Lucas Looks At The Glass Placed In Front Of Him, Seriously Considering Pushing It Away. Then With A Sigh,

"Well, unfortunately, I'm the sheriff, so yeah, I'm a cop."

He lowers his hands and gestures around his waist, where it's very clear he doesn't even have a holster. Hopefully, that lets her trust him more.

"I don't like carrying a gun around town unless I have to."

He steps closer, even stuffing his hand in his pockets to seem more casual.

"I understand that you need to be in control of yourself, and me dragging you away would do the opposite of that. So I'm just going to say this: if you want to risk your life against those monsters, we can't stop you. We can't protect people who don't want our protection. I just hope you decide that our protection is good enough for you as the others have."

— A scoff escapes her lips before she can stop it , her scowl only furthering at the words of the other . “ what're you , a cop ? ” she asks with a scrunch of her nose , tapping some ash from her smoke while disdain drips from her every word . “ being cautious is one thing , threatening people with physical restraint so they conform to your so - called safety standards , that's another thing entirely . very authoritarian of you all , i must say . ” there is something comforting , almost nostalgic , about being a smartass with authority ; a sense of warm familiarity , in a town that is entirely unknown to her .

Rafa via Instagram Stories (August 5, 2024)

where: colony house when: Halloween night whom: @ludics Rae

Lucas makes his way through the Colony House, feeling like he can actually breathe for the first time in weeks. There's just so much joy and excitement in the house that it's almost impossible to be anxious tonight. And the drinks he's had help too.

He wipes sweat from the part of his stomach that's visible thanks to the tight (maybe too small) shirt he managed to find for the night. He's not sure what he's looking for now. Ana has disappeared and most of the other people he'd talk to are busy doing other things.

Then he spots Rae, and he can't help but smile at the sight of the man. Ever since he helped Rae in the morgue, he's felt the slightest shift of their friendship. He's not sure how to describe it or how it's affected. He just knows something feels different.

He walks up to the man.

"There you are," he says with a warm smile.

"I mean, there aren't many good men out there, so it's not your fault for only finding the bad ones."

He snickers. Then the song changes and he cheers.

"I love this song. Come dance with me."

He grabs Cherry's hand and tugs on her.

THE QUESTION TAKES CHERRY ABACK FOR A MOMENT . her face scrunches a bit at the thought as she says, " usually pretty shit . at least by my track record ." there's a beat before she adds the disclaimer , " at least when it comes to men ." she shrugs then . " when it comes to everyone else it's pretty okay ."

"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 ."

where: edge of the woods | when: day time | whom: open to all

Lucas crouches at the edge of the woods, examining what could be tracks. Or could be nothing. He hates how smart the creatures are. They could've left this behind just to toy with him.

He hears rustling from footsteps behind him, and he doesn't bother looking up.

"The hunting woods are six miles that way," he says, pointing his left hand. "Signs and caution tape everywhere. You can't miss them."

where: chop shop when: day time whom: @hcartcorruptcd El

Adrien is hunched over the engine of the truck, trying to gauge what all is salvageable and what could be modified to be salvageable.

They'd had a few cars brought in from the junk yard after the leaders and sheriff's department got everything useful for the community. Now they're stripping what they think can be useful.

"For a truck from the '80s," he calls out, "it's in pretty good condition. Almost a shame to tear it up."

He climbs out with some valves, carrying them over to the piles they'd started to keep things vaguely organized. Then he glances over to El.

Lucas pauses. While he'd sworn to always tell the residents the truth, he'd also promised the leaders that they get information and plans first.

But telling the truth should come first.

"Yeah, most likely. Don't know when or how, but it's the first lead we've gotten of something different in the woods."

" ... OKAY ." ELM REPLIES WITH A NOD . " that's true , i guess ." there's a beat then as they study him before they add a curious, " are you going to try and find the tree ?"

Lucas looks up and sees a girl standing at the front desk. She looks lost and scared.

"Hi," he greets, walking over and chuckling. "I am, and yes, we do. We even have a couple of deputies if you can believe it. But it's just me today. How can I help you?"

He stands with his hands behind him, polite and non-threatening, so he doesn't scare her.

nowhere county jail, lucas. @patroclusblossom

Catie steps in. The place feels wrong in ways she can't quite place, but it’s the sheriff’s office, she figures, and she has no idea what else to do. She’d been walking for what felt like hours, the streets of Oblitus starting to blur in her mind.

She’s about to turn around, maybe head back outside and try to wrap her head around any of this, when she sees Lucas.

He’s young, maybe a few years older than her, with dark hair that’s a little too messy for someone in law enforcement. Catie pauses, her thoughts scrambling to form a coherent sentence. 'You're the sheriff?' Her words come out a little sharper than she intends, and she realises she sounds like she’s questioning the whole damn idea. 'This place… actually has a sheriff?'

Adrien nods. He was never too good at people's layers either. Too scared that they'd leave if he got too deep.

He perks up at the mention of the watch.

"Oh, do you still have it? Did you get it working? He promised to find me something to work on, too."

He smiles at El to show them he's hearing them.

"I wouldn't mind this becoming home. At least for a little bit."

Ellington pauses mid-motion, resting a hand on the side of the engine as they process Adrien’s words. They snort softly at his teasing, shaking their head.

"Yeah, Cherry is good folk. But good doesn’t always mean simple, you know?" They shoot Adrien a sidelong glance, their smirk faint but fond, as if already regretting how much they’re saying. "She’s... just got layers. And I’m not exactly an expert at peeling those back without making a mess."

They wipe their hands on a nearby rag and lean against the workbench, looking thoughtfully at Adrien. "Muz, huh? Yeah, he’s cool. He’s got good instincts. He brought me some busted-up watch to fix the other day—it was a cool project."

They tilt their head slightly, a touch of mischief in their smile, "stick around long enough, and this place’ll start feeling more like home... or at least something close to it."