fandomhigh | Ungulate Yoga, Tuesday, period 1

So apparently summer workshops were generally an outdoor affair, which Duke had no problems with. He'd spent most of the year doing his Tuesday morning yoga on the beach, after all, so a campground area only really meant he didn't have to worry about getting sand all over everything.

No, the trouble he was seeing was definitely not where his class was.

He stared at the little sign someone from the school had helpfully put up near the designated class area. "Ungulate yoga. Ungulate yoga." He looked at the array of yoga mats on the grass. And the herd of baby goats. "Ungulate yoga."

One of the goats spotted him, and a moment later, the whole herd was gamboling over to say hi.

"Right." Duke looked down at them and shook his head. "Of course it is."

He'd regained his composure by the time his students were due to arrive, seated on his yoga mat at the front with one of the goats in his lap (look, you try to resist those adorable little faces). "Namaste," he said, pressing his hands into prayer position and bowing slightly as he looked his students over. "Welcome to — Ungulate Yoga. Hopefully none of you have allergies. Or a paralyzing fear of goats. First thing's first, introductions. I'm told it's traditional.

"I'm Duke Crocker. I've been a practicing yogi for about twelve years now. I run a mid-size fishing boat by myself, which requires strength, flexibility, and a cool head, all of which I've found through my practice. I'd like each of you to tell me your name, yoga experience, and what you're hoping to get out of this class."

One of the goats jumped up onto his shoulder. He grimaced faintly and laughed as he shoved it back off.

"I guess interacting with animals is a valid answer to that."

After introductions, he had the class stand up to learn their first flow.

"A flow is any progression of yoga poses, chosen for ease and fluidity of movement between each pose. One of the most basic common flows is called the sun salutation. It moves through several beginner-level poses, working and stretching the entire body. So grab yourself a yoga mat and shuck your shoes if you haven't already, and we'll get started."

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Or get distracted by the baby goats, who are not at all interested in helping Duke maintain his reputation as a cool or knowledgeable teacher.

Look, Verity liked Duke, in so far as she knew him - which wasn't very well, to be fair - but baby goats.

Yeah yeah, boats, yeah yeah flexibility, yeah yeah-- goats.

Freya, who was a very serious and stoic soldier and a determined warrior, thank you very much, was not looking at the baby goats and thinking of how easily one could be concealed within the roominess of her coat and wondering how her roommate might feel about goats....

Well. She was trying not to think of those things, and, instead, focused on how all the goats running around made her feel oddly more at home. Sure, she'd grown up in Burmecia, which was pretty isolated, but in her past year of traveling around Gaia in search of Sir Fratley, she'd come to discover just how diverse her world truly was, only to then come here and find it all so homogenously human. It was probably how anyone felt when visiting Burmecia. So the goats helped add a little more of that diverse flavor that she'd grown accustomed to, even if they were just regular goats.

Yeah, there was a goat trying to eat Danny's shoe and it wasn't okay. Nor was anything else in his life right now, so it was pretty par for the course.

"Shoo. Go," Danny hissed at the goat, not quite sure this thing was on his calendar to begin with, but starting to get a terrible idea.

Rosa had been having a few doubts about actually attending this class that the moose apparently felt she needed to be in (doubts that increased significantly when she saw who else was in the class, apparently), especially after the whole 'Duke gets arrested' event, but sometimes her own morbid sense of curiosity got the better of her.

Plus, you know. Goats. Goats who seemed to be considering jumping on Rosa, but then those goats made eye-contact with Rosa and seemed to stagger back a little, having a few doubts of their own now.

They would clearly have to wait until she let her guard down.

Alara was trying to do her best to focus on the lecture but she couldn't help but keep glancing at the baby goats. She had never seen the animals before and she was finding them rather fascinating.

Okay this was sort of cute, but at the same time...

"Do I have to touch goats?"

“Nope,” Duke said. “They’ll probably try to touch you, though.”

WE’RE THEY NOT MAN-SHAPED ENOUGH FOR YOU, ALEXIS?

Edited 2020-05-12 14:17 (UTC)

LISTEN. SHE DID IT FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

"Okay," she said, "that was not in the class description..."

AND IT HAD WORKED SO WELL.

"Kid, it wasn't even in my class title when I wrote it. Welcome to Fandom." He shook his head. "Or I guess I should say, welcome back."

WHY WERE YOU BACK, ALEXIS?

People kept saying that to her, and she peered at him.

"Oh, right, from that whole volcano thing," she said.

Alexis retained zero trauma from it. Absolutely none.

"Yes," Duke said. "From the whole volcano thing."

She was going to do so well here.

Elli was trying to do her very, very best to listen but...

Duke, there were baby goats! She was only human! Elli compromised by listening as best she could while wiggling her fingers in the hopes of getting a few to come over to her.

Here baby goats, baby goats, baby goats...

Cait was, er, having a bit of a problem with the goats.

"Ah said, dinnae be eating me! Ah dinnae taste guid! Keep yer furry behinds 'n' yer wallies, tae, awa' fae me! Na eating! Dinnae huv a go!"

This class had been a terrible idea.

"Meep meep meep meep!" Beaker yelled, completely alarmed, as the goats got closer to Cait and also to him.

This was so relaxing for everyone. SO. RELAXING.

Stark could multitask! He could be listening while keeping his eye on the nearest baby goat who was adorable. Were its ears soft? He bet its ears were very soft.

Ungulate Yoga, Tuesday, period 1

Listen to the lecture

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