The beach, Wednesday morning

[betterthanaplan]

Duke was still pretty ridiculously stiff and sore after his misadventure this weekend, mostly through his back. (Duke would be giving Nathan so much shit about trying to perform CPR on stone steps if he hadn't, you know, been saving Duke's life while he did it.) But he was a firm believer that the best way to handle back pain was to use his back, and in yoga's restorative properties in general, so he was out on the beach as usual this morning, trying to roll the kinks out of his shoulders and neck.

And wondering when he'd stop panicking every time he felt just a little bit old.

[open!]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

"You train," Duke said. "Which I'm sure results in some ridiculousness from the squirrel perspective."

[thatwaslucky]

"I mean, I am letting the woodchucks help with training."

Somehow that had not seemed weird to her.

[betterthanaplan]

". . . Right, I am definitely going to need more information on that."

[thatwaslucky]

"There are woodchucks who have taken up space in the warehouse and they just throw wood to be jerks," Rey explained. "So now if I bribe them they'll only do it when I need more of a challenge when I'm running the course or something."

[betterthanaplan]

"What do you bribe them with? They've mostly avoided the Rouge so far, but, you know, just in case. . . ."

[thatwaslucky]

"I Googled what they eat. I figure if I switch through different kinds then they won't get tired of it enough to pull anything," she said.

[betterthanaplan]

"That's genius," Duke said. "I should sicc you on the porgs next."

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, no, you're definitely the porg whisperer here," Rey told him.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Then we're doomed."

[thatwaslucky]

"You love it," she said.

[betterthanaplan]

"I do not."

He'd missed the hell out of them in Haven.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey was still grinning. "How did they react to you coming back?"

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm not sure they noticed I was gone."

Of course they had. He'd just been too busy focusing on Octavia to notice them noticing.

[thatwaslucky]

"I absolutely do not believe Polly didn't notice you were gone," she said.

[betterthanaplan]

"Maybe he's sulking, then," Duke said. "He hasn't been clingy or anything."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm more disappointed by that than I thought I'd be," Rey admitted.

[betterthanaplan]

"A sulky porg's a decent consolation prize, though, right?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Only if you're making it up to the sulky porg," Rey said. "Which is a strange sentence."

Rose would appreciate it.

[betterthanaplan]

"I suppose I could find him some . . . particularly nice rocks to eat?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I guess it's a start?" she said. "I don't actually know much about what porgs like."

Even though they were all over her own ship.

[betterthanaplan]

"Being in the way, mostly," Duke said with a smile. "Nah, this is good. I can get them some, like, quartz or amethyst. Get good vibes going."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm sorry, vibes?" she repeated.

[betterthanaplan]

"Spacey, new age talk for soaking up emotions from the universe. Like . . . the Force, only for Earth people."

[thatwaslucky]

"From roc- you know, I just answered my own question," she realized.

[betterthanaplan]

"What?" Duke laughed. "You've never tried using crystals to focus your mojo?"