The Deck of the Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday Morning

[okteiviakom]

Last week had been rough, in the way that Octavia had been feeling sluggish and groggy damn near all of the time. And just because Dr. Baker had said there would be side effects - and Claire, via Duke's letter, that this process wouldn't be easy - didn't make it any less annoying.

And so far Monday wasn't feeling like it was going to be much easier.

But Octavia was persevering because it was what she did, no matter the situation. And right now, she was doing that by rolling a mat out on the deck of the Rouge and going through something that... honestly probably didn't deserve to be called a yoga flow. They were just random poses, whatever she could remember off the top of her head.

The ship's porgs seemed delighted by the chance to try and climb on her for a better vantage point, regardless.

[ooc: It's an open place in port!]

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[betterthanaplan]

There was something about this morning -- the humidity, maybe, or the way the sun slanted through the relatively cool air -- that felt to Duke like Maine. It'd happened before, many times over the years. He'd be minding his own business and something out of nowhere would remind him of Haven. It'd always been a bittersweet thing before, though, simple nostalgia combined with ancient hurts.

The hurts weren't quite so ancient anymore, though.

He headed up on deck, intending to spend awhile brooding watching the water. Instead, he found something else to watch.

He did so silently for a long moment, taking in the less-than-fluid transition from pose to pose, the way the porgs gamboled up and around her any chance they got, and trying to let it settle him.

It almost even worked.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was kind of hanging on an 'almost', here, too. She was doing her best, but there was that certain note of tired hanging over the whole thing, keeping her from doing her best. And that wasn't even talking about the shaky transitions.

Kept trying, though, even after she noticed Duke out of the corner of her eye. Didn't say anything before she was moving from Warrior I into Warrior II.

"It's trash, right?" she asked with a little rasp, extending her arms to the sides. "My form?"

Trash might've been a strong word.

[betterthanaplan]

“Nah.” Duke stepped closer, hands up in an unspoken question about adjusting said form. “Just . . . not quite there yet.”

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's eyes flicked to his hands, and then she gave him a little nod.

She also sighed. "Yeah, I know." She was just annoyed at herself. For several reasons.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke set his hands gently on her hips, guiding them into the right position.

"Having a bit of a rough morning, huh?"

[okteiviakom]

"They're all rough mornings," Octavia replied a little mildly, a little distractedly, settling into his correction of her pose.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was silent a long moment, processing that. Anticipating a blast of guilt over not being able to make them easier for her -- and not knowing quite what to think when it was only maybe a twinge.

Did that mean he was getting better? Or that there was so much other noise in his head that the usual guilt couldn't break through?

"Well," he said finally, stepping back to look her over again. "Hopefully they'll start getting a little smoother, soon."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia would've shrugged if her body hadn't already been otherwise occupied. "Dr. Baker said I have to wait and see for at least a couple of weeks," she said. "So, here we are. Waiting."

Her form looked better now.

That was something.

[betterthanaplan]

"Ah, yes," Duke teased, pulling up a happier tone more out of habit than anything else. "Waiting. Your favorite activity."

[my_own_advocate]

"Why are you awake?"

It was a bleary-eyed Lucifer who wandered onto the deck, well towards the end of her yoga flow, if not past it.

"No, never mind, don't tell me, the answer will just make me sad."

[okteiviakom]

By then, Octavia was mostly just sitting on her mat. Breathing in the ocean air.

She glanced over when she heard his voice.

"Fine," she rasped, "I won't."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer nodded sagely, like she'd just done him a favor, and strolled towards her. "Doing a bit of... sitting?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged a little.

"You missed yoga."

In case he couldn't tell from the mat and the leggings and the messy ponytail.

[my_own_advocate]

"You can make it up for me by stretching later," Lucifer assured her, as he sat down on a crate of some description and stretched his legs.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes. That, too, came out kind of tired.

"I'm not making up for a damn thing," she drawled. Mild, not combative.

[my_own_advocate]

"Sounds like you might need to make up for getting up so early this morning," Lucifer said, tilting his head.

And almost moved to offer her his flask, before he remembered and thought better of it.

[okteiviakom]

"Wasn't even that early," Octavia muttered.

She used to get up much earlier as a habit.

[my_own_advocate]

"Yet clearly too early," Lucifer pointed out.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had eventually gone to find a spot elsewhere to brood watch the water. Namely, the deck outside his wheelhouse. He looked down to watch Lucifer from above when he saw him come out, idly kicking his dangling feet against the bulkhead.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer didn't notice him for a bit. He was busy bothering Octavia, after all, as apparently the only person in decent spirits on this boat right now.

But eventually he sat back on one of the crates, taking an idle sip from his flask, and finally caught Duke from the corner of his eye.

He looked up.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke lifted a couple fingers in a brief wave.

Trying to cut down on his liquor consumption after Octavia's comment about worrying wasn't helping his mood this morning at all, no.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer had clearly not taken that comment to mind, going by the way he waved back at Duke with said flask.

Did someone turn the mood down on this ship, or something? "Morning," he called.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had been doing an excellent job at pretending to be fine, even to himself, these last couple of weeks. It had been bound to come snapping back at him eventually.

"Morning," he said back, then pushed himself up with a sigh and headed over to slide down the ladder to the main deck. Watching the water wasn't helping shake his mood, but maybe hanging out with Lucifer would. "You missed the yoga."

[my_own_advocate]

"So I was grumpily informed," Lucifer agreed. "But as pretty as the yoga is to watch, there are limits to how early I'll get up for it."

His ability to get up in the morning had really atrophied from his consulting days.

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah. She was up here before me this morning, too." Duke came over to settle down on the crate next to Lucifer, letting out another soft sigh as he did.

He was beginning to understand why Octavia looked so exhausted all the time. Just existing was tiring when you were in a certain mood.