∂ first found object

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[The scrape of metal against wood floors is loud, heavy in her ears.]

Si- [Her throat feels raw, the voice tired almost.] Simon?

[There's a bit of panic. She remembers, she knows she went to sleep.]

Simon? [The panic grows, becoming more aware of the actual where of her situation. Where did they take her? What could she have done? Serenity, the hum of her is gone. It's so different... so full of echoes and the ghosts, she knows they had names... things have names and proper nouns are never to forget their - forget. She was supposed to forget. Erase it. It's gone. Like a gap. A space. Empty.]

They took it... Simon? They took it and I can't find something that fits... [she gets up, her arms still bound in the handcuffs, the weight of them heavy as they clunk to the door as she opens it, heading into the hall]

Go to ground. When...? When did we go to ground?

Comments

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[it's the land of who knows what floor they're on... because River doesn't have a room number yet, come, join us!]

A lot of them. [looks up at Wash and smiles] Then there were three.

WASH <3333

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

[She looks behind her to see Wash and smiles]

Yeah, looks like she just showed up.

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

[returns the smiles, moving over to them] Yeah, that happens.

You had the welcome speeches yet?

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

Speeches. [she nods] Explaining the lack of consistency in a world created for holding people against their will.

Something is taken. Things get lost. People come and people go.

There's you and you. Now me. Simon... [a bit of worry on her features] Simon will come.

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

[Gives Wash a look of GOT ANY IDEAS since she usually left River watching to Book, Simon or Kaylee]

That's...about the jist of it.

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

And the kitchen's on the first floor. [because that's the important part, yup]

[returns the look - and was debating mentioning it, but she knows people come and go, and since she'll probably hear about it anyway if she hasn't already...] Simon was here for a while and went home. But, so did I, and I came back, so it's not out of the question that he will too.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[she nods, she's positive that Simon will show up, he always comes for her]

How long have you been here? [because time is important suddenly]

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

[She'll nod along with Wash, and at that question she already knows]

About eight or nine months for me.

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

I've been here a little over a year.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[her brow furrows]

Pieces. They're... everywhere. [there's concern on her features] Here and gone and returned, it overlaps and it's... [a sigh]

There's no Captain... no ship. We're lost in the black.

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

That's...one way of puttin' it.

We'll see the Cap'n again, whether he shows up here or we find our way back to Serenity.

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

[nods, to Zoe's comment] And there's the three of us. We'll keep an eye on each other until one or the other happens.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[nods, agreeing]

It has my name on it. [gestures to the name plate on the wall behind her] There isn't a lack of space, no passenger area. It just knew where I was supposed to go.

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

...Yeah, it does unsettlin' things like that.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

Is it mine? [because, it feels like it should be hers, but she's not really too sure]

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

[nods] Yup. And you can do whatever you want with it, too. Just ask the ghosts for anything you need. [again, he's sort of assuming she's heard about the ghosts by this point. and then, grins] You should've seen me trying to decorate.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

Murals of geese?

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

[She grins a little at what River says]

Close, I'd say.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[nods, slowly getting up to her feet]

Where can I find you? [head tilts as she pushes the door to her room open, listening for the ghosts]

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

[makes a face at them both] I'm not that hopeless. Just because I had orange and green curtains for a week...

[and then, to River's question] We're down in 519.

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

I'm just grateful we could get rid of them.

[She nods at Wash's response to the floor] You know what room you got?

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[nods again, her fingers tracing over the nameplate]

This one. One thousand, four hundred and sixteen. There aren't that many rooms here. Mathmatically this number isn't accurate.

[it takes her only a moment to calculate it in her head] This is the two-hundred and seventy-sixth room, without considering the towers to have a priority over the actual floors. [takes a slow breath, peering into the room]

[just-the-pilot.livejournal.com]

[...really doesn't know how to respond to River, sometimes, and tilts his head a little to look past her into the room, too, before he responds] At least this way you only need your room number to know which floor you're on, like a hotel. Like a... really creepy hotel.

[someoneto-carry.livejournal.com]

[yeah...she's a bit unsure too]

Right...first digit or two tell the floor number, not the actual number of the room.

[aint-quiteright.livejournal.com]

[a look, one of 'those' looks, because the girl is a genius]

I know.