The deck of the Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Saturday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Octavia was a raccoon.

Duke sat on his deck, cradling a cup of coffee in his hands and staring out at the water.

Octavia was a raccoon.

Again!

It wasn't really a disaster? He kept reminding himself of that. She was perfectly safe and healthy, se was just . . . a raccoon. There was absolutely no need for the flood of adrenaline currently washing through his system. Or for all his varying urges to try to fix something. Rewire his nav system again, maybe. Work on the plumbing. Octavia was just going to be a raccoon until she wasn't again, and there was noting to be done about it.

He hated not being able to do anything about things.

[open, should anyone want to visit the moody smuggler!]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

"Once again, I wonder if she does it on purpose," Lucifer said irritably, stomping onto the deck.

[betterthanaplan]

"What, things were too normal so she had to shake things up?"

[my_own_advocate]

"It does sound like her, doesn't it?"

Much like this sounded like Lucifer using this as an excuse not to think about crying on Octavia after sex the other day.

Well. To anyone who had been there.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was just kind of giving Lucifer a Look for that.

"Well, at least this way you don't have to worry about us being 'too okay' for you anymore."

That was rude and unnecessarily confrontational, Duke.

[my_own_advocate]

"Oh, don't make this about you," Lucifer said dismissively, walking to the edge of the boat. "How long will it be this time, do you think? Weeks? Months?"

[betterthanaplan]

“How the fuck should I know?”

Just long enough to ruin their plans for Duke’s birthday, he was sure.

[my_own_advocate]

"I bet it'll be at least a month," Lucifer muttered. "Just long enough for us to get used to it."

[betterthanaplan]

“This all that fire guy’s fault,” Duke decided. “I bet he had a secret raccoons going trouble or something.”

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer snapped his fingers, turned around, and pointed at Duke. "It is," he said, "Rather irresponsible to just let people go down a magic fire pole, isn't it?"

[betterthanaplan]

“Yes! He goes around pretending to be all rational and all and yet, free for all on the magic pole day!”

[my_own_advocate]

"We should file some kind of complaint," Lucifer decided. "Doesn't he answer to the mayor?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Her or the island itself," Duke mused.

Neither attempt would do much good. Travis did have a disclaimer up, after all.

[my_own_advocate]

"We'll have to write both of them a strongly-worded letter."

It was Lucifer. He could Can I Speak To The Manager better than anyone.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke snorted. Then looked up with a frown. "Wait, you're serious."

Duke had never once tried speaking to anyone's manager.

[my_own_advocate]

"Deadly serious," Lucifer agreed.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . You don't actually think that'll fix anything, do you? Octavia's been a raccoon like . . . six times before."

Two. Two times.

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, have you tried it before?"

[alwaysonguard]

It had been a long trip and Dwight was exhausted…. So much so that he was feeling fidgety and couldn’t sit still. He hated when he felt like this. Some fresh air and a walk would be good after being cooped in the truck for so long. And he needed to learn the lay of the land as well… being his first day on the island and all that…

As he walked Dwight took in all the sights and sounds… and smells of his potential new home. There was a certain familiarity to the smell, and just as he reached the port, he realized what it was. It was the ocean. It smelled just like it did in Haven.

Dwight paused for a moment as voices carried over to where he was. One of them sounded very familiar… No way… it couldn’t be…. Following the voices Dwight found himself staring at a familiar looking boat sitting the harbor.

Before he realized what had happened, he was standing on the ramp leading to the boat staring at a face he didn’t think he would ever see again.

“Duke? Duke Crocker? Is that actually you, you old sea dog?”

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked up, eyebrows in the vicinity of his hairline.

"Sasquatch," he greeted, nonplussed. "You're . . . here. In Fandom." He tilted his head. "With long hair."

[alwaysonguard]

"And how exactly should my hair be?' Dwight mused outloud, his expression matching the confusion in his voice.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . No way in particular," Duke said. He was starting to realize what was going on here. And it was very strange. "So, uh. What brings you to town?"

Swear to god, if Dwight said anything about needing a trouble killed. . . . Well, he'd get a raccoon and a devil sicced on him. And potentially a cop. And maybe they'd invite Jessica along just for fun.

[betterthanaplan]

"Of course not. I'm not a middle-aged soccer mom."

[my_own_advocate]

Oh, sure, Lucifer went down into the galley for a hot minute and suddenly some random showed up on the Rouge.

"Absolutely not!" he called, stomping back upstairs. "No more surprises! We have had too many!" He reached for his wallet. "Take a fifty and go get a haircut that doesn't scream year-long depressive episode!"

... sorry, Dwight. He had had a month year several millennia life day.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer stared at him. "How do you ever get anything done?" he said. "Never mind. I'll write. You can just come with me when I deliver it."

[alwaysonguard]

"Got a letter supposedly from some long lost family member... never heard of them. but they mentioned a shop that somehow belonged in the family. So figured, why not. Could use the change of scenery after..."Dwight's voice tailed off as his eyes grew sad for a brief moment before he continued. "Well, it's time for a change. So now and here is as good as any."