The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom (and Beyond!), Wednesday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had plans with Octavia today to show her the ocean -- or the parts of it that could be easily reached from Fandom in an afternoon, anyway. So while he waited for her to arrive, he puttered around his boat, checking over the engine and bilge pump, plotting a couple possible routes on his charts, and checking the weather reports and tides for anything that might give them trouble.

Everything looked good for a lovely day at sea. He put together some beer and snacks, and sat back on his favorite bench with his ukelele while he waited.

A pair of porgs hopped up on the crate by his feet. He did his best to ignore them.

[for one!]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

"Hopefully not literally." Duke went to weigh anchor while she attended to the porgs. "Keeping them out of the hold's been worse than herding cats."

[okteiviakom]

"Maybe this is the newest invasion," Octavia mused, managing to catch one porg in her arms only for another to appear at her feet.

But at least that one seemed to take well enough to her shooing it with her foot and directing it the right way while she carried the other one, squirmy though it was.

"Come on, now," she told it, half muttering the words. "Gon we."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke took a moment to just lean against the gunwale and watch her. It was sweet, the way she handled the little creatures. He'd seen enough hints now to be sure there was someone caring and passionate under her stony demeanor.

It was too bad she was so damn young. Still, friendly flirting wasn't hurting anyone, right?

"Anchors aweigh," he called, straightening up. "Once you're all done playing sheepdog we can head out."

[okteiviakom]

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.

[betterthanaplan]

"Thanks for that. To the wheelhouse!" He pointed grandly and started up the ladder. "I figured we'd circle the island a little, then head out into open water. Looks like there's some nice cliffs on the Preserve side that should make for great views."

And he'd just go around the cove where he'd seen the sleeping sea monster. No big deal.

[okteiviakom]

But that was the most Odyssey-ish place around!

Still, probably not worth it.

"Sounds like a plan," Octavia agreed, quick on her feet to follow him. And, well, hands. Because ladder. She might not have had any sailing experience, but at least she seemed well-suited to moving about aboard a ship. "Been a while since I was even that far off the island."

Which was exactly why it counted as being off it.

[betterthanaplan]

"Don't take a lot of trips to the mainland, huh?" Duke asked. "Is it still 2019 across the causeway for you, or do you end up in . . . I guess it'd be the 22nd century, when you're from?"

[okteiviakom]

"If it was that easy to get back, you would never have met me," she replied, dry but also kind of matter-of-fact. It was a whole thing, not being able to get back where she'd come from. "But, it's probably 2019? I haven't actually ever been much past the causeway."

She said it easily enough, considering the mainland actually kind of freaked her out. Shh.

"Why, is it not 2019 for you over there?"

[betterthanaplan]

"No, it is," Duke said. "But when I sail I usually end up back in 2008. And my, uh, friend from home managed to drive in from 2008 when he came to visit this weekend."

[okteiviakom]

"Makes about as much sense as anything else on this island." About as unfair as a lot of the shit the island pulled was. But at least this thing benefitted a lot of people, if not her. "How did that go, anyway?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Nathan's visit?" Duke shrugged. "We managed not to punch each other." He smiled, a small one, but more genuine than most of his broader expressions. "Managed a fair bit more than 'not punching', actually. It was good to see him."

[okteiviakom]

"Good."

That was sincere, too.

Also, she'd already put Nathan in a mental box labeled 'Duke's Lincoln', and that smile didn't dissuade that classification any.

"Seems like it was a pretty good weekend for everyone." Everyone with visitors, but anyway. "I'm glad."

[betterthanaplan]

"And you? I know you didn't have any guests, but you still managed to have some fun, right?"

[okteiviakom]

"I think I ate my weight in free food."

That sounded like a good time to her!

But she shrugged and glanced aside as she thought of a more sincere answer. "I think last week in general was... a good week." She didn't have a lot of those, and it was weird.

She looked up at him again. "So I guess you could say I had fun."

[betterthanaplan]

"Glad to hear it," Duke said. He started the Cape Rouge's engines and started to pull away from the docks. "It's hard to beat free food three days in a row."

[okteiviakom]

You know what was soothing to a space station baby, even well into adulthood?

Engine hum.

Wasn't nearly the same - because what was? - but, apparently still enough that Octavia sighed quietly without meaning to. "Even lured my brother out eventually," she said, but there was distraction in the mildness. "No one can resist that much free food."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke noted the shift with a little inward smile. He liked the sound of his boat's engines too.

"And I missed him. Damn. I've been starting to wonder if he really exists."

He wasn't. He just liked to tease.

[okteiviakom]

It earned him a withering look, even if it was lacking most of its bite. And was a lot soft around the edges.

Okay, it wasn't very withering at all.

"You'll wish he didn't if he decides to come at you, acting like an overprotective big brother."

[betterthanaplan]

He wouldn't be the first one Duke had had to face.

"For what? We're just hanging out. Having fun."

[okteiviakom]

"That's also what I said," Octavia replied, in a tone that counted as 'brightly' to her. "But, 'he's not going to let anything bad happen to me' and so on."

She was definitely quoting something there. Something she'd heard a thousand times.

But, she shrugged. "I think he remembered I can protect myself, though."

[betterthanaplan]

"Not letting anything bad?" Duke asked. "Or not letting anything?"

They were making their way out of the harbor now, and the boat rocked slowly up and down over the swells. An ocean breeze came through the open doors on either side of the wheelhouse. Engine noise was part of Octavia's happy place -- these things were Duke's. Something relaxed in him out here that never did when he was on land.

"Brothers. What a pain."

[okteiviakom]

The first guy Octavia ever kissed had found himself tied up in a tree for a night. So there was a time it really had been anything.

"His sister, his responsility," Octavia said, but the distant, distracted quality was back. Her eyes were no longer on him, but on what she could see through the windows.

Something about the breeze reminded her of the dropship doors opening for the first time.

[betterthanaplan]

"Your life," Duke argued. "Your choices."

He watched her watch the water for a moment, then looked on ahead himself, steering the ship slowly around towards the wild side of the island.

"But what do I know? My brothers were never even a little bit protective."

Things might have gone a bit differently growing up if they had been. Or if any of their mothers had been willing to take on their kid's half-feral half-brother.

[okteiviakom]

"Your brothers sound like idiots."

Octavia felt it was a fair assessment, and not even a particularly rude one, under the circumstances. His brothers should've looked after him, end of story as far as she was concerned.

Her gaze stayed on the water. "But I don't know if mine had a choice." His life had changed irrevocably the day she'd been born, after all.

[betterthanaplan]

That tended to happen when siblings came along, yes.

"You're not wrong. I don't think I would have done too well with anyone trying to be protective of me, though."

His parents hadn't ever really bothered. And when Nathan tried, all Duke could see was a rejection of everything he'd had learned to be in order to survive.

To be fair, becoming a cop was a terrible way to try to protect a criminal.