The Woods on Isla San Pedro, Chile, Thursday Afternoon

[okteiviakom]

It had been about a week. Some communication mishaps aside, life on their quiet, private Chilean had settled into its own kind of equally quiet, calm routine.

For Octavia, a healthy portion of her part of the routine was made up of long walks roaming around in the woods. Trying to catch sight of the local wildlife, finding out which plants grew where, exploring.

And on this particular afternoon, she'd once more taken Duke with her. They'd been walking for a while, the cabin already out of view somewhere back in the direction they'd come from. Octavia was looking up towards the treetops as she moved, taking the very real risk of tripping over something in the undergrowth right along with the vague sense of awe that tended to come over her whenever she was in a place like this.

"How long do you think some of these trees have stood here?"

[ooc: NFB because of distance. For the sailor and massive SP because that's the kind of week this is.]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was keeping an eye on her as much as their surroundings, so theoretically he could catch her if she tripped. You know, if he wasn’t tripping over anything himself.

“Could be centuries,” he said. “Depends on the history of the island, I guess, whether anyone tried to develop it at some point.”

[okteiviakom]

"Develop?" Octavia asked, glancing over at him - although only briefly. "Like... putting in more buildings?"

He could probably guess what her feelings were on that kind of developing.

[betterthanaplan]

"Or farms, or . . . even adding trees here if they weren't here originally. Humans really like to modify our environments."

[okteiviakom]

"Usually for the worse," Octavia muttered, because sometimes you had to be a little predictable.

She approached the nearest tree, and reached out, trailing her fingertips along its bark. "I feel like humans don't plant enough trees."

[betterthanaplan]

"Not compared to how many we cut down," Duke agreed, watching her with a small smile. "We've never been really good at balance, as a species."

He was being kind of hard on humans this trip. Though he'd see it more as being realistic about them.

[okteiviakom]

"And we won't be," Octavia replied, thinking back - or forward? - to her own time.

She leaned closer to the tree. Let her fingers travel further, taking in the texture, teh changes in it. "Not unless our hand is forced."

[betterthanaplan]

". . . Or encouraged, at least," Duke allowed.

She was beautiful like this. All the time, of course, but especially here, in her element, caring so much about nature and keeping her world from coming to pass.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia responded only with a vague hum. She stepped even closer to the tree - and slid her arms around it.

The concept of a 'tree hugger' was only vaguely familiar to her (although you couldn't get into environmental activism and never run into it) but even if she'd been more aware of it, she really wouldn't have cared.

Sometimes you just had to embrace a tree.

[betterthanaplan]

That wasn't an experience Duke shared, but it didn't surprise him that Octavia felt the urge. He very quietly took a quick photo of the moment, then tucked his phone away again and enjoyed watching her appreciate the world. And that tree in particular.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia had her eyes closed. Just -- yeah. Taking a moment.

(The tree was solid and old.)

Her voice was quiet.

"Join me?"