Octavia was young in some respects, felt ancient in others, and was probably kind of a disaster in all of them.

But in this moment, she was just focusing on herding some birds off a boat. The one at her feet went surprisingly easily, just chittering up at her when she nudged it the right way. The one she carried, however, was a wriggly little thing, and also tried to take a few experimental bites at one of her braids. But, she got them both safely onto the dock - and far enough away that maybe they wouldn't immediately manage to get back on as soon as her back was turned.

"All done," she called as she made her way back aboard.