The Unpopping of River Tam

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

River found herself in the not unfamiliar state of being utterly disoriented.

This is not logical; there is not enough butter on Serenity to bathe in.
And yet, to spite the illogical bend of the situation, here she was, covered in butter. Did they even have butter?

And, surrounded by popcorn.
There is not enough popcorn on Serenity to fill a room.
This was a highly illogical situation. A distressing one.

"Simon?" she called out, tentatively. She didn't expect an answer. That... was far more distressing than the popcorn.
Don't be irrational, she thought. It was sound advice.
"Simon?!" She called again, louder. Of course, no answer, but she was allowed to be irrational once in a while. But only for a few seconds. If Simon wasn't here, he was obviously elsewhere, so elsewhere she would go. She stepped out of the popcorn room, and dripped down the unfamiliar hallway.

Comments

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"I wish I was joking, River, but I'm not. This is the year 2008." The house elf came with clean clothes. "I could carry those for you, and leave them by the shower when you get there."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"You will come to my greenhouse, then," A said, still shy. "I will bring something for us to drink, and maybe some sandwiches, and we will eat melon under the pear tree."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She nodded mutely, indicating he should take the clothes.
"I've become much younger, it seems," she said softly. "I wish I could find Simon..."

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"Were you a child during this year?" He was curious. "And who's Simon, if you don't mind me asking."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"A pear tree..." she made a happy little noise, rocking back and forth on her heels. "I want to meet a pear tree." Then, she ducked her head, a little shy herself. "Thank you, A."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

I'll be born in about five hundred years," she murmured. "Simon is my brother. He's a boob." She smiled a little, then. He was probably off with Kaylee somewhere, she was sure. He would never be too far away from her, she knew.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

A smiled more confidently at that, at the sign that she understood.

"I have other trees to introduce you to also. There is a cherry tree, and a peach tree, and in the greenhouse are a lime tree and a maple tree and a mikan, and soon a clementine tree as well. And there are many mangosteen trees in the grove, and many plants that are not trees."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

Her eyes brightened as she named off each tree. Just the thought of meeting them all... wonderful.

"Do you... grow strawberries?" she asked tentatively. She knew that when she found Kaylee, Kaylee would want to know about strawberries being easily available.

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"The strawberries... they, they aren't in the garden, they're on my windowsill in my room. Ryuzaki likes them, so I make sure they grow well for him."

Tentatively, "I don't think he would be unhappy if I gave you some."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She beamed at him.
"Book paid us with strawberries and vegetables from the monestary. I was still sleeping, but Kaylee saved some for me without knowing it. And we shared them, it was wonderful."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I, I don't know if they are as good as monastery strawberries. But they are very fresh, and I think they are good. There are blackberries, too, in the garden."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"I think they'll be just as good," she said, not losing her smile one bit, "if not better."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"There, there will be lots of fruits for you to try," he stammered. "And I will, I, I'll make limeade, with limes from the tree, with lavender in it."

It seemed a logical variation on lavender lemonade.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"Lavender?" she looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've never had a drink with lavender in it. I don't think I've ever had lavender..." she could remember smelling it once or twice, one of Inara's oils. "I know it smells lovely."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"For Summer Christmas we had lamb seasoned with lavender, and I made lavender jelly to go with it. It was good. Wishbone had some, and he gave some to Schrodinger and Einstein as a present."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

River hummed again, imagining what it must have tasted like, and the feeling from A was strong enough that she could almost re-live the memory.
"Summer Christmas... what a pretty thought. All the gentleness, none of the cold."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"It was the first time I had a Christmas," A confided. "There, there were presents and a tree with things on it, and I surprised Ryuzaki with a strawberry-rose cake." It was a good memory and he smiled. "And now in the mangosteen grove it will be summer on Christmas."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"Strawberry-rose?" her eyes went wide, and she clasped her hands under her chin, grinning. "Roses are wonderful! Roses with strawberries... that's amazing."

[i-am-an-hero.livejournal.com]

"I have roses in many colors." He liked seeing her smile, he realized. "White and red and purple, and some that are more than one color. Roses, oh, oh yes, they are wonderful. They are pretty and smell nice and can be used for food and for medicine. I will have a new rosebush to plant soon, a new kind of rose that is many colors."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"He's here somewhere," she said, more to convince herself than to assure Jezz. "He must be. He'd never leave me alone too long, not any more."

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

Soichiro paused to let that in momentarily. Five hundred years? He could hardly picture Earth five years from now, let alone five hundred. "Wow," he couldn't help but whisper. "You and your brother are close though, from the sounds of it, you wouldn't miss him otherwise."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She smiled, both at his expression and the thought of Simon. "He's my family. I love him the best. He's always taken care of me, even when he's frightened or it is difficult. Do you have a brother?"

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"No, I don't. I have...had a family of my own. Wife and two children. My son...he's here right now."

[jezzthespoon.livejournal.com]

Jezz wasn't in much need of assurance, on his part. "There might not be a choice involved," he said, a token effort to shore things up in the event this Simon turned out to be absent.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"That is good. Is your son much like you?"