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Who: River Tam & You!
When: Throughout the month
Where: The lounge, kipos, observation deck
What: Free ice cream, tree climbing, general River tier oddness
Warnings: None atm

[ A – The Lounge ]

[ With the new captains deciding that luxuries like dessert and other little treats aren't necessary, River finally knew what to do with the refrigeration crate filled with Ice Planets. So one quiet afternoon she takes it into the Lounge to share the wealth with the other members of the crew. Things always taste better when they're shared and shared alike with people.

So when one walks into the lounge they'll find River sitting in a chair, either normally with a book in her lap, or sometimes sitting so her legs are pointed at the ceiling and her head is hanging over the edge of the seat with her hair dangling toward the ground. On the ground beside her is the crate with a hand drawn sign propped up by a plastic dinosaur. ]

Free Ice ~~Planet~~ Cream – Slightly Problematic

[ So long as you're willing to try eating ice cream that's dangling on a string you've got some available to try. ]

[ B – Kipos; Tree Climbing ]

[ Sometimes, you just have a climb a tree. River leaves her shoes at the base of the great tree in the garden and climbs up into its branches with bare feet and sure hands to pull her up into the green. She has enough strips of colorful paper in her pockets to keep her busy for a while and she quickly has a lap full of origami stars that she makes while she enjoys the quiet. But since nothing lasts forever, whenever someone wanders underneath her she decides to have a little fun.

Whomever is walking underneath her might not notice the first star dropped, but River will keep going until they either have little paper stars stuck in their hair or they finally look up at her. Then she grins and waves, the image of mischief. ]

It's very nice up here.

[ C – Kipos; The Altar ]

[ She visits the altar on the lower level of Kipos every few weeks. She does the same routine each time and lights three candles. One for Wash. One for the Shepherd. And one for all the people lost because of the secrets in her head. It isn't much, but she can do this to prove she won't forget. Her mind belongs to her now and she won't let anything go without a fight.

But this time she also lights a fourth one. Not for people lost, but the ones she misses. A small promise that she'll see them again someday. ]

I know you can't hear me, but I'm okay. I've got family to look out for. You'll like them.

[ D – Observation Deck; Late]

[ When she can't sleep, River usually sneaks away from the room she shares with Wanda so she doesn't wake her foster-sister up. This particular evening River makes her way up to the observation deck with a colorful blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her bare feet make hardly any sound on the floor of the deck as she looks up at the endless black surrounding them. She settles down onto the floor with a notebook in her lap and a pencil and starts to draw out small patterns on each page that she connects with loose lines.

She doesn't look away from her sketchbook when someone approaches, but she speaks anyways. ]

The stars are different here, can't even find familiar constellations. I'm making new ones.

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[ Late nights on the Observation Deck were something of a habit, or some it might appear.

When he was ~~kicked out of~~ away from Medbay, it was as likely that he came here as anywhere. Sometimes there was training, occasionally he'd catch a few hours of sleep in his barracks but that sort of sleep was measurable on one hand; with fingers to spare.

At those hours, when it was too still on the ship to even work a puzzle, Adrien often retreated to the Observation Deck. Barefoot as well, wearing linen sleep pants, he didn't have the blanket but a sweater instead. Courser lay across his feet, the tracker's tail folded over his muzzle as he actually slept.

The doctor was in an out of the way corner, easy to miss in the shadows as he leaned against whatever bulkhead gave him the best view of the stars beyond. He wasn't actively hiding and when River spoke, he answered as if assuming she'd just known he was there. ]

Sounds reasonable. What are you going to name them?

I'm not sure yet.

[ She adds a few more stars to her current constellation and a line to connect them after some careful consideration. It looks like something, if you squint, but that was the way for most constellations anyways. They always looked like a random set of lines until you gave it a name and a story to help guide people's eyes to its true self. ]

It hasn't told me what it is yet. Stars are difficult like that.

They should be difficult. [ The words left his lips before he could choke them back and for a moment, Adrien sat there, not entirely sure why he'd just said that. ] Though it's interesting to think they're the one constant, across multiple dimensions.

There are always stars.

[ Even if they weren't the same as the ones at home. ]

What stories did you like best from your home constellations?

I like the old ones, the stories that came from earth-that-was.

[ She remembers her mother reading the old myths to her and Simon when they were little and getting ready for bed. The stories of the old heroes who would be placed into the stars to honor them were some of her favorites. She spent many long nights trying to invent her own.

She smiles at the memory and adds another line. ]

I liked Orion and the scorpion best.

[ He actually knew some of those stories; from very old history books indeed. ]

Orion the huntsman and Scorpius, the scorpion sent to deal with his hubris.

[ Oddly enough, his memories ran along a similar line to her own, though it hadn't been his mother who had read him the stories; it had been his eldest sister. ]

Humanity had quite the imagination when it came to building explanations for the inexplicable.

Folk always do that, tell stories to explain things that are strange. Wolves swallow the sun and moon when it turns black. We use stories like nightlights.

[ The constellation on her paper is taking shape as she draws its true shape around the lines connecting each star together. This particular one is becoming a rather stylized tiger. ]

They make the things we can't see less scary. Makes us more willing to go out into the dark.

[ Her words caused him to fall silent for awhile as he considered what she'd said. It would be easy to follow the logical trail, talk about fear and it's importance to the idea of preservation of a species. How it was healthy, even as it was problematic.

But that would be an easy direction, an expected direction; trite conversation in an effort to label a vastness beyond measure.

He was quiet, letting her work on her drawing, perhaps even start another, before his voice came from the shadows. ]

What do you think of the dark?

[ The question is a good one. Good enough that River puts down her pencil so she can look over into the shadows where he's hiding out. ]

It's peaceful. It's all around and it's usually got light hidden in it if you let your eyes adjust. A thousand little lights that make everything okay.

[ She pauses and thinks for a moment before continuing. ]

The light is worse. People think they can get away with more in a brightly lit because no one expects it. People who like it all bright without any dirt are the ones to watch out for. They're meddlesome.

[ Her words left him quiet for a rather long time. Perhaps so long that she will have moved on with her own projects and forgotten him sitting back there in the shadows.

’… usually got light hidden in it, if you let your eyes adjust.’ Those words struck a cord deep within and Adrien leaned his head back against the wall as he let his thoughts drift. It was, after all, the choice he’d made in those chaotic moments before jumping from one station to the next. The gamble on the dark, brightened only by hidden light that he’d started to see flickers of out of the corner of his eyes.

He wasn’t even sure the light was truly there, still functioning on faith and gut instinct. But that faith was strong; he needed it to be.

Then he thought about her latter words, how those in the light were meddlesome. From Bilchis to those members of the crew who believed they stood in the white light of good, without understanding that it was time for the cloak of darkness.

When his words came next, it would be completely understandable if she were no longer listening to him. ]

They are meddlesome and often so blinded by the light itself, they stop looking around to see the truth in front of them. They made the shadows from their own hands of assumption and try to fight what they can see.

[ Tex stops, looking the sign over. ]

I've been on an ice planet. I've never had ice cream, though.

[ Yes—six months on the ship as a human and she never got around to trying ice cream! She wonders how that happened, anyway. ]

[ River at Tex from her upside-down position. It feels useless to ask why she's never had ice cream before since they're on a spaceship and there are aliens on board. Anything is possible. ]

It's both. You're welcome to try one.

[ Clearly this is the perfect treat for a beginner. ]

[ Tex takes one of the sticks, the ball of ice cream dangling, and then after looking at it for a moment, she pinches the string at the base of where it goes into the ball and tries to hold it upright. ]

Someone didn't think this concept through.

[If there is one certain fact in his life right now, it's that Carl is still getting used to things on the ship. And the lounge is perhaps one of the few areas he feels he can relax. However, almost nothing is odder than walking in and spotting a girl hanging upside down on the couch offering ... slightly problematic ice plant cream, from what he can gather.

The meaning of the planet part in there somewhat concerns him, to be honest.

And it's definitely something he doesn't know what to make of, so he stares for a brief moment before deciding to approach cautiously. And curiously. Of course she looks around his age, so the level of threat he feels she is is minimal. For the most part. It's not like he doubts that another teenager can be a threat. But anyway, he has to ask:]

Why are you offering "ice cream"? What is it exactly?

It's ice cream. Just annoying ice cream.

[ As to the why... She shrugs, an awkward gesture when you're dangling upside down. ]

I'm getting rid of the evidence. They don't like luxuries so if they're gone the captains can't fuss that it took up space.

[Alright. Guess it is what it looks like after all, he thinks. Still, he quirks an eyebrow at her upside down shrugging and choice of words. Makes sense about luxuries and them taking up space though.]

Um, okay. So that's all it is? Nothing's wrong with the ice cream?

[Like, you know, she did something strange or gross to them. He just met her, so yeah, some doubt to free stuff is a thing.]

[He's been looking all over the ship for her, his silver jacket bundled up under one arm and replaced with far more garish tiger printed one. When he finds her there, he hangs back for a few moments and just watches her go through the motions. Peter's aware he's intruding on something important, something personal. So when he clears his throat to announce his presence he has the good grace to look sheepish.]

Sorry. [He shrugs, looks over the burning candles and back to her.] I was looking for you, but if you want me to piss off, just say so.

It's okay. They can't hear me.

[ But Shepherd Book always said you needed to believe in something, and even if his bible was broken she could still have faith that her family back on Serenity would be okay. Each time she lit a candle it was a promise that she wouldn't forget them. She turns to him, smiling teasingly. ]

You can stay. I was just telling them that I had family looking out for me.

Maybe they can. Weirder things have happened around here.

[He's almost taken back by how bluntly she reminds him they can't hear, but he's used to how she is. He moves a little closer, crouching down nest to her.]

It's what family does. But Maybe you should be telling them we're the ones being looked out for. It's a little more accurate, don't you think?

[He unfolds the bundle as he speaks, spreading the jacket out over her shoulders.]

I think I remember someone saying brothers were the ones who needed the looking after, nothing said about sisters.

[ The significance of Peter giving her his coat isn't lost on her. River puts her arms into the sleeves and smooths it down with a smile. It's the best kind of gift to get. ]

There's a difference between looking out for someone and needing to be looked after. One means you have their back, the other means you're trouble.

[ After all, who got kidnapped? It certainly wasn't River or Wanda. ]

But sisters needs brothers. We're just troublesome in different ways.

Well, well. Looks better than you on me. [He has to smile at the picture it paints. It reminds him of his sisters back home, playing dress up with his old clothes or stealing band t-shirts out of the laundry. It's a good kind of ache for home, one that makes him learn over and ruffled River's hair in a sort of wordless thanks.]

Fancy way of telling me I'm the trouble. You know I'm not always causing problems, right? [Just most of the time.] But I guess you're not totally wrong. Even if it just sounds like you're picking at the details.

Of course you need us. Someone has to keep you girls on your toes, keep you from being too boring with the books and properness and all that.

It looks good in a different way.

[ But it doesn't stop her from looking pleased at the compliment. It's a little big on her but she already knows she'll wear it whenever she's given more than half a chance.

River bumps him with her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. ]

I'm not boring. Or proper. I have enough stories to prove it, too.

[He snorts.] Take the compliment River. Let me be the nice sibling and say you're prettier than me.

[He flicks at her knee in retaliation, waving a hand in a so-so motion like he doesn't quite believe her.]

Maybe not boring. But certainly more proper than me. [It wasn't hard to be.] But it sounds like story time, if you're proving me wrong.

[Pharah knows that she should be resting comfortably in her bed as she continues to recover from her meeting with Reaper, but she's not the kind to ever sit idly by and the inaction gets to her. She arrives with the intent of sitting and enjoying the view while she listens to the radio station, but seeing someone else there draws her interest. She walks over to take a look at what the girl is drawing.]

That is a good idea. I don't recognize any of these stars, either.

[She sits down, enjoys the view quietly for a moment, and then turns back towards the girl.] What have you got so far?

[ She doesn't mind the company, not when she's the one who started talking first. River adds a few more lines, allowing the form on the page to take shape and become something other than a mess before tipping the page toward Pharah so she can see it. ]

The whale.

[ And indeed the stars gathered do roughly form the shape of a whale, though she's also drawn its image around the skeleton of stars. ]

We went to a planet where they flew a few months back.

[ Andyr doesn't pass up food. Ever. Not these days, and certainly not food that's bad for him, so ice cream? even problematic ice cream? yeah, he'll take it.

pausing in front of river, where she's hanging off her seat upside down, he tilts his head some to look at her for a second, then to the sign by the box, and finally, grabbing one of the sticks out to squint at the ice planet thing.

huh.

okay, well, easy enough to solve.

ignoring the stick and string completely, andyr holds either side of the orb with thumb and forefinger, biting into the side of it. sure, it'll be messy, but it's ice cream, so who cares? he'll just lick his hands clean later. as for river and her upside time - ] Blood's gonna rush to your head and make you stupid like that.

You're cheating.

[ It's odd to think that even Jayne didn't cheat at ice planets. There were rules to the whole thing. You made yourself look silly for it. Eventually she decides to let the transgression go in order to grin at Andyr impishly. ]

Likely won't make a difference. Folk say I'm too smart for my own good already.

Didn't see any rules posted.

[ it's not cheating if there weren't rules, river, that's not fair.

andyr's continuing to much at his ice planet as he's tilting his head a bit to the side, only slightly more aligned to her vision, still missing another 90 degrees of tilt, but he's not planning on pulling up a chair and climbing on upside down just to look at her properly. ]

Yeah? Got a brother like that. [ sort of. mikal's the only one of his clones he's willing to call his actual blood. ] Maybe I'll string him upside down next time he gets into trouble.

[ The rules are implied, you scrub.

But River isn't going to argue about it when someone is, thankfully, taking another of the ice planets off her hands. Not that she doesn't like getting little things from home but she'd much rather get a package of moon cakes from one of Persephone's bakeries or some red bean candy from one of a thousand little general stores on the border planets.

She sits up to spare Andyr's neck and looks up at him. ]

Do you miss him?

Mikal?

[ he seems surprised for a moment, to be asked that. there's been plenty of times he was away from mikal - most of the time they'd known each other, honestly. but had that stopped him from missing him? from missing anyone else?

and now, with him universes away, it seems all the more impossible. ]

Yeah. I do. [ he admits, with a small, somber smile. mikal, posie, mal, kon. the sister he knew, the father he had, the mother he barely remembers. he misses all of them. ]

That's good.

[ River closes the book she was reading, a text on physics she got in the mail and then leans down to adjust the toy dinosaur holding up her sign. He has to look his best after all. ]

It means you haven't forgotten him. If you stop missing him you should worry.

Don't think I ever could.

[ Said a bit wryly - Mikal's entrance into his life wasn't boring. Moving, he comes to sit nearby her to munch at his ice planet, his back pressed against the chair she's hanging upside down from, stretching his legs out in front of him, but being careful not to knock into the sign. ]

What about you? Miss anybody?

Lots of folk. My brother, Kaylee, Captain, Zoe, Inara... [ She pauses to think, and adds a moment later. ] Jayne too, even though he's himself.

[ The entire crew is like a missing tooth. She can go a while without noticing they're gone but then she remembers and can't stop poking at it for a while. They're a part of her, they helped her come back to something resembling whole even if she's not the same shape she was before the academy took her. ]

I've got people here, though. I need to watch out for them.

[ a list of names that don’t mean anything to him, but he can tell the weight of them in her voice, the familiarity there. ]

Lot of people to miss. [ maybe it isn’t. It seems like a lot to him, when he has about… two. ]

Friends you made here, or people from home?

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