@hcartcorruptcd

Lucas sighs.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish your team was part of the whole team too."

He offers a handshake as a formal apology.

"Sorry for wasting your time," he says. "If you hear anything about the missing stock, could you at least let me know who it was after you take it from them?"

CHERRY SIGHS JUST A LITTLE BIT . she gives lucas a look that's only half exasperated . " yeah, well ." the roll of cherry's eyes is halfhearted . " just cause i'm a trouble maker doesn't mean it's always me ." it just probably is, but somehow cherry doubts that now is the time to mention that . " and — i'm on a team ." the protest is accompanied by a lackluster shrug . " s'just ... mine ."

Lucas sighs, though he does raise his hands like he wants to help.

When he sees the face, he clenches his jaw. They're familiar, but he can't remember their name. Why can't he remember their name?

He looks back at Rae — his friend — clearly hurting.

"They're cruel," Lucas says in agreement. "It seems like they know how to hurt us in the worst ways."

He follows Rae as he pushes the cart toward the body storage.

"Let's me take you home," he insists. "You need to rest."

"no," is all that rae uttered before stepping away. wordlessly he brought the cart to the side of the table and pulled the white sheet under the body towards him, revealing more of it. the face, still intact, a reminder of the horror that unfolded during the storm. rae's breath caught in his throat, his mind replacing the stranger's face with kina's for a split second. but he pushed on. he rolled up the sheet, covering the body once more and made the final tug. the cart creaked as it took on the weight.

"they always leave the face, don't they? to taunt us. to remind us of what we've lost."

Adrien feels his smile soften from more forced to genuine.

"Thanks. It's seriously a lot to take in. Just give me a project and maybe some eye candy and I'll be good to go. Honestly real candy will probably work too."

He chuckles.

"So how did you end up here? And uh... how did this happen?"

He gestures to the leg, wincing again. Fuck, it looks really bad.

El offers Adrien a crooked grin, the kind that hints at a sense of humor even under the weight of pain. They shift slightly on the bed, trying to ignore the throb in their leg.

"Farm vehicles, huh? Well, lucky us. A tractor’s probably not far off from half the crap we’ve got to fix here." They let out a soft chuckle. "And hey, taking things apart to learn? That’s exactly the kind of brain I need in the shop. Radios, engines... Same concept, just different puzzles."

They tilt their head slightly at Adrien’s mention of how he ended up here, reading between the lines. "Hiking trip, huh? Well, welcome to the weirdest trail you’ll ever hike." There’s a pause, and their expression softens just a touch. "It’s a lot to take in, but you’ll get through it. And hey, if fixing stuff keeps you steady, we’re in good hands."

where: colony house when: Halloween night, early evening whom: open

Adrien dances in the middle of the designated dance floor, probably having the best night of his life. The music plays from records or CD that are constantly rotating. Not a lot of recent music, but it still is fun to dance to.

His "wings" force a small circle around him, which does bum him out a bit, but he takes it in stride, keeping his dancing small but still fun.

That doesn't stop him from accidentally bumping into someone, though. He whirls around to face them.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry."

where: colony house when: Halloween night whom: @rampents Catie

Adrien stumbles out of a bathroom, shaking his hands to finish drying them. He's having way too much fun for what everyone seems to think Oblitus should be.

He's about to head back to the dance floor when he notices someone chilling on the floor, not really paying attention to her surroundings.

Not one to let someone stay alone for too long, Adrien runs then slides on his knees, stopping right in front of her.

"Hey, there, I'm Adrien. Want some company?"

TANNER BUCHANAN in COBRA KAI

"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 ."

— Warsan Shire

Lucas quietly snorts.

"I'd prefer less existential conversation. I can save that until night time."

He puts his coffee cup down, then stretches out long from the bench, legs out, ass barely hanging on the edge, and head back with his hands laced behind it.

"Nothing like it," he echoes. "So what made you actually sit somewhere longer than five minutes?"

'Got your back, man. Ten minutes to sundown I'll give you a poke in the rib.' Muz leans back, crossing his arms and shoots Lucas a lazy grin. 'Just enough time to get into some deep, existential conversation going before the monsters come out, yeah?' There's a certain comfort in this—the quiet, Lucas’s half-asleep presence next to him, and understanding between them that they didn’t have to say too much, just something. 'Nothing like a power nap with a sunset alarm.'

"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."