Chapter Three- Of Boiling Seas and Flying Pigs
Between tucking her into bed that night and when they made port three days later, Mal never saw Zephyr so vulnerable again. She was a tough kid. Beyond tough in fact, because that morning, Simon herded her into the infirmary. The captain wandered in during the check-up and was stuck dumb. Zephyr was lying on her stomach on the exam table; her shirt rucked up to reveal the badly bruised mess of her back.
'Jesus!' exclaimed Mal, falling back a step. Zephyr's head jerked up from where it had rested upon her crossed arms, but when she saw who it was, she settled slightly and calmly returned his shocked gaze. Simon removed the stethoscope from where he had been listening and straightened, removing the device from his ears and pulling the girl's shirt down. 'Something you wanted captain?' asked the doctor, being annoyed as politely as possible.
'How is it, that you ain't dead?' Mal asked of Zephyr, completely ignoring Simon.
'Being in the academy, you develop an immunity to death.' she replied. Mal shook his head at this- all he could think of was of the pain she must have been in when he picked her up last night.
'It's just the bruises coming to the surface. They'll be gone within a week.' Simon was as calm about it as Zephyr and Mal began to get a hold of his initial reaction. 'Thankyou, that'll be all' he said to Zephyr, allowing her to hop down off the examination table. She stood for a moment, straightening her shirt, which had also been borrowed off Kaylee. The little mechanic had happily given her a whole heap of clothing, quashing all protests by saying that this gave her a reason to go out and get some new clothes. Just like River often did though, she stayed shoeless.
'Thanks doc' she mumbled, not looking at Simon. She was hiding it well, but Mal could still pick up on that edginess in her. 'Since everything's fine in here, I guess I'll go and check up on Wash then' he excused himself, turning and heading for the bridge to free up the doorway so Zephyr could leave the infirmary, a place that the captain guessed to be feeding her nervousness.
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In the short time the new girl spent on the ship, Kaylee, Inara and River could often be found in her presence. Kaylee she became fast friends with, as was often the case with anyone who came within shouting distance of the mechanic. She joined in the silly games that River and Kaylee would play to pass away the long days in the black. Inara more became a tutor to the girl- having lost her memory put her at a significant disadvantage to the rest of the world. She was unaware of recent historical events, something that put her in danger should she drop an inadvertent remark that the wrong person found offensive.
The captain stumbled in upon one of these 'catch up' sessions on the third day. He stood outside the door to the shuttle for a moment before he entered, to make sure he wasn't intruding on anything too private. His stubbornness did not permit him to knock, but that didn't mean he couldn't be discreet about things.
'-why do people drink it so much then if it's so disgusting?' That was Zephyr, a kind of appalled curiosity in her voice. Mal could hear the smile in Inara's reply.
'It is an ancient tradition. Besides, you really do learn to like the taste.'
Sliding the door open, he entered. The two women were sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing each other over an intricate tea set. They each held a cup in their hands, although the brown liquid in Zephyr's looked barely touched. They both looked up at him upon his entry, Zephyr's expression slightly more benevolent than that of the companion's.
'Inara, Simon wants to know if you've got any Ezernepantinane in your supplies.'
'What would he want it for?' asked Inara, her brow forming into a puzzled frown. A quick smile flickered across Mal's face. An Inara that was pondering on Simon's motives was an Inara that was not giving him a tongue lashing for entering her shuttle.
'Probably something to do with River. You know the boy.' Inara narrowed her eyes for a moment at his explanation then gracefully rose and crossed to a small cabinet, sorting through it for what she was looking for.
'He's trying to cure her' commented Zephyr quietly. Mal's gaze snapped onto her. Inara too, paused in her sorting for a moment, but otherwise did not turn or show any sign that the words had affected her.
'He's a very loyal brother that one' replied Mal.
'He woulda have to a been, to get her out of that place without using a small army.'
'Had good security did they?' asked the captain casually. Zephyr let out a half snort of agreement. Inara found what she was looking for and crossed to hand it to Mal.
'Simon would worship the ground you walk on if you could help him with getting her better' suggested the captain casually, taking the small bottle of medicine from Inara without comment. Zephyr's reply quashed any hopes he may have had though. 'I only ever met her a few times before, when we were being moved from place to place at the same time and happened to pass in the corridors.'
'It's alright' Inara assured her. Zephyr dropped her head to stare into her tea cup that she still held cradled in two hands. The companion glanced meaningfully at Mal, and he shifted for a moment. 'Yeah, don't worry about it. He's smart, should figure it out sooner or later. You never know, this might be the cure' he held up the tiny bottle between two fingers then ducked out of the shuttle. Just when he thought he'd gotten away with it without a hindrance, Inara's voice drifted after him.
'Knock next time.'
This prompted a grin from Mal as he strolled on down to the infirmary
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Poking her head out of the shuttle for a moment to make sure that he was not going to attempt to eavesdrop, Inara slid the door closed, and returned to her place opposite Zephyr. It was strange, but the girl seemed more relaxed after the visit from the captain. Any time Inara had witnessed an exchange between her and the rest of the crew previously- especially the men- Zephyr had tensed up.
They both sat in silence for a moment, Zephyr taking a tentative sip of her tea, the face she made as she swallowed prompting a laugh from the companion.
'What do you think of the captain?' asked Inara, deciding to be direct. Zephyr raised her green eyes to the ceiling, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Her utter, serious, honesty over every question made Inara smile.
'He's nice.' Zephyr commented finally, as though imparting great and much considered wisdom. Despite her confirming body language, the admission threw Inara slightly. People very rarely liked the captain upon first meeting him, unless he was turning on the charm, and that usually only happened when he was buttering up a customer.
'Nice?' she prodded, looking for more of an answer. Zephyr's attraction didn't seem like a crush of any sort, she just genuinely... liked Mal. 'Jayne don't seem very... But the captain's a good man. He made the nightmares go away.'
'Did he just?' commented Inara. Zephyr simply nodded innocently, not noticing the slight hint of something else in the companion's tone. Inara would be having a talk with Mal at some point about this. Even if Saffron had only been feigning it to steal their ship, Mal did seem to inspire attraction in young girls. It was beginning to be a sore spot with Inara. She decided not to examine her own motivations on the subject too carefully.
'How about you?' asked Zephyr suddenly, more for something to say than anything else. Inara blinked at her surprised. The girl returned her stare patiently. 'He's...' began Inara, wondering how to phrase the relationship between them. She gave up. 'It's complicated.'
Zephyr raised an eyebrow. It didn't take a companion to see just what 'complicated' meant.
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That afternoon Kaylee offered to teach Zephyr how to play jacks. Having very little else to do, Zephyr agreed. The mechanic commandeered River for an example game, and the three of them set up the game on the floor in a secluded corner of the cargo bay.
River had been in quite a lucid mood all that day- perhaps due to the new cocktail of drugs Simon had her on- so she chatted happily with Kaylee as the two of them took turns to bounce the coloured ball then pick up the odd shaped pieces. Zephyr watched intently, to the point of making Kaylee slightly uncomfortable. Her fingers fumbled and the game ended, River triumphantly gathering her spoils to her (which consisted for the moment of the ball and the jacks).
'See, it ain't too hard to pick up. Do you wanna have a go?'
Zephyr worried her lip between her teeth for a moment then nodded. River was persuaded to give the jacks back and shuffled to one side to allow Zephyr to join the circle around the spread pieces.
Kaylee started, bouncing the ball and nimbly picking up one jack. 'It takes a while,' she said, as she bounced the ball again and gathered two jacks, 'to get the hang of it,' bounce, one, two, three, 'but once you get it,' bounce, one, two, three, four, 'you can have a go at my record,' bounce one, two, three, four, bounce, 'damn.' Kaylee grinned in defeat, spreading the jacks again and handing the ball to Zephyr. The blond girl frowned thoughtfully and rolled the small coloured rubber ball between her fingers for a moment.
Taking a deep breath she bounced it, her hand shooting out to pick up one jack before she caught the ball again. 'That was real good' Kaylee encouraged her, pleased with how quick the girl's fingers had been. Another two bounces and Kaylee stopped with the encouragement. Zephyr didn't need it. She had faster hands than the mechanic had ever seen before. Blink, and you would miss the flurry of movement that happened after the bounce of that little ball.
Calmly, with her tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of her mouth, Zephyr made it up to seven. On the eighth bounce, even her super-fast fingers couldn't scramble quite enough. Kaylee blinked after the flurry of movement ended; taking a moment to realised the ball hadn't landed again. Zephyr sat back slowly, biting her bottom lip to keep from grinning. Kaylee shook her head and blinked again, trying to make her eyes see sense.
Curiously, like a little child, River reached out one hand and plucked the ball from where it was spinning in the air, surrounded by a tiny, contained gale of raging winds. 'Sorry about that' said Zephyr, finally managing to fight back the laughter that was threatening to bubble up her throat. River frowned at the ball, and bounced it once experimentally.
'Wow, that's shiny' breathed Kaylee, her face glowing with amazement. The young mechanic wasn't one to cold-shoulder people for having different abilities. 'They told me it was to do with moving matter around. I don't actually have to do anything but think about it and the air gets all excited.'
Deciding the ball was now going to behave and let gravity apply to it, River began her turn.
'They taught me to control it, and now it's kinda instinctive whenever something starts falling and I don't want it to.'
'How about those super-fast finger of yours?' asked Kaylee, half watching River's go to see if she would beat four. Zephyr shrugged. 'Maybe I was a pick-pocket 'fore I got took.'
River did make it to four, and now Kaylee fell silent to watch her make the attempt for five. It wasn't looking good for River; the remaining jacks were quite spread out. At least that's what Kaylee thought.
'River!' exclaimed the mechanic in exasperation. 'You two have got to promise to stop using your super-powers 'gainst me, else I got no chance of beating you in jacks.'
Once again, the ball had ceased its downward descent and was spinning gently in midair. Frowning in concentration, River slowly gathered five jacks then let the ball drop. 'Zephyr cheated, why can't I?' she asked belligerently.
'That was accidental sister. Kaylee's right; 'taint fair doing things like that when you're competing against normal folk.'
River pouted and handed the ball to Kaylee. 'Doing things like what?' asked a soft feminine voice as Inara stepped around the side of the crate that game was secluded behind. 'Oh, hey Inara. River and Zephyr were just showing off their special academy tricks.'
Inara smiled and gathered her flowing robes around her so she could sit in on the circle, between Zephyr and Kaylee. 'What tricks are these?' she asked, looking from Zephyr to Kaylee to River expectantly. The three girls shared a secret glance, then Zephyr picked the ball up. 'I can pick up all of the jacks in one go' she explained. Inara looked at the multitude of small pieces spread on the floor and raised an eyebrow. Smiling, Zephyr released the ball in mid-air and, hands blurring with speed, gathered up every single one of the jacks. The ball bounced. As Kaylee had done, Inara blinked. She showed no other signs of shock, but vary carefully, not taking her eyes off where the trick had occurred, she asked; 'did that ball just...'
'Float?' filled in Kaylee for her. 'Isn't it shiny Inara?' she asked the companion enthusiastically.
'Yes. It's amazing. Thankyou for showing me that' she graced Zephyr with a radiant smile, quickly managing to break out of her shock.
'River can do it too' bubbled Kaylee, eager to show Inara everything she had just discovered. Inara looked to River expectantly, now less doubtful, and ready to be impressed. River shook her head innocently. 'You imagined it.' She told Kaylee primly. Zephyr had to muffle a giggle behind her hand. 'Imagined what sweetie?' asked Kaylee craftily.
'The boiling seas. Space is cold you know.'
Kaylee shrugged at Inara apologetically as River began to hum a little tune. 'That's OK River,' said the companion carefully, 'you don't have to try to compete with Zephyr, we still love you.'
This got a rise out of River. Her dark gaze snapped onto the companion, making Inara jump slightly. The air tingled around them, and Inara had to throw her hands up to defend against the sudden rain of jacks. Making a small 'hmpf' sound, River rose and flounced off. The three remaining women watched her go with no small amount of shock.
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River had already recovered from her tantrum by the time Kaylee went to find her, and the three girls were all friends again by dinner time that night. They sat, with River in the middle, down one side of the table, and shared small jokes as they passed the bowls of food back and forward. The captain noticed the new found camaraderie and sent a questioning glance in Inara's direction. The companion smiled indulgently and returned his look with an 'I'll tell you later' one of her own. Settling for this as the best he was going to get for the moment, he asked Wash as to the status of their schedule.
The pilot frowned slightly before answering. 'We're about right,' he started, 'maybe an hour or so off course. There's been some weird interference with the instruments today.'
Kaylee, River and Zephyr shared a secret filled glance, which, unfortunately for them, was transparent to everyone else sitting around the table. 'Zephyr' said the captain, his tone of voice making her flinch guiltily. 'Yes sir?' she asked, looking at him with an almost painful mixture of innocence and hope.
'You mentioned when you first blinked in here, about Serenity not being on course any more.'
'Using my powers causes electro-magnetic interference' she supplied, somehow maintaining her innocent facade.
'So you wouldn't know anything about Wash's glitches would you?'
'Yes sir.'
Mal blinked. Judging on how coy the three girls had been acting, he would have accepted more resistance than that. 'And?'
'I was showing River and Kaylee some things before; it may have interfered with the instruments.'
'Well then...' Mal was slightly at a loss as for what to say. 'Try not to do it unless absolutely necessary when we're flying.'
With a 'yes sir;' from Zephyr, the conversation resumed. The captain glanced again at Inara; he had gotten into the habit of using her as a sort of lie detector. She shrugged at him and turned her attention to her food. Frowning, Mal decided he definitely needed her to explain this to him later.
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This discussion happened that evening after the after-dinner cleanup routine had occurred and everyone had pretty much wandered off on their own business. Mal and Inara sat facing each other, each nursing a cup of substitute hot chocolate. Inara had just told the captain about Zephyr's most recent feat, and River's previously unheard of power. Mal was thinking on it reflectively, wondering if it really changed how he thought about Simon's little sister.
'Zephyr's very attached to you, you know,' started Inara, breaking the silence. Mal's head shot up at the comment. 'She's what now?'
The companion sighed. 'Honestly. You'd have to be blind not to see it.' Mal's eyes narrowed at the comment. Inara rolled her eyes and put her cup down so she could count it out on her fingers.
'She calls you sir, she admitted to me that she thinks you're 'nice,' which is an almost unheard of thing for anyone that has just met you,' Mal made a sound of token protest at that point but she continued regardless, 'and she admits upfront about using her powers when it was likely to get her in trouble.'
'So? She's obedient. It'll come from living in a government institution.'
'It's not just that Mal'
'Fine, whatever. It doesn't matter either way. She's getting off at Persephone.'
'Mal...'
'You and Kaylee seem to have developed a fondness for keeping any strays that wander onto Serenity. Let me phrase it this way; you keep this one, and the others have to go.'
Draining the last dregs out of his cup, he slammed it down on the table and stalked out of the mess. Inara watched him go, lips pursed.
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They set down on Persephone more or less when Wash had predicted. Zephyr had a small bundle of possessions ready packed, which every member of the crew had found something to donate to. Kaylee had given clothes, Zoe a warm, water-proof cloak that was easy to be inconspicuous in, Wash a little souvenir- one of his colourful plastic dinosaurs. Despite Inara's protests, Jayne had given Zephyr a small knife and sheath. And despite Jayne's protests, the captain had provided the girl with a small pouch of platinum, enough to get her food and board for a few days, until she could find work somewhere.
Before they could all say their goodbyes to Zephyr though, came the reason they had come to Persephone- work. The buyer for the set of crates in their hold had arranged to pick them up for himself, so Zoe and Mal were meeting him in the hold.
It turned out that this buyer was a skittish one, and one of the conditions of the sale was that Mal and Zoe meet him alone and unarmed for the goods transfer. Since it would be on his own ship with his crew near, Mal was happy to agree, and ordered everyone else except Wash (The pilot was up on the bridge, getting in contact with Badger to see if he had any work for them) to sit in the area outside the infirmary whilst the deal went down. It was close enough to hear any major disturbances, but far enough away that the buyer wouldn't be spooked.
In the passenger lounge, Jayne, Book and Simon set up a game of cards, Kaylee, River and Zephyr one of jacks. Inara watched the jacks, still amazed at Zephyr's super-fast fingers. They had developed a game that involved handicapping her, since there was no competition otherwise.
All was peaceful for a good while and Jayne began to stack up on the little pieces of paper that they used as chips.
Then there was a flicker at Jayne's side and a sudden wind swirled once around the area where they were all sitting. Kaylee looked with trepidation at where Zephyr had been sitting. 'Uh, Jayne?' she started.
'What Kaylee?' asked Jayne, not looking up from the game of cards he was winning with Book and the doctor. She didn't need to reply because in the next moment the impossible wind registered, and his head shot up. Dropping his cards he too looked for a girl that was no longer there. 'Where'd she go?' he demanded. 'The captain'll kill us if she stuffs up the deal.'
'Your gun is missing' pointed out the shepherd. Jayne's hand flew to the empty holster as he surged to his feet. 'No' said River, in a quiet voice that somehow stopped everyone in their tracks. 'Wanna tell us where she is moon-brain? Otherwise keep your mouth shut.' Jayne's voice was almost a snarl, and Simon moved to stand between the mercenary and his sister. She held him back with a look. Jayne and River now stood facing one another across the small area outside the infirmary, with River standing between Jayne and the door to the cargo bay. A challenge crackled in their gaze.
'Deal's lost anyway; the bad man's sidling, doesn't want to pay. He's got Patience, got her in his intentions.'
'Got no time for this gibberish' cursed Jayne roughly and pushed past the small girl, heading in the direction she was protecting on general principles. A second later he nearly ran smack bang into Mal, who entered from the cargo bay, Zoe and Zephyr on his heels. 'Where you goin' in such a hurry Jayne?' asked the captain mildly. Jayne's response was to glare suspiciously at the blond girl that was standing to the right of and slightly behind Mal. She refused to meet his stare and shifted uneasily.
The captain tossed something towards him with an easy lob. He caught it without thinking. Looking at the object in his hand, he blinked as he recognised his gun.
'What just happened?' asked Simon, since Jayne appeared to be dumbstruck. River had sat meekly back next to him upon the appearance of the captain.
'Our edgy customer decided it might be better if no one knew that his cargo had ever existed. He was fixing to shoot us both when Zephyr here appeared behind him and cocked a gun to the back of his neck. He paid up right smart and left with his cargo. I think perhaps we owe you' he addressed the last sentence to Zephyr who had stood as impassively as the captain's second in command through the explanation. She paused for a moment, unsure what to say.
'I've guzzled down quite a lot of your food over the past few days.' She replied, not really desiring payment for something she reckoned as a basic service.
'We consider out lives to be worth a fair bit more than a few kilos of protein,' countered the shepherd. Zephyr shrugged, starting to get embarrassed. 'What I want to know,' butted in Wash, 'is how you knew that you were needed.' She glanced at River, that single look telling the crew all of what they needed to know.
'She...uh, I...' Zephyr made a helpless gesture towards a serenely smiling River.
'Some of it can't be quantified' murmured Simon's sister. The focus of the room shifted to her, but she seemed disinclined to say any more.
The captain decided that now would be a good time to present his offer to her. The feeling among the crew was pretty much that Zephyr wouldn't be so bad to keep around. He had been opposed to it, but her latest stunt bought up all sorts of ideas as to her usefulness. And she was much easier to hide than Simon or River- should they get intercepted by the alliance, she could be gone in an instant.
'Look kid,' started Mal. He didn't get any further. Zephyr turned towards him with a smile that was filled with heartbreaking sadness.
'I can't stay, I'm sorry. I want to see the world.'
Mal blinked, once again not having anticipated her answer.
'It's a hard place. You'd be safer sticking with us for a bit.' This was Inara, her eyes radiating compassion. She had been giving Mal the cold shoulder since their argument over letting Zephyr stay on board. Zephyr just shook her head, then turned without a word and headed back out to the cargo bay. Inara shared a look with Mal, before he followed her, Zoe then Kaylee in close behind.
In the cargo bay, Zephyr crossed to where her small bundle of possessions had been stowed next to the small door into the airlock, and, swinging it over her shoulder, paused to face the crew that had lined up facing her.
'I can, uh, come back and visit. If you strap a mattress vertically to... say, there.' She indicated one of the walls of the cargo bay. 'I could jump in here and the impact wouldn't be too bad.'
'Will do' Mal assured her. His face was closed off. Wash clumped his way down the stairs, moving quick to make it in time for the goodbyes. Kaylee stepped forward to embrace the slender girl as Wash slipped his hand into Zoe's. Zephyr seemed uncertain as to how to respond to the hug for a moment but then she relaxed and hugged Kaylee back.
'Don't be a stranger you' Kaylee told her firmly. Zephyr nodded sombrely. Jayne began to clean his nails with his knife, not particularly interested. 'You got the contacts I gave you for findin' work?' Wash double-checked. Once again Zephyr nodded.
'Good travels' Book wished her. Zephyr smiled at all of them, then hefted her possessions a little higher on her shoulder and turned to go. River chose that moment to dance forward. Simon made a move to go after her, but stopped himself.
Again the crew witnessed the strange little ritual that they had seen between the two girls when Zephyr had first sat down at the dinner table. They each held up their palms, as though they wanted to measure hand sizes, only not touching. This time the wind that stirred was almost a gale.
Mal squinted against the flying dust being blown into the ship through the open airlock door to see. Smiling, Zephyr turned again, and glided out of sight, heading out into the bustle of the Eavestown docks. The wind settled, leaving weird patterns of reddish dust on the floor of the bay.
The crew seemed carved out of stone, as each one of them stood in their spots, considering the girl that had just left them. It made a strange tableau in the cargo bay, with River closer to the door than the rest, hands hanging limply at her sides.
'Strange kid that one' commented the captain finally. Jayne snorted in agreement.
The End