Duke had been up early, for once, finding it hard to sleep and with his meds, finding he actually had energy to burn. So he'd been out and about already, gone for a swim (the cut on his arm was healed enough that it didn't burn in saltwater), and even caught a few fish, which he had in tucked into a cooler to use for dinner later.

He paused on the end of the dock when he saw someone standing by the gangplank, then approached slowly, guard firmly in place.

"Good morning," he said, neutral -- until he saw Octavia, clearly in distress. Then he dropped the cooler and went to shove himself between them. "Get away from her!"