Jenny looked completely exhausted to Clemens as she ate, and practically as she was going to fall asleep in her chair. Even though his body itched as the outer layer of scales were now a size too small and was getting ready to be shed, he had some concern for Jenny. While shedding his scales could be uncomfortable, he had it far easier than a mundane snake as once that outer layer split away from a layer underneath he could easily pull that layer away. In that he could easily deal with the issue. Jenny's exhaustion, however, was not something that could be so easily fixed.
"Do you want me to get you anything more?" Clemens asked to her.
Jenny blinked for a moment gave a weak smile and shook her head.
"No," she said with a yawn, "I'm fine... really..."
Clemens noticed the yawn easily. She might not want anything, but it was clear to him that she needed either more time to rest and collect herself. That was the real problem that Clemens had with what the actions that put Jenny in the position she was in. Yes, there wasn't much proof that Jacob and Jason had done what they'd done deliberately, but that didn't fully mean that Jenny had provoked them in anyway that would force her to pick up their slack, and she was being exhausted by it.
"You don't look it," Clemens spoke in a concerned tone.
Jenny looked to him and sighed, "It's just the workload, dear..."
She then gave a sigh and poked at the food on her plate. She knew Clemens was concerned and she was very grateful for his concern, however, there was nothing that Clemens could do. Jenny knew that there was even less than she could do herself. And in fact things that she had discovered after beginning to take on the work that Jacob and Jason were supposed to be doing were the only things that gave her frustration.
"God... those two idiots!" Jenny finally spoke after a few moments.
Clemens blinked at the sudden outburst, but had a very good idea as to where it came from. He wished he could help, or that things would be better.
"It's bad enough they had to engage in their dumb games," Jenny spoke, showing a great deal of anger and frustration in her voice, "but they honestly had gotten themselves behind in the work they were supposed to be doing in order to play their games..."
"And now you're doing their work," Clemens gave a sigh.
Jenny gave a heavy nod, "It's like getting punished was their sole goal... they're real prank..."
Clemens carefully took a bite of his lamb and gave a heavy sigh as he looked to her.
"They wanted this to happen!" Jenny finished.
"We can't be sssure of that," Clemens warned her, "Which is the main problem in all of thisss. There is nothing that we could do to prove that they were doing anything deliberately..."
Jenny sighed and nodded. Clemens was very much right in that regard.
"You're right, of course," she admitted after a few moments, "but that's what's so frustrating in all this. They're men... GROWN MEN... acting like teenagers, and thanks to their childish actions, I have to pick up the slack they left to act like children."
Clemens nodded and understood. While Jason and Jacob did recieve some disciplinary action for what they had done, it seemed as though Jenny was being punished for being the victim just as much as they were being punished for being the bullies in the scenario. That had to be the most frustrating thing for her as it was forcing her to alter her own work habits and was clearly exhausting her, with the knowledge that she couldn't change a thing about her situation. The only viable solution that Clemens had would be something that Jenny might not like.
"Perhapsss you could change your plans," Clemens offered.
"Hmm?" Jenny looked up.
"Change your planss before the wedding," Clemens answered, "We could even change our honeymoon planss if need be."
"Huh? Why?" Jenny spoke.
Ignoring the itching, Clemens slowly reached out and rested his hand on Jenny's free hand and managed to touch it as softly as he could.
"Becaussse you're exxxxhaussted and frussstrated by all of thiss," Clemens said to her, "The bachelor and bachelorette partiess are but exxtras and we don't need them to get married... and we don't need to go anywhere after the wedding to be happy. And you'll be in better ssshape by doing sso. You'd get more time to resst."
Jenny was quiet for a moment, sighed and gave a weak smile, "Thank for the concern... you don't how much it helps... but I'll be fine."
"You're sure?" Clemens asked.
"Yes," Jenny nodded, "I don't like having to pull the extra work thanks to Jacob and Jason's games... and it does feel as though they got themselves disciplined deliberately... but I am making good progress. I'm tired, yes, but I've gotten a lot of it done. In fact, by the time we get to the weekend, I'll be able to cut back on some the extra time that I've had to take a little bit. Not too much, but a bit... and I should be ready to enjoy the wedding AND our honeymoon by the time we get to it."
"And this won't leave you to a point where you can't function?" Clemens asked, concern clearly evident in his eyes.
"Yes," Jenny assured him, "I don't like it... but I can do it. Just as commonly very busy whenever a big storm comes in... regardless of what the storm is. Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Clemens gave a nod.The zoo did have procedures in place for serious weather, including the possibility of a tornado after the recent rampages of twisters through Alabama and the deep south, but much of that work was so far only procedural and planning on what they would do. Clemens didn't feel it was quite on par with the workload that Jenny was having to take on at the moment, but neither did he really want to frustrate her any further.
"You're sure?" Clemens asked.
"Yes," Jenny answered, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Clemens nodded and the two resumed politely eating for a few moments.
"And you said you're starting to shed your skin?" Jenny asked, changing the subject.
"Yess..." Clemens answered, scratching at his shoulder, "I can feel it beginning to itch. I only hope the top layer will begin to peel off before the wedding. I don't want to have my picture taken with my eyesss looking glassssssy."
Jenny gave a nod. She had been there for at least one of the previous times Clemens had shed his skin. Like any reptile, as the old layer of scales began to peel away, they grew lighter and increasingly whitish in color, superseding the color that Clemens normally had, and this included his eyes. Now, Clemens hadn't lost his eyelids when he became a snake person, as snakes had no eyelids, but they had drastically changed. When his yes were open, it looked as though he had no eyelids, but Jenny had once gotten up in the middle of the night and had seen that Clemens did have eyelids. They seemed to fold up into the sort of bony ridge above his eyes. This made shedding the scales on his head a bit difficult, as the scale over his eyes went white and took on a glassy look as the outer layer grew loose and the scales on his eyelid grew irritating as they couldn't as easily be pulled free. Clemens had to be careful so not to poke his own eyes out when pulling the scales on his eyelid or his eyes as once his eyes took on that glassy coloration, his vision was impaired until those scales were removed.
"Hopefully," Jenny nodded, "as you will look quite good once you have shed your scales. Let me know if you need any help."
"I'll be fine," Clemens assured her, "You'll need your ressst."