#shawn thread

"I told you that I'd beat you here today." The first time he had run into Koda in the woods had been by chance but after a few times, Shawn figured there really was no way to avoid each other. He was finding that apparently he wasn't the only one who felt connected to the outside which had been proven even further after the time he had spent talking to Annette. "I was half expecting for you to fly out of a tree somewhere," he joked, holding up the thermos of coffee he had in his hands. "You want a cup?"

As Shawn got used to his new surroundings, he had been intentional about exploring as much of it as possible. The more he did, the more he learned and the more questions he had. There seemed to be a lot of lore floating around, a lot of old tales that mostly served as warnings but for Shawn just fueled his curiosity more. There weren't many things he was afraid of at this point and he had always enjoyed the outdoors. Or at least he had learned how to enjoy them after so many travels and countless days of hitchhiking, camping and crossing through what was likely a ton of private properties. So when someone at the center had told him about the Hallowed Woods, he knew he had to go for a walk and check it out.

He had always preferred to be his own tour guide, sure that he could find his way back. But just as he was adjusting his bag and heading in, he caught sight of someone nearby. "Are you the guardian of the woods?" His smile was friendly, or at least he hoped it was. An old friend of his told him that he could probably look nicer at times but he couldn't exactly help how his face was. "I'm just fucking around, heard a lot about this place so thought I'd come take a look myself. You alright? Is hanging out at the edge of the woods something you do all of the time or I should I be getting help?"

Since being in town, Shawn felt like he had done well in avoiding the bars. It was hard though, even harder when the person he was sponsoring at the moment was hell bent on not sticking to the program. He had been there before, hell he was surprised they had even let him become a sponsor considering he was barely a year sober but they were in need of sponsors so he had stepped up. And boy was he regretting it now as he stood outside of the bar. There were already people stumbling out and the smell of alcohol was like a siren call. But he had a mission, to get the person he was sponsoring out of there and home safely. It was why they had called him from the bar after all.

Of course when he stepped inside he couldn't find the person he was looking for so he made his way towards the bar, trying not to inhale too deeply. "Hey man, you uh seen a guy who just used your phone? Short, like I don't know brown hair, brown eyes, God that's probably a lot of people." He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair as he looked around. "He called me saying he needed me to get him out of here but I can't find him. Sorry, I'll buy a cranberry and seltzer or I don't know, shirley temple, anything without alcohol."

Shawn had never been so curious about a place he had passed through before. Most places he only spent a couple of days and those he did linger in, he usually stayed in his motel room or stuck to the same few places. But Cardinal Hill felt like a place he wanted to explore. Mostly because he felt like something was up with this place. Either people were too nice or too secretive, just closed off enough to make it seem like all was right. But he had some time off and decided a walk would be good for him. Which is how he ended up at Bird's Garden, finding it hard to remember the last time he had been in a place that was so...pretty.

He hesitated before walking inside, standing awkwardly at the entrance as he looked around. Did he want to buy flowers? Who would he even buy flowers for? Did he even have the money? Those were all the immediate questions in his mind but he still stepped inside, trying to come off as friendly as the person there spotted him. "Hi, you wouldn't happen to have any sales, with you? Do flower shops do sales?"

Shawn knew Koda's schedule well enough now that he knew if he was quick he could catch her at the end of her shift for the day. It was weird to feel like he had started to know someone that well or at least cared to remember. But the more he opened up to himself, the more he realized that the list of people he cared about in Cardinal Hill was growing. And after the weird shit that had gone down at the carnival, he found himself feeling a kind of protectiveness over the people in his life he had never felt before. It was seriously ruining his vibe but he was pushing through it. Or trying to.

He pulled into the parking lot just as she was exiting the store and leaned over the center console to roll down the passenger side window. "Hey! You wanna get up to some bullshit with me?" His smile grew as she came more into view. "I talked this guy into selling me these pair of speakers and some records. Gotta go pick em up. Wanna make sure I don't get into some trouble? You seem like great backup. Scrappy," he joked.

"You know, I'm pretty sure librarian's are entitled to sick days." Shawn approached the desk with what he hoped was a friendly face. If there was one place he had been more than the community center or his apartment, it had been the library. Getting his library card had been the first thing he did when he got into town and it had meant bumping into Jackie every time he was there. He wouldn't say they were friends but he liked to think they were friendly. And Shawn had paid attention over the past few days, intent on not prying until now. "Here," he told her and first handed over one of the big ice packs he had taken from work and then a paper bag from the ceramic cup with a cup of their chicken soup and some bread on the side. "I don't know if soup helps with like..body pain but I figure if it makes your body warm, might as well, you know?" As he looked at everything on the counter he felt a little embarrassed but leaned into it. It felt like something Jinhwan would do for a friend and that made him feel better about it. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Do you ever take breaks from your run or do you go straight through?" Shawn had tried to call out to her when she seemed to slow down in her stride, not wanting to scare her. He had seen her before, during his early shifts at work, usually cleaning up after whatever late night programs had happened. But since he had interacted with her at the carnival he had been able to place her and felt more confident striking up conversation. "I just made coffee," he offered. "Or there's water. I also experimented making some banana bread last night and it was actually not terrible. I just brought like...the whole thing in with me for lunch. Wouldn't mind having some for breakfast though. Shit, I don't even know if you remember me but I hope so or else I'm really just a random dude offering you banana bread."

"Yours truly has some genuine money in his pocket so whatever you get is on me. But if you go double milkshakes again we might have to clear out the place from your farts," Shawn joked, feeling good as he sat across from his brother. It had only been four months since Shawn had arrived in Cardinal Hill and he felt like he was different already. Though he didn't know if he was just telling himself that so he didn't feel too bad about how much of the same he was. It really depended on the day. "Helped some rich lady park the other day and she gave me a fat tip. I think she might be my new favorite." He reached for his soda and glanced over the menu again. "I think I made some friends or well, a friend. Her name is Koda, loves to climb trees and works at the movie rental. I'm thinking of getting a part time there for some extra cash."