Task 002

"Trust me, Cher. There are much better things I'd rather do this morning."

They're still working on recovering from the storm. The only reason any of the sheriff's or deputies have gotten sleep is because the alternative is sleeping in their offices at night, and they all agree that that's almost as bad as facing one of the creatures in the middle of the night.

Lucas pulls out his note pad.

"Says here you stole some bottles from Lally's yesterday morning right before the town meeting."

He looks up and gives her an unimpressed expression.

STATUS : closed for @patroclusblossom ! LOCATION : the motel !

CHERRY BLINKS AT THE SIGHT OF HIM . once and then twice before her face scrunches in honest confusion . " the fuck did i do ?" cherry would say that the question was understandable all things considered . after all, she only ever really saw lucas for one reason and one reason only . but even know as cherry wracks her brain she can't imagine what he'd be bringing her in for . she tries to think back, trying to consider what she's done in the past few days that she might be getting caught out for now . she's coming up empty, but frankly, it's been a long couple of days . she can't be expected to remember all the shit she does . she's not a fuckin' computer . " i didn't do shit, luke ." a bewildered twist of her expression . " and haven't you got better things to do than hover over me ? aren't we in a crisis or whatever ?"

Lucas watches them for a quiet moment then nods.

"Okay, makes sense. Do you remember anything right before? Or right after? Where you were, what you were doing, any notable things in your surroundings?"

He tries to be slow and patient, but Elm is the first person he's gotten to interview that got taken and came back alive.

"IF THEY WANTED ME TO REMEMBER THEN I WOULD ." there's no hesitation in elm's answer . they toy with their laces . " just like if they wanted to kill me then they would have ." they glance up at him before shrugging, " ... but they don't want me to remember so i don't . and they didn't want to kill me so they didn't ."

"I can tell," Lucas stage whispers back.

He finally turns around.

"Alright, don't get in trouble. Have a good day."

HER BROW ARCHES AT THE WORDS . she watches him perform the act with her hip leaned against the doorframe and her arms crossed over her chest before saying, " i'll let you in on a secret, luc ." she shakes her head even as she leans in to almost lightly stage whisper, " i was never a fuckin' scout ."

Adrien chuckles.

"It's not that big of a deal. I just really want someone that I know I can talk to. Can be close to like that. We can be vulnerable with each other in a way that friends can't."

He shrugs and looks at Muz.

"What are you dodging, huh? Not much room in town to dodge things."

'Been one of those days. Sometimes the noise at Colony House just gets to me, yeah? Needed a break.' He watches Adrien for a moment, catching the way his leg swings and his gaze seems distant. 'Guess we’re both out here avoiding it all today, huh?' His lips quirk into a small smile without quite reaching his eyes. 'Not that I blame you. The whole “getting-a-boyfriend” thing sounds like a hell of a lot more stress than anything I’m dodging.'

Lucas is surprised to see her still here, but he smiles when he takes it in.

"It's all okay," he responds. "I'm honestly back earlier than I thought I would be."

He hangs his coat in the closet near the door and carefully lines his shoes in it as well.

"My day was okay," he says, walking toward the kitchen. "There's always something to do and no way to actually do them."

He pulls a couple of beers out of his fridge. He really only drinks when he has company. He walks back and holds out a bottle to Jo.

𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝘧𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢

her hands smelt of cleaning product and bleach , the skin of her fingers dry and tight from the chemicals it had absorbed. her hair was an unruly tuft of brown mousse , ponytail having long since abandoned its post atop her head in favor of hanging in a flaccid rope down the length of her skin . josephine was grateful to him , for the kindness he had extended her two years ago upon her arrival ; the selfless extension of his security blanket , the nursing of her panic . as much as crossing into the threshold of purgatory had sent her into a spiral that carried over many months — josephine had accepted her circumstances , and expressed her gratitude to those who had spared her from the pendulum swing of the reaper's scythe .

" lucas , " jo greeted as the man walked through the front door , drying her hands on the towel hung from the waistband of her jeans . " i was just finishing up . wasn't supposed to take me this long but uh — something was wrong with the spray nozzle on one of the cleaners . " speech then halted , too many words coming from her lips resulting in a bashful flush crawling up her neck . " how — " josephine's gaze moved to his face , dark brows threading together as she tried to usurp the vocabulary she had stolen from the community in order to make small talk . " how was. . . your day ?? "

@patroclusblossom

Adrien perks up even more. There's a little shop here? His fingers already twitch, wanting to get work done inside.

"So when it comes to these talismans I've heard about, they only work if there's like an unbroken 'barrier?' So no open windows or doors?"

He's noticed some temporary solutions already up, but he's also noticed a lot of residents give those wary looks. As if they're expecting something to jump through them.

"hey, that's better than a lot of these kids around here," cam said with a laugh before opening the front door of colony house. "come on, i'll show you my little make-shift shop." really it was just a shed on the side of the house where she keeps her personal stash of tools so that no one in the house can steal them. god know everything else in this house goes missing and stashed away.

Lucas tilts his head in acknowledgment. It is a lot of work to do. He's glad to hear people want to help, though. There's plenty of people out in the world who wouldn't even consider it.

"Nothing really yet," he answers. "We're still going through potential problems, though it's hard to see what were people taking advantage versus monsters that slipped through cracks."

And there's the other side. People who don't care about everyone else. No matter the circumstances. It pisses him off.

"Anything I need to have the deputies disperse? I'm sure you three are gonna be up to your ears in problem solving meetings."

cameron looks up from the lists she was working on when lucas walks in. a smile forms on her lips, only slightly forced. the storm really wiped them out and the repairs alone were going to take more resources than they had. after years of this place feeling almost normal, it seemed like they were leaving that behind them now. "all i hear is that means we have a lot of work to do," she tries to joke but the stress comes through in her voice. running a hand through her hair, she looks at the folders, flipping one of the covers open. "i have some people from colony house volunteering to help with repairs so i'll make sure they know what is the most important to work on." thank god some of them actually seem to care. "any problems on your end of things? i was worried that storm was going to have people acting out and end up in a cell."

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 ."

Lucas gives him a dubious look, not really believing him at his word but not really able to call him a liar either.

Then he eyes the bench, wary. If he sits, he's not sure he'll stand back up any time soon. But getting off his feet sounds so nice.

He sighs and settles down next to Muz.

"If I fall asleep, you better wake me up," he says with a relieved sigh.

'Lucas, baby, what d'ya mean, man? Full twelve hours, me. Sleep the whole night through.' Twelve hours total in the four months since landing in this town, a bit more likely. But he lets a smile slip. 'Need your beauty sleep, man. Come sit for a bit. Gimme company.'

wanted connections

lucas:

Non-work friends: people he talks to regularly that he doesn't work with

Mutual annoyances: someone he see regularly because of his job and it bothers both him and them

Friends-with-benefits: a guy he can hook up with, no strings attached because they both just need that release sometimes

adrien:

Possible romantic interest: a guy who maybe sees Lucas and wants more with him. Could lead to a happily for now or could just end

Life debt: someone let Lucas into their house while his brother Carlos held back monsters. Lucas feels he owes this kind soul so much and will do anything for them, basically no questions asked.

Friends and roommates: people living at the colony house like him that can just hang out. Maybe eventually, they can all be a tight-knit group that will all help protect each other if the need arises

Mentor/parental figure: after losing his parents at a young age and not really imprinting on his aunt and uncle, Adrien is definitely looking for someone he can care about like that and could care about him back

Meet cute: a guy that Adrien might develop a crush on and could potentially lead to more