WHERE: Merrock State Park

WHEN: May 12, 2023

In a little over a week, Jace would be spending almost every day in the park, hiking the trails, driving around in a state-regulated vehicle, talking to visitors, helping out guests... and although he had spent plenty of time there as a kid, he figured that there was nothing wrong with getting to know the land all over again. Quite literally, as he set out to tackle a different trail every day, figuring that by the time that he slipped into whatever uniform they talked him into wearing, he would know the place like the back of his hand... or hopefully would, anyway. That particular afternoon, he found himself stopping to take a break near the creek, dropping onto one of the fallen logs that he made a mental note to take care of when it was his responsibility. Probably. It did make for a nice bench to sit and watch the waterfall that the creek formed as the water rushed down the rocks.

As he was sitting, he heard the sounds of someone else coming up the trail -- multiple feet, he reasoned, not turning to look, but instead closing his eyes and focusing on the sound. No, not multiple people. One person and a dog, from the sounds of it, the leaves crunching under foot, the unmistakable pant of a dog as it made its way closer. Jace opened his eyes back up, chancing a look over his shoulder, and quickly turned his head again. Fuck. The Browning siblings just kept turning up everywhere, which he figured was the product of living in a small town... he was bound to run into them sooner, rather than later. Maybe it was better to rip the band-aid off right away. Taking a breath, he steeled himself, staying where he was on the log, and waiting to see if his brother approached, said anything, or walked on by. Unsure of which would be easier to deal with.

WHERE: Lake Malory

WHEN: Volunteer Week, April 2023

The upside of running your own business? When you wanted to take the afternoon off to go stand knee-deep in lake water, pulling up old lures and untangling line from the reeds, you could do that. The downside was that he knew he was going to have to work twice as hard the next week to get back on top of his paper work and personal projects, but... it was worth it. Lake Malory was one of Cage's favorite things about Merrock. Sometimes he spent whole afternoons out on the water with Colton, or fishing on the banks with one of his brothers. Other times, when he needed to clear his head, he would just take a drive, walk out to sit on the dock and think. It only seemed fitting that he would volunteer his time that week to cleaning it up, whenever he could.

Right in that moment, Cage was holed up along the shore, about six inches deep in churned up water, fishing waders doing their job of keeping him dry as he used his pocket knife to slice through a tangled line, wanting to do his best get it off of the fallen tree that it had completely tangled in when he heard the sounds of someone else nearby, glancing up, and then doing a double take. Of all the people to have ended up at the lake that day... Cordelia's brother.

If Elistra was going to ingratiate herself with Mellora- or even begin to trust her beyond her appealing, pretty words, she should also acquaint herself with the people that ran in Mellora’s circle. The man who called himself Mellora’s cousin and guided tour groups in the museum where she worked was named Thomas, which wasn’t particularly a suspicious name. However, everything else about his situation was. If Elistra was one for gambling, she’d bet a considerable amount on him being a hippocampi, one allied strongly with the mermaids. As she had learned with Jo though, sometimes she could be very, very wrong.

It was early enough in the morning on a weekday that there wasn’t much of a crowd to speak of in the museum. If Elistra wanted a private tour alone with one of the tour guides, this seemed the time to get one. She wandered around, trying to act as casually as possible until, finally, she spotted Thomas near a display.

“What’s that one about?” she asked, approaching him from behind. When he turned to look at her, she smiled and gave a small wave. “Hi. I’m Elistra. Your name’s Thomas, right? Mellora’s cousin?”

jessica ➝ thomas: thomas, are you alright?

jessica ➝ thomas: i saw you earlier but lost track when everything happened. are you still there? where are you?

jessica ➝ thomas: i can't believe they stabbed tío. broke the truce. what the FUCK

About once a week, Eric tried to stop by the penthouse for breakfast or dinner, first of all because he was a firm believer that family was the most important in someone’s life, and also because if he didn’t, his mom had a tendency to call basically every day to check up on him. Even now.

As the elevator ended on the top floor and the doors opened with a familiar ping, Eric stepped out and walked towards the living room where he could hear the ruffling of papers. “Hey mom, it’s--” he said, ending his sentence abruptly when he was who was sitting on the couch. 

“Oh,” he said, his tone betraying his disappointment. “It’s you.” Then, as soon as he’d said it, he recovered from the initial disappointment and walked over to Thomas to shake his hand. “Hey, man. I didn’t know you were here.” Then, as he looked around and found Lily nowhere to be seen, he ran a hand through his hair before speaking. “Why are you? here, I mean. And where’s mom?” 

"Sand… Now I understand Anakin Skywalker."             

___ dick couldn’t help but laugh at what the other said, that scene just automatically playing in his head. “i’m so glad that’s the first thing that came to your mind. star wars references are some of my favorite.” said while shaking his head, drops of water falling down his shoulders and back. he loved the beach and even the sand, didn’t care if it got literally everywhere. “does that mean you’re not letting me build a sandcastle on you?” he winked.