The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had somehow made it through an encounter with Danny, getting coffee, and going to a class today, and he was feeling done with Fandom's latest trick.

Too bad by the time he got back to his boat, he was a ghost. A very well dressed ghost. With a haircut.

"Oh god I hate today," he said. Audibly. Without opening his mouth.

At least this, too, would likely only last for maybe a minute or so.

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[okteiviakom]

Octavia was yet to notice anything amiss. Probably because she'd spent a good chunk of the day so far in bed, not really sleeping but not really doing much else, either. But she'd made it into the galley by the time Duke was back.

And all of a sudden she was about twenty year younger, and peering up at Duke quizzically.

"Did you just talk in my head?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Tavi." Duke was once again solid and alive, his properly long hair flopping into his face. "I probably should have guessed this would still be happening at home, huh."

[okteiviakom]

"Well, why should the island get all the fun?" Octavia joked with a little smirk.

She'd... really have rather drawled that dryly. But at least she looked like an adult again? Just, still just a little younger than she was supposed to.

[betterthanaplan]

Oh wow, seeing her look like that again broke his heart.

Not that the island let him express that effectively, as it tossed him down onto the ground.

"Yeah. By the way, I hate today."

[okteiviakom]

Well, now the age was about right? She looked healthier, rounder in the face.

And the smirk had widened into what was almost a grin. Made it look like she was having some adorable schadenfreude over him being on the floor.

"It's... Fandom."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke made it up to his knees and moved to grab hold of her.

"It's very, very Fandom."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia scowled down at him.

Pretty hard, actually.

"Yeah, I already want this day to be over."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah." Duke made it back to his feet and frowned back. Looking a little wrecked while he was at it. "It's been a whole . . . thing."

[okteiviakom]

Yeah, seeing him like that still did uncomfortable things to Octavia's heart, even when it was just the island playing a game. She was almost glad the island also didn't let her show that.

Also, where'd that pool cue that she was sultrily handling now come from?

"So there's no escaping this?"

She knew there wasn't. She'd lived here for almost three years once, after all.

[betterthanaplan]

And seeing her like that was doing interesting things to Duke's . . . yeah, we'll go with "heart". For the sake of poetry.

Or it would if his trouble didn't decide to randomly go off right then. He breathed through it, managing to stay relatively calm.

"I really don't think there is."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia could feel her lips curving into another small smirk. Tried to fight it, uselessly.

This was doing nothing good to her existing issues with control - but more than that, right now she worried for him.

"Hey. You okay?"

[betterthanaplan]

"No," Duke said. He was now shirtless and his cheek was bleeding. But at least his eyes were normal. "No, this is not okay."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia wasn't bleeding! But she also lost most of her clothes.

She looked at his face, then down at her own body, then sighed.

[betterthanaplan]

And Duke was now a woman. Again.

"This is giving me a headache."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had honestly kind of forgotten that was even a thing. She remembered, though, all those years ago, seeing him like that and trying her best to take the edge off his discomfort.

It felt like another life.

Her hair no longer fell freely over her shoulders, but she could feel it wasn't pulled back to a high ponytail either, and she knew what that meant. The grim look on her face... was about how she felt right now, actually.

(She'd given up these braids for a reason.)

"Think booze would help?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I am absolutely willing to give it a try," Duke said. Mostly normally this time.

[okteiviakom]

The braids were sticking around for a longer moment now, apparently. Octavia couldn't feel other changes, either.

But it would really be in her best interest not to look behind herself. Because there was a guy standing there. Tall, solemn, wearing a guard's jacket from the Ark.

Even without the knowledge, she was frowning hard as she nodded. "We should try that."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke, on the other hand, could absolutely see the tall guy, and by the look on his face -- and the way he backed up a step -- was clearly concerned about his sudden appearance.

Of course, that look could also be because his eyes had just started bleeding. Which seemed like it was maybe not a great thing.

[okteiviakom]

"What?"

Octavia looked quickly behind herself, but there was nothing there.

(And that was for the best.)

When she turned back, she was wearing her old warpaint, like she had for the clowns. Only this time, it was spattered with red blood. "What'd you see that caused that?" That... sounded somehow teasing at best and mocking at worst, and she basically wanted to literally bite her tongue just about now.

[betterthanaplan]

Apparently that blood was sticking around right now. "A-a guy. Standing behind you. Tall, bald. Looked ready to kick ass."

His face hurt.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was feeling very alarmed by the blood. Not that you could tell by her face. Her warpaint had shifted, turning less defined and more just a raccoon-y bit of facepaint around the eyes.

"Your eyes," she ground out, sounding far more annoyed about it than made any sense. "They're bleeding."

She chose to focus on that and not the feeling of dread about which tall, bald man would've been behind her. Wasn't choosing between two horrors exactly what she was equipped to do, anyway?

[betterthanaplan]

“What?” Duke swiped his hand across his face. It came away bloody. But really clearly not the kind of bloody that came from wiping no longer bleeding eyes. “Jesus.” He sounded at worst tired about it, rather than actively distressed. “What the actual fuck.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia felt some relief as he lost the bleeding eyes, and that managed to get through, somewhat, in her expression. But she felt something else, too, and would've been glad to know that didn't.

(Because didn't he look so much more like her people like this, covered in dirt and blood that wasn't his own?)

She was going to take this relative moment of calm to try and make it to the liquor cabinet.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke started to follow after her, only to pull up short when a blade was suddenly at his throat.

The blonde woman in a Romanesque white dress looked entirely unconcerned to be holding him up with a sword.

“Um,” Duke said, hands stiff and open in the air in front of him as he tried to work out an escape plan. “Please let this be another ‘it’ll vanish in a moment’ situation.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia whipped around.

"Get away from him right now."

That should've sounded effortlessly commanding. But coming from someone who looked like she was ready to cannonball into a pond... Somehow even her voice wouldn't cooperate with her.

The island couldn't give her a sword?