The beach, Tuesday morning

[betterthanaplan]

It was the last morning of the year. Duke was spending it doing what had quickly become his favorite thing to do on the island: Tuesday morning yoga. It was a perfectly mild day -- for New Year's Eve -- so he didn't even feel bad about still not determining an appropriate winter location for Tuesday morning yoga. And anyway, even when he eventually did, it wouldn't be quite the same without the troop of porgs turning each pose into a jungle gym.

"That's it," Duke said, as one of them hopped up onto his knee during warrior pose and stretched its wings. "That's my New Year's resolution. I'm going to teach you guys yoga."

The porg settled in on his thigh and closed its eyes for a nap.

[open!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

Rey was here with her bag across her shoulder, stopping to smile at the scene she arrived to. "I love Tuesdays."

[betterthanaplan]

"Yeah, yeah." Duke had a smile of his own, for all that he tried to sound grumpy.

He really loved these damn porgs.

"How's it going? Ready to try floating today?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Sure, why not," she said. She never had any hesitation when it came to powers stuff. "I've got something for you first, though."

[betterthanaplan]

"You do?" Right, she'd said last week that her present would have to arrive later, hadn't she. "New Years gift. Seasonal, and yet entirely secular. I dig it."

[thatwaslucky]

"That, or I don't like giving gifts in front of people and didn't honk I'd see you before today," she said, reaching into her bag to pull out a little oddly-shaped object to hand over.

It was decently wrapped- this had been her first attempt ever. Inside was a little ship that would fit in the palm of his hand, cobbled together from spare parts that, even while Rey wasn't an artist, was definitely readable as the Rouge. It'd felt fitting.

[betterthanaplan]

"Public displays of gift giving are overrated," Duke agreed. And that was even a canonical opinion.

He unwrapped the gift, folding the paper up and tucking it into his pocket to keep the porgs from trying to eat it. Then just held the little ship for a long moment, staring down at it.

". . . Holy shit." It came out as a barely audible breath. He looked up at her. "Did you make this?"

[thatwaslucky]

"It's just spare parts, from when I put together my workbench."

She'd graduated to tables in her place, kinda.

[betterthanaplan]

"It's incredible," Duke said, lifting it up to get better light on it. "It's a tiny Cape Rouge!"

[thatwaslucky]

"I was a little worried you wouldn't be able to tell," she admitted.

[betterthanaplan]

"Are you kidding? You've got her decks and masts and everything." Duke looked up at her, beaming. "I love it. Thank you."

[thatwaslucky]

"Of course," she said. "Uh. "The pieces might be a little small for curious porgs."

[betterthanaplan]

"It could definitely be a choking hazard," Duke said. "Good note. It's a bit big for the full bottle treatment," since the key there was to build the ship in the bottle, "but I bet it'd look great displayed in a mason jar or something."

[thatwaslucky]

"...in a bottle?"

Thjs was a new concept to the desert girl.

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina's morning had started with shrieking glee because yes they'd let her teach!

But then, like, she had all sorts of energy and she was undecided if she wanted to throw a party for the new year because then I'd have to radio three parties, like, sure the bars had them but even the so-called 'all ages' one was prooooobably going to be lame and full of adults, but at the same time, like, last minute and all.

SO. YOGA.

That seemed like a nice, relaxing thing that might get her, like, somewhere near focused.

"Goooooooooooooood moooooooooooooooooooorniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke maybe wobbled slightly in his warrior pose at that . . . we'll call it "boisterous" greeting.

"Good morning," he said back, as the porgs squawked and scattered. Nina could be startling, alright? "Happy New Year."

[bookbeltof_love]

She could get louder, Duke. She could get louder.

"Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she said happily, beaming at the porgs and him, unbothered by the fleeing going on. "Like, I bet it's going to be an awesome year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

He didn't doubt that in the least. "Here's hoping. I only did maybe a third of 2019 and even I think it could be improved upon."

[bookbeltof_love]

"The summer was the worst," she shared, since it had been and while, like, she was anxious about Vette not being around that wasn't the same as--yeah. "Were you here for that??????????????? If not, you should be super glad you missed that part of 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[betterthanaplan]

"Didn't get here until August," Duke said. "But I've heard the stories, and yes. I'm very glad I missed out on the radioactive vampire toys, or whatever it all was."

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina thought about elaborating on the whole... thing...

But no. No, she was okay with not talking about it.

"Last year's summer just had a giant murderous fish plaque toy that was mad everyone had won something and it hadn't," she shared. "Like, I wasn't around for it, but it sounds way better than what this summer was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Less full of trauma anyway.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . It kind of sounds like this place has a toy problem."

The events of this coming weekend were not going to disabuse him of this notion.

[bookbeltof_love]

Yeaaah, definitely not.

"I mean, like, everywhere has some kind of problem," Nina conceded. "Though admittedly the toy problem here is more extreme than I'd imagine a toy problem would be................ basically anywhere else????????????"

[betterthanaplan]

"That's a good point," Duke said, bounding his finger at her. "My world's got enough of them that we gave 'em a fancy name and everything. And hey, sounds like no one died gruesomely, so maybe Fandom's Toy Trouble isn't so bad after all."

He was going to regret so much about this conversation later.

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina shuddered.

"Bad Toy Prison was bad enough," she said, a touch sharply, because seriously, so much. "What's your world's name for them???????????????????"

[betterthanaplan]

"'Bad Toy Prison'?" Yeah, Duke wasn't letting that one just float right by him. "What, was it a giant overturned laundry basket or something?"

He shook his head. "We call 'em 'troubles'. As in 'don't play with the Holloway kid, he's got a merman trouble.'"

Actually, the mermen trouble was the Glendowers. The Holloways haunted houses.