Lucas Hums And Considers The Best Way To Explain.

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?'

One day you’ll laugh so much that you’ll forget you have scars. Benjamín Griss

RAFAEL SILVA — via Instagram (2024)

Lucas chuckles.

"So I should maintain my regular professionalism with the undertone of, 'You're not good enough for my best friend, but you're still good for her' level of amicability?"

He raises a questioning eyebrow with his smirk, continuing the light-hearted tone they've moved to.

Anastasia feels a swell of gratitude for Lucas; he’s been her steady anchor since they both took on the responsibility of leading this town. She manages a smile, nodding at his statement of hope. “You’re damn right we are.”

As she watches him idly sort through items on the table, she’s caught off guard when he brings up Cameron. She gives a casual shrug. “We’re alright. I just went over to check on her… you know I still care, even if we’re not together.” She knows he understands; they’ve spent more than a few nights drinking and hashing out the complexities of her and Cameron’s past.

With a bit of a wry smile, she adds, “I don’t think she’ll be coming to game night, though.” She tries to keep the tone light, hiding the small sting of disappointment behind a half-joke.

Lucas feels a slight ache in his chest as they walk hand in hand. He didn't realize how much he missed this. Walking with Rae. Being with Rae.

"Hey," he says, soft but firm. "You are important."

They turn a corner, and they can see their houses. Only a couple of other residents between them. It had been a little awkward at first after the breakup, but then they eased into comfortable. Being close was comforting.

"I know you can. I just want to help like I used to. Moving bodies around. I saw how many you still had to do. That will definitely take forever on your own."

for most of the walk he couldn't stop looking down at his hands, constantly making sure the blood hadn't returned. that it was just a figment of his imagination. sometimes rae wondered if it was the town or his own sanity slipping.

it's ok. it wasn't, but having lucas' hand in his helped quiet the constant urge to check. he spent the rest of the walk relatively fine.

“luc, i don’t want to keep you from more important things,” he protested. "and don't say what i know you're going to say. i can handle it on my own, today was just...tough."

Lucas listens intently, making sure Elm knows he's really listening to her, giving her space to talk about anything.

He quirks an eye up. If she felt the need to mention it, then it must be something to consider important.

"What was notable about the tree?"

ELM TAKES A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT IT . " i was with bruna in the community kitchen ." elm shrugs . " we were doing chores together to keep busy during the storm ." a beat before elm admits, " i don't remember why i left . i don't remember leaving ... but i know they were there ." they wrap their fingers around their laces again and again, eyes on the motion before, " after that i woke up in the forest and walked back . my shoes were gone ." a pause before they tilt their head, meet lucas' eyes and add, " ... i remember a tree ."

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.'

Lucas gives a friendly chuckle at the jokes.

He checks the sky. If they hurry, he can get Lena back into her house, then himself to his own.

"Okay. I'll provide a police escort today."

He offers an arm to her, like he's a gentleman.

Right. Most people were still afraid of the dark here. Maybe she should have been too, if not given the circumstances. "I don't know, my goose hasn't been cooked in a real long time." She halfway laughs, her own joke- but still. "See any ducks around?" Her nose wrinkles in a smirk, but then she lets out a small sigh and a shrug of her shoulders. "I forgot what time it was, and I was already halfway there so- plus I don't wanna' miss anybody. Sometimes they try to sneak into the kitchen early, and get out before I get there." She'll point gently over her shoulder. "You can escort me, if you'd feel better?"

"Survival instincts," Lucas answers. "Passed down from our ancestors to help us live on through the ages and the bullshit. Wish it wasn't so jumpy, but it is what it is. Just need more distractions, I suppose."

He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment, feeling the sunlight on his face. It feels nice. A warm embrace that would otherwise hurt.

"Alright, penny for your thoughts?"

Muz’s smile softens as he watches Lucas, noticing the flicker of tension as he talks about the storm. There was something brittle that the storm had stirred up in everyone. He nods slowly, leaning back, fingers absently tapping the bench.

'Storm’s got everyone a little on edge,' he admits. 'Makes sense, y’know, the way it just settles in the back of your head. You ever wonder why we’re all wired like that? Could be calm as anything, but you hear one little sound and bam—you’re back there.'

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."