All is Flux; Everything Flows

Luke had taken the afternoon off to focus on some errands he’d been neglecting since throwing himself back into his work. Things had been hectic with the gods now threatening some kind of civil war, which meant the precinct was on high alert. It was exhausting but he was grateful for some time off, which is how Luke found himself in front of Levi’s store. It had been a while since he’d checked in on him which only added to his guilt, but he pushed that down as he entered. He smiled instantly at seeing the familiar face, “I’d like to speak to the manager. I have a complaint,” he spoke in a mock angry voice yet still smiling.

Aurora had her arms crossed over her chest, a unimpressed look on her face as she watched the man squirm under Luke’s hand. Was she unimpressed with the man or Luke? Honestly, you wouldn’t know looking at her. She just stared, blankly at the two of them. She honestly hadn’t been intimidated by the weirdo who had been harassing her, she also hadn’t enjoyed it. But after years of training she learned to tune out basically… anything that she didn’t want to deal with. That was harder to ignore when a fight, or moreso a one sided pinning, happened in front of her. “I’m fine.” She chuckled motioning back to the bar “Can I buy you a drink as thanks?” she offered, it seemed weird not to after he had technically defended her against the creep. When they moved back to the bar and took a seat she nodded to the bartender, “Whatever he wants. And I’ll take a black russian.” She leaned one arm on the bartop and looked to Luke, “I saw you at my tour of the station a couple days ago didn’t I?”

Luke nodded when he heard she was fine, looking back in the direction of the harasser to make sure he was gone before adjusting his body to face the woman. He considered her offer for a moment as his breath caught up with him, not that it was much exertion to rough up the idiot, but calming his temper down was his first priority. “Not really used to getting thanks, but how could I say no?” he offered with a light smile, rubbing the back of his head a bit before following her to the bar. His eyebrow quirked up in curiosity when she ordered a Black Russian, not hearing that drink order in quite some time, honestly since he’d left Europe. “Interesting choice,” he smirked before moving his attention to the bartender, “I’ll just have a Jack and Coke, thanks.” When she mentioned the station his mind, previously occupied with his own temper triggered his memory, “Oh yea, you’re right. FBI right?”

That night Anouk sent her personal bodyguards to have a day off. In this isle, there wasn’t much they could do, not many people knew who she was if so, they couldn’t exactly pinpoint where they know her. She’s a model, chef, internet personality, and sometimes actress. And the dude robbed her phone until Luke appeared, and catch the guy, who dropped her phone before running off. ❛ Dude, it’s okay, I’m fine… ❜ She was startled at first, but the man before her also scares her a little with the darkness she saw on him when made the guy say sorry.

Luke watched the man scurry off, ensuring that he wouldn’t be causing any more trouble in the club. He’d recognized the guy as soon as he’d seen him come into the bar, a rap sheet pretty thick, which is why he’d been watching him. Luke was right in his instincts as he watched him swipe the woman’s phone and was quick to take action. “You sure? Is your phone okay?” Luke spoke, as he noticed she’d picked up her phone that had fallen in the scuffle. “Sorry about that, he’s a bit of a frequent flier in the precinct,” he offered with a slightly embarrassed smile as he caught his breath. 

Lyra had honestly stood back and watched as Luke stormed forward from what seemed like nowhere, and grabbed the guy by the neck against the wall. She had been telling him to leave alone whilst she had a drink, but he hadn’t been listening to her. Running her hand through her blonde locks as he threatened the man with a night in prison, which obviously scared him away, she took a moment to look at Luke, her eyes wide and in shock. “What the hell as that?” She asked him, her glass of wine sloshing around in her hand as she gestured emphatically. “I don’t need a knight in shining armour, ou know. Especially not one that could get himself fired for acting like that!”

Luke saw the frequent flier of the jail system as soon as he entered the bar, already breaking his parole by just being on the property. The detective figured it was only a matter of time he’d screw up and of course watching him with Lyra he had cause for harassment. As he watched the man scurried away he realized now that it probably wasn’t the best way he could have handled it, which only furthered his guilt and anger left over from being back. He considered her words, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath, only solidifying the fact that he’d probably over reacted. “Not saying you couldn’t handle yourself, but dude’s also got a wrap sheet a mile long for assault and sexual harassment... and I wasn’t about to watch him get another with you,” he defended, though it deflated toward the second half of the sentence. “Considering the amount of crap we’ve been dealing with with the big kids upstairs, I doubt one rough up will get me fired, Lyr,” he spoke, figuring he was trying to convince himself more than her that his actions were justified with a sigh. “Buy you another as an apology?” he added as he nudged his head towards her glass.

“LUKE!”  Florence was shouting at the policeman over the drum of the music behind them, doing her best to pull him away from the guy that he had pinned to the wall, but was failing miserably. The policeman was known around the island, and sure she’d had a run in with him once or twice before when she’d been caught out in precarious positions, but she had never seen him like this before. He was always so calm and collected, and she let her mouth open and close like a fish for a moment, before then pointing at finger at him. “Okay, whilst I thank you for for that, someone needs to work on their anger issues, okay babe?”

Luke could feel Florence trying to pull him away but he refused to let go until the man agreed to leave her alone as well as the bar. Once he dropped him, he kept an eye on him to make sure he wouldn’t be a problem for anyone else before turning to Flo. He’d recognized her as another trouble maker around the island but she wasn’t as severe as some of the others so he usually went easy on her. “Anger issues? I just saved your ass from identity theft and sexual assault,” he defended, even though her words rang through somewhere inside him. “Are you okay at least?”

Jude was enjoying his moment of peace, and thought that he had hidden himself quite well away from any patients or family of the patients that may have found him, The eyes from the other male in the room had shocked him a little, and he let out a chuckle at his words. “It’s not been great.” He replied, not moving from his position perched on the edge of the desk. “This is the first time I’ve sat down in about seven hours. You?”

“Jesus, you got me beat,” Luke spoke with an amused shake of his head. The detective hadn’t seen this doctor around before so his initial guess was that he was new. Considering how much time Luke had sadly spent in this hospital for his own injuries or having to get statements from victims it would seem he was right in his observation. He could respect the man for what he did, but the toll their careers took on them was rough. “I can’t say mine is that rough, but the paperwork i’ve got waiting for me when I get out of here is going to have me about like that,” he joked. “Name’s Luke. I’m one of the detectives in the PD” he offered as well as his hand in greeting the fellow.

Luke’s response put Chloe off-guard. The man seemed like he was still not back to his usual self- if there was anything like a usual self to get back to. Whatever was happening, she was concerned about how… unsteady the conversation felt. “As much time as you need! I’m not joking around when I say I am here to listen,” Chloe said somewhat seriously. Joking around could be fun, but she did not want there to be any ambiguity regarding how much she cared about other people. “Of course it makes sense, Luke. There is nothing normal about what you went through. Did I tell you about how I rushed around trying to make sure I got all of the birthday gifts I missed to everyone?” She still worried on occasion that she had missed someone important because she had not learned about their birthday soon enough. “Good, though! I am so glad that your dog is less stressed. I missed everyone so much, so I’m glad to be able to speak to them again. That was the most maddening part to me.” 

“I appreciate that, Chlo, really,” he offered back, trying to form somewhat of a reassuring smile, although the conversation at hand seemed to worry him. He knew if anyone would get it it was Chloe, but just saying it out loud made him anxious. He knew people were already sort of walking on eggshells around him since being back, but he also didn’t want to give any indication for them to doubt him or his sanity. He looked up from the spot on the table he’d fixated on as he spilt his guts when she mentioned her confession. “No you didn’t but holy shit I didn’t even think about that,” he spoke with exasperation although it did bring him a small smile to know that he wasn’t the only one still struggling with this. “It’s like my gut reaction is to just get so angry, you know? So many memories were taken from us being there- like my freaking brother had twins and I wasn’t there for him,” he spoke with a shake of his head, “I just don’t know how to move past it.” He spoke, resisting the urge to sigh again. A tug pulled at the corner of his lips, “Yea, it was nice to have her so close to me again, even though she literally never left my side. I even had to take her to work with me for a couple of days because we got calls that her howling for me was disturbing the neighborhood,” he commented with a laugh. “I think so too. Sometimes I feel like I had to relearn how to talk to people that weren’t in the meadows, you know?”

As the voice by Will.I.AM blared out through the speakers of Nightshade, Jack felt a little wiggle in his hips start, and he turned to the closest person to him, a bright and intoxicated grin on his lips. “This is for me!” He shouted over the beat, closing his eyes as he revelled in the last birthday that he would turn in his thirties. “It’s my birthdaaaay!”

@icariastarters​

Luke had felt bad that he’d had to work on his brother’s birthday, but with everything going on with Zeus and Nyx the force was on high alert to keep the peace. He was also going through his own stuff as he transitioned back and the last thing he wanted to do was put that on his family. He made his way to Nightshade after his shift though, excited to celebrate his brother. As he approached, he could tell he would have a lot of catching up to do in the alcohol department as he watched Jack start to dance. He chuckled as he got within ear shot of Jack, shaking his head amused. “And you’re sure partying like it too,” Luke commented, “But you couldn’t even wait for your little brother?” he tsk tsked before throwing his fists up and mock dancing with his brother. He figured he could record this for hilarious blackmail later, but he also knew it had been a while since the two had spent actual time together. To that Luke figured when in Rome, “So how many drinks do I need to catch up on to get my hips to move like that?” he teased.

With Marci back in town, Mike had decide that it would be a good idea to pay her a visit and see how she was doing. It had been a great idea, though the execution left something to be desired - just as he’d been about to say hello on his way on up, he managed to trip on his shoelace and stumble, narrowly avoiding a full faceplant. “Psh, it’s fine, I’m all good - it’d take more than that to keep me down,” he assured her, playing off the moment of mortal terror he’d just had. Maybe he next time he would actually tie his shoelaces… or maybe not. “What about you? Everything going okay? Anything ya need help with?” He figured since she’d been away for a while, there might be more than usual that needed doing - and while it wasn’t like he worked at the inn, he was happy to pitch in if she needed a hand.

Marci had been leaving her apartment to run errands, one especially being returning Mike’s shirt. She’d been so grateful when he’d come to her rescue the night she’d locked herself out the Inn, but in the wake of her mother’s illness she hadn’t been able to return it. Realizing it had actually been Mike who’d nearly fallen, she couldn’t help but giggle at his suave attempt at recovering from his near fall. “Oh really? If you don’t tie those shoelaces i’m sure you’ll end up finding your way down again” she grinned, happy to see a familiar face. “I’m- ah, i’m okay,” she let out a small sigh after her answer, nodding a bit. “My mom had a health scare- but, but she’s better now,” she perked up, trying not to dwell on the last few weeks. “Happy to be home at least. What about you? How have things been?” she asked as she her warm smile slowly found it’s way back to her lips. “Oh goodness, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I feel like i’ve been gone so long, there’s probably a huge list left by my sisters with my name on it.”

Eve was overly stressed out, tired and just ready to scream. So following her girlfriend’s lead she made her way to the beach to shove her toes into the sand and zone out as the sun made its way across the sky. She was lost in thought kicking at the sand when she heard a familiar voice a few feet from her. Seeing Viv shield her eyes she smiled, “Hey Viv.” She said strolling up and without hesitation, sinking down next to her. “Not as often as I should I guess.” She nudged Viv’s shoulder, “Do you?” she teased. “How ya been, love?”

A pleasant smile found its way on Viv’s lips as she recognized Eve through the slowly setting sun’s rays. The two had gotten pretty close since Viv’s meltdown in the bar after Weston’s funeral. It was a relief, at least, that it was a familiar face that she didn’t have to pretend with, however it was getting easier to not have to pretend to be okay. “Oh every chance I get. I may not be a sea kid, of course, but something about the warm sand in my toes and the waves helps me think,” she offered, “Also, you know, those florescent lights in that hospital don’t do my skin any favors so gotta get my color where I can,” she teased with a shrug. “I’ve been okay, getting better.. Every day gets a little easier, you know? What about you?”

She hadn’t seen a rock. A ROCK. Her brain had been off in a case, nose in a folder file as she walked — and she fucking slipped on a rock; she stumbled her papers flew but she – well her balance and training kicked in keeping her from landing on her ass. But the papers… the file. It would take an hour to put them all back in order. With a defeated sigh she knelt down. “I’ll be okay. My papers – maybe not.” She said as she pulled one out of a puddle left over from the day before’s rain storm. “I cannot believe I tripped over a rock.” Aurora tossed a dirty glare at the rock before continuing to pick up the papers.

“Oh good,” Marceline spoke as the woman assured her she was okay. Marci looked around at the scattered papers, a few being taken by the wind as she scurried to catch them. She summoned a few vines from her hands to catch them before they went too far. Walking back with the ones she caught, she tried to straighten them as best she could on her knee when she approached. “Oh honey, if you only knew the things i’ve gone and tripped on over the years. I’m surprised this town hasn’t labeled me a walking hazzard,” she teased, trying to bring a smile to the woman’s face to cheer her up. Bending down she tried to assemble the rest of what papers she could to lend a hand. “Can’t say i’ve seen you around, although I have been out of town a while. Are you new?” Marci asked curiously, unable to help herself. 

Ness honestly wasn’t paying that much attention to the world around her. She was so absorbed into the podcast that she had been listening to, that she hadn’t realised that there was a step in front of her, and before she knew it, she was on her face. Her headphones had been pulled out of her ears as she fell, however the voice that hit her ears as she realised that she was in the company of friend soothed her. “Why am I always falling over when you’re around, Marci?”

Marci couldn’t help but let out a bell of a chuckle at Nessa’s words as she began helping her friend up. “Hey, I can’t help it if you’re always falling for me,” she teased with a grin as she brushed her hand back and forth on her friend to help dust her off as she got to her feet. “I do agree we need to stop meeting like this before you end up getting more than just frostbite like the last time,” she teased again. “It’s so good to see you though! I’ve missed you!” Marci couldnt help but let out at seeing the familiar face, “I feel like it’s been forever.”

Jack liked the beach. He’d been out for a walk, Sasha at home with the babies that night, and honestly, he just needed to go for a bit of a walk after his day. It had felt long, felt like it had dragged, and he was glad to see the back of it. Things just hadn’t gone as they should have, a carburettor had broken on him just as he had a customer driving off of the lot – it hadn’t been good. He’d been in his own little world, just walking through until he spotted the silhouette of someone on the beach, and a familiar voice hit his ears. Unable to stop the smirk from crossing over his lips, Jack sank down into the sand beside his oldest friend. “Are you hitting on me? I’d say it’s a bit fast, but I do know that I’m irresistible.” He teased, nudging her gently with his shoulder. 

Viv couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped her lips at hearing Jack’s words, honestly a little relieved it was someone she was already so comfortable with. She watched him take a seat beside her, laughing a bit more as his nudge tickled a bit. “I see those two little ones haven’t humbled you one bit,” she teased back, playfully rolling her eyes. “Speaking of which, and you know, not that I don’t totally mind the company, but shouldn’t you rushing home to them right about now?” she offered curiously.

“Oh thank god.” Jude let out a happy sigh as he leaned forward on to the nurses desk in front of him, feigning this exhaustion. “Is this hospital set out to mimic the minotaur’s labyrinth or what? I’ve never known one like it.” He grinned, before then standing up tall once more, taking her hand shaking it. “It’s nice to meet you Vivienne, and don’t worry about it. This just means I don’t have to go for a run tonight, already got my 10k steps in.”

“Oh you know it. If the halls aren’t confusing, is it really a hospital?” she teased with a light chuckle as she adjusted the stethoscope around her neck. “Only the more confusing for those who are not just mere mortals,” she added, as she shook his hand, internally admiring his firm grip. He seemed easy-going and his personality was something Vivienne was already relieved about. He seemed like someone she’d get along with well enough and she could use that around these halls. “Oh wow, well then you might just get a couple more as I show you around. So what brings you to our lovely little island?” she asked curiously as she began walking away from the nurse's station.

        𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 at who she bumped into. It was good to see around, she knew some months must be tough to her after the loss of Weston. ❛ Hello! ❜ Her hand rested on the back of her daughter, as if she was trying to smooth her nerves. Lena was a tad fussy, and dropped her toy on the floor. ❛ Oh God! ❜ She peaked at the baby stroller seeing Illya calm, biting his little rattled. ❛ Exhausted and they’re very active as you can see. How about you? ❜ She managed to lean to grab the toy, and threw inside of the twins stroller on Lena’s side. ❛ I’m about to get some ice cream to me. Do you wanna tag along? ❜

Viv chuckled as she leaned down to pick up the toy that had fallen to the floor and handed it to Sasha.  “Already a trouble maker like your dad, hmm?” she cooed to little Lena. “I can definitely see that. You guys are getting so big, and so cute,” she added before looking up to Sasha. “Well if that’s how you look exhausted then I can’t wait to see you well rested,” she teased with a laugh. She let out a small sigh when the conversation was turned towards herself. “Better, I guess is a good word for it. Taking it one day at a time. “Oh I would love that. Any excuse to spoil these cuties, and their momma.”

Yona snorted. “I don’t really care about manners. I just want creepy people to leave me alone,” she sighed. While she could deal with people that ticked her off, she would rather they just… not. Manners were totally a construct, though. She still didn’t know what a dessert fork was, and at this point she was too afraid to ask. “No idea what prompted it, but definitely out of the blue. Maybe he was new? Or visiting? Sometimes I forget that not everyone has lived here for ages.” Mirroring the other woman’s movement, Yona tilted her head to one side without realizing she was doing it.

“Well if more people had manners then they wouldn’t be creeping around you because that’s definitely not polite,” Marci added, a slight frown at seeing Yona sigh. “That makes sense, but i’m sorry that happened to you, dear. I’m sure it was frustrating,” Marci’s lips began to tilt upward in a small smile when Yona spoke about living on the island forever, “I almost forget the same thing myself. We’ve been here forever and new people still confuse me,” she added with a slight laugh. “How about some ice cream or something to cheer you up? My treat!”