Lucas Grunts, Hating That He Knows She's Right.

where: colony house when: Halloween night whom: @hcartcorruptcd El

Adrien moves through the house, taking a break from dancing to find people he knows.

He's spotted and chatted with a few but there's one in particular...

There they are.

He grins and runs up to El. He throws his arms around them in a huge hug.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," he says excitedly.

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.'

Lucas looks up and smiles at Ana, which quickly turns to a grimace at the mention of Cameron. Lucas has heard all about that rocky relationship, and he knows even making sure the town is okay isn't enough to fully distract from that.

"At least she's still here. Not everyone got so lucky. We found Kina and... yeah, I'm gonna check up on Rae later."

He looks back down at the supplies.

"We're okay for now. I just don't know how best to ration anything in case something like this happens again. Is it too much to ask for a semi-truck full of survival supplies to come into town?"

He gives a weak chuckle at the old joke they've shared probably a hundred times in the years since he became a sheriff.

The sky feels too bright for what last night was. It shouldn’t be this quiet, this deceptively calm. Anastasia pulls her coat tighter, as if that could keep out the weight of exhaustion. Her hands still smell faintly of rain and the damp clothes she sorted, her mind circling back to Cameron more times than she’d like. She finds Lucas by the sheriff’s post, bent over a table littered with supplies—medical kits, rope, lantern oil. Seeing his familiar face pulls a tired smirk from her, brief and fleeting. “Hey,” she says, stepping up beside him. She breathes out slowly, "I just came from Colony House." Her words are low but steady, like it’s a confession that only Lucas can hear. "Saw Cameron." She waits a beat, rubbing a hand over her face as the memory settles like stones in her gut. "It went... like it always does." Her voice softens, brushing against old wounds. "She’s holding it together. But she's fine, thankfully." The silence between her and Lucas is easy, a quiet understanding built over years of shared burdens. She glances down at the supplies, her gaze flickering across the bottles and bandages with the detached focus of someone always on edge. “How bad is it? I know we lost some people... How're we on supplies?” she asks finally, her voice edged with exhaustion. @patroclusblossom

Lucas laughs.

"Well, I'm glad I could keep that unique brain of yours from eating itself."

He nudges Muz with a shoulder.

"I don't know if I've got any good chat today. Too busy running around, making sure we don't fall apart here. Though I guess falling apart helps your job a bit, doesn't it?"

His tone isn't judgmental, more amused by the thought.

'Guess I’m growing roots. Whole five minutes of stillness. New record, I think.' He pauses, glancing at Lucas, the glint in his eyes settles into something quieter. 'Honestly? Got sick of my own company today. Felt like if I sat alone one more minute, my brain’d start eating itself.' He tilts his head, a grin breaking the seriousness before it can linger. 'And I know you've got good chat.'

Adrien senses something shift once he mentions El, but Cherry moves right on past it, so he does too.

He blushes at all the compliments, rubbing the back of his neck. Getting called smart and handsome with equal validity? A nice ego boost.

"Thanks."

Then he looks her over with some surprised.

"Wait, really? I wouldn't have guessed anything older than like 25."

" RIGHT ? RIGHT ?" cherry replies emphatically as she pulls back from the hug . she huffs a bit . " you get it, adrien . a birthday's a big deal! especially round here, like i coulda fuckin' died before this one !" cherry is in the process of shaking her head in exasperation when she registers adrien's words, blinking in surprise as her heart sinks heavy and quick at the mention of el . " oh, shit . didn't know that ." a dry swallow before she's moving to compose herself, attempting to hide the expression with a firm pat to adrien's arm . " look at you ! you're smart and shit, huh ?" cherry has to arch her brows at the reply . she studies adrien in new light . " huh . you kinda look younger ." a shrug . " s'good thing though . means you're gonna age good ." she nods decisively before she's pointing to herself and adding, " m'thirty one today ."

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."

Adrien hears the voice, though not the words. He stops and straightens up, squinting at the person.

"What? No, not a death wish. Just impatient and dumb."

He smiles and starts pushing as well.

"Yeah, I've seen you around. Sorry, I have introduced myself yet. Been busy with some projects. And with your help, this should be a breeze."

They carefully make their way down the street.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything," he grunts as they push. "I appreciate the help but don't want to be annoying."

mira squinted against the midday sun as she ambled down the street, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. the oppressive quiet of this town was something she still couldn’t get used to, the eerie kind that made the sound of her boots on cracked asphalt seem too loud. she kicked at a small rock, watching it skid ahead, when the groan of effort caught her attention. up ahead, a guy — shirt sleeveless, face strained, clearly regretting his life choices — was trying to push a car. alone, at that. the sight almost made her laugh, but there was something about the sheer stubbornness in his posture that struck a chord. she recognized him, vaguely. one of the colony house faces she’d seen in passing. she considered walking by, minding her own business. but who was she kidding? mira wasn’t wired that way. even in this hellhole of a town, she couldn’t resist stepping in where she wasn’t needed. “hey!” she called out, picking up her pace. “you planning on pushing that thing all the way to the chop shop, or are you just working on your biceps for the apocalypse?” stopping a few feet away, she tilted her head, sizing him up with a smirk. “let me guess. nobody wanted to play mechanic’s assistant today, so you decided to be a one-man pit crew?” she rolled her shoulders, stepping closer. “looks like you’ve got a death wish or, i don’t know, something to prove.” without waiting for an invitation, she moved to the back of the car and placed her hands on the trunk, glancing over at him. “well? don’t just stand there. i’m not doing all the work.” she shot him a wry grin, her tone teasing but warm. “i’m mira, by the way. colony house, same as you. figured i’d introduce myself now, just in case you collapse halfway and i have to try carrying you back.”

Adrien laughs and pats Cherry back.

"Sounds fair. And thanks. So what's your type anyway?"

CHERRY'S EXPRESSION SCRUNCHES THE LONGER ADRIEN GOES ON . she tries to nod as she makes a mental list, but she has to blink as adrien groans . " what ? no !" cherry moves to put a hand on adrien's shoulder then, giving it a squeeze as she says, " you like what you like, okay ? nothin' cringe about that ." cherry nods decisively . " and if you want a nice, patient guy who looks like he gives good hugs i can look around for that for you ." a beat before she pats his shoulder to add a light, " m'not cuddling any of them to test that out though ." her grin is cheeky . " that's gonna be all you, okay ?"

"I mean, you haven't been dragged off by the sheriff's, so I'd say you're killing it."

He snickers, then his face turns to a determined grin.

"Oh, you're so on."

He walks over and prepares his side. He's only done this once or twice, and he's pretty sure he lost. Though the amount he and his opponents threw up, maybe they all lost.

"So is it like this every year?"

El barely has time to process the flash of movement before Adrien’s arms are wrapped around them in a warm, enthusiastic hug. They blink, momentarily surprised, but then a broad smile takes over their face as they settle into the embrace, giving Adrien a firm squeeze in return.

“Oh yeah?” El chuckles, a playful glint in their eyes as they pull back slightly, taking in Adrien's costume with a look of approval. “Guess I made it hard to track down the towns newest cowboy, huh?” They give their cowboy hat a small tilt, a grin tugging at the corner of their lips. “Good to see you too, Adrien.”

El slaps Adrien lightly on the back, nodding toward the game of beer pong. “Whoever loses has to repair what people break tonight” Ellington challenges him with a grin.

Adrien giggles.

"Okay. That's not too old. I guess i wouldn't mind that."

And then he sighs. "You'd think, but I haven't found anyone. It's so disappointing."

He looks at her with wide eyes. "Well, if you live here, you have to help me out. Be my wing-girl."

" OH NO, YOU'RE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE ." cherry's face scrunches up at that thought as she shakes her head . " every two steps you can probably find someone less than straight around here . it's real nice . would kinda be really fun if it weren't for, you know . the motherfuckers trying to eat us ." cherry shrugs before she's brightening, tilting her head with a hum to say, " like, mid thirties, kinda ?" cherry's brows furrow before she's moving to give adrien a playful smack in the side . " what're ya talkin' about then ? colony house is like, the hub for free love ! you should be able to find some cute guy here for sure ." cherry blinks and remembers the question, quickly adds, " oh, and i'm at colony ."