Increscunt Animi by Proxii Bleu
(Note: I'd just like to assure everyone now, that this fic will not have a sucky ending like Fragile!)
III
They still had the cat.
Mal still couldn't quite figure out how that came to be, but Hairball was still aboard Serenity. They had stopped at Beechwater as scheduled, made the run, yet Zoe had managed to keep him distracted just long enough for them to be well underway before he noticed the black tuft of fur sleeping contentedly between Wash's dinosaurs. Yelling wasn't going to change anything, the kitten was still there, but not for long since once they reached their destination Hairball was done for. Mal was going to see to it personally that he was put off somewhere other than his ship.
However, the puss had only been given a stay of abandonment due to the fact that Simon was acting strangely, and the last thing Mal needed was River getting wind of it. Lately the doctor had been reserved, quiet, and short-tempered with the rest of the crew. Inquiries about his health was met with short replies, stares, and the boy's backside as he retreated into his room.
Mal knew first-hand that Simon was a private person, but not the the point that he spent almost every minute of the day cooped up in his bedroom. Normally he was in the medbay, in fact most of the time he slept there. The continuing abnormality in the physician's behavior was starting to concern Mal, which meant it was starting to get out of hand. Leaning back in his chair he tried to clear his mind, and think of something other than problems.
Things were going good, they had a good haul, and more credits meant less creditors. Yet Mal's mind was unwilling to look on the bright side of things, it wasn't his nature, and as usual the pessimism won out.
"Dark thoughts produce black holes." Mal opened his eyes. River stood in the doorway to his quarters watching him from the shadows. She was dressed in a soft black dress with a matching sweater that ended just an inch above the hem. Her brown eyes were unusually bright, and if Mal didn't know any better it looked like she was in some sort of pain. Maybe she had another headache.
"Sometimes all a person can see are black holes." River stepped down into the room, her thin form gliding over to his bed where she sat down. Mal could see that there was definitely something wrong, her face was overly-pale, and covered with a thin sheen of sweat.
"That's your gift, to see the light in the dark, but for Simon there is no light right now. His light is broken, shattered, it's flame only just beginning to burn again."
"What are you talking about River?" The girl simply pointed at herself. Mal nodded.
"Ah, so he's worried about you?"
"And the Siren who never sings. He fears that he has stolen her voice, and killed her laughter. He doesn't know that he gives her these things everyday, just as he gives the light in the darkness kindling to burn."
"Well sometimes people need strength from others, but your brother is pretty strong. I think he's just going through a phase."
"The moon goes through phases Mal, this is nothing of the sort."
"Okay, is his darkness from this Siren?"
"She is the wellspring of all things good, but to him she pours waters of poison."
"It's Inara isn't it?" River shook her head, and lay back on the bed. There was so little time left to explain, but Mal always figured it out eventually. Hopefully, he wouldn't fail her now.
"No, not the weeping willow. Her branches offer comfort, a release from pain, even though she cannot find it herself. The willow had not yet learned to weep for herself. I am talking about the Siren who sings beautiful songs, and brings joy to everyone with her gift of laughter."
"Zoe?"
"Simon is not close to Zoe!"
"Kaylee?"
"Sir Galahad finally receives his divine vision, and has the clarity to see the Holy Grail."
"You could've just said yes."
"I could also annihalate Jayne in 6.5 seconds of an initial attack, but merely avoiding him is much simpler." Mal shifted uncomfortably in his seat. There were times when River could be as sweet as spring honey, and then there were moments where she was downright scary.
This was one of those moments.
"That's nice River, but why would Kaylee make Simon sad? From what I've seen no one can be sad in her presence."
"That is the point Mal, she is a wonderful person!" River was in the state that Zoe referred to as 'fully-operational' where her mind was able to properly use the pathways that had been formed to compensate for the damage to her frontal lobe. The only bad news was that it never lasted long.
"I know that River, so what is causing Simon to be sad?"
"He can no longer hear her beautiful song, or enjoy the fruits of her laughter. He feels that he has stolen her light...DAMN!" Mal jumped at the shift in the girl's behavior. "If only I could make you comprehend and understand, but my voice is twisted into the shattered cries of a demented poet!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mal held River as she twisted about in frustration. Up close he could feel the unnatural heat radiating off of her body, and smell the sticky-sweet odor of illness in her sweat. Yep, she was sick, but with what?
"Everything will work out, okay?" River sniffled in the crook between his shoulder and neck.
"My tummy is troubling me." Mal sat down next to her, and put a hand on her forehead. If anything her temperature had risen.
"You have an upset stomach?"
"It feels as though I am being eviscerated."
"You want to go to medbay?"
"I want to go lie down. I'll feel better in the morning."
"River-"
"Mal-" The two stared at each other for a few minutes before River got up from her seat, and ascended the stairs that led out of Mal's room. The captain watched as she paused in the hallway, turning slightly to look at him as he stared.
"You should try sitting amongst the pipes sometime. Through them you can see everything." With that she disappeared. Leaning back in his seat, Mal looked up at the ceiling as he thought about what River had said. He didn't see how Kaylee could be the cause of Simon's recent change of behavior, if anything he should be happy that he'd saved her life, but there was that other part of River's message that he had yet to interpret. Shaking his head, Mal got to his feet, and decided to go to mess. Since Zoe was pregnant, Wash was doing some of the cooking, and tonight he had made a spicy sweet and sour dish that had been on Mal's mind long after dinner had ended. It was the reason why Book was passed out in his quarters asleep, Jayne was conked out in the sitting room, and the rest of the crew (minus Mal) was still rubbing their stomachs after gorging themselves earlier.
Walking down the hall, he was halfway to mess when he heard a low yowl from behind a series of heating conduits in one of the recesses in the wall. Curious he looked down to see Hairball hunched up in a ball staring as a gap in the plating, his tail switching back and forth as he stared into the gloom.
"This is why you should be on a nice farm somewhere, instead of my ship." Mal squeezed behind the tubes, and scooped up the kitten. Almost immediately, Hairball started purring much to Mal's chagrin. Dumping the cat in the hall, he prepared to leave when he heard someone moving quietly in the kitchen. Peering though the the gaps in the conduits, he watched as Kaylee moved from the fresher to the sink in order to get a plate for herself. It appeared that she was helping herself to a small omlette. Smiling, Mal watched as she broke the eggs into a bowl, threw in some cheese, and gave a piece to Hairball who was pawing at her leg.
"Here you go kitty." she whispered, before dumping the eggs into the nearby skillet. Apparently she had changed her mind somewhere in the middle of things, and was scrambling the slippery mess. When she was done, she emptied them onto her plate with a leftover dinner roll. Heading back over to the fresher, she peered inside as she looked for the synthetic milk. Through the throb of the engines he could hear her trying to sing as she went about her buisiness. It was obvious that it was a strain on her to use her voice, but it didn't stop her nonetheless.
Shaking his head, Mal turned to leave his hiding place when he noticed Simon standing outside of the mess. He was leaning against the wall beside the door, just out of sight of Kaylee, but as Mal watched he could see the doctor's face contort into a silent sob as he listened to the ghastly wheeze coming out of the young woman's throat.
"I'm so sorry." he hissed as he tried to keep his tears silent. In the kitchen Kylee stopped what she was doing, and peered at the door.
"Is someone out there? Jayne? Captain?" Simon stepped away from the wall, his movements careful and quiet as he sped away from the mess. Apparently, River wasn't the only one who could run about without making a sound. Kaylee came out of the mess with her plate in hand, and a confused look on her face. Shrugging she went back in to enjoy her meal. Sucking in his breath, Mal squeezed out from behind the tubes, and into the hall. Remembering what River said earlier he looked back at the conduits.
"...You should try sitting amongst the pipes sometime..." Mal rolled his eyes towards the mess as he put two-and-two together.
"And the Siren who never sings." he muttered to himself. Kaylee re-emerged from the room, with her now half-empty plate in hand.
"Hey captain, you want some eggs?" Mal smiled at her, as he realized that probably one day he would simply crack. His crew consisted of a mind-reading genius who talked in code, the brother of said genuis who was having some sort of inferiority complex, a homicidal maniac, a preacher who by all accounts wasn't, a mysterious prostitute, a grown child, and a first officer who was married to the child with one on the way.
At least Kaylee was normal. Walking over to the sink, he took a mug out of the cabinet, and poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn't know what number this one was, he'd stopped counting at fifteen.
"Made too many?"
"Yeah, that and I didn't cook them to well so they're a little runny." Kaylee peered at the plate. Her brow furrowing slightly as she examined her food.
"You know what?" Mal looked up from his drink. The plate of half-runny eggs was now right under his nose. "This one yolk right here looks just like the snot that was always hanging out of my little cousin Jamie's nose."
Mal's stomach turned over as he looked at the slimy mess. Any hunger he had felt before immediately vanished as his mind compared the two substances and instantly agreed that Kaylee was right about the resemblance. Calmly he poured out his coffee into the sink, and let out a slow breath. Yep, he was definitely going to go crazy one of these days.
Probably sooner than later.
(Note: I'd just like to assure everyone now, that this fic will not have a sucky ending like Fragile!)
III
They still had the cat.
Mal still couldn't quite figure out how that came to be, but Hairball was still aboard Serenity. They had stopped at Beechwater as scheduled, made the run, yet Zoe had managed to keep him distracted just long enough for them to be well underway before he noticed the black tuft of fur sleeping contentedly between Wash's dinosaurs. Yelling wasn't going to change anything, the kitten was still there, but not for long since once they reached their destination Hairball was done for. Mal was going to see to it personally that he was put off somewhere other than his ship.
However, the puss had only been given a stay of abandonment due to the fact that Simon was acting strangely, and the last thing Mal needed was River getting wind of it. Lately the doctor had been reserved, quiet, and short-tempered with the rest of the crew. Inquiries about his health was met with short replies, stares, and the boy's backside as he retreated into his room.
Mal knew first-hand that Simon was a private person, but not the the point that he spent almost every minute of the day cooped up in his bedroom. Normally he was in the medbay, in fact most of the time he slept there. The continuing abnormality in the physician's behavior was starting to concern Mal, which meant it was starting to get out of hand. Leaning back in his chair he tried to clear his mind, and think of something other than problems.
Things were going good, they had a good haul, and more credits meant less creditors. Yet Mal's mind was unwilling to look on the bright side of things, it wasn't his nature, and as usual the pessimism won out.
"Dark thoughts produce black holes." Mal opened his eyes. River stood in the doorway to his quarters watching him from the shadows. She was dressed in a soft black dress with a matching sweater that ended just an inch above the hem. Her brown eyes were unusually bright, and if Mal didn't know any better it looked like she was in some sort of pain. Maybe she had another headache.
"Sometimes all a person can see are black holes." River stepped down into the room, her thin form gliding over to his bed where she sat down. Mal could see that there was definitely something wrong, her face was overly-pale, and covered with a thin sheen of sweat.
"That's your gift, to see the light in the dark, but for Simon there is no light right now. His light is broken, shattered, it's flame only just beginning to burn again."
"What are you talking about River?" The girl simply pointed at herself. Mal nodded.
"Ah, so he's worried about you?"
"And the Siren who never sings. He fears that he has stolen her voice, and killed her laughter. He doesn't know that he gives her these things everyday, just as he gives the light in the darkness kindling to burn."
"Well sometimes people need strength from others, but your brother is pretty strong. I think he's just going through a phase."
"The moon goes through phases Mal, this is nothing of the sort."
"Okay, is his darkness from this Siren?"
"She is the wellspring of all things good, but to him she pours waters of poison."
"It's Inara isn't it?" River shook her head, and lay back on the bed. There was so little time left to explain, but Mal always figured it out eventually. Hopefully, he wouldn't fail her now.
"No, not the weeping willow. Her branches offer comfort, a release from pain, even though she cannot find it herself. The willow had not yet learned to weep for herself. I am talking about the Siren who sings beautiful songs, and brings joy to everyone with her gift of laughter."
"Zoe?"
"Simon is not close to Zoe!"
"Kaylee?"
"Sir Galahad finally receives his divine vision, and has the clarity to see the Holy Grail."
"You could've just said yes."
"I could also annihalate Jayne in 6.5 seconds of an initial attack, but merely avoiding him is much simpler." Mal shifted uncomfortably in his seat. There were times when River could be as sweet as spring honey, and then there were moments where she was downright scary.
This was one of those moments.
"That's nice River, but why would Kaylee make Simon sad? From what I've seen no one can be sad in her presence."
"That is the point Mal, she is a wonderful person!" River was in the state that Zoe referred to as 'fully-operational' where her mind was able to properly use the pathways that had been formed to compensate for the damage to her frontal lobe. The only bad news was that it never lasted long.
"I know that River, so what is causing Simon to be sad?"
"He can no longer hear her beautiful song, or enjoy the fruits of her laughter. He feels that he has stolen her light...DAMN!" Mal jumped at the shift in the girl's behavior. "If only I could make you comprehend and understand, but my voice is twisted into the shattered cries of a demented poet!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mal held River as she twisted about in frustration. Up close he could feel the unnatural heat radiating off of her body, and smell the sticky-sweet odor of illness in her sweat. Yep, she was sick, but with what?
"Everything will work out, okay?" River sniffled in the crook between his shoulder and neck.
"My tummy is troubling me." Mal sat down next to her, and put a hand on her forehead. If anything her temperature had risen.
"You have an upset stomach?"
"It feels as though I am being eviscerated."
"You want to go to medbay?"
"I want to go lie down. I'll feel better in the morning."
"River-"
"Mal-" The two stared at each other for a few minutes before River got up from her seat, and ascended the stairs that led out of Mal's room. The captain watched as she paused in the hallway, turning slightly to look at him as he stared.
"You should try sitting amongst the pipes sometime. Through them you can see everything." With that she disappeared. Leaning back in his seat, Mal looked up at the ceiling as he thought about what River had said. He didn't see how Kaylee could be the cause of Simon's recent change of behavior, if anything he should be happy that he'd saved her life, but there was that other part of River's message that he had yet to interpret. Shaking his head, Mal got to his feet, and decided to go to mess. Since Zoe was pregnant, Wash was doing some of the cooking, and tonight he had made a spicy sweet and sour dish that had been on Mal's mind long after dinner had ended. It was the reason why Book was passed out in his quarters asleep, Jayne was conked out in the sitting room, and the rest of the crew (minus Mal) was still rubbing their stomachs after gorging themselves earlier.
Walking down the hall, he was halfway to mess when he heard a low yowl from behind a series of heating conduits in one of the recesses in the wall. Curious he looked down to see Hairball hunched up in a ball staring as a gap in the plating, his tail switching back and forth as he stared into the gloom.
"This is why you should be on a nice farm somewhere, instead of my ship." Mal squeezed behind the tubes, and scooped up the kitten. Almost immediately, Hairball started purring much to Mal's chagrin. Dumping the cat in the hall, he prepared to leave when he heard someone moving quietly in the kitchen. Peering though the the gaps in the conduits, he watched as Kaylee moved from the fresher to the sink in order to get a plate for herself. It appeared that she was helping herself to a small omlette. Smiling, Mal watched as she broke the eggs into a bowl, threw in some cheese, and gave a piece to Hairball who was pawing at her leg.
"Here you go kitty." she whispered, before dumping the eggs into the nearby skillet. Apparently she had changed her mind somewhere in the middle of things, and was scrambling the slippery mess. When she was done, she emptied them onto her plate with a leftover dinner roll. Heading back over to the fresher, she peered inside as she looked for the synthetic milk. Through the throb of the engines he could hear her trying to sing as she went about her buisiness. It was obvious that it was a strain on her to use her voice, but it didn't stop her nonetheless.
Shaking his head, Mal turned to leave his hiding place when he noticed Simon standing outside of the mess. He was leaning against the wall beside the door, just out of sight of Kaylee, but as Mal watched he could see the doctor's face contort into a silent sob as he listened to the ghastly wheeze coming out of the young woman's throat.
"I'm so sorry." he hissed as he tried to keep his tears silent. In the kitchen Kylee stopped what she was doing, and peered at the door.
"Is someone out there? Jayne? Captain?" Simon stepped away from the wall, his movements careful and quiet as he sped away from the mess. Apparently, River wasn't the only one who could run about without making a sound. Kaylee came out of the mess with her plate in hand, and a confused look on her face. Shrugging she went back in to enjoy her meal. Sucking in his breath, Mal squeezed out from behind the tubes, and into the hall. Remembering what River said earlier he looked back at the conduits.
"...You should try sitting amongst the pipes sometime..." Mal rolled his eyes towards the mess as he put two-and-two together.
"And the Siren who never sings." he muttered to himself. Kaylee re-emerged from the room, with her now half-empty plate in hand.
"Hey captain, you want some eggs?" Mal smiled at her, as he realized that probably one day he would simply crack. His crew consisted of a mind-reading genius who talked in code, the brother of said genuis who was having some sort of inferiority complex, a homicidal maniac, a preacher who by all accounts wasn't, a mysterious prostitute, a grown child, and a first officer who was married to the child with one on the way.
At least Kaylee was normal. Walking over to the sink, he took a mug out of the cabinet, and poured himself a cup of coffee. He didn't know what number this one was, he'd stopped counting at fifteen.
"Made too many?"
"Yeah, that and I didn't cook them to well so they're a little runny." Kaylee peered at the plate. Her brow furrowing slightly as she examined her food.
"You know what?" Mal looked up from his drink. The plate of half-runny eggs was now right under his nose. "This one yolk right here looks just like the snot that was always hanging out of my little cousin Jamie's nose."
Mal's stomach turned over as he looked at the slimy mess. Any hunger he had felt before immediately vanished as his mind compared the two substances and instantly agreed that Kaylee was right about the resemblance. Calmly he poured out his coffee into the sink, and let out a slow breath. Yep, he was definitely going to go crazy one of these days.
Probably sooner than later.