[Private] Unexpected Company.

Lucas took a peek at the setup he had for Luther.  There was no disturbance from his cage or anything else that suggested the parrot was up for round 2 of throwing down with Fawkes.

Lucas turned on the kitchen lights instead of the living room lights so there was less of a chance of the light breaking through the dividers and cover and waking his delicate feathered friend up. The Fairest watched Fawkes as he took in the living room. He wasn't surprised that Fawkes was in surveillance mode. Sunbanishers were trained in taking all kinds of threats into consideration, what their exit options are, and what they can learn about their potential threats based on how their quarters are decorated.

The Winter Fairest's humble abode put an emphasis on humble. There wasn't any artwork on the walls. The furniture, including the chairs in the kitchen and the small 2 person table, were all standard issue from the apartment complex. The few items he had out in the kitchen suggested that Lucas liked to shop at Krogers. Oddly enough, there was a rather expensive looking coffee and latte maker in the kitchen.

"Do you like Grapefruit at all?"

If Fawkes did, Lucas will give him Labatt Blue Lite with Grapefruit. If Fawkes didn't then he would give him a Molson Ice. Lucas took the Grapefruit flavored brew for himself before leading the way out onto the balcony.  There were two comfortable tent chairs out on the balcony.

"Well, hey, that's something." He grinned.

"I can do both. Maybe a little too much of each at times." Lucas chuckled.

"How long have you been in Vegas? I've been here for around a year and a half or so, give or take."

Lucas cast a glance over at Fawkes' cheek, the sound drawing him. His eyes didn't linger there because he knew better to gawk at someone, it was rude. He  turned his attention back over to the night sky while he chewed over a few didn't thoughts in his mind. He wondered if the higher a Lost went up in Wyrd, the less they cared about how humanoid their appearance was. He didn't like the idea of letting go of any major anchors that helped keep him cemented to his humanity.

"I'm originally from Toronto. I used to hit up the Loose Moose lodge when there were Maple Leafs and load up on cheap pitchers of Labatt Blue. The Loose Moose is the official fanclub HQ for the Leafs. Before Vegas, I was in Detroit for a few years. Sometimes I miss the East Coast, there's a different energy out that way then there is here."

"I wanted something different, y'know?"

He scratched the tip of his nose, thinking back to his time in Detroit. There had been lots of ups and no shortage of downs. He had thought going to a place that had less winter weather wise would be better for his mental health. He wasn't sure any more if that had been the right call.

"The winters in Michigan are heavy. In some ways, that's great for us. But we all need some balance in our life. Plus, a Freehold in Sin City, with lots of sunshine, and powerful protective wards has a lot of appeal to it. What brought you here?"

CW: non descrip reference to a suicide attempt.

Lucas contemplated how to respond to Fawkes' statement about his Huntsman. He was well aware that most Lost tried to stay put in one Freehold for as long as possible because even traveling to a neighboring freehold could be dangerous. Vegas and Detroit were a hell of a ways away from each other. The trek had certainly been a dangerous one.

The thing for Lucas was it wasn't his time in Arcadia that killed him. It was his depression. He was more fearful of his depression getting the best of him again than he was of a Huntsman finding him for that reason.

"Mm, I was worried about that. But some things are worth the risk. In every other Freehold outside of Vegas, there's always that risk of a Huntsman showing up at any moment. No matter what you do, you gotta look over your shoulder. That's not really living. At least not in the sense you don't get to explore who you are as a person because you're stuck in that fear. And that fear keeps taking you back to Arcadia. So, you're still stuck in that mental prison.

Vegas on the other hand...it offers protection. Yeah, there are plenty of dangers here, but there's actual safety too. There's some room to breathe and be yourself. That was worth the risk for me. "

He shrugged his shoulders. Sometimes he felt like coming here was mistake because he still got hit with a depressive episode that caused him to drop out of society for several months. But he was so able to drive to the local library, spend some time picking out a new book, and he could drive home without having to fear a huntsman waiting for inside of his apartment.


"Oof. Sounds like you've had a rough go of things. Are you liking Vegas better than the other places?"

"Damn. I'm sorry for your losses, Fawkes. That's a lot."

Lucas took a large swig of his drink, trying to picture how that kind of loss of life would impact someone. While he lived in Detroit, he had lost a couple of friends over the years. Those losses had been hard enough.  On top of that...Fawkes was now a Sunbanisher. He was surrounded by life and death on the regular.

"I'm glad you have your Motley for support. What kind of things do you do to keep your feet on the ground? Between all the different responsibilities you have as a court member on top of having to deal newer folks shitting the bed as it were, that's a mountain of stress. I don't know if even a Netflix marathon would do the trick." He added in a touch of humor with his last few words.

Lucas grinned in mild amusement, shaking his head.

"I'm gonna go out on a ledge here and assume that one of your touchstones isn't your TV, yeah? I meant your hobbies."

He knocked back another sip of his drink.

"At the heart of what we're about is finding ways to process our grief and reflect on them. At least, that was always my take. I feel like a lot of that has gone out the wash recently because we've been so busy cleaning up messes from other courts...and apparently our own."

He frowned for a moment as he thought back on what happened with Maks.

Lucas looked surprised. The conversation was going in a direction he had not predicted. The Fairest retraced their conversation to see if he could figure out what brought them to this place.

"I don't want anything from you Fawkes, especially not a run down of your mental health. Trust me, I get it.  It's not a secret that I struggle with depression from time-to-time." He held up his free hand, palm facing forward in a gesture that's meant to suggest he's not looking for any kind of confrontation.

"This was just me wanting to get to know you a little better. I guess if we want to dig further beneath the surface, my hope was that I could be of some use to you. I couldn't do what Roger and you do, but what you do is important. My whole stchick in the Silent Arrow is I'm good at socializing with other courts and helping fellow Winter Lost be more mentally resilient. If we had some common ground, maybe I could help shield your clarity in the future. If not, maybe we could grab a beer again sometime in the future. I'm still kind of reeling that someone I spoke with not that long ago is suddenly dead and we have no idea what drove him to that point. My guess is loneliness and that's also something I know well. Something I'm willing to bet most Lost here know well and have felt too."