Lucas Let's Her Talk, Seeing What Kind Of Mood Or Topic She'll Settle On.

Lucas nods and steps up to the headstone.

His mouth twitches into a sort of smile.

"Yeah. Super quiet. Almost feels wrong."

He places the fresh bouquet down sobit rests in the middle, covering part of the "Brother. Protector" portion. He feels a few tears run down his face.

"Do you have someone here?"

He doesn't look up. He's not quiet ready to look at someone else yet.

Hollis pauses, mid-motion, holding the dried bouquet like it's something delicate. His eyes dart to Lucas, noticing the tremor in his voice. "I could stick around." Hollis offers, voice still quiet but sensing that the other might be experiencing something they might not want to be alone for. It happened often enough to feel part of the job. "It's quiet out today. The storm... I'll just...be here." He's not sure how to offer comfort in words, but, his presence lingers. A quiet, watchful stillness.

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?"

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

Adrien jumps in time with the music, practically screaming out the lyrics. He's part of a small group that is just rocking it to the song. He's staying on the edge because of his wings, but he's grinning like he's in the middle of it all.

They calm down for a bridge in the song, and Adrien looks around. He stops when he sees Muz nearby and waves him over.

Lucas chuckles but does intentionally flex his stomach since he knows Rae is looking.

"It's one night i don't have to be sheriff," he says. "Might as well make the most of it. Show these kids we've still got it."

He leans against the wall, facing Rae and looking him up and down. He's not surprised to see the basic doctor get up, but he can't complain. Rae looks really good in it.

"So how have you been? I haven't been able to check up on you."

Being sheriff after a disaster really keeps him busy.

rae's costume, or his lack thereof, spoke volumes about his attitude towards the party. he stood there, his white lab coat hanging loosely over plain scrubs. the coat, usually a symbol of professionalism, carrying an air of nonchalance. it was clear that rae had taken the simplest route to participate.

his posture betrayed a certain weariness as he leaned against the wall, a weight that alcohol could temporarily lift. he glanced down at his cup, ruminating until he heard that familiar voice.

"hey," he greeted, perking up almost instantly. "you look… different," he observed, his gaze roaming over lucas' shirt, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "in a good way."

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.

where: outside, wherever when: day after the storm open starter

Lucas walks down the street, taking note of all the damage from the storm. So much to fix. It's starting to feel like it would be better just to rebuild the whole town from scratch.

He turns a corner and has to put his list away.

"Hey!" he calls out to the person. "You need help over there?"

"Right. I'm sorry. Really, I am."

He crosses his arms and leans against the wall opposite the door.

"We're all stressed out, and you're one of my regular trouble makers. I just needed to know that you're being a team player. At least a little bit."

He gives her a firm but hopeful look.

" ASK YOUR BUDDY !" cherry makes a vague gesture in addition to the words, her brow arching as she moves to lean her back against the door frame instead . " officer adam . he was here with me ." she shrugs and thoughtfully adds, " santi too for a bit ." an arch of her brows before she adds, " y'all have basically been swarmin' me ."

Adrien sets the wrapped tech aside and stands.

"I mean, I'm not an expert, but I know how to handle them. I'm sure it's easy."

He wipes his hands on his jeans and follows Cam.

"Where to first?" he asks with a grin.

"that's good, stick by them and you'll be set in this place." el was always the best at getting new comers settled in. she understood why they would rather work in the shop than be a welcomer but they were the great at it.

"well, you never know, you could get it working and if we find the other one, it could be useful around here." she liked adrien's attitude, he always seemed to look in the bright side of things. they needed people like that around here. "how good are you with a hammer and saw? want to help me board up a couple windows? a couple cracked in the storm and i gotta get them patched up."

Lucas listens with a proud smile. This is the Anastasia he became friends with. They keep each other grounded, especially when other people can't.

He kisses her forehead and squeezes her shoulder.

"You and me, no matter what. We're getting these people out of here."

He steps back and resumes his task.

"So anything I should know about this talk with Cam? Are we avoiding her now or inviting her over for game night?"

Anastasia straightens, taking in Lucas’s words like a lifeline, grounding herself with his steady presence. She lets out a deep breath, the weight of it settling her rather than weighing her down. It’s like his reminder is just what she needed, a glimpse of purpose cutting through the fog she’s been stumbling in for so long.

"You're right, you know." Her voice is level, though a slight crack reveals the intensity simmering just below the surface. She brushes a stray tear from her cheek, refusing to let herself go under. "We can’t let any of this break us. Not here, not now. There are too many people counting on us."

She takes a steadying breath, her gaze sharpening as it meets his. "We've been through hell and back, and I know neither of us wanted any of this. But we’re here. We’re still here." Her jaw sets with a resolve that’s familiar yet renewed.

"We have a duty, Lucas. To these people, to ourselves." Her voice is unwavering now, conviction returning to her tone. "Even if we don’t see a way out yet, giving up isn’t an option. Not for them, not for us."

Anastasia places a hand firmly on his shoulder, a determined gleam in her eyes. "We hold the line, like you said. Together." She offers him a small, grateful smile, a hint of her usual fire returning. "Whatever comes next, we face it head-on."