𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆟 𓆝

Muz straightens slightly, unfolding his arms and stepping closer, his boots scuffing lightly against the pavement. He reaches up to adjust the strap of his bag, his movements easy and unhurried. 'You know me, Cherry, gotta do my rounds every morning.' His eyes flick toward her cigarette for a moment before meeting her gaze again, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He tilts his head, leaning just enough to feign a closer inspection of her. 'Making sure no one’s not doing some crap like ghost huntin’, yeah?'

Ellington straightened from their hunched position over the engine, wiping grease-streaked hands on a rag tucked into their back pocket. They glanced at Muz, then at the watch he held out. The light filtering through the chop shop caught on its cracked glass, giving the object an air of aged mystery.

‘Uh, I don’t-I don’t know.’ He feels himself lurch, stumble over the words. What would happen to the watch when it was fixed hadn’t crossed his mind, his focus remained only on point a and b; the difference between him traipsing around and finding the broken watch, deciding Ellington was the one to fix it and then physically getting to them to hand it over. Now that’s all finished, he’s lost. ‘Maybe.’

a nod follows. “yeah…” she lifts the book from her lap, its weight almost comforting in her hands. against the flickering candlelight, its shadow dances across her face, obscuring her expression in the dimness. “just reading. can’t sleep.” her voice carries a stillness ⸺ an understanding, that muz very well could be in the same restless state she is in. with a deliberate motion, she slips her finger between the pages to mark her place, careful not to crease the spine—a small, habitual act of care.

‘Dunno, to be honest.’ And to be honest, he never really does. Most days are spent wandering aimlessly, usually painted with the job of scavenger on it in an attempt to make the aimless travels useful sounding. Before Oblitus, he’d call them ‘mindfulness’ walks, just to think, even when they were charged with anger or grandeur or some other spiking energy. Now he comes back with a bit of scrap wood and calls it a good day. ‘I don’t wanna stop you reading if you’re into it, though. Honest. I can find somewhere else to have a sit. I was just gonna think the night away.’

jean looks up from taking inventory of the medicine cabinet when she hears the sound of someone clearing their throat. seeing muz, she nods before shutting the cabinet. "of course, always have time." she had too much time here. back home she would be juggling a bunch of patients but here, a slow day was a good day because it meant nothing bad was happening. she would take a hurting ankle over something way worse. "come take a seat," she gestured to one of the cots that lined the wall of the clinic. "how long has it been bothering?"

He nods an upturned cheers and shuffles over to the cot. ‘Uh,’ he mumbles, giving a feigning shrug. ‘Couple days. Tumble in the woods.’ Muz looks over the room and notes how it’s people-less. He’d spent the morning debating whether or not to come in, whether he’d be actively taking away needed attention from other people in the town over a twisted ankle, but now seeing just Jean here, he almost feels a little less embarrassed over it. ‘You miss WebMD in this town. I used to have it bookmarked.’

as muz talks, mason feels a thread of ease work it's way into his veins. someone else feels it, the way the library can slow down time and make everything feel simple. words on pages, books on shelves. there's something to be said about the connection sharing a mutual feeling can bring.

Camaraderie - that’s it. The library and its inhabitants just have it. ‘Yeah, man. Used to be a big reader. The biggest.’ He smiles absently back. ‘Nowadays…’ his hand raises and shakes like a seesaw midair. ‘I’m neither here nor there. Started a fair few. Finished none. I’m more on the vibes in here now.’

Adrien chuckles.

His head, this brain, this place. All things impossible to dodge. 'You're spot on, you know. Nowhere to dodge stuff here.’ He gives a wry smile. ‘Just-‘ he hesitates for a second then falls into a breath of a sigh as he looks out on the water, back at Adrien. ‘Crap. All kinds of crap.’ Muz makes a vague gesture to his head. ‘Don’t wanna bring anyone down. More than they are, anyway.’

Muz feels the words like a shiver tracing his spine, an instinctive reaction he grinds to a halt. This pit of distain gurgles inside of him for this place, those things; even when they surrender Elm out in the night like that, letting them live has to mean something more sinister than it is shred of mercy - almost scarier than finding the dead. 'Yeah,' he agrees quietly. 'It is.'

being in the library always makes mason feel more at ease. the books, the quiet, he feels closer to normal. and today is no exception. to be honest, he's been a little shaken. skittish. ever since the storm. the library felt even more like a safe haven. he didn't really care that the work could be kind of monotonous, especially with the fact that they were never particularly that busy but mason found it almost easy to fall into the routine.

Muz lets out a breath of a laugh at Mason’s reaction, a slight tilt of his head as he crosses his arms. He doesn’t mean to startle anyone, but it’s hard not to when you’re as quiet as he is. 'Killing time sounds about right,' he says, leaning a bit more casually against the shelf. 'Can’t say I’m in the mood for anything important either.'

the wind was cool against her skin as she stood in the middle of the forest. she should be working, searching for things in the ruins of cars or trying to find something she may have missed before that could be useful for the town, but instead, she was just standing, looking out at the trees. hearing the sounds of footsteps, she turns around quickly to see someone. it was one of the new girls. she hadn't met her yet but she remembered seeing her panicked eyes roaming the halloween party. "just waiting," she says, not giving any context for what she was waiting for. "what are you doing?"

Catie frowns, her hand instinctively tightens around the strap of her bag, still rattled by the shock of seeing someone else out here. 'Waiting?' she echoes, unable to hide the skepticism. She takes a step forward, not quite sure whether to approach or turn back. The whole idea of standing still in these woods, of waiting for something, feels… wrong. Her eyes narrow. 'For what?'

Lucas looks up and sees a girl standing at the front desk. She looks lost and scared.

Catie narrows her eyes. 'You’re kidding,' she says, the disbelief in her voice impossible to miss. 'A sheriff. Deputies. What, have you got a judge and jury hiding somewhere back there?'

Adrien sits quietly, reminiscing on the few memories he still has of his parents. One such from the day they'd died. They'd spent the day attempting to fish in a river similar to this one. Since Adriennwas 10, he was obviously terrible at it, and he'd had his parents clutching their sides in laughter from his attempts. It had been on the way back when it had happened.

'Been one of those days. Sometimes the noise at Colony House just gets to me, yeah? Needed a break.' He watches Adrien for a moment, catching the way his leg swings and his gaze seems distant. 'Guess we’re both out here avoiding it all today, huh?' His lips quirk into a small smile without quite reaching his eyes. 'Not that I blame you. The whole “getting-a-boyfriend” thing sounds like a hell of a lot more stress than anything I’m dodging.'

Muz chuckles under his breath, his grin widens as he leans against the doorframe. 'From me, yeah? Must be scarier than I thought.' His gaze lingers on her for a beat longer, catching the glimmer of something behind her tired bravado, though he doesn’t press. 'You’re not exactly easy to pin down, Cherry.' He tilts his head slightly. 'So, what’s this big mission pulling you away now? Gotta be something worth dodging breakfast for.'

Catie raises a brow, caught off guard by the dry, actually almost absurd response. She wasn't quite sure what what to expect but it’s enough to make her pause, her frustration momentarily muted by the hint of a smile despite herself.