plantfood | (no subject)

It's only Hal with him on the beach today; the other dogs tend to stick close to Sam and Sam is with Lucy, but Hal, somehow, she's become his dog. He never knew her previous owner, knows only that he and River were close, and that, at least, makes him think that, whoever he was, he must have been a good guy. But he doesn't know what he was like, doesn't know what it is about him that makes Hal want to stay by his side most of the time, but he finds he doesn't mind. Before the island he was certainly not a dog person, preferring the company of his small cat, but things change.

The island changes things.

It's early evening, the sun is still at least a half hour from dipping behind the trees and Mathias doesn't want to move from this spot. He's gone for a dive, his scuba equipment is sitting on the sand beside him and he's still dripping, but he makes no move to reach for his towel. Sometimes, he knows, awful things happen to the people here. They lose their loved ones and people die, the island isn't a safe haven from that, but at this moment, he's happy to be here. He's happy to be alive.

There are plants in the hut he shares with Lucy and Sam, only two, one in the main room and one in his bedroom, but they're there. Even a few months ago he might have had trouble sleeping with them there, but no longer. Back home, he's dead. Acceptance of that has been a long time coming, but he thinks it's finally here. He's dead. Henrich is dead. Stacy is dead.

But not now and not here.

Smiling faintly, he reaches over and strokes Hal's fur, then lifts his hand to wave to the figure coming down the beach toward him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Thursdays," Sookie decides without pause, her lips curving into a slight and mischievous grin. "Let's go with Thursdays. 'Cause it's late enough in the week that all you want is something nice to get you through the rest, but it's also not the weekend in case, y'know, family comes a-knockin' with a desire for a weekend trip. Thursdays will give us something to look forward to. And that way I don't have to do finagling to switch my shift at the Winchester."

She crosses her arms with a slight laugh, thinking about her own schedule when she was on the Council— no small amount of appointments in every day, Sookie reminds herself with a fond look.

"And speak for yourself, Mathias," she jokes. "I can say for a fact that Hermione Granger keeps herself crazily busy. Not that I ever knew her that well, but we were on the Council together, and she was... something else."

"But she is different," Mathias says with a laugh. "She is the type of person who flourishes under pressure like that. At least, that is what I assume from what little I've read of those books." It's something he tries to avoid talking about most of the time, but there are situations where it's too difficult and this is one of them. He doesn't know a single person in his time period who hasn't at least heard of Harry Potter. It's part of why he doesn't socialize with them, he thinks. Nothing against them as people, he's sure they're lovely, but he'd always be worried, he thinks. Always wondering if he's about to say the wrong thing.

"Thursdays," he agrees, smiling. "I think that's a good day. I'll talk to Lucy, get something arranged for Sam. The first day might just be getting you into the wetsuit," he teases. There's much more to it than just that, teaching her about the regulator, how to clear her mask, how to retrieve the mouth piece if it drops out, but he's just glad for something to do. Glad for the chance to do something with her.