"I'll Drink To That," He Says, Raising His Glass To Tap Cherry's, Then Sips Some Water.

Lucas nods, then stops the tape recorder.

"That was good," he says gently, patting the arm of her chair instead of her actual arm. "Thank you, really, Elm. I appreciate it."

He stands and cleans up his stuff.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asks, now out of sheriff mode and in community mode. "Bring your meals to you? Give you escorts anywhere?"

ELM SHAKES THEIR HEAD THEN . " no ." there's a beat before they shift in their seat and shrug . the lace is wrapped tight around their finger again . " that's all i remember. when i woke up the tree was gone and i was laying in the forest ." their brows twitch together a bit . " it took me a while to get back ."

— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Lucas chuckles and walks around to the other side of the branch.

"Lucky for you, I'm a nice guy that loves to help."

He gets his hands into position.

"On three. One. Two. Three."

erin takes note of how it feels like she's just getting splinters in her fingers, and not making a lot of progress with moving this fallen tree branch out of the way. ears perked, still feeling the effects of the storm and how its put everyone on edge, she glances up and takes note of lucas walking towards her. "yeah," she says, pulling still on the heavy branch, "i don't think i'm doing much good alone with this one."

Lucas watches her intently, listening to her musings. Thoughts he's learning a lot of new people normally share.

He considers his next words, wondering what might offer some temporary solace.

"I know it sounds crazy, but being in this town, I've never felt more free in my life. I don't need to pretend I'm not gay to people who know but are uncomfortable by it. I don't need to worry that people i care about might suddenly disappear. All of our odds are 50/50, and if it happens, then I'll be sad. But right now, there's no reason to be."

He watches her face as he talks, seeing if what he's saying is helping or hurting.

'Catie,' she says, brushing hair out of her face as she sizes him up. 'I’ve been here two days. Everyone’s telling me to relax or stay inside like that’s going to help anything. And now we’re just throwing a party?” She scoffs, looking away for a moment, then back at Adrien, her voice dipping into more bewilderment. 'It’s like everyone’s just…Fucking hell. This is where we’re all supposed to be now.'

She leans back, feeling the wall’s cold surface steady her, her shoulders slumping as she keeps her eyes on him. 'But you—' she pauses, trying to figure him out. 'Feels like you’ve already adjusted more in a few days than I could in a lifetime. You’re really just…okay with this?'

Lucas lifts his hands and offers a smile to Lena as he approaches.

"Sorry, though I guess it's better than your goose being cooked."

He comes up and takes a pamphlet to look over it. He wants to laugh at it honestly. It's earnest, though maybe too optimistic for some people.

Instead he smiles and hands it back.

"I'm sure some of the newcomers will appreciate these. But why are you going now and not just bringing them in the morning? It's getting late."

Sometimes she forgets how close to night fall it gets. How anxious others are as the orange hues linger across the sky. For Lena, it’s the only moment of peace she’s able to find. When everyone is asleep— or too afraid to listen, she sits by the window and watches. It’s her own secret. It’s the only thing that’s hers. Still, the officers voice makes her jump. The pitch, and immediacy of it, causing her to flinch. “You nearly scared the goose outta’ me!” Her hands clutched her chest, bending over to let out a breath, before straightening. She’s holding a bunch of pamphlets. Little things she made for the newcomers, something might’ve thought it was useless— but it was the only thing that helped her feel normal. Hi welcome to Oblitus, where anybody can be somebody. Only lately, it was hard to believe it now more than ever. “I was just taking these to the dining hall— figured I could pass them out for breakfast tomorrow.”

Adrien hums, his smile turning to a pout as he realizes that yes, he's also going to miss movies, especially new ones.

But he shakes it off.

"I mean, it's fine. Rich guy takes poor guy to his mansion for the summer, poor guy schemes to get the family's money, people end up dying. Poor guy eats a girl out while she's on her period and slurps up cummy water from rich guy's bath. I personally would've preferred more guy-on-guy action, but it's not bad."

He gets his water and chugs half of it down.

"So, what are you supposed to be?"

He looks Cherry up and down, trying to figure it out.

ANOTHER BLINK . she's shaking her head even as her smile doesn't waver, amused as she brings her drink back to her lips to say, " i've got no idea what you're talkin' about to be honest ." she says brightly before she's gesturing to him with her drink . " but hey, sounds fun !" she shrugs before she admits, " kinda fuckin' miss the movies to be fair ." she brings her drink to her lips again, not even wincing at the taste of the moonshine but welcoming the burn of it down her throat before she's licking her lips and adding, " it any good ? like, what happens ?"

Hey now those (your big brown eyes) are some dangerous weapons…

(insp.)

He briefly considers putting her into a headlock just to show how easy it would be to catch her, but he's honestly too tired to put in the effort. And she's right about the rationing. He's probably just using it as an excuse to avoid his personal problems rattling in his head right now.

"By that logic, we all worry too much," he replies. "It's our jobs to worry too much. So the people who can't do our jobs don't have to."

He sees and even feels the edge in her smile.

"This was an unexpected event. By all accounts, they broke the rules we thought were in place."

He leans against a table, crossing his arms to show he's in serious mode now. Not ready for the emotional talk quite yet. At least not until Ana is.

Anastasia lets out a quiet huff, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk. "A nap sounds nice, but you’d have to catch me first." She rolls her neck, feeling the tension stretch and settle, then flicks her gaze to the horizon as if sleep is a luxury meant for someone else.

"I’ll sleep when things stop breaking." She exhales through her nose, the humor slipping just slightly. "Besides, if you lock me up, who’s gonna keep you from rationing those supplies into oblivion?"

Her smile softens, but there’s an edge to it—one Lucas would recognize instantly. "I’m fine, Lu. You worry too much." But they both know that’s not exactly true. Not anymore.

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 ."

Adrien chuckles weakly, still pushing.

"No treehouse, and if someone does figure out a way out, I'll help them build it, but I'm not the one coming up with it."

He pauses for a moment to get the truck over a small hump in the road.

"Nah, more just trying to make life here suck less, I suppose. There aren't a lot of cars that work here. This is fully electric, so I figured I'd see if I can get it working. If not then I'll strip it for parts."

He chuckles again.

"Not fate. I'm just not as bothered as some people are."

mira chuckled under her breath, the sound dry but not unkind. "impatient and dumb? well, at least you're self-aware. that's a good start." she braced herself against the car, her boots digging into the asphalt as they worked together to push it forward. her muscles protested immediately, a reminder that she'd been running on adrenaline and not much else these past few weeks. "interrupt? please." she rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching up in a smirk. "you think i had something better to do in this place? trust me, you’re doing me a favor. beats pacing around colony house trying to avoid everyone's drama or sulking." her gaze flicked over to him, studying his profile for a moment as they trudged along. "so, adrien, right? what kind of 'projects' are we talking about here? you building a treehouse for the end of the world, or are you one of those people who actually think they can science their way out of this nightmare?" she huffed a little as they hit a slight incline, her smirk deepening. "or maybe you’re just hoarding random junk to keep busy. i’ve seen a few people try that trick. spoiler alert: it doesn’t work." she adjusted her grip on the car and added, her tone light but tinged with a hint of sincerity, "and for the record, you’re not annoying. yet. but if you start talking about how this is all fate or some crap like that, i might change my mind."