betterthanaplan | The Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Monday

Bolstered with caffeine thanks to the Perk, Duke had returned to his boat to see just how much damage his younger self had managed to wreak over the weekend. The place was a wreck, especially the galley, with weapons (that had been toys, which was reassuring and terrifying in equal measure) strewn about wherever wee!Duke had happened to drop them, and a sticky film of grape jelly coating pretty much everything. He'd thankfully been quick enough even as a ten year old to keep the small fire he'd started trying to use the waffle iron contained to a very small space, so that wouldn't take much more than replacing the outlet and maybe resanding part of a cabinet.

And, as predicted, there were five pizzas, two giant cookies, and a rather unholy amount of Pepsi leftover in his fridge. Also, most of a frittata, at least half a serving of beef stew, and several stale and/or smashed cookies. He fed those last items to the porgs, who were all terribly pleased to see him, and set about making the Rouge a proper home again.

He had the door to the deck propped open to air out the smell of small semi-feral boy and to be able to hear if Octavia -- or anyone else -- came around. And, well, if he ended up humming some Violent Femmes under his breath while he did, well. Not everything he remembered from being a kid was a bad memory.

[expecting one, but also open]

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From:

betterthanaplan

Duke wondered idly what that was like, being so sure someone else would handle -- basically anything that he needed done.

"Teamwork," he said, picking up a strawberry and taking a bite. "Makes the world go 'round."

From:

okteiviakom

"I guess," Octavia replied, with another shrug.

... And apparently two of those in a row were enough to finally annoy her into putting down what she was eating so that she could unzip her hoodie and peel it off. Even though it was oversized and baggy on her, the tank top underneath still meant less fabric over the tattoo.

She tried not to be obvious about her little sigh of relief as she settled back down. "Can't wait to have a functional arm again."

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke let out a little laugh. "I know that feeling." He tilted his head to get a look at the tattoo, clock how it seemed to be healing. "It's a little easier in the summer, when you don't have to wear as many layers. Looks like it's healing up okay, but I've got some coconut oil if you want to give it some TLC?"

From:

okteiviakom

"Sure," Octavia replied, looking down her arm as if anything would've drastically changed since the last time she'd looked at it, a few hours back. Then she looked at him again. "I'd like that. Thanks."

Maybe she couldn't do polite, but she could do quietly sincere.

From:

betterthanaplan

That was frequently more effective, anyway.

Duke gave her a salute and went to grab the coconut oil from his pantry. "What have you been using on it so far?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia watched him move, taking a second to compare him to the kid she'd seen here just yesterday. And to think of a few other things - small wants.

She stopped chewing on the inside of her bottom lip as soon as she realized she was doing it.

"Some kind of ointment I was recommended."

From:

betterthanaplan

"Ointment's alright," Duke said. "I swear by this stuff, though. Cheap, simple, easy to find, at least pre-apocalypse. And so long as you're not allergic to coconuts, it's nice and gentle on healing skin." He unscrewed the top to show her the solid white oil, then scooped some out with the tip of his knife and gestured to her arm. "May I?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia nodded. The movement was tiny.

But then so was the word that followed, too. And soft. "Sha."

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke put some oil onto his hands and rubbed them together to melt it, then moved to very gently start smoothing it into the tattoo. There was a certain art to it at this stage, getting even coverage without rubbing the skin too hard and breaking off any scabs or healing skin, but he was an old pro, not just from taking care of his own tattoos, but helping Evi out with hers.

"Has it started to itch yet?" he asked after a moment. "Or is it still just sore?"

From:

okteiviakom

His hands were warm.

That was Octavia's main takeaway from this.

She drew her hair over her other shoulder, and tilted her head away, for the part that traveled up to the side of her neck. "Still mostly just sore," she said. "But getting there."

From:

betterthanaplan

"This is the toughest part of the tattoo process, especially the big ones," Duke said. He could feel the strength in her arm even without pressing down hard enough to really reach muscle. He wondered how she'd feel during an actual massage some day. "Everyone thinks about the part in the tattoo shop. No one ever remembers the part where you have to heal afterwards."

From:

okteiviakom

"Thinking about healing was never one of my priorities," Octavia murmured.

Because she stubborned her way through things, and dealt with the consequences as they came.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Yeah, I figured," Duke said. "I'm guessing the ground doesn't give you a lot of time to rest up and heal from things."

From:

okteiviakom

"Not really." There were a fair few scars on display right now, as if for proof. Just faint, small ones, though - and they'd made sure to not have the tattoo overlap with the existing scar tissue. The bigger and uglier ones were all hidden under her clothes.

"Think this is the most care I've ever actually put towards healing."

That was true on a few levels. More than she realized, too.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Better late than never," Duke said. "Letting yourself heal is a skill like any other. Takes practice. Discipline." He scooped more oil out of the jar to make sure he covered the whole tattoo and the tender skin around it. "I wonder if that might be part of the tattooing tradition for grounder warriors. It's a mark of honor and stamina, sure, but also patience and care. If you don't take care of it while it's healing, you can usually tell later."

From:

okteiviakom

"Maybe," Octavia replied softly, with a little sigh. Glancing over at him and then looking away again. "Lincoln never told me, except that the process was important."

And that he'd wanted to help her through it.

"I just know they were a big deal. Every warrior had tattoos."

From:

betterthanaplan

"Were warriors the only ones with them?" Duke asked. "I think there are some cultures when I'm from that see it as a general rite of passage for all adults."

From:

okteiviakom

Something wry crept back into Octavia's tone. "I think it's debatable whether Trikru actually had anyone who wasn't a warrior."

From:

betterthanaplan

"Guess that's fair." Though Duke wondered if Octavia just hadn't been looking in the right places. "What about the other krus? Did you meet many people from any of them?"

From:

okteiviakom

It was kind of him to entertain the idea Octavia had been looking in the first place.

She shook her head. "Not many. And not for very long. I... spent some time around the Seconds from the other clans, especially the ones from Azgeda and Sangedakru, but that's it. We were deep in Trikru territory."

And deep in a war between them and Skaikru for most of her time on the ground, no less.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Azgeda," Duke said. He had her whole tattoo covered now, but kept up the gentle rubbing a little longer, making sure the oil was soaking in. "How come they're not a kru?"

From:

okteiviakom

Did Octavia know she was slightly leaning into the rubbing?

Probably.

"Don't know," she said. "It means Ice Nation. But Trikru is sometimes just Trikru, and sometimes Trigedakru, and sometimes just Trigeda, which means 'forest'. Maybe Azgeda do the same thing amongst themselves."

She and Atohl hadn't exactly chit-chatted enough for that to come up.

From:

betterthanaplan

As long as she seemed to be enjoying it, he was happy to keep up the rubbing. Though he started to shift away from the tattoo itself a little, so as not to irritate the skin too much.

"Guess that makes sense. If they want to call themselves Azgeda, I am definitely in no position to argue."

Even setting aside the part where he would never meet any of them, telling people what to call themselves was rude.

From:

okteiviakom

"From what I've heard about them, you probably wouldn't want to argue with them about anything else, either," Octavia noted, with the tiniest sigh. "Emo ste yuj en tofon."

She had a healthy respect of all the clans, to be honest.

From:

betterthanaplan

"Big and tough?" Duke paused and shook his head. "Strong and tough." And called 'Ice Nation'. He wondered if that meant Canada had decided to just take no shit post-apocalypse. "So you've got the people on the water, the people in the forests, and the people in the snow. Sangedakru are, what, plains?"

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