Adrien Keeps His Distance From The Cow, Eyeing It Warily.

Adrien waits for the little girl to leave. God he really hope he didn't scare her anymore than she might've already been.

His false smile drops and he looks back at the guy, staring up in shock as he answers the questions.

"What the fuck? Are you serious? Is that door gonna hold?"

He looks at the door. It does look solid, but this place just feels... off. Maybe those things have super strength and could blast the door off with a light tap?

with  the  door  locked, the  talisman  still  secured  on  the  wall,  and  bella  out  of  his  arms  to  roam  freely,  daehyun  could  finally  turn  to  inspect  the  newcomer  who  had  scrambled  in.  the  questions  weren't  anything  new--he  had  answered  them  a  hundred  times. taking  in  a  deep  breath,  he  moved  to  the  other,  offering  a  hand  out.  "  those  things  want  to--do  some  really  awful  stuff,  so  it's  best  you're  not  outside  right  now--or  at  night.  "  it  was  as  gentle  as  he  could  be  in the moment ,  as  his  adrenaline  was  still  racing.  and  when  bella  seemed  to  make  herself  known  once  more,  daehyun's  attention  quickly  turned  to  the  girl.  "  hey  princess  ,  head  upstairs  and  see  if  grandpa's  awake,  okay?  "  there  was  no  objection  from  the  toddler,  who  scurried  to  the  stairs  and  ventured  up  at  her  father's  instructions.  now,  with  tender  ears  upstairs,  daehyun  felt  he  could  finally  speak  freely.  "  we're  all  stuck  here.  don't  know  why--don't  know  how.  and  those  things  outside?  they've  killed  a  lot  of  us.  "

Adrien laughs. "I doubt I could if you can't, but I'll still take a look. You more of a big machinery person?"

Adrien grunts as he tries to rachet a bolt loose.

"It's alright, I guess. It's not exactly what I thought when I first heard the options, but it's not bad."

He finally gets it loose.

"It's not so much the space as it is the... I don't know, vibes? It's just not always my favorite. There's cool people there, but we're not always in the mood to hang out with each other. At least they're not sometimes."

He shrugs.

Ellington leaned back slightly on their stool, their lips curling into a smile as they caught Adrien’s enthusiasm about the watch. “Still got it,” they said, nodding toward a nearby workbench. “Haven’t cracked the mystery yet, though. It’s a tough one. Maybe you can fix it?”

They took a moment to let Adrien’s words about calling this place home sink in, their gaze softening. “That’s good to hear. Feeling at home here, even just a little, is no small thing.”

After a beat, El shifted gears. “Speaking of, how’s it been at Colony House for you? I know it’s got its charms, but it can get... crowded over there. Everyone finding their space okay?” Their tone was curious but gentle, a genuine question wrapped in the easygoing demeanor they always wore. “If you ever need a break from it, you know where to find me.”

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Lucas pulls his hand back with an eyebrow still raised.

"Ana isn't the only one going through shit," he says matter-of-factly. "But she knows her limits."

He leaves the "Do you?" unsaid.

He gets caught up in his own personal dramas and emotions, too. He's in no real position to judge or make assertions, but he's also more stubborn than most of the people he works with or even is friends with. So, making these judgments and assertions usually leads to people recognizing when he's right.

"oh, i don't mean lie to her or keep shit from her, she'd kill both of us if you did that. i just mean, like, come to santi or me first, see if we can find a solution before making her deal with more shit." she was sure anastasia would probably hate it if she knew cameron was doing this, but after everything she said the other night, she wasn't sure how much more ana could take. "no, no it's fine, i can handle it, don't worry lucas," she said as she put a hand on top of the folders.

Lucas shuts the book so Cherry can't read his notes.

"Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts then? It would've been between 10:30–11."

Honestly, Lucas does have bigger fish to fry, but it's his job to help everyone feel safe. If someone is burglarizing other people, that will just make a bad situation worse.

He's not sure if Cherry is the actual culprit. She just has the most priors involving theft, and they did accuse her, so he has to be thorough.

CHERRY SIGHS AS SHE LEANS A HIP AGAINST THE DOORFRAME . her expression scrunches with it . " i mean, yeah, you prolly definitely got bigger fish to fry than me ." charlie would imagine so at least but what the hell does she know about being a cop ? all she's sure about is that someone will probably try to rope her into helping in some way today, and as reluctant as she usually was she knew she'd probably give in for at least a little bit . after all, they all got royally fucked by the storm . so when lucas shoots her an unimpressed look her expression only twists . " who the fuck said that ?" she moves as if to peer at his notebook . " i was workin' yesterday morning !"

Lucas keeps holding her, knowing that once she's ready, she'll break the embrace.

He tries to think what to say that can help her. No flowery bullshit. Ana isn't like that.

"When my dad first got diagnosed, I refused to go to the hospital to visit him. I just couldn't handle it. There wasn't anything I could do to help. And it got worse when he got it again. The chemo just took this man I looked up to and whittled him down to a stranger."

He looks at the wall, running a hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture.

"There was a few months where I barely visited him at home even. Just felt pointless. I was scared that seeing him like that would ruin all the good memories I had of him."

More tears drop.

"But finally I went, and I realized that not going hurt me more than going ever would've."

He kisses the top of her head.

"I keep going because otherwise it is all pointless. Even if we never find a way out, we're still alive, and giving up means everything is pointless."

Anastasia tenses briefly in Lucas’s embrace—old reflexes, a habit of keeping people at arm's length. But then, something inside her lets go. Her shoulders sag as if she’s been carrying too much for far too long, and she leans into the hug, not for comfort exactly, but because standing upright suddenly feels too exhausting.

"I tried to hold the line, Luke," she murmurs, her voice brittle. "But it’s slipping through my hands. Every day, I wake up hoping today will feel different. That I’ll care, or find a reason to try... but mostly, I just feel numb. Like I’m already a ghost."

She stays still, not moving to pull away from him, but not clinging, either. Just resting, as if being in the same space with someone who understands makes things a little lighter, if only for a moment.

"How do you do it?" she asks, her voice quiet, almost desperate. "How do you keep going when it all feels... pointless?"

Rafa via Instagram Stories (August 5, 2024)

"El's really cool. They're teaching me shit I didn't even know about out there."

Adrien turns his focus back to his project, though he keeps up with the conversation easily.

"Just something, Muz or Mara found. Figured I'd see if I could make it work before we stripped it for parts."

He looks up. "Anything I can help with? This is just fun stuff I can do any time."

He places the pieces on the bandana he'd found and wraps them up.

"that's good, there are some cool people here, and you picked one of the better jobs. i'm sure el has you working hard," she says with a smile. "you seem to be taking things pretty well." she liked how adrien always seemed so positive about things. it was refreshing in a place like this. they needed more people like that. "i'm okay, got a long list of things i need to work on around here but wanted to check in with you. i know it can be a lot these first few weeks." cam looks down at the walkie talkie he was messing with. "what'cha doing with that? haven't seen one of those in awhile."

Lucas rubs his eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Muz. For your information, no. How about you?"

He nods to Muz's matching bags under his eyes. Then he sips his coffee.

open, town square

Muz squints up at the washed-out sky, the sun barely breaking through a layer of gray clouds, casting a pale light over the town square. The place looks almost normal in the daytime, like the night hadn’t clawed at it. He watches a few people drift while he leans against a bench, idly tracing a crack in the wood with his thumb, his gaze darting on occasion, wary glances.

A face crosses his line of sight, and Muz straightens, raising a hand in a lazy wave. ‘Hey,’ he calls out, his voice cutting through the quiet. ‘Get any sleep last night?’ He nods to the shadows under their eyes, a half-smile tugging at his mouth.

Lucas nods, then stops the tape recorder.

"That was good," he says gently, patting the arm of her chair instead of her actual arm. "Thank you, really, Elm. I appreciate it."

He stands and cleans up his stuff.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asks, now out of sheriff mode and in community mode. "Bring your meals to you? Give you escorts anywhere?"

ELM SHAKES THEIR HEAD THEN . " no ." there's a beat before they shift in their seat and shrug . the lace is wrapped tight around their finger again . " that's all i remember. when i woke up the tree was gone and i was laying in the forest ." their brows twitch together a bit . " it took me a while to get back ."