This is non-beta'd. I'm open to you telling me about typos. :) Or the wrong use of words. I swear texting and predictive typing is making me a horrible human! :) I hope you're enjoying the story. It's fun to get back into the 'Verse. All hail the mighty Whedon.
Getting to Persephone had been a hard burn. Serenity docked with an almost audible sigh and after being underground or in the Black for over two weeks the air-lock doors were opened before the dust even settled. After weeks of recycled air it was nice to breathe in the smell of clay, must, and somewhere close someone had hung a fresh load of laundry.
River took the first step off Serenity to a satisfying crunch of the coarse dirt beneath her boot. She, for once, wasn't afraid of being seen, being caught, being uprooted. She was on a path to clearing everybody's name. Soon they would meet with members of Parliament, Simon would no longer be a fugitive for breaking her out of the Academy, Inara would have her Companion requirements waived so she could be with Mal exclusively, Jayne would have any and all warrants dropped, and Mal and Serenity would have clean and clear names going forward. Everything depended so much on how things went today River grew nervous for a few steps; but all the times her, Mal, and Lance went over the details had prepared her for anything that would come her way.
She hoped.
Passing through the streets River noticed the shop that Kaylee bought her dress for the ball she attended with Mal. It had more fancy dresses, River noticed window display of their fanciest dresses with a banner above it declaring "Wedding Dresses 10% Off." Even I would look like a fancy girl in one of those. River's head lingered in that direction too long and Kaylee quickened her pace to walk side-by-side.
"River," Kaylee's tone was quiet. "You are going to give your brother a heart attack if you mention marriage."
"They were just pretty dresses. That's all."
"There were other pretty dresses. Why weren't you lookin' at those ones?"
"They weren't as pretty. I just… sometimes I don't dress like a girl. Sure I wear dresses, but always with shorts underneath and with boots. Zoe has these amazing blouses and tailored pants, you have these fun capris and great shirts. I look like we threw a decorated bag over me. I wish I could be as pretty as Inara sometimes."
"Oh, you already are," Kaylee said.
"You know what I mean. I feel like I'm grown but I'm still dressing like a moonbrain child."
"Growing pains, dearie. We all had them. We should break away from the guys sometime and do things. If we ever have money."
"We will if I have anything to say about it," River smiled. "The closer we get to the meeting the more nervous I get."
"You're going to do great," Kaylee assured her.
The rest of the walk was filled with idle chit-chat and more girl-talk. As they neared city hall, where the meeting was to take place, River paid less attention and started zoning in on reading people around them. No threats were imminent so River shifted her focus on her reader abilities. Feeling the energy on the air, nothing was giving waves of danger. River started replaying possible scenarios and rehearsing what she was going to say. She didn't notice the rest of the crew had stopped walking and was staring at her.
"River," Mal barked.
She shook her head, coming back to reality without reader capabilities, and turned to focus on him. "Yeah, Cap?"
"If you don't want to start a war you might want to change your body language. Are you looking for a fight?"
River noticed her hands we clenched and her shoulders were raised. She'd been staring off, she bet she DID look frightening. "Oh sorry," she relaxed her muscles. "I don't want a fight, guess I'm just preparing for one."
"You sensing something we should be worried about?" Mal asked.
River reached out again, nothing felt off when she analyzed it – but she wouldn't be settled until this meeting was over. "Not really. When I reach out everything feels fine. Maybe because it's the Alliance. Maybe working with them isn't the best idea."
"Now's a bad time to finally agree with me."
"Let's do this. We have redundant assurances in place, this can't go badly." Right? She thought to herself.
The steps leading up to city hall became steeper with each step, or maybe it was just her imagination. The columns leading to the door stretched so high they seemed to blacken the sky, or maybe it was just her imagination. River steadied herself and walked in the big double doors.
"River Tam," an authoritative voice said "you can stop right there."