The Deck of the Cape Rouge, Thursday Morning

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had been having a lot of thoughts since her visit to Engelsøy the other week. About her past, sure, as always. About the present, likewise.

But the future, too. Her own, that of her loved ones, that of the planet.

A lot of that last thing, actually.

And all of those thoughts were beginning to trend towards action. Like there was a restlessness in her bones, reminding her there was still time, there were resources, there were fights to join and pursuits to engage in.

(Maybe even ways to make amends for everything she'd done wrong in her own time.)

She'd been quietly compiling things in two notebooks. In one, she was trying to collect every last bit of information she could remember about how the first Praimfaya had come about, whether it was something she'd been taught on the Ark, something she'd heard on the Ground, or something she'd read down in the bunker. Anything and everything, no matter how small.

In the other, she was putting all of her research into... well, the jumble things that were running the planet into the ground right now. Who the big players in fighting it were, and what the big things they were doing were.

Probably no surprise that Octavia had been sleeping progressively worse over the last week or so. Just the cost of throwing herself at something that called to her, for the first time in years. Still, right now on Thursday morning, after a too-early breakfast, she was working on something much more practical, easy, and very, very local: the little garden of planter boxes she'd handwavily established on the deck of the Rouge at the beginning of summer.

Putting her hands in some soil was doing a lot to center her.

[ooc: Open, ofc!]

Comments

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer rarely did breakfast with her; their sleep schedules were too different. Still, after his much later meal, he strolled out onto the deck.

"Morning," he said, fond, soft and inquisitive, and he picked a spot to sit from which he could watch her work.

[okteiviakom]

"Morning, niron," Octavia replied, with a brief glance up. She was sitting cross-legged next to one of the boxes, working on something. "Porgs knocked over some of the sun shade again."

No, she hadn't caught them red-handed (red... winged?) this time, but past experience said she was right.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucier sighed. "All that avian bumbling is adorable until it gets annoying, isn't it?" he said. "Do I have to fix it?"

[okteiviakom]

"No, I've got it," Octavia replied, nodding to her hands. "I'm just making things... stronger, I guess? So it withstands all the bumbling."

[my_own_advocate]

"Ah," Lucifer said. Raising his chin. "Felt like getting your hands dirty?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia shrugged.

"You can only keep from doing that for so long when something needs fixing."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer let out a soft chuckle. "But you do rather invite it extra when you start putting down planters."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rolled her eyes at him, but it was good-natured.

"You know what I mean."

[my_own_advocate]

"Ah," Lucifer said. "A metaphor."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke had every intention of going into the diner to work today.

Duke was absolutely not going to make it all the way to the diner to work today.

He made it as far as the deck before having to sit down. He tried to make it look purposeful and lazy instead of like he felt like he might explode if he kept trying to walk around. It probably didn't work.

He managed to dredge up a smile for Octavia at least, when he noticed she was also up on deck. "Ha yun, gona. How're the plants doing?"

[okteiviakom]

It didn't work, no. But Octavia was doing her best not to look openly concerned - for both him, and whatever the next trouble out of him was going to be.

"Porgs haven't known their own strength again," she said, with a wry twist to her lips. "But they didn't make the sun shades fall on top of any of the plants, so... Could be worse."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke let out a breathy laugh. "They probably think you built them a very nice little playground. Glad they didn't crush anything this time."

[okteiviakom]

"I still haven't figured out what's something they wouldn't like that wouldn't also hurt them," Octavia admitted, brushing an errant strand of hair back without caring much whether there was dirt on her hand or not. "So that I could just plant that at the edges and keep them away."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke hummed thoughtfully, leaning forward. (Oh, that felt a little better. Especially if he rocked back and forth a bit. . . .) "They're ultra-omnivores. That's definitely a tough one. Maybe we can figure out a scare-porg?"

[okteiviakom]

"A scare-porg?"

No, she wasn't familiar with scarecrows. Or at least not enough to make the connection.

[betterthanaplan]

"Like a scarecrow. Or one of those fake owls people put up to try to keep birds off their balconies. Something that spooks them enough to say 'stay away' without stressing them out."

The garden was going to end up with a little gremlin figurine or something in it, wasn't it.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked throughtful for a short moment, chewing on her lip with a frown.

"Didn't they originally come here with Rey?" she asked, then. "She might know what they're scared of in their... natural habitat."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke nodded slowly. "She might, yeah."

He hadn't spoken to Rey in ages. And wasn't sure if he was up to trying, while he felt like crap warmed over.

[my_own_advocate]

"Duke, would you like coffee?" Lucifer called from the galley, when it became obvious he wasn't getting up.

[betterthanaplan]

The idea of trying to consume anything made Duke kind of want to die — but he absolutely wasn’t going to tell anyone that, let alone Lucifer “feeding people is one of my love languages” Morningstar.

“Yeah, babe,” he called back. “Thanks.”

[my_own_advocate]

And so Lucifer returned to the deck a few moments later, bearing two cups of coffee. He held one out for Duke. "Opted against work, have we?"

[betterthanaplan]

"It's a pretty day and I get to watch a hot chick garden," Duke said. As though that was why he was now fairly well curled into his usual deck bench and looking like he was going to put down roots there.

[my_own_advocate]

"She did come away from our island trip inspired," Lucifer said.

After a moment's thought, he settled into a seat beside Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

And a moment after that he would have a (somewhat overly warm) Duke draped against his side.

"I noticed. That was a really great idea, babe. Good job."

He pressed a kiss to Lucifer's shoulder. And neglected to actually take the cup of coffee yet.

[my_own_advocate]

"I bought the island," Lucifer said. "Ah, not for staying on, mind you. But because Octavia wanted to make sure the birds and the otters would keep their habitat."

He gingerly reached past Duke's shoulders and set his coffee down on Duke's side of the bench.

Then left his arm there.