(Untitled)

[youlosetrack]

It's ridiculous, how gorgeous this island is.

As soon as he'd found himself steady enough on the crutches to go more than a few feet away from the compound door, Mace had slowly spent each day going up and down the boardwalk, taking in everything he could.

The earth room on Icarus had nothing on Tabula Rasa. Hell, Earth had nothing on it. The

Comments

[rage_andlove]

"What's got you so cheerful, you miserable motherfucker?"

Tunny's been sitting in the shade for a while now. Rizzo helped him find this book on tattooing that he'll admit is cautiously awesome and it's nice to be outside. He feels like he can breathe better outside.

Even so, it's a relief to see a familiar face.

[youlosetrack]

"Being outside," Mace replies, too tired and in too much of what passes for a good mood to be anything but straightforward.

He'll work up something nice to say to Tunny in a little while.

"Who let you out?"

[rage_andlove]

"My keeper must've fallen asleep."

Still smiling, Tunny wheels himself a little closer. He's caught the sun, flushed across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. It feels...pretty fucking good.

"You can put me back in a while."

[youlosetrack]

"Fuck that," Mace says. He slides down in his seat a little, resting his head on the back of it. "You can wheel yourself back, I'm done for the day."

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah had decided that she was most certainly showing. It had been a couple weeks since she could get in her wet suit which meant she hadn't been surfing. That realization had stung. She hadn't thought about the things she wouldn't be able to do. And she hadn't given much thought to what it would be like to gain weight. She'd always been a tiny little thing and now her hips were- and her chest was- and her belly- well, thank God for flowing sundresses was all she could think. At least no one had noticed and cornered her about it yet.

She'd caved to the craving for something sweet and as she came out with her treat she heard a bit of a laugh. It drew her closer. He was a wet ol' mess but he seemed happy enough.

"Hi there. I'm Savannah," she said, a bright and sunny smile gracing her lips. The twanging accent she'd arrived with hadn't softened one little bit.

"You want a cookie? I got a bunch." She held one out, almost daring him to say no.

[youlosetrack]

He's seen plenty of beautiful women of all sorts by now, but Mace still isn't used to how they just kinda pop up out of nowhere offering cookies and french toast and everything else under the sun.

"I'd like one," he answers. Any ideas he may have had about refusing are chased away when he realizes he's sitting in front of the bakery. "Thank you."

[seeyousoonthen]

"You're so welcome," she said cheerfully. Savannah had never felt unwelcome in her life and now was no different. She took a seat by him just as if they were the oldest of friends.

"It must be a pain to get around on those crutches. How much longer will you need them?" she asked before she began to nibble on a cookie of her own.

[youlosetrack]

What the hell was in the water that made everyone here so happy to help their fellow man out? Mace isn't unappreciative, but anymore of this and it'll start to border on creepy.

He takes a large bite out of the cookie, and realizes he's going to need some food soon. If there's one thing to say for how much everyone helped out, it's that there's amazing food every day. No more noodles and chicken and hot sauce he'd tired of after only a few months on Icarus. "I've still got another week or so. Been in it for over a month now."

[just_hormones]

The bakery's not exactly a place Aphrodite frequents, with her aversion to the drudgery of mortals and their need to eat. So she's about to breeze right on by the place, but when she catches sight of a cute and apparently injured guy taking a seat on the patio, she smoothly changes course.

"Hey, handsome," she said, pink-clad hips swaying as she walked over to his table with a bright and charming smile. "You holding up okay there?"

[youlosetrack]

Mace blinks.

That's a lot of pink and a lot of smile for a woman, but he takes it in stride. If being here's taught Mace anything, it's that there's no shortage of beautiful women wandering around.

He doesn't even have to work to talk to any of them.

"Yeah," he replies, and gives her a smile, brief and genuine. "I'm doing fine, thanks."

[just_hormones]

She sweeps over and joins him, perching herself on the chair next to his, because hello, who wouldn't want to be joined by the goddess of love? "Poor guy," she says with a sympathetic look. "Did you hurt yourself on the island, or before you came here?"

[youlosetrack]

This is an entirely new way of being talked to, and Mace isn't sure if she's playing some kind of game or if she just is. He's met enough friendly people - men and women alike - that he can't tell anymore.

Maybe it was all the sun.

"I was hurt pretty bad when I showed up," he replies, absently massaging his left hand. The bandages have been off for a while now, and he still finds it hard to look down at what's left of his thumb. So he doesn't. "Been stuck in the clinic and with this cast on for the last month."

[lexiepedia]

The bakery is, as far as Lexie is concerned, one of the greatest things that has ever happened to the island. She isn't as on edge now as she was, say, a few days ago, Sean's return from days stuck in Rapture doing wonders for her well-being, but she gravitates toward the building anyway, figuring a snack won't hurt. With as good as all the baked goods around here are, it's a wonder, she thinks, that she hasn't doubled her weight; having to walk everywhere is probably her saving grace.

She smiles, though, when she sees Mace on its porch, taking a seat in a nearby chair. Food will be good, but it can also wait. It's just good to see him out and about and looking well, mobile, adjusting to everything as well as she could have hoped for. When she thinks about the state of him the day he arrived, this, a far cry from it, is hands-down fantastic.

"You look like you're having a good day," she notes, resting her chin in one hand as she looks over at him. "Everything with the crutches going alright?"

[youlosetrack]

"I'm handling them," Mace says, reaching down to pat the crutches. He has a love/hate relationship with them, especially at the end of the day when his muscles are aching. "I'm making it out pretty far now."

[lexiepedia]

"That's good," Lexie says, smile a little broader than the one typically reserved for patients. She can't help it; she's invested. "I know they kind of suck to have to get around on, but that's really good."

[youlosetrack]

It's fortunate he likes Lexie as much as he does; it's made having to see her almost every day not feel like a chore, and if he were the sort to care about it, he likes that she seems to actually like him.

He makes a mental note to buy her a drink soon, when he's back up on both feet.

"What's up with you? I've gotta admit, it's a little weird seeing you outside of the clinic."

[notfaking_it]

There are a lot of injured people on the island lately. Lily hasn't said anything, but she's noticed, and as she leaves the Compound with the intention of heading for the beach, her gaze drifts over the man sitting in one of the bakery chairs, the crutches on the ground. He seems happy enough, despite the injury and she smiles at him when he laughs.

At least, she thinks it's a laugh.

"Good day?" she asks, turning a little as she nears him, her towel slung over her shoulder. "Or just better than most?"

[youlosetrack]

He doesn't outright stare; that much, Mace knows not to do. But it's hard not to watch the way the she walks, and harder still to put his finger on what it is.

"Better than most," he replies, giving her a brief smile.

[notfaking_it]

"Well, that's still not too bad," Lily answers, pushing her hair back behind her ears as she slows and then comes to a stop near his table. "Especially if most of the days haven't been all that great."

Which, given how some people show up on the island, isn't entirely impossible.

[youlosetrack]

"It's not bad at all," he agrees.

The sun's bright behind her and his gaze slides off her and to the sky. It makes him squint and he can't stare for too long, but he can't stop himself, either.