river_meimei | (no subject)

(no subject)

There's a certain district on Beaumonde where nobody from Serenity much wants to go any more. There are a lot of bad memories there. There's also a lot of notoriety, if you happen to be River Tam, and potentially a lot of people with scars and grudges.

However, Beaumonde's a whole world. There's more to it than one dive bar.

Half a planet away, in a different city, there's a pedestrian market of the sort frequented by both tourists and locals. It's full of color, in paint and flowers and bright draping fabrics. It's also missing most of the neon, and most of the general air of seediness. No good for handovers of illegal goods -- but plenty good for a girls' day out.

River and Kaylee have a mission.

And the mission is: fun.

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"Thanks, genius." Kaylee laughs. "Fine. If you're lookin' for things as are interesting -- you get to pick where we go."

River scans the view before them.

It contains lots of people, lots of shops, and lots of color. Many of those colors clash with all the rest.

"There!" she announces, and points. (There's a certain air of having picked at random.)

Kaylee follows gamely; her goal in the here and now is to not lose track of River in the crowd.

(If the day winds up with a wave to Simon of "by the way, so I lost River", the day will probably be a failure.)

Luckily, River's not moving all that fast. Even though she's also not bothering to look back to make sure Kaylee's successfully following. (You'd think she'd have gotten over that bad habit. You'd be wrong, though.)

The store she picked has a bright orange front, huge windows, and big purple letters over the lime green door. ARABELLA'S ACCENTS!, it proclaims. It appears to be a flower shop.

Upon closer inspection, it proves to be a flower shop with a side line in ill-assorted kitsch.

Edited 2009-05-09 05:39 (UTC)

There are certainly worse choices -- and few better, if you're Kaylee.

She pauses by the door, and picks up a bright-blue watering can with poorly-rendered impressionist-style orange and yellow flowers painted on it, a faint smile crossing her face.

"You let me know if you need any help," the woman ensconced behind the counter smiles at them both.

"I found violets," River informs the air. And the violets in question.

She wasn't necessarily looking for them, but they're pretty.

Kaylee turns her attention away from the watering can; that same faint smile comes back. "We could put 'em in your hair."

It takes River a second to parse that, distracted as she is by flowers or unspoken words or air.

But when she does, Kaylee gets a bright, sudden smile.

"Crowns for the morning."

Kaylee looks from River's face to the violets, and back again.

"I think they'll do." Warm. "You want to pick out some for your room, too, maybe?"

River brushes a fingertip along one deep purple petal.

"Gonna wilt," she says, reflectively.

This is not, however, a no. Her tone -- thoughtful, a little dreamy, and uncritical -- probably makes that clear.

In case there was any doubt, though, there's also the fact that a beat later her eyes cut to Kaylee. Hopefully, "Can we?"

The corners of her eyes crinkle. "Absolutely. You pick out whatever you want."

Kaylee knows: it matters, what your bunk looks like. It's home.

And besides, flowers dry nice, and then you can keep them up for a while.

"You can too." They're pretty!

You know you want a flower crown, Kaylee.

"Well, we'll see." The watering can might match the vase she picked out at the covered market on Osiris; still... not much use for either, on Serenity. " -- orchids is nice, and I could see about settin' you up a lamp."

"We'll call it the sun. In defiance of astro-sequencing convention."

"Works for me," Kaylee says cheerfully. "Now, go on -- pick out what you want. There's a lot of places yet to go."

"This one?"

It's very sprawling. And purple.

Kaylee starts grinning. "You got it."

And the violets. To the lady behind the counter: "These two, please?"

They emerge into the sunlight. Kaylee, with the sprawling purple plant, is laughing. "Next stuff you have to carry."

River's laughing too, although it's probably mostly in response to Kaylee's. "It's a deal," she says decisively.

Kaylee may wish to make sure that whatever River gets to carry isn't terribly fragile, though.

"You pick," she announces to the market at large. "Alternation."

"River, we're doin' this for you. Whatever you want to pick, we're doin'. I mean it." She shifts the pot from hand to hand.

River casts Kaylee a quick glance; a little pleased, a little uncertain. "I know. It's a collaborative outing."

"Everything," she adds, more clearly cheerful.

River is a window-shopper. Focus is boring.

"Then as we got a lot to see -- "

Maybe there'll be a place where they can just... leave the pot for a while, until they can come back for it on the way back to Serenity.

" -- let's get to it. -- Hey, check that out -- " She points to a store about four down and across the way from the flower shop. "We could get you a real ridiculous hat."

"You're a bad influence," River informs her. "Captain'd say."

From the laughter in her voice, ill-stifled, it's safe to say River is okay with some kinds of bad influences.

Loftily: "I'm just tryin' to make sure you're well-equipped. And if he don't like it, he can take it up with me." Beat. "'Sides, if he says I'm a bad influence, that kind of makes him the biggest hypocrite of the 'verse, don't it."

Well, DUH, says River's face.

"We can get him one too. Share the uniform."

Mal would be thrilled, no doubt!

"But then you wouldn't have somethin' one of a kind," Kaylee says. Wisely.