cape_kore | 01 || River Tam || Day 45

[ The shot opens with two small toy dinosaurs, standing facing each other on the railing of a wooden bridge.

A young woman's voice begins talking: ]

We've played this game before. We are veterans in the sport.

Perhaps it was an oversight to bring a professional lab rat to a new lab. Perhaps she broke their teeth before they put her down she can't remember.

There's something in the water.

[ The camera angle shifts - here is a face full of an older teenage girl, long hair damp and brow furrowed. She seems to understand that this is recording, peering at the communicator intently before waving her arm wildly in a futile attempt to shake it off.

Quietly: ]

So what is the difference between a sport and a game? Hunting labrats is fun for the ones holding the gun, pull the trigger if you're ruthless, put down the broken specimens, they're just dragging down the standard deviation isn't that it?

Keep them fighting keep them starving keep them sleeping keep them kept.

[ She sighs and rubs a hand over her face. ] We are not a fan of these particular sports. Lab rats can still chew through the ropes, the wires, the bones.

Just give us time.

Just...

[ Her voice cracks at this point and there's a small sob snuffled in there, but the girl regains her composure fairly quickly. ]

Be polite, River. Say hello.

Hello.

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Wow.

[Charlie can relate to all of those thoughts, disjointed as they are.] From one veteran to another, sweetie I am so sorry.

[The things Cass sees in River are disjointed, fractured, but still possible to read and what she gets sparks the immediate desire to be someone this girl can rely on.]

I'm Cass. Can find you, if you say... where you are. Or show again.

[She's still learning the layout of the little town, a bridge isn't too helpful as of yet.]

Scatter the apologies like huā into the wind.

Maybe they'll make more trees to support all this virulent stupidity posing as science.

[Yes, Charlie does in fact find that comment about virulent stupidity posing as science hilarious. She's laughing. River is the first person to make her laugh in this place.]

So, what did your scientists think they could do?

I'm planet-bound, trapped by this gravitational well! [ Angry frowning but River climbs up onto the bridge's support and turns a rapid circle once, twice, three times.

Then she stretches her arms out and does it again, only in the opposite direction and slower. Any excuse to show off form and the ability to keep her arms steady.

The park and gazebo are easily identified in her sweep. ]

I'm here.

Whatever here is.

Under glass and observation.

[ Better laughter than being upset. River lets out a startled little laugh too. ]

Anything. Everything. They broke so many and here I stand, shining and furious but never whole again.

I know how that feels. [Yep.]

I'm Charlie.

[ First things anybody watching will notice: Jet has a lot of hair, and an eyepatch. No, he is not a pirate. Mildly: ] Labrats with a rather large cage, yes, I think that's the point of this place. Your name is River?

Are you the last of your class? Did you graduate with honors?

Did you run or did you leave a smoldering wreck in your wake? What I wouldn't have given....

Can you pilot with that? The depth perception would be all off, all wrong.

It was assigned, at birth, a little blip in the system, a lack of imagination. River. [ She snorts and shrugs. ] This cage has grass, we are not impressed.

[ Ruby looks a little thrown off, but she shakes it quickly. ]

River? I'm Ruby. I guess you figured this place out, huh? Are you... okay?

Gemstone. Ruber. Chronium. Precious. Al₂O₃.

Better than diamonds, but we're all carbon based aren't we?

I see the maze, but not the cheese. Why make it so pretty.

She's never been okay. Dinlo. Everything is in it's unexpected place.

[As intelligent and well worded as Charlie is, there's only one word for what River just said.]

Huh?

[That had been unexpected.]

Hmm.

[ Apparently River doesn't seem to mind that Charlie is confused. ]

How long in our little maze? Since we're planet bound.

Hm. I can drive with it decently enough. I haven't ever tried flight, however. [ He's thoughtful, then: ] You could always change your name. It is not such a difficult thing to do.

Is that a royal We? Perhaps you could change your name to Victoria.

[It was the fire reference that threw her for a moment. Especially the bit about leaving them a wreck.]

I don't know. It's...I've only been here a few days.

[Pausing.] Planet bound?

[There's no response after that because Cass has no response. Instead she just turns her comm off and goes to find River on her bridge.

When she gets there, she's not in costume. She found normal clothes, thankfully. She's just a girl when she jumps up onto the bridge beside River and smiles at her.]

Here is Cape Kore. Hi.

[ Wistfully: ] But the stars are so far.

Let's steer our seabound ship and run it aground, does that bring the labcoats running hither and yon?

Easy enough to remember. River River Burning Bright. Water takes everything apart, forces it back together. It's fine. I don't care that much.

It is we because thinks of herself and she thinks of herself in parts that are not always in agreement but we are not impressed.

The sun orbits, so we're planet-bound. Trapped to the terra.

[ Snarling: ]They snatched me from the sky.

Now that I can agree with. [ The stars are far. He sighs. ] I have never been to the stars but I had hopes as bright and as far as the sun that I would be able to visit them someday. I doubt that will happen, but I digress - I don't suppose anybody here is impressed with the cage.

I, for one, expected less monsters. But then again, I've also been informed this isn't the afterlife, by several people, so my perception is skewed.

Kore. Core? Center, nucleus. They didn't give me any capes. [ River rolls her eyes and spins on her bare toes, her boots unlaced and left ignored on the actual bridge before she puts her feet in fourth position.

Already showing off, she must like you Cass. ] Hello again.

You weren't before here. [Statement. Not a question. She catches on quick sometimes.]

Wild.

[It's distinctly possible the only way Charlie's finding this plausible is the people she's met so far. Other people with abilities, for starters, who say there are others where they're from. Charlie's the only one like her from home, so other universes sort of make sense to her.]

They took me from there when we break the glass you can come and see them from Serenity. So many so many which sun? There's more than one.

'Here there be monsters' like the one in the water. We danced. [ River sounds disgruntled. ] I think he won.

Does your heart not beat in your chest your brain's lightning or is it all corpses' dust?

Queen of my Cockpit. Flying free for once for the first.

Now back to mazes and rats.

Will lend mine. [She really does have a cape, too. She likes it, but she likes River too. Sharing won't be hard. And she smiles again, watching River twirl around. There's less worry to her now, it's been buried down a little better in favor of showing off. Always one to encourage things like that, Cass applauds her.]

Good turn. Where'd you... learn that?

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01 || River Tam || Day 45

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