Visiting!

[river_meimei]

Serenity's cargo bay is huge, at least compared to the rest of the ship. There are other ships with far bigger holds, of course. But still, it's big enough to hold a crowd, or multiple vehicles; there's a hovermule, in fact, suspended from chains near the ceiling. There are stairs, too, with metal mesh and wire railings, leading to catwalks.

River's door was apparently a small niche in the wall, usually covered by an oddly-shaped bit of paneling that's now leaning against a nearby crate. She has to crouch a little to get through from Milliways into the main bay.

Stitch doesn't.

Comments

[evil_koala_626]

Stitch does indeed have the good fortune to be of short stature and enjoy its many perks. He radiates excited curiosity as they step through the door and his eyes widen considerably upon taking in the cargo bay. Rust, paint, recycled air, the salty stench of grease, the strong and somehow bland odor of ceramics under high temperatures. All of these scents assail his nostrils and are systematically filtered as he takes in his new surroundings.

It’s not quite what he expected. Space ships in his universe tend to be large ovoid behemoths or smaller streamlined battle craft. He’s never such a wide boxy vessel before. The skeletal flooring is an intriguing change from the plastics and chrome he’s encountered previously. But there is no doubt they are on a ship. A ship full of interesting crates. A ship ripe for the exploring. He appears to be taking it all in at once, head jerking this way and that.

“Ooooooooh!” What to investigate first?

[river_meimei]

"Gotta stay," River says sharply, though without anger.

"Captain said."

[evil_koala_626]

A crate has apparently been chosen as his first target. He climbs midway up and is lifting the lid to peer inside when River speaks. He looks over his shoulder at her and offers a winning grin. He's not going anywhere, see? And then curiosity reclaims its hold and his head disappears into the crate, snuffling loudly at its contents.

[river_meimei]

That one holds a lot of packing peanuts OF THE FUTURE!!!, and a lot of brightly colored flowers made of what looks like very delicate plastic.

River brushes a fingertip along the edge of the crate, very lightly.

"Be nice. They breathe too."

[evil_koala_626]

Ooh colors! He gives a sheepish smile at her warning. She knows him too well. With surprising delicacy, Stitch extends a hand to brush across one of the flowers. Hmm.

And then, because he's Stitch, a palmful of packing peanuts is seized and inspected for a few seconds before being crammed into his mouth. Interesting texture. Not really much in the flavor department though.

"BleeAH!" The peanuts are returned to the crate, somewhat damper than they were a minute ago.

[river_meimei]

River makes a face at him.

Packing peanuts, dude.

[evil_koala_626]

You'd think she'd never sunk her teeth into a well aged couch arm with faces like that. Her loss if she's not open to trying new foods. Oooh, what's up there? He scampers toward the stairs.

[river_meimei]

Yeah, well. River has this weird preference for foods that are digestible by human beings.

"It's a tour," she informs Stitch, and follows.

Perhaps hastily.

[evil_koala_626]

He's very nearly at the stairs when he catches a scent. A rather sharp scent. A scent he's not really a fan of, to but it mildly. It appears to be coming from beyond the doorway behind the flight of stairs. Cautious now, he steps past the stairs and through the wide door.

It's a living room. OR at least that's what it looks like. What's a living room doing on a ship? And why would those scents be found in a...oh. They're not coming from the living room, they're coming from that smaller enclosed room off to the side. Acrid smells of chemicals. The sharp bite of alcohol. And nearly omnipresent under the cleaning fluids and sterilization something else. Something, he takes a step forward, with a coppery taint. His fir involuntarily stands on end and a small growl is issued in the room's general direction.

[river_meimei]

"Supposed to be good," River informs him pointedly. "It's Simon's."

Though River Tam, of all people, understands disliking infirmaries.

"We'll go sideways." Down the hall, she seems to mean, from the direction she's glancing.

[evil_koala_626]

It's a lab. A lab that smells very similar to Jumba's with the added factor of signs that there's been bloodshed. He's rattled, there's really no hiding it. And Stitch doesn't spook easily. He gives the infirmary another growl for good measure but nods and shuffles down the short staircase into the common area. One ear is fixed pointedly toward the infirmary. Nobody's getting the drop on him.

[river_meimei]

River...

Well. She comprehends.

"Nobody's got the knives," she whispers, without looking at the white sterile room. She's a step and a half behind Stitch, flanking him. Guarding.

(canda)

"Doors are all open. We'll go for a visit."

[evil_koala_626]

He's certainly not going to ignore an offer to put some distance between himself and the strong smelling room.

"Ih." If this were anyone else (with one or two obvious exceptions) he'd view the flanking as herding or worse yet, patronizing. Such people would get a growl or possibly a bite. River gets a small smile.

Stitch proceeds across the room, giving the furniture only a brief glance before stepping into the hallway.

[righthandwoman.livejournal.com]

Upstairs from the infirmary and common area is the kitchen, which is nicely homey for a kitchen on a spaceship.

Zoe's in the process of making tea, keeping one eye on the water and one on Naomi, who's sitting on the floor with a couple of toys to keep her occupied.

[river_meimei]

"Brought you a visitor," River says seriously to Naomi, around the doorframe.

Greetings are for wusses!

[evil_koala_626]

Stitch agrees wholeheartedly with that sentiment. Much better to scramble into a room (mostly)unannounced and take loud whiffs of the delectable odors present through your oversized nostrils. His eyes sparkle manically. Is that food he smells?!

[righthandwoman.livejournal.com]

When they're not planetside, visitors on Serenity mostly only come from one place.

"River?" Zoe says, starting to turn. "You got someone from the--okay, what's that and is it sanitary?"

Naomi stares at Stitch for a moment, then rises (a bit wobbily) to her feet; Zoe scoops her up before she can move forward.

[river_meimei]

"Captain said he could," River says, earnestly if not entirely relevantly.

"I'm guiding the selective tour."

[evil_koala_626]

Sanitary? Most assuredly not. The toothy grin probably isn’t all that reassuring either.

"Aloha!" Naomi is the recipient of an enthusiastic wave. Babies are his comrades in arms.

[righthandwoman.livejournal.com]

"Captain said, huh?" Zoe's look at Stitch is a bit dubious, but she doesn't question River's word.

Naomi looks perhaps less unsettled by the toothy grin than she should be, but hey, her dad plays with plastic T-Rexes. She waves back, cheerfully.

"Does...he have a name?" Zoe asks.