Colin feels that spike of fear. Now that he's down to wearing only a shirt that stops halfway down his thighs, he tries not to overreact to Detlef's emotions and instead steps into the water. It's cold and marvelous in the heat, and gets quite deep a short way in. He lets himself sink in, escaping gravity, floating in peace.

Being by the river and being in the river is the difference between hearing a thing and cupping your ear to hear it. He listens to Detlef's emotions like a song or a story. Relaxed and thoughtful, he speaks slowly.

"It's...familiar. Something you love, something you're good at. Your refuge. From...something. Danger. Someone who hurts and takes away. Fear and resentment. Somehow, it's closely linked with the love. It shouldn't be. Rejection and despair, wanting to be close to someone. Like you did something wrong, but all you did was reach out. Now, you...feel like you were being stupid about something. Reckless. This is definitely a lot stronger than it usually is, Detlef."