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betterthanaplanIt'd been a nice day in Baltimore, sunny and cool without quite being cold, so there were a few more people still wandering around the park and the zoo than Duke had anticipated when they got there. Still, while there were some people, it still wasn't a lot of people. Slightly more than Fandom numbers, much less than usual downtown Baltimore numbers.
"So, what should we check out first?" Duke asked. "Polar bears? Alligators? Oh hey, porcupines!"
[it's Tuesday whereokteiviakom is, and I'm impatient. For the one expected, and probably some slowplay!]
[Somewhat belated content note: the Park thread gets pretty dark, and involves references to: alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, child endangerment, and domestic violence.]
"So, what should we check out first?" Duke asked. "Polar bears? Alligators? Oh hey, porcupines!"
[it's Tuesday where
okteiviakom is, and I'm impatient. For the one expected, and probably some slowplay!][Somewhat belated content note: the Park thread gets pretty dark, and involves references to: alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, child endangerment, and domestic violence.]
The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-27 11:21 pm (UTC)Anyway. Got to get the fluffy animals in here. And the scaly and feathery ones, too.
The Park
Date: 2020-01-27 11:23 pm (UTC)Not that Duke bothered to worry about that much. After all, he'd grown up sketchy himself.
OOC
Date: 2020-01-27 11:23 pm (UTC)Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-27 11:36 pm (UTC)She didn't realize she was doing it, either. Despite how she clearly considered her combo of leather jacket and beanie some kind of mainland armor, since it was making its second appearance after the aquarium trip.
"Is there like a map or something?" she wondered, looking around. "With what's where?"
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-27 11:47 pm (UTC)He spotted a little information kiosk and led the way over. It had a map showing the various exhibits, as well as some pamphlets they could take with them. "Here we go."
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-27 11:55 pm (UTC)So did looking at the map, though, apparently. Or at least she looked very focused as she looked it over, like she didn't want to skip over anything.
After a moment, her hand came up to point at a particular spot. "Oh, look."
She was pointing at the bit that said OTTERS. Because, of course.
Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 12:03 am (UTC)"Doesn't feel like Fandom, huh?" she rasped in a low voice. "Doesn't to me, anyway."
Sometimes, it was hard to tell what was a universal experience and what came directly from her particular background.
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:04 am (UTC)Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 12:07 am (UTC)Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:10 am (UTC)"No."
A beat.
"Okay, maybe." It was only the first thing she associated otters with, after all. "Mostly I just want to see them, though."
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:12 am (UTC)Otters were on Duke's mental list of things he wouldn't mind being reincarnated as in his next life.
Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 12:14 am (UTC)It wasn't even his type of 'fine', although she heard the potential for that as soon as it was out of her mouth.
She shrugged. "Not as many people."
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:23 am (UTC)"So we're definitely visiting the otters," Octavia concluded, her gaze returning to the map. "And bobcats." Of course. "So we should probably start over there."
Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 12:46 am (UTC)Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:53 am (UTC)Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 12:56 am (UTC)Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 12:59 am (UTC)Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 01:11 am (UTC)She was thin, just this side of unhealthy, with pale skin and lank, salt-and-pepper hair. She'd been beautiful once, and it still lingered in her dark eyes and strong features, enough to turn heads if you didn't look too closely. If you didn't notice or mind she'd gone a few days without washing, that her teeth were cracked and stained. That she wore her sensuality like a mask over her desperation.
The grin melted right off Duke's face when he saw her, shock and a deep pain flashing across it before it locked down. Then he bared his teeth in something that could be mistaken for a smile, so long as you didn't look to closely.
"Hey man," the woman said, voice dry and thin as paper. "You holding?"
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 01:12 am (UTC)Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 09:35 am (UTC)She did actually reach for his hand, this time. And she hoped it seemed like just a casual thing - like other people she'd already spotted holding hands, who probably weren't doing it because one of them needed reassurance (except for some of the kids) - but it really wasn't.
Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 09:54 am (UTC)Her gaze flicked back and forth between Duke and the stranger.
"Chit's gon daun?" she asked under her breath, not really expecting an answer, not really expecting him to even get the question - what's going on? - except from the context. All it really was was instinct: establishing that she was here and they were a team.
She'd seen pain and she couldn't figure out why.
(Her hand was already under her jacket, over the familiar bump of a sheathed knife. She wasn't expecting to need it, but going for it was another instinct she didn't bother to fight.)
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 02:19 pm (UTC)Re: The Park
Date: 2020-01-28 02:26 pm (UTC)The woman leaned in, giving Octavia no more than a brief glance. “Look,” she said. “You’ve got to hook me up. I don’t have any cash on me right now, but, uh.” She gave Duke a clear up-and-down look and licked her lips. “I’d be happy to pay you another way. . . .” Another quick glance in Octavia’s direction. “Your girl’s be welcome, too.”
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 02:27 pm (UTC)It was a little heavy on the dry drawl, but she was smiling a bit all the same.
Re: The Zoo
Date: 2020-01-28 02:50 pm (UTC)A soccer mom walking by covered her tiny moppet of a child's ears and gave him a scandalized look. He grinned back and waved.