Cool, great, so they can't do anything about the creepy person - father? - encased in crystal that's causing Varian so much distress. That's fantastic. If Finn was here he'd come up with some other plan that would work, and that thought makes him grit his teeth.

Of course, that also causes a brief memory to flicker across Fern's mind as he watches Varian struggle to breathe. The situations aren't the exact same, but this reminds him of months ago, when Sweet P. was racing through the swamp, crying and hysterical, and struggling to breathe just like Varian. Finn had calmed the kid down with librarian style, and maybe that would help here? But this is a total stranger not a friend, and it might be weird. It might make things worse.

"I don't know if this is a nightmare, dude," he says helplessly. Fern gives the amber another glance, then makes a frustrated noise.

Flippin' heck, he's going to regret this. Suddenly moving, Fern leans over to grab Varian and yank him into a hug. For whatever reason his arms don't do the stretchy vine thing to make the process easier, but that isn't something he's going to worry about right now. "Ugh, librarian styles better work! I'm not good at this!"