The Cape Rouge, Late Friday Morning

[okteiviakom]

So Octavia couldn't touch living plants without sapping all life out of them. So she couldn't go out into the preserve for fear of some young branch grazing her cheek and killing the entire tree. So Octavia was troubled, poisoned by Haven.

Big deal.

Duke was breathing easier than he had for months. Octavia wasn't sure she trusted it, that she could expect it to last, but the difference was too obvious to ignore. And that? That felt more valuable than whatever quiet suffering she was going through. No good ever seemed to come without a sacrifice, anyway. And, well, Blodreina was used to sacrifice.

Especially when it was her.

So she gardened with thick gloves on, and she didn't go to the preserve, and she ignored how it felt like the first several weeks (months) down in the bunker, when all, absolutely everything she'd wanted had been to go out and breathe and feel a breeze on her face, or the warmth of the sun, or something that couldn't be confined in a concrete structure underground.

She'd learned to contain that feeling then. She'd learn to contain it again.

So Octavia and her thick gloves carefully and clumsily harvested some peppers from the little garden on the deck, and brought them inside into the galley for one of the guys to use in their cooking later. She took no chances: she only took the gloves off once the peppers were safely on the counter.

She checked her phone for the time, and caught the date instead. It was October 11th.

She was 33.

Another year gone.

[ooc: Oooopen, of course.]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

"What it has to do with it is that it's not that big of a deal if you didn't remember," Octavia replied, on a half-suppressed sigh. (Which barely counted as suppressed at all, then.) "Last week doesn't play into it."

[my_own_advocate]

"Happy birthday, either way," Lucifer said, still frowning. "Perhaps we could... go see the sea otters again?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia rested her head against his shoulder. "We don't have to do anything," she reiterated. It had nothing to do with the flash of what damage she could do to that island if they went there. "I'm not even sure if I even want to remind Duke."

[my_own_advocate]

"I could... prepare a special lunch?" Lucifer suggested. "Or perhaps we can do a little beach picnic."

He was eventually going to stop suggesting things, honest.

[okteiviakom]

"Did you hear what I said?" Octavia wondered.

It wasn't combative.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed.

"Sorry," he said, his hand coming up to rub at her back. "Considering everything, I just..."

Wanted to do something special for her. Especially considering how strange things were between him and Duke (even if Duke didn't seem to want to acknowledge it).

[okteiviakom]

"You're trying to throw something at a problem."

How many years, out of the thirty-three?

"Just less directly, this time."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer frowned. "... What do you mean?"

[okteiviakom]

"Things are off," Octavia replied, shruggy in tone but not physically. "You're trying to balance it by compensating in a different direction."

[my_own_advocate]

The frown deepened. "And this is... a bad thing...?"

Genuine question.

[okteiviakom]

"Not everything is good or bad," Octavia told him, dragging her head off his shoulder so that she could see him. "Although I don't know if I'm feeling up for being the target right now."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed. "All right, all right," he muttered. "I'll stop, then."

It pried a little at a deep feeling of uselessness. But it was Octavia. He could remind himself that she meant no more nor less than she said and believe it.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia watched him, just for a moment.

And said, "You don't have to do circus tricks for me."

[my_own_advocate]

"I know, darling," Lucifer said, quieter. "But sometimes it makes me feel better to do them."

[okteiviakom]

"I know," Octavia replied in turn. "I'm not trying to stop you from feeling better, either."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed, again. "I may be taking out some Duke-related anxiety on you," he admitted.

[okteiviakom]

"I noticed," Octavia said, quietly. Had been saying, for the past moment. "You guys haven't actually worked through much yet, have you?"

[my_own_advocate]

"Well, I said we should probably find a time to talk the other day," Lucifer said, "And then he made a joke about scheduling, and I said right, we can go to the pillow room, at least. So we went to the pillow room and we got stoned..."

[okteiviakom]

"Helpful," Octavia noted, maybe a little dry but not unkind.

Sometimes that was just her voice.

[my_own_advocate]

"I did mean to talk about it," Lucifer said, leaning back a touch. "I really did."

It was just easier to get stoned.

[okteiviakom]

"The weed was never going to be the best path to that."

As much as Octavia understood the urge.

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer sighed. "Wasn't part of the original plan," he said, looking down at the peppers. "Linda feels Duke and I both have to practice 'active listening', whatever that is."

[okteiviakom]

"I assume she'll explain if you ask," Octavia replied, quietly. Watching him. "Unless she already did and you weren't listening."

[my_own_advocate]

"Something about actually listening and thinking about what you hear before you say anything?" Lucifer offered, after a moment. "Unsure how that's different from what I already do."

Luce. Honey.

[okteiviakom]

Yeeeeah.

Octavia was just going to give him a look for that one.