The Samsara, Port of Fandom, Friday Morning

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had spent most of yesterday out in the woods. And then, although she'd been home on the Rouge for dinner, she'd chosen to sleep over on her own boat, instead. It hadn't saved her from the nightmares - so much blood, and so many people telling her she wasn't worth anything - but it had saved her from unwillingly bleeding any trauma onto Duke, so... Win?

It didn't feel like one.

And now it was morning, and still kind of groggy and exhausted, Octavia had just climbed up onto the deck of her boat, with a bottle of water and whatever snacks she'd had stashed away, for breakfast. She looked up at the sky. All those clouds did not bode well.

Edward and his crew had had the right idea, getting the fuck away from the island.

[ooc: So open! ETA: content warning for (remembered) cannibalism, self-harm and suicidal ideation.]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

And here poor Lucifer was, standing... well, near the Samsara as well, but technically, intentionally near the Rouge. "Octavia!"

[okteiviakom]

For a second, during a deep breath, Octavia genuinely considered not answering.

But: "Yeah?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Can I come over?"

He didn't mean to sound so plaintative.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's exhale was a sigh. Wasn't he practically the safest person to be around, right now? He'd already heard most of the worst of what she had to offer.

"Sure," she called, as she sank down onto one of the seats.

[my_own_advocate]

That was why he was here, too. Because she was safe.

And wasn't that a trip and a half?

Either way, Lucifer moved up and onto the boat a bit quickly. "I brought breakfast, just in case you didn't have any."

[okteiviakom]

"I have breakfast," Octavia drawled.

She had... a packet of Oreos and a little bag of chips. She did not actually think they counted as breakfast, no.

[my_own_advocate]

"Right, a magical invisible breakfast that you hide in plain sight," Lucifer said, dropping a bag full of sandwiches in front of her.

[okteiviakom]

"It's all I had stashed away here," Octavia replied dryly, as she immediately reached for the bag. "This wasn't planned."

[my_own_advocate]

"Sitting out the current strangeness, are we?" Lucifer said, flopping into a seat.

[sake_shinigami]

It took a lot to put Shunsui into a bad mood, but several days of dreams of his zanpakuto weeping and then not responding to his actually ardent efforts to speak to her because she was probably having the same dreams was more than enough to do it. Add in everything else with Jūshirō, Lisa-chan, his brother, Nanao-chan and her mother, Unohana...and he couldn't really couldn't remember the last time he felt this awful, and was practically expecting a Summons back home at any moment.

But it hadn't arrived, and, before he did anything too drastic that he might regret, he went ahead and actually listened to radio to confirm that it was a Fandom thing, not a Soul Society thing, and that put a few things into perspective, and caused him to wonder if a trip home wouldn't be a good idea after all.

But he decided to walk it off a little, and once he wasn't obsessively entrenched in Jinzen trying to reach out to Katen, it was shocking how much he could actually feel what was going on, and he hoped, maybe, it was enough that he could at least convince Kyōkotsu to come out and play, she did love her shadows, but no such luck.

It felt like a whole piece of him had just disappeared entirely.

Then he realized he was near the docks. He looked up to see a boat. A figure on the boat. A moment of hesitation.

And then he pulled up a bright smile as he lifted his hand to his mouth as he called out, "Oi! Octavia-chaaan~~! Ohayo gozaimasu!" And waved.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia did not manage a smile, bright or otherwise. At best, she looked resigned, looking over towards him from where she was sitting in the back of the boat.

"Konnichiwa, Shunsui."

[sake_shinigami]

"So this must be the infamous Samsara!" Shunsui observed with a note of persistent cheerfulness. "Though I imagine it's not the best day for a tour, neh ♥?"

[okteiviakom]

"This is her," Octavia confirmed. The boat was a 29-foot thing of fiberglass that looked basically like nothing next to the hulking mass of the Cape Rouge right beside it. "And no, it's not."

Understatement.

"Our latest island bullshit get to you too, huh?"

[sake_shinigami]

The strain in Shunsui's smile may have actually shown a little bit then, though its beatific patina was trying its best, while a hand at his side opened and closed in a conscious effort to just not go to the hilt of his tachi.

"It would seem so," he said, "alas."

Although, in truth, it was a bit of a relief for him that it was Fandom bullshit and not Soul Society bullshit, because Fandom bullshit always had a significantly lower body count and a lot less collateral damage, and rarely required him to do anything, since the island had more than enough clever and capable individuals to band together and solve it without long drawn out wars and battles and paperwork.

Although he could usually manage to just sleep through Fandom bullshit without feeling like a whole part of his soul had been carved out of him, too, and that, at least, offered up a thread she could...appreciate, for lack of a better term.

"I have to admit," he said, the smile a bit easier now, a wryness to his tone to match, "this one's proving a bit of a challenge even for an expert napper such as myself. When I chose that class, I wasn't expecting I'd be the one tested so thoroughly at the end of it..."

[okteiviakom]

It felt odd to Octavia to actually see him be affected by something. And not just what he said, but the small shifts in his expression.

It wasn't very obvious but, well, she tended to pay attention.

"At least you don't live with anyone," she rasped, glancing over towards the Rouge like she couldn't help herself. That he found her here and not over there, right now, was not by accident. "It's been a rough couple of days."

[sake_shinigami]

At least you don't live with anyone. A breath of a laugh escaped Shunsui at that, wondering if that's what it felt like for a Hollow when you pierced the holes where their hearts used to be.

"I can only imagine ♥," he drawled. "It is a small blessing that bonsais...at least Nanao-chan VI, anyway...are not very big dreamers...but at least you do have another boat ♥."

He considered her, and her boat, for a moment.

"And I have some sake," he offered, "if you'd like. This certainly does seem to be an occasion for it, neh?"

[okteiviakom]

"Sure," Octavia replied, after a pause. (Where she was once more debating with herself about fleeing.) "Maybe a cup."

Couldn't hurt, right?

Except it probably could. The clouds were gathering again, above.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had had an awful night. He'd refused to go to bed, in hopes of avoiding more nightmares, but his preference for fancy lamps and low, mood lighting had bit him rather aggressively in the ass, and any attempt he made to distract himself with fidgety, detailed work around his boat had backfired dramatically. He'd ended up spending the whole night wandering from room to room, light source to light source.

It was weird; he could swear that when he switched rooms, the memories would ease up for a moment. Especially if he moved fast enough. Like he could actually outrun them if he tried hard enough.

Like there was actually something -- following him. Making his brain replay all his worst moments.

Rey had said she'd sensed a creature. Duke was starting to think she hadn't been imagining that after all.

Either way, the moment the sun was up he was on his deck, laid out in the sunlight like a 70s playboy, trying to catch a quick nap. He jolted awake every time a cloud passed by, and gave up finally when he heard Octavia up and about.

"Hey," he called tiredly, not trying to approach. "You get any sleep?"

[okteiviakom]

And just like that, Octavia suddenly missed him so much she could practically feel it in her bones.

"Not really," she called back, peering towards the Rouge from where she was slumped in the back of her boat's tiny deck. "You?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Nope." Duke leaned on the gunwale nearest the Samsara, resting his chin on his hands. "Not that that helped much."

[okteiviakom]

"You need brighter lights."

Octavia wished she'd had the energy to affect even a vaguely joking tone, but nope.

"That's part of it, right? This happens more in the dark."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah." Duke didn't even bother getting defensive. "Been thinking the same thing. About brighter lights."

He used to like the dark.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia still did. Just... apparently not this week.

She twisted in her seat more, resting her hands against the back as she peered up. "Should we just try... running away?"

[betterthanaplan]

"We could," Duke said, nodding. "I mean. I'm not in any shape to try sailing right now, but, you know. Maybe it wouldn't follow us."

[okteiviakom]

"What, is it not supposed to be safe to sail when you've basically been awake for over twenty-four hours?" Octavia drawled, managing to sound a little sigh-y about it even before she actually did. "Guess we should've thought of that yesterday."