Who: Ehren & Caspian What: Invasive first impressions and book suggestions When: June 6, 2019, afternoon Where: The Library Rating: Fairly PG Status: Complete
The weather hadn’t gotten too warm yet but Ehren could feel the humidity sinking into his skin. One thing he had to learn, living so close to the ocean, was dealing the moisture. But that was part of the deal and there were worse things to deal with here than humidity. Right now, what he needed was a little bit of peace and quiet. It was his first day off in about six days and he was going to enjoy not doing much of anything today. As he approached the library a sense of calm washed over him and the air conditioning from the building felt cool on his balmy skin. Ehren generally found himself perusing the fiction section, admiring the greats like William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski but today his interest was in a book by Terence McKenna.
“Food of the Gods” was a book he’d passed by at the library many times and it explored humans utter desire to have an altered state of consciousness. He slipped the book out of the shelf and found a nice spot to sit and read. As he opened the book he found himself having a hard time following. All he could think about was about this particular vision he had. He wished more than anything that he could revisit it but things often didn’t happen they way he wished. He thought about Daryn and wondered if she was okay. He wanted to know everything about what happened but he was sure she probably didn’t want to talk about it. Finally he lifted his eyes from the book to try and clear his mind when he spotted a man across the room looking his direction. Startled by being discovered Ehren pushed his nose back into the book.
—
An eyebrow would arch.
The way the stranger burrowed into the crook of the selection plucked from sagging shelves was odd. Yet intriguing. Those bright blue eyes observed as he always did and then Caspian turned to move onward.
Hooking around a shelf he eyed the selections. Money here was still tight - Caitlyn wanted books and while Dorian seemed to have some quaint friendship with one who could afford to purchase books he was here to find something to satisfy an eager mind on a budget.
’And what is that you’re hiding behind, then?’ came the half-British, half-Irish lilt in the forefront of the stranger’s mind. ’Or is that how you respond to all of the gents who look at you?’
—
Ehren was immediately stunned by the voice inside his head. He looked back up at the stranger who’d moved over to the shelves and gulped down an invisible lump in his throat. It was never really easy for him to socialize and over the past few years Ehren found himself isolated because it just didn’t seem like he knew how to talk to people. Please tell me I’m not going crazy. he thought to himself, eyes scanning the room for any other possible culprit.
When he returned to the stranger, blue eyes staring back at him he realized he wasn’t alone in his thoughts. Didn’t want to be rude. was the first thing that came to mind along with a myriad of other things he thought might have sounded better, a comment on his eyes, some kind of awkward pick-up line he realized was probably going to be rejected and anxious defenses that would probably raise more questions than not.
—
’What if you were crazy? What then?’ The question was posed innocently enough. Caspian has moved out of the line of sight. A book was plucked from the shelf and stoic, icy blues kept watch on the man with the tome. ’Have you not yet met a telepath? Oh. My love, you’re in for a treat then.’
The book went back to the shelf in the spot from which he’d plucked it. Gently, mindful of the librarian. He was not a nice person but he could be a good one.
Grinning at himself as the strangers thoughts flooded his own - the obscure scatter of things - the blue eyed devil mused. ’I haven’t the faintest sense of rudeness. But then again the weather changes on a whim.’
’But it’s what else you had in mind that I find intriguing. Is your mind always such a flutter? Not a bad thing.’
—
Losing sight of the telepath, Ehren returned his gaze to the book in his hands. It seemed like he wasn’t going to get any reading done after all but no need to draw attention to himself. I’ve met a telepath, just wasn’t expecting to run into one at the library. he retorted, trying to keep his gaze on the book but finding the words wouldn’t stick to his brain.
I have a social phobia and panic disorder so yeah it gets a little crazy up there. he couldn’t even imagine how noisy it was when he went into a full on panic attack, he could hardly keep track of his thoughts himself.
So do you always invade people’s minds in public libraries or am I special?
—
’Where would you expect to run into one? The spa?’ it was said in jest, playful. Caspian paused again in the fantasy section, browsing for a bit. There was something he was after yet he couldn’t quite place it.
’Crazy is much like beauty, it’s in the eye of the beholder. What you feel is chaotic might just be the perfect storm. Who knows?’
And then Caspian smirked at the books at the question. ’I do as I please most of the time, but I’ll ask for your forgiveness for the invasion.’
—
A frown crossed Ehren’s face at that. Now he was being rude. It’s alright, I’m just not used to communicating this way. I guess I just.. his thought trailed off as he tried to search his brain for the best way to put it. I’m a little bit sensitive about people rooting around in my head. Does no one like a bit of mystery anymore?
Telepaths were dangerous, Ehren knew that and while he was able to keep some of his more rebellious thoughts at bay, there was no telling where this man’s personal alliances laid.
I’m Ehren by the way. In case you were wondering. Leave it to him to still regard his manners whilst being spoken to telepathically.
—
The books were abandoned.
There was little he tolerated. Being rude was not one of them. Caspian moved from the lined shelves and followed the trail of noise to the source. “And who am I to challenge that which makes you sensitive?” Caspian breathed, looking at the other man. “Mystery is not a bad thing, though the library is not the prime place to elicit conversation.”
He had only allegiance to himself and his family. Outside of this island he was dangerous and well known. Here he was just another pawn on the board to be toyed with.
“Ehren then,” Caspian nodded. “The pleasure is all mine. I am Caspian.”
—
A smile came to Ehren’s face and he extended his hand toward Caspian. “It’s nice to meet you Caspian.” He said softly, keeping his voice down so that he did not disturb the other library patrons.
The sudden shift from telepathy to conversation was odd but if he was going to be honest, he preferred speaking to thinking. Ehren often lived inside his thoughts and the sound helped to distract him from his own mind.
“Thank you.” He offered, “You didn’t have to do that.” Although he was happy that he did. Things like that were triggering for him and though he’d never be the one to complain to anyone about it, he still had to keep his mental health in check.
—
His own hand extended. Caspian shook politely as was custom and when the greeting was completed he pulled away unwilling to linger. “You as well.”
A moment would be taken to glance around in assessment - one guard lingered nearby but this one wasn’t equipped with destructive weapons - before his gaze went back to the other man.
“Ah, but we go through enough discomfort already. Why burden you with more unbidden?” A kind smile would be offered coupled with a shrug of his shoulders.
—
Ehren could tell something was unusual about this man, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. His air of confidence seemed to permeate from his pores. Again, his mind raced, shuffling through a list of questions there were merely on the tip of his tongue. He was sure he’d seen his face around before but this was genuinely the first time they’d met.
He closed the book in his hand, knowing full well his book might be better appreciated in the solace of his own home. “What sort of books are you looking for? I’ve read a lot of the books here so I might be able to make you a recommendation.” It seemed only fitting since the new acquaintance had been perusing the selection and yet came up empty handed.
—
“How kind of you,” Caspian replied.
His brow furrowed slightly as he considered the options, weighing what he was after. It wasn’t for himself so whatever selections or titles tumbled from his lips he could be truthful about. “They’re for my daughter, you see. She’s eight. My friend and she are avid consumers of fantasy novels - right now they’re in a period of revisiting the Harry Potter books. I haven’t the slightest about what those silly things contain outside of whatever Caitlyn and Dorian have been chattering about.”
Expression evening out he offered a small, playful grin, “Any recommendations for alternative options would be good, however.”
Dorian was relying on his friend Riley for browsing books but it couldn’t hurt to bring something borrowed home for him. The advantage of lending was that it could always be brought back should it not be appealing.
—
He thought about it for a moment and accessed his memory of some of the more unknown fantasy novels for children. “There’s a book series called ‘His Dark Materials’ that’s pretty good. The first book is called ‘The Golden Compass’ and I’ve read it at least two times.” Which definitely showed to this new acquaintance how lonely he was.
“The protagonist is a young girl and parallel universes so I’m sure your daughter will enjoy it.” He offered, running a hand through the auburn curls on his head. “Or perhaps any Roald Dahl is good for her age group.”
—
There was nothing off-putting about a person who consumed the written word as if it would nourish their body. Text was food for the soul, he could appreciate the context. True bibliophiles were a rare commodity, one which went under appreciated. He did not have the level of intellect in that capacity but then again that was never a priority.
“I shall do my best to find those if they have them here. Perhaps she would be interested.” Who knew. Maybe Dorian would like them, too.
Few were the tales of heroism that included strong women or young girls overcoming trials. Laura could appreciate the change of character. “Ah, yes, I’ve heard of him.”
—
A memory came to him from a time when his mother would read him to sleep. Her voice was always so expressive and her imitation of the characters speech always put a smile on his face. A soft smile crossed it now as he thought of it. “My mother used to read them to me when I was a kid. James and the Giant Peach was always my favorite.”
It probably had to do with the sense of adventure that he got whenever he read it. To him, that was all the freedom his own mind was ever going to give him. “Although, I always did wonder how they dealt with being inside of something so sticky.” A small chuckle escaped him at the idea.
—
Caspian watched Ehren immersed in thought - the way the others expression evened out, even brightening a bit, that soft smile. “Oh? That is quite a good tale. I forgot about it until just now. I should find that one for Caitlyn if this place has it. She would enjoy it.” A boy and his insect friends traveling in a peach.
The end of Cas’ nose wrinkled with amusement. “I don’t think I could handle that. Or the smell. After a while, you'd think the thing would rot, but then I suppose you’d never go hungry.”
—
Ehren chuckled at that, toying with the book in his hands. “I don’t know if I’d want to survive on just peach for that long but I guess if my survival depended on it, I wouldn’t have much of a choice.” He countered, though the whole concept was a little bit silly.
He looked directly into those blue eyes for a moment, alarmed by how striking they were and then back down at his hands. It reminded him of the blue of the eyes of the wights in ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. “Right. So, nice to meet you, Caspian. I really should get going.” He said as a nervous feeling settled over him. His social anxiety was showing and while the man seemed nice enough, he didn’t want to risk him rooting around in his thoughts. He stood from his chair, tucking the book beneath his arm.
—
That was a fair assessment. He supposed one would get tired of eating only the sticky sweet of a peach for so long. “Indeed. A worthy observation to consider.”
As their eyes met he could see the man before him crumbling a bit. An eyebrow would arch but Caspian made no attempt to touch upon it for the sake of the other man. The abrupt conclusion to their conversation earned a nod, “Enjoy the rest of your day, then, Ehren. Until next time then.”
Usually he had more manners when it came to reading someone’s thoughts - in a place where being overheard was an actual thing an ability to speak without speaking was like treasure - but here you could never be too careful. He did have restrictions. Those he cared about were spared any mental intrusion.
—
Ehren give a courteous nod and headed toward the checkout counter, sparing another look toward Caspian as he offered a smile. Social interactions were a bit overwhelming sometimes and maybe after a bit more therapy he could manage more than short conversation.
On his way home he thought about the stranger, the blue eyes and his telepathic abilities. Whilst he didn’t feel like he’d been in any danger, he supposed no one ever did when they were. He couldn’t risk anyone knowing about his abilities or her allegiances.