You woke up feeling like shit with Hobbes meowing away at you, demanding breakfast. After staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes, listening to your cat's complaints, you worked up the courage to get up. You unfortunately weren't smart enough to bring in a change of clothes from your room the night before and there was no way you'd be able to wear something of Wren's. She was about the same size as you, but the thought of wearing her clothes was too much right now. Staying in her room was hard enough as it was.

So you dragged yourself out of the room in pajamas. You had on one of your uncle's old shirts and a pair of shorts. The shirt was huge on you, but your uncle was a big man in life too. It hung off a shoulder and was low enough that it was hard to even see the hem of your shorts from certain angles. Whatever, you were covered.

You wandered out of the room and glanced at the other two bedroom doors. Both were closed and you could hear light snores from your room. Kid was still asleep for sure and Law was at least still keeping to himself.

Hobbes followed you into the living room but dashed off when you kicked one of the pots littering the floor. You didn't realize Kid didn't put them back after playing with them. A strained whine left you as you hobbled around for a second. They had only been here for a night and they were already becoming a pain in your ass.

You sighed and started picking up the pots and pans, taking them to the kitchen a couple at a time and then hooking them on the hanging rack above the island that they came from. After that, you got your furry orange friend set up with breakfast. The second you opened the can he appeared at your feet. He had a sixth sense for food.

You stared out the kitchen window and zoned out. It was still dark but there was the beginnings of morning light starting to break along the tops of the mountains. The trees at the edge of your "back yard" looked a little ominous but you liked wandering through them on a regular basis. There may be coyotes out there on occasion but they never really bothered you. A bit of yelling and waving around and they left you alone.

As it got lighter out, you shook yourself out of your trance and made a pot of coffee. You weren't sure if the guys would want any but you sure as hell did. When it was done, you made yourself a cup, grabbed your laptop, and headed outside. There was a covered swing on the porch that was perfect to sit on early in the morning.

You fell into it and curled one leg up onto the cushions, sipping your hot coffee as you got your computer going. You were currently taking college classes online and though you were given a break from your professors with Wren's passing, you didn't want to fall behind. So you got started on a paper that was due soon for a research class and pushed the swing with a foot. At some point, you put your coffee down on the porch beside the swing and focused completely on the paper. It wasn't a long one, but the amount of raw data and research that had to go into it made it feel at least twice as long.

Your fingers flew across the keys as you typed away. If you were quick, you could get it done before the two strange men in your house decided they needed you for something.

"Is that for writing?"

Or not.

You jumped when Law came out with a coffee mug in hand. He was wearing the same thing he had on last night.

"Among other things." You didn't look up as you continued to work on the paper but at a much slower pace. It was pretty far along but not nearly as far as you wanted it to be.

"What're you working on?"

"Let's be clear on one thing." You closed the laptop after saving your work and glared at Law. "I'm doing what I need to do so I can get you out of my house. We aren't friends, don't pretend to take interest in me or my life."

"I'm curious about your world, relax. There's a lot here that's similar to mine but the longer I'm here the more differences I'm finding between our two world's."

He dragged himself down to the porch and stretched his legs out in front of him. They were long and slim, just like he was. He was acting more calm and almost friendly today. All you could think was he was more at peace now that he thought you could help him. Problem was, you didn't know if you could. You sure didn't want to. But you couldn't say you weren't curious about where he came from, if he wasn't actually crazy and only imagining this whole other world scenario that is.

"So you don't have computers and phones....what do you do to communicate with people, letters?"

"Sometimes, but the preferred option is transponder snail."

"And what exactly is a transponder snail?"

"A type of snail people hook up a receiver to and they use to talk through." He shrugged, like it made all the sense in the world.

"So you're saying you guys use snails to talk to each other?"

"Yes."

"That sounds rediculous." You scoffed.

"Using a little box to talk to others sounds rediculous." He pulled your phone out of his pocket and waved it around. Both he and Kid decided you couldn't hold onto it in case you got the wild idea to call the police and cause problems for them. "Yet, it works."

A couple clucks drew your attention from the conversation as you watched a chicken strut into view.

"Fuck me." You groaned.

"When and where?" Kid came out, this time with a fur coat slung over his shoulders that you hadn't seen last night. He snickered at your temporary look of disgust. It was quickly replaced with a smirk.

"You said you guys would help me with housework, right?"

"Law did."

"You're a package deal so you agreed to this too." You pointed at the stray chicken. "she shouldn't be out of her coop which means something's busted."

"So?" Kid set his mouth into a deep frown, not liking where this was going.

"You're going to help me catch her and fix it up."

Law laughed at the, "are you kidding me?" look Kid gave you.

"Yeah laugh it up buddy, you're helping too."

The both fell to grumbling but that was it. They did agree to help you after all.

"Oh and fair warning, watch out for Behemoth."

----

The better mood you woke up with quickly evaporated while you and your strange visitors worked on fixing the pen for the chickens. Something had gotten a hold of the chicken wire surrounding the coop and tore it open. One of the hens was even missing. All that was left of her was a trail of reddish brown feathers leading to the woods.

The men didn't need much direction besides where your tools were which left you to muddle through your own thoughts. That was the last thing you wanted but it was unavoidable. You had to face the reality of what your life was at this point eventually. So it had you sulking as the hole in the pen was fixed and chickens were chased back in.

You'd warned them about the rooster, Behemoth, but they just thought you were joking until he came around and started raising hell. You'd never met a bird with a worse temper. He snuck up on Law and jumped him, latching onto the back of his shirt and pecking the back of his head. Kid wanted to kill him but you wouldn't let that happen. The rooster was mean but you needed him around for the hens.

Instead you caught him and tucked him under your arm. The bird protested plenty but you tossed him back in with the girls before he could even touch you. You'd had plenty of practice putting up with his attitude. Law wasn't so fortunate. He was left with some scratches and bruised spots from his feathered attacker. It seemed the tough guy couldn't handle one chicken.

By the time it was done, it was late in the morning and both the men were acting like they were starving. So while Law hid away in the bathroom to clean up his scratches, you got started on finding something to eat. There unfortunately wasn't much in the house. You'd done a terrible job of keeping the fridge stocked in the past few days and you soon realized you had nothing to work with.

"I'm going to have to go into town." You frowned and grabbed a pen and paper to write out a shopping list.

Kid was hovering, trying to find something to snack on but coming up empty handed as well.

"What the fuck happened to all your food?" He growled, kicking a chair out from under the kitchen table to sit in it.

"Haven't gotten any in a while."

"Why not?"

You didn't want pity from a stranger so you kept it vague. "Reasons."

Very vague.

He simply grumbled in response and watched you bend over the counter and scribble your list down intently. The intensity of it left you more than a little uncomfortable.

"So you figure out what you need and we go into town?" He asked.

"What's this oui shit Frenchie? You guys are staying here."

"No we're not." Kid snapped. "And what the hell does Frenchie mean?"

Of course he wouldn't know. He still thought he was from another world. Sure you admit his "abilities" were something unnatural, but that didn't mean he was from another world. He was just some crazy with psychic powers. That made more sense to you.

"Forget it." You shook your head and tossed the pen to the side, list now finished, and pocketed the paper. "And you can't go into town. This'll be a quick trip."

"You aren't going anywhere without one or both of us." Law came around the corner and glared at you. "We don't need you running off on us."

You couldn't argue that logic. Except you don't know why they couldn't pick someone else to help them and leave you alone.

"You could literally have anyone else help you guys. I'm not important." You argued anyway.

"We need a guide and you know about this world, or at least the surrounding area. If you're going into town, we are too. End of story."

So much for that. You weren't getting anywhere with this.

"Fine." You sighed and looked them over with a frown.

Law could pass as a little eccentric in how he dressed but Kid was going to do more than raise a couple eyebrows if he left the house as he was. People would think he had some sort of weird cosplay going on. And with the heavy prosthetic arm, you wouldn't be surprised if people stopped him on the street out of pure curiosity.

"We're going to have to do something about Kid's clothes first though. He can't leave like that."

"The fuck's wrong with how I'm dressed?" Kid motioned to his bare chest like it wasn't a problem.

"Everything. I don't know about where you're from but around here you gotta be fully dressed to go places. And your clothes are weird, you'll get people's attention dressed like that."

"What about Law?" He asked defensively.

"He's okay." You looked him over. "A little dirty, but that's not too abnormal around here."

"So he stays here?" Law asked. "I'm fine with that."

"No." Kid bared his teeth. "You'd take her and leave me behind in this stupid world."

"Relax. I think I may have something that could fit you."

"Something of yours?" He scoffed. "Funny joke sweetheart."

"Not mine." You rolled your eyes at him. "Give me a minute and we'll have you decent."