An Outdoorsman's Guide To The Calls Of Common Thieves

A fear of love

28/05/2024-01/06/2024

SHE'S COOL - deepend.

S: "Pike looks kind of worried, don't you think?"

We're in the bar, just passing through to go upstairs so we can practise our number for the Spring Festival. But Pike is sitting at the bar looking a little ... down.

A: "For sure. He must have so much stress from all this."
Z: "I'm sure he appreciates our help, right?"
R: "I'm sure he needs as much as he can get."
Z: "I think we should check on him. He looks ... out of it."
S: "Yeah, maybe we should."

A: "Hey, Pike."
P: "Oh hey Alex." He responds, as cheerfully as he can. "What are you guys up to?"
S: "We were just going to practise something for the festival. Are you excited?"
P: "It's not for some time, is it?"
R: "Isn't it two weeks away?"
He doesn't say anything.
Z: "Uhh...how's the investigation coming along?"
P: "It's alright, you kids are certainly doing a lot to help."
Z: "Of course! We're glad to."
P: "Just don't get yourselves mixed up in things too much. We don't want you getting hurt."
A: "We'll try not to. Don't worry."
R: "See you around, Pike."
P: "Alright, you take care now."

While setting up our instruments, we talk about the window-breakers.
R: "Do you think they'll be out tonight?"
S: "Probably. It's either today or tomorrow."
A: "What if after practice we split into pairs and try to catch them before they strike?"
Z: "That could work. And if not it will deter them for sure."
A: "Steph will go with Ryan, and me and Z will go together. Then we can each take different sides of the town."
S: "It's a plan."
Alex and Steph share a look that makes me worry a little.
A: "Z? You ready?"
Z: "Yeah, yeah I'm ready. Let's rock and roll." I say, with a mock electric guitar strum.
The three of them give me questionable glances. That's embarrassing.
"I don't know why I said that."
Ryan chuckles a little before disguising it as a cough.

After practising and packing our instruments away, we split off into our pairs.

UV - daysormay

Alex and I start on our patrol, and she strikes up a conversation that seems a little intentional.
"So, about Ryan..."
"What about him?" I can already feel my cheeks radiating red.
"You never got to tell me why you were scared."
"Scared of what? Being in love?" She nods. "I'm not..."
I trail off, forgetting that she can read my mind whenever she wants. But somehow, I can tell when she's using her powers. And she isn't.

Alex, the super-empath. More like Alex, the girl with super-self-restraint. She doesn't pry when she doesn't need to, and that's what makes her a good friend more than the fact that she's understanding of what you're thinking. She finds her way to gain your respect, and because of that, you end up wanting to tell her what you're thinking anyways.

"I am scared, because I've never been in love. I struggled, a lot, with controlling my emotions when I was younger, so being in love is like a whole other story, you know? It seems terrifying to not be able to control what you say, or how you act around someone you're trying to impress..."
She smiles in understanding. "Yeah, I get you."
I chuckle. She's not at all judgemental. I don't think she ever could be. "I'm sure you would more than anyone."
"We're alike in that sense."
"Yeah."

"I'm serious, you know." She starts, interrupting the comfortable silence that had fallen over us.
"About what?"
"That he's in love with you. That boy's got it bad. He's just shy, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, he seems the kind of guy to struggle to express himself."
"That's an accurate observation."
"I'm a therapist, I know my way around people too."
"You must have studied a lot of people."
"I mean, it's not just a job for me. I see this kind of stuff everywhere. It's easier to understand when you look at daily life, when you see the examples in front of you."
"So what have you picked up from Haven so far?"
"Random things ... for example I know Mac has caused trouble before, right? I remember him from the night Ben came, he started arguing about why he shouldn't be here. Thinking back to that... he's a little on the short side compared to some of the people who live here, and comparing his figure to the miners who have had a very physical workload, he's probably a little insecure. Another thing about Mac is that because he's insecure and he's caused trouble in the past, there's a bit of a power imbalance between him and everyone else, so he most likely struggles to be heard in an argument. I'm probably just rambling now... ahaha..." I trail off, a little embarrassed, but Alex seems intrigued.
"Impressive!"
"Thank you."
"You know, I beat him up accidentally on my first day here."
"No way!"
"Hell yeah. I mean it was kind of his fault, his rage was really strong..."

We talk about Mac, and then the conversation shifted to Gabe, Alex's brother, the guy he was mad at at the time.

"... and then I punched Gabe too..."
"Geez, Mac must've been fuming! All this over an assumption."
"Gabe and Ryan were best friends."
"Ryan did tell me some pretty cool stories about him. He sounds so fun."
"He was. I didn't know him for long. We were separated by the system, you know, for a long time. When I came here, he was still like the brother I knew. Just ... different. I don't really know how to explain it. I think he would've liked you."
"You think?"
"For sure. He would've shipped you two together."
"Haha, I would've loved to see that."
"Me too."

Fold - Jon Vinyl

I start to wonder what Gabe would've thought about me. Would he have even approved? Am I even good enough for a guy like Ryan? What if I'm not actually as tame as I am now when he actually gets to know me? What if I scare him away?

Alex speaks up, interrupting my thought process. "Don't be worried. Go for it."
"For what, Ryan?"
"Yeah! You won't scare him away, he's brave. Trust me, I've seen it first hand. And, again, he really really likes you."
"Aww."
Ryan has nothing to be scared of. He said it himself, I'm just adorable old-
"He called you 'adorable'?? Ahh! That's so cuteee!"

"This is a totally random question, but uh ... does he sleep well?"
"What?"
"Ryan. Do you know if he does?"
"I honestly don't know. He seems like he sleeps well. He's not cranky or anything, he doesn't have eye bags or bloodshot eyes... I would say he does."
"Hmm."
"Why, do you think he doesn't?"
"Well I don't know. You know the first time he... the first time he slept at my house? Oh gosh-"
"Don't say that! It's so cute."
"If you say so. Anyways, he slept in like a lot. Maybe he just sleeps for a long time?"
"Maybe."

"You haven't told me much about you and Steph."
"There's not much to say."
"There's always something to say. Come on, tell me your story."
"Alright. So, we met at the record store, on my first day in Haven. She was working in the booth and ..."

She goes on to tell me about her relationship with Steph. The ups and downs, the LARPs, and their overall love language. She speaks about Steph with such a smile that I can almost see a yellow aura around her. Too bad I'm not a super-empath too.

"... and she and I went as the lead singers of Riddance and Gain - you know, that band with the really big story now? Love their music though."
"I have to side with Zanan at this point, because Horris' side is not making sense anymore."
"Totally, Horris needs to get his story straight, Zanan is taking his excuses and just ripping them apart."
"Right? But they were super in love during Halloween, hence the costum-"
"Oh hey there guys."

We run into Ryan and Steph again after looping around the town.
Z: "Hey! Find anything? Or rather anyone?"
R: "Nada."
S: "I guess we'll have to see again next time."
Steph has a giant grin on her face. I'm worried about why she's grinning.
A: "Well we're going home. Goodnight."
R + Z: "Night!"

"Wanna walk home together?"
"Sure."