby of the precinct, making small talk and calling out greetings in the form of grunts here and there as they passed.
Everything screamed of activity. Messy desks, doors leading to tiny offices and meeting rooms, people shouting, sparks of uncontrolled magic cropping up here and there.
Cyrus swiped a card to let them into the PUMA bullpen, leading them through the immediate chaos.
“Hey, boss!”
“Give me a second, Smith!” Cyrus yelled back. “I just got through the freaking door.”
“Smith, do you want some gummies?” Black asked, offering the bag.
Smith recoiled like they were on fire, running the other direction. Wren knew that a lot of the PUMA department were downright terrified of Black, but seeing it made him mad on his behalf. Especially the minute frown that flickered between his brows.
“Boss, there’s some Arcstead cursebreakers in your office,” someone else yelled.
“Wow, Kenedy,” Cyrus drawled. “I’m glad to see we promoted you to the unit based on your excellent deduction skills. Yes, there are cursebreakers in my office. I put them there, idiot.”
Kenedy received a slap around the back of his head from an older gentleman.
“Why is the cursebreaker cuffed?” the older guy asked. “Haven’t heard anything come down from Nexus.”
“It’s a long story. The feline is too. Just…keep these idiots occupied while I deal with this,” Cyrus asked.
“Can do.”
They rounded the bullpen to a corner office. Cyrus opened the door and motioned them in, Wren taking a deep breath before crossing the threshold.
His heart dropped when he saw an unfamiliar figure sitting in front of the desk. The crushing disappointment made it hard to breathe while his heart cried another where are you, why aren’t you here?
Blu chirped and flew from Wren’s head to the window, drawing Wren’s drowning gaze.
His breath caught in an instant as an unmistakable pair of chocolate eyes locked with his, and Wren felt the inescapable pull, like a lone star that had drifted for too long finally catching its orbit again.
Teddy.
“Wren,” Teddy breathed, with so much emotion it leaked everywhere.
Wren secretly thought that was why he wrote so much. What was inside him couldn’t be contained and needed to spill onto the page before it overwhelmed him.
“Um…you’re blocking the door,” Black said from behind him.
Wren numbly walked a few steps forward, never breaking eye contact. Teddy followed his every move, not blinking either. The room shrank to nothing around them.
Plush, slightly chapped lips parted like Teddy wanted to speak more, but he appeared to stifle the words before they escaped, probably scared Wren might spook and run again.
Wren couldn’t be sure. He never knew when it came to Teddy.
He was able to pull something visceral from him that no other could.
Teddy blinked, seemingly coming back to himself.
“Wait…are you cuffed?” He didn’t wait for an answer, striding forward to square up to a surprised Cyrus. “Why the hell is he cuffed?”
“Excuse me?” Cyrus said, placing his hands on his hips.
The unfamiliar figure popped up out of his seat, getting between them and looking at Teddy.
“Woah there, Prince Charming. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Let’s not lose our cool.” He looked at Cyrus.
“Sorry. Hi! I’m Saint, and you already met Damir It was a long trip down and he hasn’t had his milk and cookies yet.
He’s usually very agreeable. He would melt your grandma’s panties off and make her pinch his cheek, I swear! ”