#handsonluc

It’d been a while since Luc had shifted, letting their bear out in the world to do what animals do best. Just like a pet, a shifter’s animal required enrichment and socialization, and it was starting to show in Luc’s temperament that they had not been very attentive to the bear’s needs. The short fuse, his anxious smoking habit, the incessant craving for sushi, they were all indicative of an impending, involuntary shift. At least, it would be, if he didn’t give it what it wanted soon. 

Eager to placate it, Luc put the finishing touches on some smaller projects around the campus and called it an early day, opting for a hike up in the North Shore. Which, according to the campus map, should have been secluded enough to provide them with a little bit of privacy.  Finding a nice bit of wilderness, Luc stripped down from his thermal wear, shivering involuntarily from the brisk winter breeze. “The shit I do for you,” he huffed under his breath, getting down to his birthday suit. Just as quickly as they’d undressed, Luc changed, his comparatively smaller frame giving way to his massive bear form. It wasn’t a painful process, at least not anymore, and if it ever had been, the memory was lost on him. Bounding through the tufts of snow like a kid on a snow day, Luc wandered through the dense forest, leaping through soft mounds of snow until they came upon a clearing. Curious, the bear stalked further onto the property, cautiously at first, and then determined when they spotted a nice little patio set they could curl up on for a bit. The snow was clear here, and with the bit of respite it provided from the snow, the bear decided it would be a lovely little place for a nap. When Luc woke up several hours later, it was to the sound of someone gently trying to shoo him. His first human thought was that engaging with a bear was kind of stupid. His second, that he should probably change before they decided to take more drastic measures. Snatching up the long lounge chair cushion, the bear wrapped it around his waist and shrunk down to Luc’s much more modest six foot four frame. “Sorry, uh…” Luc held onto the cushion for dear life. “...don’t call the police?”

Well...this was a bloody first. Ciaran had been on the island long enough that there wasn't a lot of weird-ass shit that actually managed to surprise him, but this did. It wasn't every day that a bloke came back from a run to find a fucking bear asleep on this front porch. He thanked his stars that the dogs and Mr. Feathers had apparently had the smarts to stay away, then approached the what he assumed was a shifter. "Mate..ya wanna wake the fuck up now?" He muttered, nudging the creature once more with a flip-flop clad toe before taking a big step back to prepare for whatever the hell was going to happen next.

The wolf watched with arched brows as the bear shifted back into a form that, well...he really didn't have a problem with. Lips twitched before curving into a downright cheeky smile as he watched the man, unable to resist giving him some kind of shit. "I dunno" Ciaran shrugged, scratching his unruly raven locks. "Ya are tresspassin' ya know. May have to give me a reason to not" He teased, before letting out a good-natured laugh.

"Just takin' the piss love. C'mon in before ya freeze to fuckin' death. Got somethin' that'll probably fit ya if ya want." He himself was clad in only a pair of worn sweats and a white tee, a nod to the magical weather as he usually only came back from his runs in boxers. Gym shorts if he was feeling fancy. Opening the door to his cabin, he invited the other in with an incline of his head.

They’d really stepped in it this time. 

How was it that they always managed to stumble into something absolutely fucked? For a moment, Luc allowed their mind to wander back to the trailer park, and sort of smiled. Deacon would say it was because they ran their mouth off too damn much. Which was fair enough, they wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t applied for the vacant Head of Maintenance position.

They laid there for a long moment, staring up at the spotless white ceiling, not a yellow-ish water-mark in sight, and pondered on their new situation. So what? They got a fancy new phone, some nice digs, a relatively cushy job on a tropical island? It wasn't prison. At least not for them. And Luc wasn’t a saint by any stretch of the imagination. He’d hurt people, sometimes just to hurt them, other times because he was told. How was this place any different? Luc shot up, sitting up straight like they’d just risen from the dead, and tugged at their long curly locks.

It wasn’t. They had a place to sleep at night and a bit of pocket change, and all they had to do was their fucking job.

Fishing around in their coat pocket, Luc pulled out a sealed pack of cigarettes and slapped it against their palm before pulling the cellophane off, ‘waking up the cancer’ as Deacon used to call it. Luc was supposed to quit, but then again, Deacon wasn’t supposed to lose his goddamn mind and fuck off into the Oregon wilderness, so what difference did it make? Promises were bullshit and these weren’t actually going to kill them anyway.

With an unlit cigarette in their mouth, Luc meandered aimlessly through the halls until they stumbled upon an exit door that led out into the humid island air, it was sweet and warm, and smelled nothing like home. 'Thank fuck,’ they thought, feeling around their pockets for a lighter, the searching growing more and more frantic the closer they came to the realization that they didn’t have one on ‘em. “Fuck.” A trek back to their suite might as well have been a herculean trial without a smoke first. “‘Scuse me, uh –” Luc waved a hand to get their attention. “You got a lighter on you?” The cigarette bounced up and down as they spoke. “I promise not to fuck off with it, scout’s honor.”

Evelyn strolled down the island streets, heading for campus. A sad but soft smile curved her lips as the looked around. There were still buildings that were in various states of damaged, her own old shop being one of them. But there was almost a peaceful air now. The craziness of the past year was over and the island was all about rebuilding. At least, that was the positive spin that she put on it, as she tried her hardest to do the same. She still missed Leib and even her sister like crazy and now with Elijah and Leslie gone as well? The skater could very easily fall into a very dark place. But she had a new shop to run, a very needed distraction. Plans for new designs soon filled her mind and put a much needed perk in her step as she continued on, only to stop short as a man waved to get her attention.

"Oh ah no..sorry. I don't smoke" Evie replied with a shrug and an apologetic smile. "The main market is finally reopened though so I'm sure you'll find what you need there"