The Streets of Fandom, Late Sunday Morning

[okteiviakom]

Bellamy had not taken well to Octavia's disappearing act on Friday. There'd been kind of an argument over it, actually, because come ooooooon, Bel, she'd already been here a bunch of times and nothing had happened to her! And she usually never got to go anywhere on her won, because she never got to go anywhere at all! It wasn't fair!

There'd maybe been some tears, actually.

But she'd stuck around him for all of Saturday because she hated making him worry.

... But then Bellamy had slept in on Sunday and experience had taught her it might be the last day, and Friday had been fine and so she'd snuck out again, still wearing a jacket that was too big for her and that had a small stuffed bunny peering out from one of the pockets, though the pockets weren't filled with cookies anymore.

Because there were also a couple of sandwiches in there. Along with all the cookies, because, cookies.

And now she was just roaming the streets around the island with no particular destination in mind. Sometimes, she hid behind corners when she saw strangers coming down the street - because while she thought she was safe, unfamiliar adults still kind of concerned her - but mostly she was just excitedly peering in through shop windows, occasionally ducking with a tiny 'eep!' when she caught someone actually looking back out at her.

[ooc: Open streets, open post!]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Well, way to harsh her enthusiasm with your difficult questions, Duke!

Her expression turned hesitant, before her gaze slid downwards to her feet as she walked. "A while?"

[betterthanaplan]

He felt a little bad about that! But he also kind of wanted to convince her to run away forever, so asking was important.

“Why doesn’t he want you to go outside?”

[okteiviakom]

"'Cause it's not safe."

That was a fair bit mumbly. And then, because he was probably going to ask her why that was, next, she followed it up with a quick, "I could get lost."

[betterthanaplan]

"Well yeah, if you never go anywhere," Duke pointed out. "You got home okay on Friday, right?"

[okteiviakom]

"Yeah," Octavia replied, already pouting a little. "But -- Bel was really upset."

[betterthanaplan]

". . . He didn't, like, lock you in a closet or something, did he?"

[okteiviakom]

The shocked look Octavia gave him might've been answer enough. "What? No!" she said. "He just... yelled at me."

[betterthanaplan]

"Oh." Duke shrugged. "That's actually pretty normal. I get yelled at all the time."

[okteiviakom]

"You do?" Octavia asked, with a concerned frown.

Though maybe also relieved to get to say something that wasn't about Bellamy.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged. "Yeah. Usually something like 'HEY YOU KID GET OUTTA THERE!'" He shook his fist in a remarkable imitation of the many old coots around Haven.

[okteiviakom]

Oh hey, that frown wasn't going anywhere! It just deepened.

"That's not right."

[betterthanaplan]

"I mean, it's usually because I'm where I'm not supposed to be."

[okteiviakom]

"Yelling's still wrong," Octavia insisted, chewing on her bottom lip again. But... I guess that's what I got yelled at for too. Kinda?"

So at least that checked out.

[betterthanaplan]

"Yelling's only wrong if you a kid," Duke said. "The rules are different for grownups."

[okteiviakom]

Grown-up Octavia could never achieve the level of pout that was happening right now.

"I don't like it."

Yeah, no shit, O.

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to," Duke said. "That's why I say: screw the rules. They're going to yell at you anyway, so you might as well do something fun first, right?"

[okteiviakom]

"I guess," Octavia said. And worried her lip between her teeth for a second before saying anything else. "I mean... I think it's really unfair that I'm not supposed to go out on my own even here."

But here she was, with her overstuffed pockets. Again.

[betterthanaplan]

"It really isn't," Duke agreed. "But you're out here now, so you're making up for it!"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia's smile was small and hesitant. "And no one's trying to make me hide."

Said the girl who kept ducking behind corners when she saw strangers, and had done so on their trek through town on Friday, too.

That didn't count as hiding for the girl under the floor.

[betterthanaplan]

"Not yet anyway," Duke said cheerfully. "They don't usually do that until after dark. When you're trying to find somewhere to sleep."

[okteiviakom]

"My mom says nothing bad happens during the night." Though it was starting to occur to Octavia that maybe that was related to how the 'surprise inspections' also never seemed to surprise her mother. "How do you... find a place to sleep, though?"

[betterthanaplan]

The look Duke gave her probably made the 'your mom's a liar' thing clear, even if he didn't say it out loud.

"I try to stake it out first," he said. "See who might be coming and going. Walk through during the day, maybe, see if there are any good hiding spots. Pretty much any place is gonna have at least a few spots you can curl up in and no one will ever find you."

[okteiviakom]

Aurora Blake was a lot of things... and 'a liar' was probably one of them, so, fair.

Though that didn't have much to do with Octavia's thoughtful, concerned frown. "Are they good spots?" she asked. "I mean, do you -- do they feel okay? They're not, like, cramped, are they?"

Because the hole under the floor kind of felt like that. And she didn't want anyone else having to feel that way.

[betterthanaplan]

"Some of them are," Duke said with a shrug. "If I don't find anything better soon enough. You can't always be comfortable if you're hiding."

[okteiviakom]

"I'm never comfortable when I'm hiding," Octavia mumbled. (How was she supposed to fit in the hole when she was older? She wasn't getting any smaller!) "Wish I didn't have to. Wish you didn't have to, either."