p u c k i s h

“Fifty to a hundred? I think I’ve just figured out my hidden talent” She was less of a coffee connoisseur then mainstream America, and more so an avid caffeine fiend. Coffee, caffeine patches - whatever did the trick. At this point, Rory wasn’t sure if the caffeine was to wake her up or simply keep her alive. “If you make it past the big five - o and still need something, we can go stick our fingers in electrical sockets.” 

         “Drinking the lethal amount of coffee without overdosing?” He supposed it’d be a useful talent for himself, or people in similar fields. Musing the idea only widened Lukas’ already mischievous grin. “If I’m going to do something that causes my heart to stop, I don’t think it’ll be sticking my finger in an electrical socket. That seems very nosy 3 year old to me.” Or people who really just ... wanted to be elsewhere. Thankfully he’d never gotten one of those calls. “Caffeine or cigarettes. I’d rather the caffeine but I’m guilty of both.”

mazikeen had forgotten about her tea long ago, it certainlybeing cold by now as her eyes stayed strained to the mark on her wrist that had turned to bright red almost 15 minutes ago. she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, never seeing the star changing colors in her 27 years of life, at this point she was almost sure she’d never see it, but soon enough she heard someone’s voice snapping her attention back to the coffee shop. she looked around, offering a small smile at the male once she heard him. ❝ had a long night ? ❞ she wondered, shaking her head slightly amused. ❝ imagine the jitters from all that caffeine. ❞

         “Coming off of a double. A few more hours after this break and I will go home and sleep until something forces me awake.” His laugh was light, only somewhat serious to the manner in which he knew he’d sleep. No matter how much caffeine he had in his system, Lukas could knock out anywhere ... no questions asked. It worked in favor of his odd hours, though ultimately he wasn’t complaining. “I’ve built too much a tolerance. I don’t get jitters anymore. Just tired but forcibly awake.” From around the back of his cup he could see the tip of the mark, marred by the thick white of his injury long passed. The blackness of it was noticeably gone, replaced by an angry red. Of course a little shot of alarm pulsed through his head, but the ever-aloof Lukas forced it down with a swallow. It didn’t hurt --- but it was never red like that before.

mia sometimes felt like she relied on caffeine to power her in much the same way that a car needed gas. today was one of those days. her shift had been long and busy, and relief had washed over the girl as she walked through the door of the cafe. a hot cup of coffee in her hands, she had retreated to the back corner, where a comfortable chair was calling to her. she spent a few minutes lost in her own thoughts before a voice to her side drew her back to the world. her lips lifted into a grin as she listened. “i’m mere moments from mainlining this cappuccino, so i can’t exactly judge you,” she laughed. “long day? or are you just testing death for the hell of it?”

         “The medical professional in me insists you don’t do that, but the caffeine addict in me would join you.” Lukas admitted puckishly, taking a large gulp of aforementioned coffee right after. It took a while to adjust to the sleep schedule this job called for --- though admittedly he was used to more chaotic, frantic. The quiet nature of Captiva was strange compared to what he had come from, but he supposed he wouldn’t complain. There were plenty of places to get coffee. “A little of both. At the end of a double ... and a bit of a daredevil. You?”

“ ouch ! ” honey was quick to yelp out, instantly tugging his hand away from the flower he had gone to pick and bringing it close to his face to inspect it. a tiny drop of blood beaded at the tip of his index finger and a childish pout effortlessly made it’s way to the boy’s lips. “ it attacked me. a flower attacked me ! ” he was dramatic, if nothing else, loud enough for anyone around to hear, most assuredly. “ and now i’m bleeding ! i’m bleeding, oh my god. i’m gonna bleed out. i need medical assistance, i’m gonna bleed OUT — ”

         “Stop,” Lukas murmured, immediately reaching forward to peer at the other’s hand. He was in uniform --- big EMT, PARAMEDIC patches and buttons shining obviously for the world to see. In his free hand he had a coffee, half drank despite it being fresh bought, and in the other ... the supposed injured hand. “It’s a prick. It’ll stop bleeding in a minute or two. You’re fine.”

to most passersby, norah might have looked deep in thought as she sat upon the park bench, her feet tapping against the sidewalk impatiently, but in reality, she was anxiously planning her next move. just hours earlier, she’d been invited to bring a friend to one of the brand new restaurants in the swanky part of town for a free meal in exchange for an instagram  post promoting them. it’d only been a year since she moved to captiva, meaning she didn’t know that many people to begin with, therefore making it highly likely that most of her very few friends were busy at any given moment. she’d tried to reach out to everyone she knew pretty well— which, to be fair, was not a large number of people— but to no avail. her reservation was in an hour and norah had still yet to find someone she knew amidst the swarms of tourists to drag to dinner. while she could have eaten by herself, there was nothing she hated more than eating alone; it made her feel sad and small. as she sat there, wallowing in self-pity and reluctantly accepting her imminent fate, she spotted a familiar face and jumped to her feet. she never knew it was possible to be filled with so much love for someone until now.

“oh my god, just the person i was looking for!” she exclaimed as if she’d been looking for them all day, her heels clicking loudly as she dashed towards the other. “crazy idea, but do you wanna go get dinner with me downtown today at that new place? it’s on the house. it’s, uh, it’s for an instagram sponsorship thing. please don’t let me eat alone,” she pleaded. “think about it— you get free dinner, you get to spend time with me, and you get to save a poor soul from dying of loneliness!”

         In his own short year in Captiva Lukas had remained woefully separate from most of the bodies that inhabited the town. It wasn’t for a lack of trying ( and it wasn’t as if he didn’t know anybody in town ... he had a few friends ) but the demanding hours of his job didn’t really allow him to have a personal life. Even now he was on an hour break --- taking a walk from the hospital down to one of the little café’s in the corner that he knew served strong coffee to keep him going through the next few hours of his shift. The voice jarred him from his thoughts, his hands crammed into his pockets to seek out his wallet in a preemptive strike to pay once he got to his destination. Lukas froze in place, almost as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been, and turned to face the speaker.

“What time?” Free dinner. He’d definitely be hungry at the end of his shift. So long as he had enough time to wash the day off of himself and change it seemed feasible. The paramedic continued rifling through his pockets, glancing up at Norah every so often to let her know he was paying attention. “I have no idea what instagram sponsorship is, but dinner sounds good. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

MAX RIEMELT + CISMALE + HE/HIS — have you met LUKAS RICHTER? they are a THIRTY THREE year old PARAMEDIC known as the PROVOKER. a HETEROSEXUAL SCORPIO, they are DILIGENT + INQUISITIVE, as well as OBSTINATE + FLIPPANT. their soulmark is a STAR ON THE INSIDE OF THEIR RIGHT WRIST, and they CAN feel the emotions of their soulmate, who happens to look like ADELAIDE KANE.