Lucas Relaxes Once He Sees It's Marama. He Walks To Stand Beside Her, Tilting His Head Up To Join Her

RAFAEL SILVA as CARLOS REYES 9-1-1: LONE STAR (2020-)

"That's awesome. Glad to hear my new boss is also a good person."

He snickers. Then his head snaps up.

"Really? I'm there too! We totally need to hang out or something after dark."

"yeah, i guess when everything is so scares and random, gotta make use of everything," charlie said with a shrug as she looked around the shop. she was still trying to take everything in around here, it was interesting how everyone did their part and it all seemed to work, at least for the most part. "that sounds like them," she said with a smile. "they kinda saved me on my first night here and let me crash in their house." that night was still a blur but she was glad it was el that let them in. "you can say that again, this place is fucking crazy. still trying to wrap my head around it all." she's not sure if she ever will. "i'm up at colony house, what about you?"

"I'll drink to that," he says, raising his glass to tap Cherry's, then sips some water.

"So I hope I'm not making bad assumptions right now," he says sheepishly, "but you give off the vibe that you know. What's the hook up scene here like? Mostly straight? There any gay or bi guys around here?"

Not that he's desperate for sex but since he's embracing himself more here, it's only fitting he check if he can.

" YOU'RE WELCOME ." cherry replies with a nod, although she truly wasn't expecting to be thanked . that said, she won't say no to it, beaming broad and warm at adrien's compliment . " oh, stop ." cherry replies as she gives him a playful shove to the shoulder . nonetheless she does flick her hair over her shoulder to lightly say, " i know . m'gonna age fuckin' great too ." she shrugs before moving to take another sip of her drink with a simple, " if we don't get fuckin' eaten in this place at least we're both gonna be hot in our old age ."

Lucas actually looks up to who he's talking to. He vaguely recognizes the face as someone semi-new. Seeing a child helps. Larry? Lauren?

Lucas stands. "Sorry. We just encourage people not to get too close to the woods. Sheriff Lucas Miranda."

He steps forward, offering his hand.

He glances over and smiles toward the kid playing.

Reaching out toward a plant, Lainn delicately brushed the tips of his fingers on his outstretched left hand against the stem, before moving it to glide along the leaves. Frowning a bit, he remembered what his classes told him about the type of tree in front of him. Before he plucks a leaf right off and moves to stand in on the quick succession of moves.

Glancing over, he could see his son, playing and brought the leaf up to his nose, sniffing it before absently twisting it between his fingers and turning to move away a bit, spotting someone a moment or so later. He quirked an eyebrow at the other's assumption that he was looking to hunt, taking note of it, he gave a nod of his head.

Lainn turned his head, keeping Tali in his view, who remained close to him still before saying, “Well, I don't really hunt.” Holding his hands out, he gives a lazy shrug at this, before continuing to toy with the leaf in his hands and going on, “Do you?” Lainn inquired before turning his head back away from the stranger, listening to Tali come closer as he explained the type of plant he was now holding. Lainn gave a nod of his head, commenting gently toward his son, “That's correct. It's a pretty cool find, Tali.”

As Tali grinned at Lainn's words, before he moved a little ways away once more, to look at more of the plants in the immediate area. Lainn looked toward the stranger again, then around the wooded area before them, “It's pretty, this place. This type of biome is great for all kinds of discovery. There's probably loads of strange bugs here.” Lainn commented offhandedly. He had always found swampland and the like to be almost mystical.

Task 002

Lucas lives in a residential house, one of the few that want to be alone.

Well, he doesn't want to be alone, but he is. Even after 7 years, his house doesn't feel anything like him. It's furnished as all residential houses are: simple, clean, all the necessities but no personality or charm. While it's not empty, it feels lonely. Like there isn't enough life moving inside it to make it feel like a home.

There are little touches of him: books left on tables, dishes in the sink, plants that he's trying to keep alive. But overall, it seems like one of the empty houses on the street, ready for some new unfortunate soul to move in.

The places he's more clearly left an imprint are the sheriff's offices and the homes of his friends. He's more interested in making the town his home rather than his house. Because then maybe he might not feel so alone.

Adrien hears the voice, though not the words. He stops and straightens up, squinting at the person.

"What? No, not a death wish. Just impatient and dumb."

He smiles and starts pushing as well.

"Yeah, I've seen you around. Sorry, I have introduced myself yet. Been busy with some projects. And with your help, this should be a breeze."

They carefully make their way down the street.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything," he grunts as they push. "I appreciate the help but don't want to be annoying."

mira squinted against the midday sun as she ambled down the street, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. the oppressive quiet of this town was something she still couldn’t get used to, the eerie kind that made the sound of her boots on cracked asphalt seem too loud. she kicked at a small rock, watching it skid ahead, when the groan of effort caught her attention. up ahead, a guy — shirt sleeveless, face strained, clearly regretting his life choices — was trying to push a car. alone, at that. the sight almost made her laugh, but there was something about the sheer stubbornness in his posture that struck a chord. she recognized him, vaguely. one of the colony house faces she’d seen in passing. she considered walking by, minding her own business. but who was she kidding? mira wasn’t wired that way. even in this hellhole of a town, she couldn’t resist stepping in where she wasn’t needed. “hey!” she called out, picking up her pace. “you planning on pushing that thing all the way to the chop shop, or are you just working on your biceps for the apocalypse?” stopping a few feet away, she tilted her head, sizing him up with a smirk. “let me guess. nobody wanted to play mechanic’s assistant today, so you decided to be a one-man pit crew?” she rolled her shoulders, stepping closer. “looks like you’ve got a death wish or, i don’t know, something to prove.” without waiting for an invitation, she moved to the back of the car and placed her hands on the trunk, glancing over at him. “well? don’t just stand there. i’m not doing all the work.” she shot him a wry grin, her tone teasing but warm. “i’m mira, by the way. colony house, same as you. figured i’d introduce myself now, just in case you collapse halfway and i have to try carrying you back.”

Lucas rubs his face, wiping away tears that aren't even distinguishable from the rain still dripping off him.

"We don't know it'll clear, Jim. We don't know anything. We're all just flying by the seat of our pants."

He takes a deep breath. He knows on some level that James is right. but it doesn't make it any easier to handle a new situation like this.

"You're right," he says, trying to convince himself. "Like always."

where : town hall when : the storm open starter ( 0 / 3 )

⟣ ─ ˑ 〃 ۫ ▶ ❛ . . . listen — ❜ hand rests lightly on the other person ' s shoulder . an attempt to cam them down . truth be told : he is admittedly , not the best at comforting others . especially now , when he has no words . no explanations . he has been in this town for nearly twelve years , and not once has he seen what has transpired in the last couple of days . the storm , those . . . things out during the day . something is wrong . the rules are changing and something is turning . he does not know how to prepare for it . no one to ask . most everyone who came before him is gone . ❛ . . . the storm will clear out , it ' ll be okay . ❜ it is as much for himself as for the person he ' s attempting to bring some comfort to . ❛ it ' ll be fine --- we ' ll check for any damage come the morning and go from there . . . ❜

Lucas gives them a small smile.

"Neither do I. And I'd bet my stetson Stassi and Cam won't either. But it's still something to consider."

He cleans up the desk then looks back at them.

"Want me to walk you home?"

ELM CONSIDERS LUCAS FOR A LONG MOMENT THEN . their dark eyes bore into him until they're simply uttering an even, " ... i don't think that's a good idea ."

Adrien Ritchie

| Tanner Buchanan & he/him | Welcome to the crossroads, ADRIEN RITCHIE. Another lost soul that stumbled across a fallen tree in their path. They appear to be 22 years old, but it’s hard to tell. The town bares no resemblance to KANAB, UT, are you sure we can trust them? Seeing as they ended up here because, HE GOT LOST ON A CAMPING/HIKING TRIP. They definitely weren’t looking to end up here. Now they’ll have to rely on being UPBEAT AND HELPFUL to survive. Hopefully their AIRHEAD TENDANCIES doesn’t get in the way of that. I guess if we’re going to pass the time tonight, might as well request MEET ME IN AMSTERDAM by RINI. Oh, and one more thing, your new role here will be LEVEL 1 MECHANIC. We’ll be sending out welcoming party over to the COLONY HOUSE. Welcome to Oblitus, the only thing you have to remember, when the sun sets– don’t open the door. (caye, 27, he/him, PST) – no triggers

- how did they find the tree that led them here? what were they doing?

Adrien had been on a camping trip with his aunt, uncle, and cousins, something he really didn't like doing. He'd fallen behind a lot so he didn't see anyone he was with.

He came on the tree and was confused because he'd been on this trail a dozen times before and never came across this. Even a cursory glance showed him that this tree had been like that for years.

Then he saw the murder of crows and tried to get away following a different trail.

- describe your character’s first day/night in town? 

At first, Adrien was just relieved to be among people. Maybe they would shelter him until he could get in contact with his uncle. But then the people explain where he is and a strange mix of fear and excitement settles over him. It's not that he hated living with his uncle and cousins. He just felt there wasn't room for him.

He was led to the Township Hall. Everyone seemed caring and Adrien was eager to stay safe. A place he could step away from family and still lead a simple life? Sounds more like paradise than purgatory.

He gets set up in the colony house and offers to do mechanical work since that's one set of skills he'd thank his family for.

He spent the rest of the day meeting as many people as he could and went to bed, maybe not happily, but better than he had in a long time. He slept through the night, unaware of the danger that lurked outside which (who knows?) might be even more dangerous.

Basic Information

NAME: Adrien Ritchie

BIRTHDAY: July 23

AGE: 22

HOMETOWN: Kanab, Utah

BIRTHPLACE: Boise, Idaho

ORIENTATION: gay

Appearance

HEIGHT: 5' 10"

EYES: Brown

HAIR: Brunette

BUILD: average muscular

RACE/ETHNICITY: white

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: calloused hands, random scars from farm work

Personality & Behavior

HOBBIES: Party dancing (not very good at it), mechanics and engineering, soccer

LIKES: pop, classical, and country music, classic trucks

DISLIKES: metal music, rude people, camping

QUIRKS: likes to learn how machines work, will hum various parts of songs not always the melody, stares into space and dissociates if not actively conversing or working

STRENGTHS: mechanical work, making friends, cleaning room

WEAKNESSES: taking criticism (constructive or otherwise), reading a room, watching movies

Biography

(cw: parental death)

Adrien was born in Boise, ID and is an only child. When he was 10 his parents died in an accident and he was sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and 3 cousins in Kanab, UT. While they took him in with love, there was never a real strong connection between him and them. He did his chores in the house and on the farm, went to school, participated in family gatherings. He was a happy child and on the surface, it seemed like everything was great, and while he made many friends, he rarely made significant relationships, scared that they'll be taken away without warning just like his parents.

The one meaningful connecting he made with his uncle is honing his mechanical skills. Adrien's dad had started teaching him having noticed he liked taking things apart to figure them out. His uncle helped him continue to learn those skills. His uncle though was never good with talking so that connection could only go so far.

Scared to lose the tenuous relationships he had, after he graduated, he stayed there, continuing his life. He didn't do a lot of things for himself except in his room: listening to music, taking apart broken machines to see if he could fix them. He'd go out with friends if they were in town and invited him but his social life wasn't full or fulfilling.

The camping trip that brought him to Oblitus was an unwanted family activity, but he did it because the alternative was hurt his relationship with said family. They did the same hike and camping trip every year so Adrien was very familiar with the trail and wasn't scared when he fell behind. He'd don't that before and his family wouldn't worry.

But then he came upon the fallen and was pulled out of his wandering thoughts and put on edge. This was wrong.

After he settles in town he finds that many people's stories of how they came to Oblitus are similar to his: the tree, the crows, the trail.

For the first time in his life, he feels like he might have a chance to make genuine strong connections. If he does his part and help everyone around him, he can lessen the chance of ever losing the people around him. Right?