Stickvin Week 2023! I'm on time, technically! Woo!

So yeah, welcome to the final week of my ship month for The Henry Stickmin Collection, this time featuring everyone's favorite protagonist and pilot duo, Henry Stickmin and Charles Calvin. Same routine as usual, Day 1's prompt is: First Meet! Some people like to imagine that Henry and Charles knew each other before the events of Infiltrating the Airship, but I'm a simple person, sometimes. First time meeting on a helicopter! Come get some food! I'll see you at the bottom of the page!


Now, Charles was never one to say no to a chance to fly a private mission; or any chance to fly, for that matter. Not to toot his own horn, but he was good at flying, and had earned a number of praises for his expertise with helicopters, despite his relatively short tenure as a pilot for the government. So, of course, he'd eagerly agreed when Captain Galeforce asked him to pilot a private mission, though he hadn't put too much thought into what the mission was about until they were already up in the air. He probably should have realized something was up when some random unconscious civilian was dragged on board and tossed into the back.

The civilian's name, according to both the captain and the accompanying cadet, Rupert Price, was Henry Stickmin, and he wasn't just some civilian. He was a thief, a criminal, and supposedly, incredibly dangerous and self serving. Those last two points had come from Price's mouth, and the captain hadn't really disagreed. So. There was that.

After learning Henry's name, Charles had been given his instructions for the mission: help Henry infiltrate the Toppat Clan's airship, and find evidence that could be used to arrest the clan's chief, which would hopefully disperse the group of thieves forever. An ambitious mission, Charles had thought, and while he rarely questioned the captain's thought process, he had to admit that this plan wasn't the greatest one he'd come up with. Price was much more willing to question it for him.

"This is a terrible plan!" Price exclaimed. "That criminal is going to ruin this as soon as he gets on the airship, or he'll try to steal the helicopter when we aren't looking, or-"

"At ease, Price," the captain said. "This could be the big break we've been looking for with the Toppats. If this plan works-"

"If," Price emphasized. "If your plan works."

The captain sighed shortly. "If the plan works, then the Toppats will be finished before they know which way is up."

"And if the plan fails?"

"It won't come to that," the captain insisted. "Clearing his name is too good a deal for him to pass up. There's nothing I can think of that would make him not take this deal."

Price harrumphed. "I can think of at least five."

"I'm not putting all of my eggs in this basket, Price. If something goes wrong, I've got a number of reinforcements to back up a full assault on the ship. But it won't come to that. This'll work."

Charles grinned at Price over his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, Price, I won't let Stickmin steal this helicopter," he said cheerfully. "He'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands first."

Price blinked at him. "...Thanks, Calvin," he said after a moment.

"No problem!"

"Now, Price," the captain said, "follow me to the back for a minute, will you? I want to go over some protocols with you real quick."

Price sighed, "Yes, sir," before following the captain further into the back.

Charles watched them go in the rearview mirror over his head, and once they were out of sight, he flicked some switches on the control panel, setting the helicopter to auto pilot while he slipped into the main cargo bay.

Henry Stickmin was sprawled on top of some old crates that Charles hadn't cleaned out from his last mission. His cheek was pressed into the wood, and drool was dribbling down his chin and forming a puddle. Charles huffed a laugh, then leaned forward to examine him more closely.

For an infamous and incredibly dangerous thief, Charles was surprised at just how… normal he looked. There wasn't anything about him that made him particularly unique, as if he were born to be a background character in someone's life story. His fingers were fairly long, Charles supposed, which was probably good for pickpocketing or whatever it was he did. Both the captain and Price had said that Henry had managed to steal the Tunisian Diamond from a few weeks ago. He wasn't sure how that was possible, since he was pretty sure the diamond was bigger than both of their heads combined, and this man looked shrimpy enough to blow away in the wind, but who knew?

Charles moved his eyes up and down Henry's body. Price said that he didn't talk much, and if he was in fact strong enough to carry the Tunisian Diamond… well. Charles had always had a thing for strong, silent types. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud, of course.

There was a bump of turbulence, big enough to make Henry's head bounce against the box, knocking him awake. Charles startled back, then hurried back to the cockpit and flicked off the auto pilot.

Just in time, since the captain walked back into the cargo bay and saw Henry was up. "Looks like you finally woke up," he said as a way of greeting the man.

Charles watched as Henry was filled in on his mission. Henry listened silently, though Charles couldn't help but notice that the man's eyes flicked towards him frequently. Charles pressed his lips into a firm line, hoping that he looked cool and professional and not like his heart was racing a thousand miles a minute.

It was because he was startled, he told himself, and not because Henry's eyes had an intensity to them that sent shivers down his back. Henry was probably just staring at him because he'd been staring at him first. Which… sounded really creepy when he put it like that. Hoo, boy.

"Captain, I've got a visual on the airship," he announced. Sure enough, the giant, gaudy red airship was well within their sights, and Charles maneuvered the helicopter so that they stayed in the blindspots. Honestly, with blindspots that big, the Toppats were just asking to get infiltrated.

He looked back at Henry, who was standing at the open door of the helicopter, that same intense look roving over the airship. "So, uh…" he said. Henry's eyes flicked to him again, and Charles coughed. "...Where do you want me to drop you?"


I wouldn't call this love at first sight so much as attraction at first sight. Charles can appreciate Henry in the way anyone can appreciate an attractive stranger that happens to catch you staring at them while they sleep. ...Okay, I need to stop making it sound creepy.

I don't really have a head canon for what Henry or Charles look like, but I imagine that Henry had long fingers, because I read somewhere that it's a good trait for thieves to have. I also like the idea that Charles has sensitive ears, hence why he wears his headphones all the time.

Guest staring Rupert Price and Hubert Galeforce, pre-promotion! Rupert is not happy about this, and depending on Henry's choices, he'll either get more not happy or less not happy. Generally, Rupert isn't a very happy person to begin with, not since the events of Escaping the Prison.

Galeforce claims he can't think of anything that would make Henry give up getting pardoned. Apparently, becoming the chief of the entire Toppat clan or a big ol' ruby were not in his realm of imagination.

Anyway, that's it for day 1! Tune in tomorrow (hopefully) for day 2! Leave a review and tell me what you thought, and I'll see you all later. Until then!