[color=tan][i]It's Haven, Harps
Do you have service there?
Call me if you can
[/i][/color]
[sub][color=gray]- Delivered 9:02am[/color][/sub]

[indent][indent][color=tan][i]Rora, it’s Haven
We're ok. Found a place to stay that looks peaceful
How's Crestwood? Have you heard from the others?
Send Lor's number for Rory[/i][/color]
[sub][color=gray]- Delivered 9:08am[/color][/sub][/indent][/indent]
[color=tan][hr][/color]
[center][url=https://open.spotify.com/track/0WSPIU3Y3bNXsGeKnzSnt1?si=E1T-pB3KR5eFH8MNb_Qh_g][img]https://i.imgur.com/ndfIoDS.jpeg[/img][/url][/center]
[COLOR=tan][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Small Town[/I] - [I]Canada[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b] Human: #5.041 [/B][COLOR=SILVER][I]A Place to Nest[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Rory [@Webboysurf][/I][/COLOR][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [COLOR=SILVER][I]Scary Love[/I][/COLOR][/right][/SUP][/INDENT][/COLOR]

[indent][color=gray]The sound of rock and detritus crunched under the tires of an old Ford as it slowly made its way through the forest. Bright hues of yellow stood out where aspens stood tall and proud. Sprinkled between them sat dark green pines that were just now beginning to drop their brown needles. It was a four minute drive from the edges of town to reach their destination, and conversation was sparse between the occupants within.

Haven sat passenger side with her head tilted just out of the open window, her green and golds soaking in the land that surrounded them. Rory next to her, nearly squished between herself and the driver on the truck’s bench seat. She’d been quiet the entire ride. Uncomfortable where she sat with her back against the seat like any normal person would. Her mind had become strangely quiet the moment they traded pavement for gravel.

The man driving owned the land they drove through. He was a tall, gangly sort that dressed in flannel, jeans, and steel toed boots, and went by his last name, Miller. His skin was weathered and wrinkled with time, hands calloused from years of hard work, but he still had a quiet liveliness to him that kept him active. He wasn’t kind, or rude, but straightforward and honest. The kind of man that didn’t ask questions, and didn’t want any questions sent his way in turn. Still, he seemed to have a sense about him that would let him know when he was being fibbed to.

His and Rory’s conversation was simple. Mostly just Rory nodding along with whatever Miller decided to impart upon them. Facts about the land. The places they could find a creek running through the property, favorite spots where Miller had shot doe, bucks, rabbits, and even a moose. Tips about how it gets there in the winter, which would be upon them within a month. How they’d have enough wood to last it in the shed out back as long as they kept the fire going steady, but next year they’d need to chop the wood in the summer to replace it.

If they were still there by next winter.

	[color=white]“This property has been in my family for generations. Lots of memories in the place. It was my huntin’ cabin for a while, before my eyes went bad.”[/color] He’d told them yesterday when he showed them the quaint cabin. [color=white]“It has good bones, and the water heater’s got a couple more good years on it. Just needs a good clean through and it’ll make a good home for a young couple like yourselves.”[/color]

The couple had felt their cheeks blush at that statement. They’d been honest when they met him, without giving away the full story of course. They were a young couple looking for a fresh start. Somewhere peaceful, where they could heal from an accident that left Rory in his wheelchair. No mention of a school for gifted people, no trials or mad scientists that left them weary souls, and no monster that broke both of their bodies.

No wings. No powers. No hypegene whatsoever.

Just two people looking to start a new life together.

They’d found Miller’s ad in a local newspaper. It was sitting right on the table they’d taken a seat at, settled in a cozy corner of a small diner where they chose to have brunch the day before. They were meant to eat, stretch their legs and arms, and take the next bus headed east by lunchtime. They’d stayed in the small town’s motel the night before.

After an hour of filling their bellies, sipping on coffee and OJ throughout, and discussing what it would mean to settle down so soon, their decision to look into it was made. They gave the man a call and met him that afternoon.

As the pair laid in bed later that evening, Rory massaging the tenderness out of her aching back, they considered their options. It was both troubling and a relief to settle down so soon. How far from Dundas Island was far enough? Was it wiser to go closer to The Foundation, or stay somewhere in between both?

They’d been traveling for days. Long hours were spent cramped on a bus with no wheelchair accessibility. Haven had to ask for help each time; no normal woman could carry a man like Rory onto the bus herself. They’d heard enough about the hype-hate spreading across Canada to keep their wits about them. If they decided to move on it would be more grumbling bus drivers that had to help load them on, and more money spent on tickets and motel rooms.

Would it be smarter to stay in a city? Where they could get lost in the crowds, where there might be more sympathy for hyperhumans. Then again, it would be harder to hide Haven’s peculiarity. They weren’t sure they could afford a place that would allow them privacy. Haven would have to keep her back covered at all times. She’d already started to wrap the nubs down like she’d done years ago, and the pain of it was all too familiar.

So they decided to take a chance on the small town.

It hadn’t felt like a happy decision. The kind where the young couple is filled with excitement about their first place together. Haven and Rory didn’t have that kind of luxury. It didn’t feel like they were making a wrong choice, either. In the end they agreed that it was a safe decision to make. Well, about as safe as it could be for the couple. Haven hadn’t felt safe in her skin since she’d been kidnapped, and Rory seemed to feel the same way for her. The only thing he had to worry about himself was that he’d been on H.E.L.P.’s watchlist. Which, considering H.E.L.P. was on a lifeline at this point, didn’t seem like much to worry about.

Choosing the cabin would mean a solid roof above their heads. A place to unpack their things and settle into. The solitude of it, being out of the town limits, would be a place for them to truly be themselves in a world that despised hypes. A place where Haven could show the feathering nubs on her back without peering eyes. A place where they continue to kindle their love, through the good and the bad feelings that came with the pains of what they went through.  It was a chance to heal their bodies and souls together. A place that they could call home.

It wouldn’t be the first time Haven had lived in a cabin in the woods, anyways. Driving through the forest now, it felt like she was returning to how her life had been before PRCU. A homecoming. As if this was the life meant for her all along. The quiet of the forest around them seemed to settle in her bones already.

As the truck rolled to a stop, Haven looked over the cabin. It was simple in appearance, built of dark wooded logs. The front was adorned by two windows, their trims painted a dark green that matched the paint of the door at the center of the structure. Two windows provided more natural light inside on each side of the house. The back wall only had a window for the bathroom.

A covered porch extended five feet from the front door with a single log railing surrounding it supported by four banisters. Three stairs sat at the center of the porch to take you right towards the door. On the right side there sat two wood chairs, and on the left there was a bench made of the same tree. The entire structure seemed to have been handmade many years ago.

A chimney, made out of the same stone used for the foundation, poked out of the slanted roof above the left side of the door. Its chimney cap had also been painted the same dark green to match the accents, and black stains licked the sides of it where the smoke had filtered through it. It provided heat for the inside, which was simply one large room with a bathroom walled off in the corner.

It had character, it had history, and Haven was beginning to feel like it would become a true home for them in no time at all.

A warm feeling bloomed in her chest as she opened the passenger side door and set her boots onto the gravel. Her soft smile that grew with it aimed inside the truck at Rory, before she turned to get his wheelchair out of the bed of the truck. He’d scooted to the edge of the seat by the time she returned. She nearly called for Miller to help, but he was already stubbornly easing himself from the seat before she could. So Haven feigned a breathy grunt as she helped him into the chair, and shook her head as she turned back to the bed.

Miller was already there to help grab their bags, which Haven gratefully took from him as he handed them to her. Her eyes turned back to the forest while she made her way to the porch. The wilderness was already calling to her. She could hear it in the wind as it rustled the leaves, and in the branches as they creaked back and forth. The chilly caress of the wind against her skin, and the fresh air in her lungs, already made her feel at ease. She wanted to take a long walk among the trees, explore the property, maybe find that creek Miller mentioned, and immerse herself in the forest. She wanted to get lost in the yellows and greens and browns.

[indent][color=tan][i]I bet it looks beautiful from above.[/i][/color][/indent]
Her attention was brought back to the present as she reached the porch. She set their bags down on the top step. Her lucky Jansport looked like it had been there its entire life. She turned to stand next to Rory where he’d stopped his wheelchair. He was already handing the cash for their first month's rent over. Haven looked at the small stack and couldn’t help but feel a small pang of guilt. Her money had run out the first day. Rory’s money, on the other hand, had continued to provide for their journey. He was using the money left to him by his parents. He had no trouble using it for them, and Haven was grateful for it, but she still couldn’t sit back for long. She’d already been looking for help wanted signs as they drove through town today.

Miller offered the keys to the cabin and shed on one metal keyloop in exchange for the cash, and the two men shook hands to seal the agreement. The cabin was theirs, for now, and for a pretty good deal too. Haven offered a grateful smile towards the older man, who gave her a brief smile in return before adjusting the worn ballcap on his head.

	[color=white]“Well, I’ll let you two settle in. Call if you got any questions. I’ll stay out of your business otherwise.”[/color] He’d already turned for his truck where he’d left it running. He reached the door to give them and the place one last look over before climbing inside. Soon he was turning around in the driveway, and the sound of tires crunching on gravel disappeared down the road along with him.

Haven patiently waited until even her ears could hardly hear it, and then turned to Rory with a smile on her face. Wordlessly she held her hand out for the keys, which were placed in her hand with a similar smile from her partner. She grinned then, and grabbed their bags as she took the few steps to get onto the porch. The floorboards creaked under her boots as she crossed it. She inspected the keys as she stood in front of the door, trying to remember which went to the cabin and which went to the shed, before she stuck one in and heard the clicks of it sliding into perfect place.

It swung open wide as she turned the knob and pushed, revealing the sparsely furnished interior. Light filtered into the room from the windows. A thin layer of dust rested on the floor and furniture, and she could see the places they’d unsettled it as they looked inside the day before. A small kitchen sat to the left of the room. It had a window above the sink that looked out into the open forest. A cabinet sat under the sink, connected to the cabinet under an open countertop that sat between the sink and a stovetop oven, which was placed next to an equally old fridge nestled into the corner. Shelves lined the wall between the window and fridge, already full of plates, cups, and bowls. The cabin had a backdoor in the kitchen area as well, covered by a portico that looked exactly like the front porch. Walking out of it would point them in the direction of a small shed nestled between the trees behind the cabin.

A four person wood table sat between the kitchen and the living area, which also sat in front of the stone fireplace. The living area to the right had the bathroom tucked into the back left corner. The living area itself was really just a log bed and a single rocking chair, which sat beside the door. To Haven, it was all they really needed to live happily.

She set their bags down in front of the rocking chair. The door beside her still hung wide open. Her mind was already focused on the task of getting Rory onto the porch as she turned round, but it quieted in subtle shock the moment she faced him.

There he stood on the top of the steps with one hand on the banister. Tall, dark, and handsome. With a little strain in the way he flexed his jaw and furrowed his brows. It wasn't the first time he stood since the dance, but to have walked up three steps to get there without her help was an incredible feat for him. Her heart swelled within her chest as she looked him over, and she smiled wide as he finally looked her way.

She swiftly crossed the porch to plant a kiss on his lips. Her hands steadied him by the shoulders so that he wouldn't topple backwards. It was passionate, but quick. Enough to let him know how she felt without words. She wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it alone.

When she pulled away, she stepped to his right and slid herself under his arm to support his weight for him. Her left arm wrapped around his torso to hold him upright as he let go of the banister. She could already see his legs beginning to shake, but she held firm as she looked up at him from under the crook of his arm. Her pride shined in her eyes as she spoke softly.

[color=tan]“Let’s walk inside together.”[/color] 
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