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

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"Mid-bulk Transport. Standard Radion Accelerator core. Class code 03-K64--Firefly. It's a starship," she specified. "Home that moves. Home where Simon and Kaylee are." She stared at the house elf, and shrugged. "Surprise me."

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"After my time, then. Very after my time. We aren't capable of commercial space travel yet."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

This information was quite disconcerting. She'd gone back in time? And Jezz had said this was Earth-that-was, or like it...
She stared off blankly for a while, unsure how to answer.

[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."

[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]

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.

[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."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

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

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

Soichiro was silent for a minute. Heavy question there. "No. He isn't." In the end, no.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She had the feeling she'd said something wrong. A strong feeling.
"Children can never be just like their parents," she offered.

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry. My son and I aren't on the best terms right now. I found out something about him that I wished wasn't true."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She cocked her head to the side a little, considering.
"Is it an unforgivable truth?"

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"Yes it is. Anything else I could forgive him for, but not what he did." He was beginning to recognize the hallway. That means he's either close to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"Father didn't forgive Simon for coming to save me," she said. "But father is still our father."

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"That's why it's difficult. If it had just been some stranger, I could hate him so easily...but he's my son."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

She nodded sagely, and grew quiet a moment.

"Do you want to hate him?"

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"I should. He committed mass murder, and from what I heard, felt no remorse about it. And I think I was one of his victims."

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"Should and want are very different things. I don't think he'd kill you on purpose."

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

"I've seen an alternate timeline where he did. He had said sacrifices were needed to create a new world. To hear your own child say that..." he drifted off.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

River didn't have an accurate response, so she followed behind him mutely. She'd have liked to have given him some sort of comfort, but, as with so many people, she wasn't sure how.

[papayagami.livejournal.com]

Soichiro shook his head. He shouldn't bother with this. And they were almost at Ravenclaw.

[biblerewrite.livejournal.com]

"What do you do here?" she asked after a few moments, then, rather under her breath, "this looks vaguely familiar..."