The beach, Tuesday

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was having a quiet, lazy kind of morning, the sort that led to just sitting and watching the water when he got to the beach for morning yoga, rather than starting to warm up or anything.

The usual porgs gathered round, burbling up at him and flapping about in their best interpretations of yoga poses, as though to show him what he was supposed to be doing. "It's alright, guys," he told them. "Some days it's better to just sit and chill, alright?"

The porgs didn't get it. They didn't speak English, for one. And also, they did not "chill".

[beach "yoga" is open! With potential SP warning, as my brain is being quite mean to me today.]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

"That kind of day?" Rey asked when she got there. She'd only seen him actually still before she arrived a handful of times.

[ <3 ]

[betterthanaplan]

"Felt like a good one for some quiet," Duke said, glancing up at her with a small smile. "How're you?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Not bad. Not much going on," she said, sitting next to him. "How about you?"

[betterthanaplan]

"Same," Duke agreed. "Isn't it weird how you can have not much going on and still feel rushed and exhausted at the same time?"

[thatwaslucky]

"It is. And yet I'm pretty used to it," she shrugged. "I think if you spin your wheels long enough you're not going anywhere but you'll still get tired."

[betterthanaplan]

"Huh. You know, that makes sense." Duke nodded, leaning back on his hands. "I guess I'm not used to staying still this long."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm a bad way, or just a contemplative way?" Rey asked.

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm not about to run away, if that's what you're asking." He shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's not so much good or bad as just . . . true."

[thatwaslucky]

"I didn't think you would." She actually didn't anymore. At least not right now. "I think some people call this settling in."

[betterthanaplan]

"Settling in," Duke said. "How weird is that. I'm not sure anyone outside this island would even believe I was capable of it."

[thatwaslucky]

"Maybe you just needed the right setting," Rey pointed out.

And a lot of those other people had been jerks!

[betterthanaplan]

That they had! Jerks were pretty unavoidable, most places.

"Like somewhere almost -- but not quite -- exactly like my hometown?" Duke asked, smiling ruefully. "Haven without the baggage."

[thatwaslucky]

"More porgs and more accepting people," she said, smiling.

[betterthanaplan]

"Ah." Duke nodded. "It's the porgs. They make all the difference."

[thatwaslucky]

"I mean, they were obviously why Luke stayed on Ahch-To," Rey grinned.

[betterthanaplan]

"I can only assume so," Duke said. He pointed to the nearest porg. "I mean, look, they're doing yoga!" The porg in question was stretching its wings over its head, looking sleepy. "Mountain pose!"

[thatwaslucky]

"He doesn't even need us for the routine," Rey said, laughing. And waiting if the next step was a porg nap.

[betterthanaplan]

That would make an excellent yoga pose. Especially if you managed to imitate the way porgs folded their legs entirely underneath the rest of their bodies.

The porg in question dropped its wings again and smacked its lips. And sat.

"Butterfly," Duke decided. "Good choice."

[thatwaslucky]

"One of these days maybe he can lead."

It would not be super active.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke laughed. “What do you think, buddy?” He asked the porg. “You want to be our yogi?”

The porg chewed on its own wing.

[thatwaslucky]

"I think that means he's thinking about it," Rey decided.

[betterthanaplan]

“It’s an important decision. He wouldn’t want to rush into anything.”

[thatwaslucky]

"And we don't want to add pressure," Rey nodded. "I don't suppose this one has a name."

[betterthanaplan]

“Not that I know yet. Any suggestions?”

[thatwaslucky]

"I've never actually named anything," Rey admitted. BB-8 had had a nickname for roughly twelve hours? "This would be how you get a porg named Chewie, probably."

[betterthanaplan]

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I bet he'd be proud to have a little porgish namesake."

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, I can picture his reaction, and it would involve this," she said, throwing her hands up in a frustrated gesture she'd seen a lot from him.

[betterthanaplan]

The porg copied the gesture. Duke grinned, delighted. "I think we have a winner."

[thatwaslucky]

"All right, then we have Chewie the potential yogi." She couldn't say that with a straight face. Just couldn't.

[betterthanaplan]

"Chewy the Yogi-Porg." Yeah, Duke couldn't do it, either. "Polly is going to be so jealous."

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, I hope I don't cause problems," Rey said, trying to look serious.

[betterthanaplan]

“Please. Polly is a grown porg. He causes his own problems.”

[thatwaslucky]

"And what kinds of problems does a grown porg have?" Rey asked.

[betterthanaplan]

"How would I know? I'm not a porg."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm sorry, that was a silly question on my part," she said.

[betterthanaplan]

"You're forgiven," Duke said tone serious even as he smirked. "Just don't do it again."