It was six in the morning.
The battle had not taken long, but it had taken a lot out of Jack, as battles tended to do. Part of her hair was singed, there was a good amount of soot on her cheek, and dried blood caked her collarbone, her wrist, and her forearm. Her jacket was splattered with blood, grime, and dirt. Her hair was frizzy and large, while her eyes were dull and drawn downwards. The wrinkles she should not have developed until much later in life were pronounced by her exhaustion and the dark shade of night. In the easiest of terms, she looked a sight.
The battle had not been the end of her troubles. Yet another failed interaction with James Blood had been the last straw. The small handgun she had put on reserve had to be picked up. After she sorted out the werewolves, saw that everyone was getting home alright, and that the hideout of the wolves would be taken care of, she had made her ways into the Knockturn Alley of the muggle world, in a dingy street where men stood on corners to peddle what they could. She picked up her gun, checked its legitimacy, and hurried back home.
The door made a clicking noise when she entered the house. She turned and immediately locked it behind her, before carefully making her way across the kitchen, down the hall, and upstairs. She held her breath as she passed by Sunny's room, for the girl would be nigh on unwakeable if Jack woke her up two hours before what was necessary to get her to daycare. She made it past and finally reached her door, carefully opening it.
There was Max, in all his sleeping glory, hair mused, glasses by the bedside table. She closed the door as silently as she could before tiptoeing over to her dresser. She quickly changed into pajamas, throwing on pajama pants and a tank top, before pulling on the cardigan she donned when nights got cold, tossing her jacket on the ground, not realizing the butt of the gun was sticking out of the pocket. She glanced at Max and then crept into the bathroom, turning the light on and going for the sink. She turned it on and began attempting to wash away the blood and grime the best she could, hoping she could make it to bed before Max woke up and score an hour or two of sleep.
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