Albatross
Rated: PG
Category: Gen, Mal and River Focus (maybe ship if you squint), Ficlet.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Albatross got killed… long time ago… extinct, they say.
Note: Written in response to the LJ prompt of 'extinct animals' on ff_friday.
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Malcolm Reynolds had never actually seen an albatross.
They'd been absent from Earth That Was long before the Exodus.
But he hadn't lied to Inara, and contrary to popular belief, he wasn't stupid.
He had read an ancient poem featuring such a bird, and he understood metaphor just fine.
Every time his tongue sent 'albatross' to River, he not only understood it, he meant it.
He'd prayed that his nickname would not be prophecy, but somehow he always knew that one day his luck would run out. Now, as he held River's battered and broken body in his arms, a bitter tear slid down one cheek, and Mal waited for his punishment. He stared up at the swordsman who had taken River. Mal was armed, but in a poor position to defend himself, and he was frankly unwilling to accept the same fate as the captain in the ancient story.
He prayed for mercy to whatever gods might be listening.
The swordsman raised his blade. Mal closed his eyes and whispered a thanks to the universe. He could not bear this cross around his neck. Death was the only mercy left to him, and Mal was grateful for it.
Suddenly, a voice tore through Mal's mind. His eyes popped open.
Albatross got killed… long time ago… extinct, they say.
Mal's brow furrowed in confusion. Where had that come from? His puzzlement stayed his executioner's hand for a split second.
It was enough.
Before Mal could blink, River's body returned to life and the swordsman lay dead.
Another voice echoed in Mal's brain as River looked back at him over her shoulder with a wicked grin on her face.
He was never quite sure if this one was his or River's.
Extinct, my ass.
Perhaps, Mal thought later, it was both; but that really didn't matter.
Only thing that mattered was the truth of the words.
Albatross was still flying, and her captain wasn't doomed just yet, after all.
