Infatuation by Proxy

By this time, I had become acquainted with almost everybody. However, I still liked to accompany Dawn, as she was by now, a long-standing friend. Plus, tagging along with her, ensured a constant flow of productive tasks to occupy myself with. Though I was no longer uncomfortable, I wasn't the kind to be actively slinging my assistance without visible cause.

Case in point, when what started out as a passing greeting turned into a full-blown quest line. Dawn and Morning-Sun Hunter had exchanged pleasantries while passing by, when I found myself running into Dawn's arm, a clear indicator to stop. Looking to Dawn for an explanation of why she had face-checked me, I observed her attention was squarely on Morning-Sun Hunter.

"What's wrong?" Dawn followed up her greeting to Morning-Sun Hunter with this inquiry, which caused me to reexamine the person in question. Was something wrong? I wasn't picking up on any indication.

"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong, it's just..." She turned her body away in a clear sign of discomfort. I guess Dawn was right—how did she know?

Well, Dawn wasted no time in rushing to her side. "Come on, I'll make us some lunch and you can tell us about it." It was apparent that Dawn knew how to put people at ease as Morning-Sun Hunter readily accepted the invitation and made their way back to her den. "What are you doing Indigo? Come on!" Dawn commanded me to follow.

Morning-Sun Hunter was one of the few people that I had become acquainted with outside of Dawn; she was part of the hunting party that River and I encountered when we brought down the ****. Dawn was proud of me when she discovered I had made her acquaintance on my own, but then chagrined when she learned how. Being that a higher authority—a group of adults—had been the ones to address our flouting of the rules, Dawn had no room to expound on this, luckily.

"So, what is the problem, Morning-Sun Hunter?" Dawn casually started preparing lunch as she initiated the conversation.

"It's not really a problem..." She was sitting at a table with an elbow resting on the surface and her head resting on her hand as she scratched the hair on the side of her head. Dawn patiently nodded in encouragement as she cut up some in-season vegetables. "...Have you seen the Elder's new apprentice?"

"Huh? The Elder has taken on an apprentice?" Dawn stopped what she was doing and glanced over at Morning-Sun Hunter, as this seemed to be news to her—it would have been news to me as well, if not for the Harvesters alluding to him previously. "Who is it?"

"It's a... sojourner." She was fidgeting as she squirmed in her seat. Something was clearly making her uncomfortable. Naturally, I tried to analyze the situation. What about this new apprentice that had Morning-Sun Hunter in a tizzy?

However, judging by Dawn's slow head turn to face her, it seemed she had figured it out. "Wait..." I started to feel a sensation coming from Dawn. It was hesitant, almost cautious. "This sojourner..." Dawn stopped what she was doing and was now slowly approaching Morning-Sun Hunter. There was a look in her eyes, a hopeful look that I don't recall ever seeing before. Morning-Sun Hunter was reeling back as she approached. That cautious feeling was now growing more bold. "...Are you...smitten with him?" It was there, ready to burst, it was just waiting for her to hit the button.

"...Yes." That word was the trigger that initiated the chain reaction that caused the thermonuclear explosion of emotion from Dawn. Unable to properly shield myself within several feet of lead, my DNA was utterly destroyed and now it was only a matter of time before I died a horrible death of romance poisoning.

But in all seriousness, Dawn was absolutely beaming. It was apparent that she absolutely ate this stuff up. It's a good thing that romance novels weren’t a thing here; she would be an otaku for sure.

Dawn was all over Morning-Sun Hunter now. She had at some point grasped both of her hands and was bouncing up and down, asking questions so rapidly that they were incomprehensible. Morning-Sun Hunter was completely overwhelmed. I had to step in. "Dawn." I grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face me. This caused her to pause her interrogation for a second. I took a deep breath, signaling her to do the same, and then exhaled. She followed my cues, after which, she reigned herself in.

"Hehe, sorry... I got a little carried away," Dawn abashedly apologized.

"I-It's alright." Morning-Sun Hunter regained her footing.

"But tell me! Tell me!" She was back to bouncing. "Who is he? What do you like about him? Where..."

"Ackhem."

"...Sorry."

"Well let me see..." Morning-Sun Hunter looked up as she collected her thoughts and tried to pick something out of her ear. Dawn, unable to contain her excitement, occupied herself by quickly finishing lunch and bringing it over.

"Well, he is a sojourner. He just arrived within the last couple of moons."

"Has it already been that long? Strange we haven't run into him..."

"Quiet Indigo! Don't Interrupt!" I shrank back.

"I'm not sure where he is from, I think he is from a distant tribe." Dawn was nodding vigorously with both hands propping up her head.

"Go on, what do you like about him?"

I got the sense that she was blushing. "Well, he has a unique style, he is very dashing, and the way he moves... And he has an eloquent way of communicating!" So he is well-dressed, well-spoken, and refined? Well, that puts him way above most of the people here. This place was the equivalent of a backwater outpost in my estimation.

She grabbed one of the vegetables Dawn had cut up, flicked it into the air, and caught it with the tip of her tongue before pulling it into her mouth—impressive. "His name is Mesa." Now that's a solid name.

"Wait... Just Mesa? Not Mesa Elder?" This question occurred to me.

"Well, he is still an apprentice."

"Oh, that makes sense, but how old is he then?" Morning-Sun Hunter wasn't old by any stretch, but she was of the age where she should definitely be an adult.

"He is around my age..." She looked at me. Was this a strange question?

"But isn't that old to still be doing an apprenticeship?" I asked. Dawn was giving me a look that indicated that I needed to stop derailing the conversation and shut up.

"Oh, I guess you might not know. Elders are different, their apprenticeships last much longer and usually start later. After all, it takes someone special to be an Elder." That makes sense. But then again, if the current Elder is any indicator, they needed to be truly special indeed.

"Must be tough being a 'not child' for so long." I rub my chin in thought.

"Not really, though they are still technically 'not children' Elder apprentices are basically treated as adults at a certain point." Convenient.

"Ackhem!" It was Dawn's turn to intervene. Seeing that she had our attention, "So what is the problem? Are you too nervous to talk to him?" That seemed plausible to one such as myself.

Morning-Sun Hunter took up a glass of water and chugged the whole thing, before setting the mug down hard and letting out a reverberating belch—superb. Then, taking a deep breath in and exhaling, "It's not that. I've talked to him several times, but it's hard when you are a Hunter; you are away half the time, so it limits your opportunities." Was that the issue? Sure, being gone 50 percent of the time will limit you, but you are not that limited. I would think it was more than enough for courtship. The real issue is that this guy is clearly a "big fish." He has style, he's well-spoken and charming, and he is in line to be the next Elder. Honestly, he sounds too good for anyone here, though if he is a sojourner, I think, by necessity, he will need to find a mate, but that still leaves him with his pick of the lot.

Dawn was letting her emotions gush out, making no effort to conceal them. She deeply sympathized with Morning-Sun Hunter's plight. "But you can't give up! Have you tried to let him know how you feel?"

"Sure, I invite him to hang out with the Hunters after we have returned."

"Of course, you cannot just have one-on-one time until you are better acquainted." Dawn had adopted the thinking man pose. "Did he accept?"

"No, he said he was busy, but wished us a good time."

"Okay," I interjected. "How did you go about inviting him?"

"You know, the usual way." The usual way? She clearly didn't know that she was talking to a social invalid.

"Elaborate."

"Well..." At my prompting, she recalled the event. "It is pretty usual for the Elder to meet with the returning hunting party, to make sure everything is okay; Mesa has taken to filling this role." She started playing with her tail. "This is how I first met him... I was immediately taken by his charm." I could feel Dawn becoming radioactive again; it was making me uncomfortable.

"Anyways, It also provided the perfect opportunity! We hunters usually kick back after a hunt and help ourselves to some of the fresh meat. So I invited him to join us."

"Were the other Hunters okay with that?" It seemed to me that you wouldn't want others to crash your party.

She tilted her head. "Why wouldn't they be?"

I guess I was wrong. "Well, how did you actually give the invitation?"

"Well, how else!" She threw up a hand. I looked on expectantly. "With a hearty slap on the back and asked if he would like to join us for the fresh spoils while we picked the fleas, burrs, and other debris off each other."

...She said WHAT!? I think I see the problem here.

"Well, have you tried asking him again?" Dawn was at the edge of her seat.

"I've tried several times, but he always says he is busy." Her head drooped in resignation. It looked like Morning-Sun Hunter could take a hint. Dawn, however…

"That Jerk!" Dawn shouted with disproportionate force. "Can't he feel your affection? He should make time!" Poor Dawn, in some ways she was a very typical girl, and still quite naive.

I was sure he was aware of her interest in him, guys like him tend to be pretty sharp about these things. However, Giga-Chads like that have options, of which, I suppose, Morning-Sun Hunter was technically one, much in the same way that a club salad is technically an option at a steakhouse. Yeah, it’s there, but whether it's included to fill menu space or to claim that they have healthy options, who can say? What is clear, however, is that nobody is ordering it.

Well, perhaps that is a little harsh. Physically speaking, she was fine as far as I could tell—I still wasn't sure what made someone attractive. She had a yellow hue with short chopped hair that was orangish red, much like her namesake, Morning-Sun. I don't know if short hair would be held against her, all the hunters were like that, I think because it got in the way on hunts. Also, hair length wasn't associated with gender here—although hairstyle could be. No, the real problem was that she didn't have much in the way of female charm.

This wasn't uncommon with female hunters, who were already in the minority and tended to be a bit gruff. I guess you had to be for that kind of work, River certainly fit the mold, though she was more subtle. That's probably why the profession didn't attract too many of the fairer sex, who typically preferred harvesting if they were the wandering type.

All that said, he was clearly out of her league. To act otherwise was simply an exercise in futility.

Collapsing down to the table and pulling her hair in frustration, "How can I get him to return my interest?" Though it had seemed that she was resigned to her fate a moment ago, it appears as though this conversation had revived her spirits. Sigh, Dawn... You can't go around giving people false hope like that.

I, however, was ready to go. This was becoming too much for me. "Well, good luck with that." It wasn't my place to say it was a lost cause. I got up to go. At that same moment, Dawn's ear perked up suddenly, as her attention shifted to me.

"Don't worry, Indigo can help!" Dawn exclaimed as if she had just figured out the answer to a riddle that had stumped her for several days.

"Like Hell I can!!" I shouted, almost as a reflex. "And you can't just go and offer up my services like that, especially when ‘matchmaker’ is far from one of them!"

That doused the flame of her impassioned outburst, but this train was still chugging along. "But I've seen you do all kinds of amazing things... This seems pretty ordinary." Her ears had drooped, but she hadn't given up, as evident by the pleading stare. But I wasn't having it. I was usually more than willing to entertain a request... if I could, but I would be more confident in my ability to split the atom than to facilitate any kind of romance, especially when the game was set to nightmare difficulty. (Warning: this setting has not been tested and may not be beatable)

However, despite my reaffirming silence, Dawn regained some of her steam. "I doubted you last time, and you proved me wrong. Well, I will doubt no longer! I'm going to BELIEVE!"

"...What?" When did I get elevated to wizard statues?

"You always find a way, and I know you will this time too!"

"That is NOT true, and I certainly cannot help with this!" I couldn't make it any clearer than that.

"But I know you can! You Must!" At some point, she had gotten up into my face. "This is for LOVE!!"

As you can imagine, with such a powerful force of spirit, I was reeling backward, almost stumbling. "I... cannot... No..." I tried to resist, but the telepathic transmissibility of emotion had turned on me, and was now a powerful antagonist. I did my best to hold firm against the typhoon of pleading emotions, but then she lifted her mask. I swear upon all that is holy, that by some supernatural force, her eyes had somehow quadrupled in size. The sad puppy dog look could not be withstood. The storm surge of tear-filled eyes came in and washed out the foundation of my resistance, with the undercurrent of guilt pulling it out to sea where it was never to be seen again.

"F-Fine! But you will see! There is nothing I can do!" I limited my communication to Dawn, as I didn't want to offend Morning-Sun Hunter.

Now having returned to her previous exuberant self, Dawn relayed the news, "he says he is on the case!" Morning-Sun Hunter looked at her sideways. It would seem that Dawn had directed all that emotion exclusively at me. I felt like I had been manipulated.

"I don't mean to be rude... but he is only a child. I don't think he can help." Morning-Sun Hunter came out and stated the obvious.

"Indigo is a 'not child'! See the mask?" Dawn gestured to the mask I was wearing, to which Morning-Sun Hunter motioned her seceding of the point. "And Indigo is a genius! Just the other day, he managed to get rid of an infestation of 'bed bugs!'"

"...Bed Bugs?"

"And... He's the God of Clear Skies Chosen!" This again? I thought we were done with this when I left the Kite's Klub (TM Pending). For her part, Morning-Sun Hunter just stared; I could only imagine she was raising an eyebrow at this absurd claim. "Just listen to what he has to say. You will see!"

She shrugged with a sigh, "Alright, let's hear it." She leaned up against the nearest wall, arms crossed.

Well, I guess I have to say something now... How do I keep finding myself in these situations? I looked up at Morning-Sun Hunter; she was waiting for a response. Should I be completely forward with her? I guess she can't really take it out on me if she is offended, as long as I am polite in my delivery.

"Well... The way I see it, you have no chance." Whatever she expected me to say, it wasn't that, as evidenced by her sliding off the wall and nearly falling to the ground. "I don't mean to offend, but if even half of what you say is true, then he is completely out of your league." She just stared, while Dawn's mouth was agape.

"Indigo, you are supposed to be helping! What are you doing!?" Dawn was digging her nails into the table.

"Well, are there any other women after him?" Regaining her composer, Morning-Sun Hunter looked up in thought.

"I don't think so," she finally said after reflecting. I found that hard to believe.

I crossed my arms and looked down. "Regardless, the issue is that you just aren't feminine." At this remark, a pang of shock came from Morning-Sun Hunter. Uh-uh, I shouldn't have just come out and said it like that.

"INDIGO!!" Dawn was furious. "How could you say such a thing!?" Even Dawn felt somehow insulted by my remark.

"It's the truth though..." I Whispered to Dawn as I shrank into a hole in the ground.

"You were supposed to help her, but all you did was insult her dignity as a woman!" She Whispered back.

"Well, what would you have me do?"

"I don't know... you're the genius."

Well, I needed to make some kind of suggestion to pacify Dawn. "Well, I guess I could gather more information about this Mesa." She nodded.

"Don't worry Morning-Sun Hunter! Ignore what Indigo just said. We got this! We just need to investigate." And with that, she dragged me out of the den having clearly injected herself into this. Morning-Sun Hunter just watched us leave, in the same way one might as if a clown had just stepped out of a cupboard and sauntered out the door.

Well, it goes without saying that Dawn was already fully invested in this. To fail Morning-Sun Hunter was to let Dawn down as well, and judging by her behavior, I was pretty sure she would take failure harder than Morning-Sun Hunter. I knew it was impossible, but I didn't want to cause Dawn suffering, so I at least owed it to her to make a sincere effort. Maybe that would be some consolation.