Deck of the Cape Rouge to Elsewhere, Thursday Morning

[my_own_advocate]

Yesterday had not been good.

And now, a day later, they were still holed up within the bowels of the Cape Rouge. But Lucifer-- well, Lucifer needed some air.

He unlocked the door carefully, and stuck his head outside. No strange women so far...

[[ for two plus one ]]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

That was just how he felt, when she disappeared on them.

Screaming underwater didn't do much for how long you could hold your breath, so he surfaced again a few moments later. This time he lay back, stretching his arms out to either side and sprawling over the water's surface to float.

It was a bit choppy, and he got water slashing onto his face pretty much constantly, but he didn't care. He needed this.

[okteiviakom]

Something in Octavia unclenched a little. "At least he's above the surface now," she muttered, to Lucifer.

Of course she still couldn't take her eyes off of Duke.

[my_own_advocate]

"I don't think he's actually going to hurt himself," Lucifer offered. "I think he's just having a bit of an escape-to-natural-habitat moment."

[okteiviakom]

"Still."

Maybe the abrupt way he'd rushed for the water had scared her a little.

[my_own_advocate]

"If I had a heart attack every time you did something like that I may well be dead," Lucifer said, and stretched.

He should probably take off his jacket.

[okteiviakom]

Well.

Octavia didn't really have anything she could say to that. So she didn't. Just... kept her eyes firmly on Duke, floating about.

[my_own_advocate]

"At least the water's warm enough for him here," Lucifer said, working his way out of his jacket.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia felt the urge to make at least some kind of noise of agreement, but nothing actually made it past her throat.

Maybe at some point here she would actually notice how she was dressed now.

[my_own_advocate]

"I can't believe she gave you a change of clothes and all I got was a Mai Tai and flipflops," Lucifer groused.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia looked down, more reflex than a conscious choice.

"Oh."

That sounded mild, lacking in real surprise. (The gruesome scar on her stomach was on show. Just one of the reasons you could tell this wasn't an outfit she had chosen.)

[betterthanaplan]

The water was helping, but not as much or as fast as he'd hoped. (It wasn't a cure-all. It never had been, but he forgot that sometimes, when he couldn't go swimming for a long time.) He dropped his legs and treaded water for a few moments, looking out towards the horizon.

He took a couple long, clearing breaths, then breathed in deep and dove again.

It wasn't deep enough here for him to really go into a deep dive, but he stretched himself out against the sandy bottom and just . . . hung there for a few minutes.

[my_own_advocate]

Hopefully not actually a few minutes. Because that was a bit long, as it was. Lucifer frowned, squinting at the water. "Duke?" he asked, as he sat up. "Duke?!"

[okteiviakom]

And there was Octavia's heart, right in her throat again.

"He's fine," she said, but the strain in her voice didn't make her sound like she was at all sure about that.

[betterthanaplan]

He was . . . physically okay.

He could also hold his breath for a while when the mood struck him, so he was probably down there for longer than either of them was comfortable with before he surfaced again.

When he just . . . treaded water again for awhile.

[my_own_advocate]

And would find himself facing a Lucifer, who had taken his trousers off and was now up to his knees in the water.

"Oh thank-- you."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia - sitting on the sand, exactly as she had been - took a deep breath.

Didn't feel any more steady than she had.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke frowned.

"You all know I know how to swim."

[my_own_advocate]

Lucifer stared at him.

"Do you have any idea how long you were under there?!"

... No. He was fine. He was chill. He was taking this all in stride!!!

[betterthanaplan]

"I can hold my breath for like . . . four minutes without much prep," Duke said. "So . . . less than that."

[my_own_advocate]

"Most humans can't do that!"

Totally. Chill.

"And you're being weird!"

The apex of relaxed about all this!

[okteiviakom]

Octavia... had no comment, even though their voices definitely carried.

She looked back towards the boat, then down at her outfit again.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed, looking back out to sea, than swam back towards the beach.

“I am not. I’m swimming.”

[my_own_advocate]

"Yes, well," Lucifer said, and immediately deflated. "You don't have to do-- that. Just don't do--" He waved at the part of the beach Duke had spent his four minutes in, "...that. Octavia and I would like to breathe."

[okteiviakom]

"I would like to find some other clothes," Octavia muttered. To herself.

They probably couldn't hear her like that, anyway.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke sighed. "You guys don't need to -- hover."