The Samsara, Port of Fandom, Saturday Morning

[okteiviakom]

For the first time in a week, Octavia woke up with a clear head.

And began to feel like she was crumbling down almost immediately after, because all this clarity did was allow her to see more clearly what a fucking mess everything had turned into. Duke and Lucifer were back and that should have been a good thing, a happy thing, and all she wanted to do was run.

Maybe she should just take the Samsara around the island for the weekend. Or at least to the lighthouse, get a little distance between herself and the ticking clock that was however horribly the next meaningful conversation with Duke was going to go. At least there she'd be --

There was noise coming from the dock outside the boat.

[ooc: Primarily for SP with myself, but also open! With the same SP warning until my evening.]

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[skyringgirl]

There sure was!

Because Hope had crept onto the dock, drawn by the boats, and really uncertain about how to find her Aunty O - and then she'd stumbled upon the really weird bird things that were bumbling around in front of the smaller boat. And one of them was currently tugging experimentally at her pant legs.

What was a girl supposed to do except to laugh, delighted?

[okteiviakom]

Octavia listened to it for a moment before finally wrenching herself out of bed, pulling a little more clothing on before making her way up to see what the noise was.

It was a girl.

A random girl from town?

"... Hi."

[skyringgirl]

"Aunty O!"

That was loud. Sorry, Octavia, she was just really excited to see you.

"I found birds!"

... And also the porgs.

[okteiviakom]

Aunty O.

So, not a random girl from town, then. Octavia suppressed a sigh. Steeled herself.

And made sure neither of those things showed in her face.

"They're called porgs."

[skyringgirl]

"Porgs," Hope repeated with a solemn nod that was made slightly less solemn by the width of her smile.

And by the way she crouched down to try and pet the one that had just been pecking at her pants.

[okteiviakom]

And while she was doing that, Octavia was watching her.

Aunty O.

Her eyes flicked to the Cape Rouge, then back again.

"How'd you get here?" she asked, making sure to keep her tone as light as it would go.

[skyringgirl]

"There was a big light," Hope said easily, and snickered softly at the porg tugging at her sleeve. "And I jumped through and then I was here!"

[okteiviakom]

"Should be more careful," Octavia murmured.

Aunty O.

She'd already figured out this was probably the same kid thing that had happened before she'd gone back to the Ground. But, Aunty O. Did that make this -- Bellamy's daughter?

Her exhausted heart didn't even know what to make of that thought.

[skyringgirl]

"I was careful!" Debatable. "And I'm here with you!"

She beamed up at Octavia.

"Mom's not gonna worry 'cause I'm with you!"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia really wasn't sure she could do this.

She forced a tiny, tiny smile. Rasped, "You sure your mom would agree?"

(How did you ask a kid who the hell their mom was?)

[skyringgirl]

"Yeah!" Hope decided. And then she seemed to finally look at where Octavia was standing, and her eyes went wider. "Is this your boat?"

[littlemisspirate]

Ginger came shuffling up from below-decks on the Rouge with much less energy than she'd gone in with. She watched the little girl and the lady on the next boat over, wondering if the lady was the girl's mom.

If she'd ever get to have a mom of her own again.

If she'd just wrecked things with her new dad.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia nodded, slowly. "Yeah," she said. "She's called the Samsara."

She patted faintly at the gunwale, and thought about how she was much too tired to do this.

But this kid was her responsibility now, and so she was going to rally what little she had left.

"You wanna come aboard, take a look around?"

[skyringgirl]

Hope's expression went what was best described as !!! right before she came barreling in to jump onto the boat. Which, yeah, caused Octavia to startle forward and grab her before she could stumble and fall in the port, or something.

Well. At least she wasn't going to have time to wallow, this weekend.

[okteiviakom]

Hope noticed her first. Octavia noticed her when Hope darted behind her to hide.

"It's okay," Octavia said, frowning at her reaction, then up to where she'd been looking. "It's -- just a girl."

... A girl on the Rouge.

[littlemisspirate]

Ginger lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers in a tiny wave.

There. That wouldn't get anyone into trouble, right?

[okteiviakom]

After a few seconds, Octavia lifted her hand in a vague answering wave.

Her other hand, on instinct, pressed against Hope's back as she clung to Octavia's hip. "It's alright," she muttered.

To Hope or to herself, even she wasn't sure.

[littlemisspirate]

Ginger wondered if this lady and her kid knew Duke. She wondered if she could ask without somehow convincing them both that they did.

She walked slowly down the gangplank to the dock as she thought, scuffing her feet against the boards. Maybe if she just asked questions?

[okteiviakom]

Hope was really trying to make herself tiny behind Octavia. And Octavia's frown deepened again, as she looked back at her. "What is it?"

Hope tried to peek around her hip, then pulled back again. "I've never met another girl," she murmured.

... Well, shit.

[littlemisspirate]

Surprise totally overcame Ginger's fear and guilt for a minute, and she looked at Hope with wide eyes.

"Never ever?"

[okteiviakom]

Hope pulled way back behind Octavia.

"It happens," Octavia said, with a wary look at the new girl. "Took me a while, too."

[littlemisspirate]

Ginger bit her lip, watching Hope with a frown.

If she used it to help people, her trouble could be okay, right?

"It's okay," she said to the little girl. "Don't be scared."

[skyringgirl]

You know what? Maybe Hope wasn't scared. It was kind of slow, but she did step out from behind Octavia with a curious look at the new girl.

"Aunty O always says fear's a demon."

Octavia nodded, because it was the best she could offer up. "Yeah," she murmured, "I do say that, don't I?"

[littlemisspirate]

Ginger nodded slowly. "I like that," she decided. "I'm Ginger."

[skyringgirl]

"I'm Hope," Hope said, unwittingly saving Octavia from at least one awkward question. She even smiled, just a little, and a little shyly - at least until she pointed at the Rouge. "Do you live on the big boat?"

Octavia found herself dreading the answer.