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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That gets River to lift her head.

Patiently, "Digestion ruins the proportional distance."

"Well, 'scuse me for livin'," she says, cheerful enough. "Four dimensions is enough for anybody anyhow, 'cause if you got the fifth, you don't got none left over to eat. Or hardly enough, anyhow."

"We'll have to eat them all. It's inextricable."

River is sage. And logical.

Amiable: "River, you want me to explode?"

River glances at her, quick and startled.

"No."

Somebody missed the 'metaphorically' memo.

"Skipped the nitroglycerin," she adds, in case Kaylee got confused about that.

"I don't know."

Kaylee shakes her head. "They might've slipped it into the fryer."

...

"Jayne can give them cooking lessons." Darkly.

"Oh, so it'll explode faster? That what you're after?"

"Efficiency is a culinary virtue," River informs Kaylee, and absentmindedly eats the corner-doughnut of the fifth dimension.

"Well."

Kaylee surveys the structure sadly.

"There goes the neighborhood."

"There aren't any residents."

River blinks down at her not-exactly-cube, as if just discovering it.

"I evacuated," she adds, and offers Kaylee another doughnut. Since it's demolition time, and all.

"That was real thoughtful of you," Kaylee remarks, before popping the doughnut in her mouth. "Mmm."

River looks satisfied.

Not to say smug.

"So once we're through destroyin' the neighborhood -- "

Kaylee says this once her mouth is no longer full.

"What's on the agenda?"

"We'll skip the rampage."

Of course the future still has monster movies.

"Fun," she adds, decisively and wholly unhelpfully.

"Okay, Riverzilla, then we're lookin' for clothes, if you don't get more specific than that."

Kaylee gets a cheerful grin!

Looks like clothes it is.

Kaylee steals another doughnut. With her mouth full: "You want anything in particular?"

"If they swish."

Because, you know, River doesn't have enough of that kind of clothing already.

She swallows.

And grins. "...what, like leather pants with fringe?"

River considers that seriously.

Yeah, the narration is wincing too.

And then gives Kaylee a very dubious look. Patiently, "Leather chafes." Duh, Kaylee!

"'S why you wear pants under it."

Beat.

"Long as you're doin' work, I mean."

Kaylee probably means what you think she means.

River makes a face at this prospect.

Interpret that as you will.

"Anyway." Now she's grinning. "You okay for cold-weather things? Or do you want a couple more layers for good measure?"

"Yes," River declares.

Beat.

Beeeaaat.

Oh, right. "It's preparation for the planetary shift," she adds, which is apparently meant as clarification.