Mal: Okay, help me find our man. He’s supposed to be older, kind of stocky, wears a red sash crossways.
Kaylee: Why does he do that?
Mal: Maybe he won first place in the Miss Persephone pageant; just help me look.
(Source: peterparkour)
Mal: Okay, help me find our man. He’s supposed to be older, kind of stocky, wears a red sash crossways.
Kaylee: Why does he do that?
Mal: Maybe he won first place in the Miss Persephone pageant; just help me look.
(Source: peterparkour)
(Source: whedonversegifs)
(Source: orbitingasupernova)
Inara nodded with careful indifference at the Alliance controlling border planets. On one hand the government could assist the poorer planets and as a result of more noblemen on those worlds she’d have a broader clientele, however the Alliance also was known for draining resources from more primitive planets. She shrugged once more and slid an arm around Kaylee’s shoulders, and with her other hand tightened the thin tie on her robe, keeping it safely shut and led the younger girl down the hall towards the galley.
“Boredom is something that overtakes the restless. I admit that I have been deeply ingrained with patience.. but even I can only take so much.” She smiled somewhat wistfully and quirked an eyebrow. “A game of cards?” She offered, with her smile turning wry. “It could save us from this hellish sedentary lifestyle.”
Kaylee smiled brightly at the suggestion. It’d been far too long since she and Inara had spent quality time together. Seemed like she was always fixing whatever happened to be falling apart in the engine room that day. She hoped they touched down soon because poor Serenity really needed some new parts.
“Cards sounds shiny. Be warned though, I’ll beat ya but good.” Kaylee pulled out a chair and sat down anything but gracefully, grabbing the deck of cards as she did. Hopefully the Cap’n wouldn’t catch them, he’d probably give her a talking to for not being in the engine room, especially since he hadn’t been in the best mood with the lack of jobs.
“Hey you.” She replied quietly, with a smile edging onto her face. Kaylee’s bright and shiny disposition always had a way of making her smile too. ”Nothing particularly interesting. I’m simply wasting time until I make a new connection.” She offered vaguely, before leaning against her doorway and looking over the younger girl. It had been deathly quiet on board for the past week or so, and typically this factor wouldn’t bother Inara, but without anyone inquiring for her companionship there is very little to do, at this point she would have accepted a conversation from Jayne, but she’d by far prefer Kaylee’s company.
“Why has it been so quiet? Any idea what Mal might be planning?” She questioned, brushing the back of her nails up Kaylee’s cheek to push a strand of hair out of her face. ”I wouldn’t be so quick to tell the others, but my clientele has all but vanished as well. If I had any requests I could possibly find a job for the rest of you, but..” She dropped her hand somewhat exasperatedly and shrugged softly and smiled at Kaylee. “Any news from the engine room?”
“I don’t know what the Cap’n is planning. I think there ain’t many jobs right now. Alliance control is gettin’ stronger in the border planets it seems.” Kaylee paused. She didn’t pretend to know much about Alliance and government of the ‘verse. From the way Mal talked she was pretty sure she’d have been on the side of the independents had she been older when the war was going on. However she knew Inara probably sided with the Alliance, not that it mattered any to Kaylee, she just didn’t want to get into a conversation where she wouldn’t have much to add.
“The engine’s alright. I think I got the compression coil fixed and it’ll work real nice for a while. Though we still need a new one. Least we ain’t at risk of fallin’ right outta the sky no more. But now that I’ve fixed it there isn’t much left to do. Serenity’s gettin’ too quiet, nothin’ to keep me entertained.” She wanted Inara to suggest something, anything, for them to do to pass time. It wasn’t often they had this long of a stretch of down time, and Kaylee didn’t know what to do with herself.
Inara lounged in her room, the scent of jasmine floating through the air on wisps of translucent, silvery smoke lifting from gold shining burners. She sat among the fire hued pillows and leaned back, taking a deep, calming breath before opening her kohl-lined eyes and sliding from her position on the bed, and slid on her sheer satin robe over her bare shoulders.
She stalked from her seat and glared at the clock on the dashboard of her escape pod. She slid into the cool metal seat and looked through her calendar. No new meetings with clients. She sighed again, before tossing her book irately to the sofa-bed across the room.
“Ni ta ma de!” She took a moment to take a breath and compose herself before pulling the robe tighter around her form, and opening her door, and peering out into the hallway.
Kaylee shuffled down walkway, dragging her feet slightly. She has left the engine room to look for Simon, only to find him working with River. She kept holding out for the boy, only to be disappointed at every turn. Maybe she should give up on him? She sighed once more and stuffed her hands in her pockets, her shoulders hunching forward slightly. Not much left to do except go back to the engine room and tinker, maybe just lie in her hammock for a bit. Things had gotten pretty quiet around here, and Mal was always grumpier between jobs so everyone was leaving him be.
Just as she reached the stairs, she saw Inara open the door of the shuttle. Inara looked just as bored as Kaylee felt, and Kaylee smiled up at her immediately. Finally someone to talk to.
“Hey ‘Nara! You’ve been pretty quiet, what’ve ya been up to?” Kaylee smiled brightly at the older woman, it didn’t take much to lift her spirits.
Huh, ain’t that somethin’.
It is, isn’t it? Makes our worlds a whole lot bigger. Hm, sorry, I don’t think I caught your name actually.
I’m Kaylee, an’ you are?
Madison Jeffries. Nice to meet you, Kaylee.
Nice to meet ya too!
Kaylee was laying on her back the floor of the engine room, staring up at her work. The compression coil was busted and though she’d told the Captain they needed a new one, he’s put it off til their next job, again. That would probably be in six months when the engine risks giving out on them while they fly. She rolled her eyes as she worked, hooking up wires with electrical tape to hold the compression coil together, and make it work better where she could.
Things had been quiet recently, a little too quiet. They were running short on funds and jobs, with the Alliance cracking down harder than ever. Sometimes she wondered how long this life they had going could last. How long before not even the border planet moons were ignored by Alliance? She didn’t like to dwell on it. Kept her sad bottled down and pushed the happy through. She liked appearing like she was always alright, even if she wore wore her heart on her sleeve, didn’t mean she gave that much away when it came to fears and worries, or memories.
She could faintly hear Jayne grumbling about Verra needing to be cleaned and Wash cracking a joke somewhere on the ship and she smiled. Out here in the black everyone sees their own thing and to her, this was home. This was family. Well, at least it was sometimes. She laughed as she heard Jayne scream about River, and placed the last few wires. If she was lucky, no one had eaten the chocolate bar she’d bought on Persephone and stashed away in a cupboard. With one last pat on the engine, Kaylee ran off to the kitchen, the ever present smiling stretched across her face.
How is that possible? The Earth that was is gone, all used up, dead. It’s why we took t’ the stars.
Well…you’ll find space and time can get a little strange around here. You can meet people from…all over reality, really. Where I’m from our Earth is a little beat up, sure, but it’s still going.
Huh, ain’t that somethin’.
It is, isn’t it? Makes our worlds a whole lot bigger. Hm, sorry, I don’t think I caught your name actually.
I’m Kaylee, an’ you are?
