The Cape Rouge, off the coast of Fandom, Saturday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had spent most of the morning working in the bowels of his boat, fine tuning his engine (which seemed to practically sing this morning, which was . . . kind of eerie, but he managed to hunt down the rhythmic knocks and whistles eventually, and it was back to sounding like a regular ship's engine again). He steered her out around the island a little just to make sure she was in proper ship-shape, then dropped anchor to have a quick lunch before bringing her back into port.

Which was when he noticed that the porgs seemed to have organized themselves into two distinct gangs. And that Polly Lobster was wearing a jaunty little bowtie and a bowler.

They burbled aggressively at each other, firing what sounded like they were probably meant to be clever little bon mots back and forth, and just as Duke was heading over to get a closer look, charged.

"Woah woah, hey!" Duke shouted, wading into the middle of the battle. "There will be no gang warfare on my ship! Porg or otherwise!"

The porgs ignored him. Polly Lobster shouted something, one wing pointing at the sky, and suddenly an enormous industrial fish hook -- which Duke didn't have -- came swinging out of nowhere, dropping a big empty net across the opposing porg forces. And smacked Duke in the forehead on its way past, stunning him and sending him stumbling back over the gunwale and into the water. Where he sank like a stone.

If only there were some friendly sea creature around to save him. . . .

[for a particular mermaid!]

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[okteiviakom]

And happily for him, there was!

Octavia had heard the noise of something hitting the water, and had immediately taken off to investigate. Sure, she had a flicker of hope that someone had dropped some interesting objects into the water, preferably something from as far inland as possible, but...

That didn't mean she didn't see the two-legged person sinking, and immediately start swimming towards him.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was a bit too dizzy -- and, you know, drowning -- to recognize her just yet. In fact, he didn't have time to do more than muzzily acknowledge the flip of a tail and think of course Fandom has mermaids before his vision went black.

[okteiviakom]

And then he got grabbed, and Octavia dragged him towards the surface.

She didn't know a lot about the people who lived on land, but she did know this was no place for them.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was little more than dead weight in her arms, and couldn't give her any hints. But the porgs on the Rouge -- the ones that weren't still caught in the net -- were watching anxiously, burbling advice.

[okteiviakom]

"I know that much!" Octavia objected just about as soon as they'd broken surface, and she could hear the burbling clearly.

He was lucky she was much, much stronger than she looked. He hadn't felt heavy at all underwater, but it took actual effort to heave him back onto his boat.

And then to pull herself up onto it after him, because he didn't look like he was doing too good just yet.

[betterthanaplan]

He wasn't. Though, in an attempt not to traumatize the kiddos, he was at least already starting to cough all that water he'd swallowed back up, now that he was back on the deck.

"Wh --" He rolled onto his side, heaving in a painful breath. "Wh-what. . . ?"

[okteiviakom]

"You fell in the water," Octavia told him, a little too light and bright to be fully in line with this situation. But he was getting better, it was warranted!

Anyway, she patted his back gently. "It's not good when you don't have gills. Sailors belong on their ships."

[betterthanaplan]

"Right. Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." Duke coughed out another mouthful of water and peered blearily at her. ". . . What the f --" (A porg let out a partiularly loud burble, drowning him out) "-- are you wearing?"

He'd notice the tail again any moment now.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked down at herself with innocent confusion.

"Clothes?"

It was a sea shell bikini top, somehow ridiculous and modest at the same time. And no, the shimmery part beginning at her waist was not a skirt, so really, she was only wearing a singular piece of clothing.

Also there were no tattoos. No scars, either. Just pristine skin on her arms.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke pulled away from her, scrabbling backwards.

"You're not Octavia."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave him a puzzled look.

"Yes I am."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked from her to Polly, who was peering at him from under his fabulous hat.

"Oh for -- this is one of those weekends, isn't it."

[okteiviakom]

"What's a weekend?"

See, not everything was different, even now! Just -- most things. Like the utter earnestness of her curiosity.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke stared at her, then flopped back down on the deck with his hands pressed to his face.

"I like it better when I get whammied too."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia made a little 'hunh' sound, mostly to herself.

"I didn't think it would be that hard a question."

[betterthanaplan]

"So," Duke said. "Octavia. You're a mermaid, huh?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gestured at her tail, because, it was pretty obvious, was it not?

"Well, yes," she said. "Like you're a --" And here she gestured at him. "-- two-legged person."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah, but I'm usually a two legged person. As were you, yesterday."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's laugh was a lot more melodic as well as... purposefully pleasant to the ear, than what it usually was.

"No I wasn't, silly," she said. "I've never had legs. I wouldn't know what to do with them!"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was starting to understand how Lucifer felt every time something went funky on the island.

“Right. Yeah. Silly me.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia just fluttered her tail fin happily.

"So what's your name, sailor?"

[betterthanaplan]

Oh lord, his mermaid snogon was flirting with him.

"Duke," he said, offering his hand. "This is my boat, the Cape Rouge."

[okteiviakom]

To be fair, this bubbly, smiley thing was kind of her main mode of being, regardless of who she was talking to.

Also, was there something on his hand she was supposed to be looking at? Octavia reached for it, but not for a shake, more to tilt it this way and that way, looking it over with great curiosity.

And then she looked up, eyebrowns bouncing as high as they would go. "A duke? Isn't that -- sort of like a prince?"

(She also had the attention span of roughly a goldfish.)

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed. "You know what? Sure. You're a mermaid, and I'm royalty. That you just . . . rescued from drowning."

He had definitely seen this scenario in a movie or two.

[okteiviakom]

Oh, Octavia's face lit up.

"Really?!" That was... kind of high-pitched, actually. Sorry. "I've never met royalty before! Well, not from land. With a ship!"