Pax, Journey Home

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and animal death.

The day is hot, and to help Peter cool off, Jade gives him two hair clips to clip his sleeves up, even though her hair is now hanging in her face. Samuel comes up to Peter afterward and comments on the hair clips. He says that kindness is Jade’s “secret weapon” because you don’t see it coming. Peter feels instantly guilty for not thanking Jade. He carves two hair pins for her, and Jade is grateful for the gift.

The group sees a bog turtle, an endangered species they need to check on by drawing a blood specimen. Peter gets to work making a net, which they use to catch and release the bog turtle.

Afterward, when the group is discussing how trees communicate with each other, Peter brings up Vola’s name. He tells them that she’s the woman he’s living with currently and lets his guard down long enough to tell Jade and Samuel that his parents are dead. He starts to shake while telling the story of his father’s recent death and tries to ignore the horrified looks on their faces.