"You're not teaching her how to use her powers?"
Crowley's incredulous comment was brought on as they cleaned up. Missouri sighed and shook her head as she cleaned dishes and River dried them.
"Not until she understands where they really came from."
"This is a war!"
"And as long as it will seem to her it won't take more then a couple hours."
"But-"
"Crowley. I could teach her about telekinesis now. But when she wakes up after meeting Walker, what do you think happens?"
Crowley shut up now and they finished.
"River honey, I prepared a cot for you..." Missouri started.
"I like the sofa."
Missouri paused as Crowley laughed.
"I could rarely get her off mine. She buried herself in cushions one time and I thought she was missing."
"Fair enough." She sighed. "Do you have a robe or something you could rare? If you start to heat up while you're in the dreamscape I need to be able to cool you off."
"Alright." River darted to the bathroom with her bag-she knew just the thing.
It seemed like so long ago when she'd woken up from the freezing sleep and Inara had lent her the long yellow robe. At some point it became River's and Inara didn't mind. It made sense, River thought, since Inara didn't need clothing all the time in her occupation.
"You done yet?" Crowley's voice came from the door. "We heard running water!" This was followed by a /smack/ and an "Ow!"
"Leave the girl alone, she probably just grabbed a shower!" Missouri voiced.
River smiled as she put her underthings back on, pulling the robe over them. She had decided to shower, to be clean before going into the deepest regions of her soul. Slipping into a pair of straw sandals, she stepped out.
"I'm ready."
Various candles were strewn on the table in front of the sofa. Assorted items were there as well, though River didn't understand them. One was a silver six pointed star reading 'sheriff'. The next item was Crowley's hat. Some bullet casings stood beside it. What stuck River as oddest was a headband with plumed feather on it. It almost seemed...familiar.
"Are you ready?"
Missouri's question pulled River back to reality. She nodded once as Missouri held her hands out, palms down.
"Put your hands under mine. Our palms need to face."
"Mhm."
"Okay. Focus. Shut your eyes. Imagine. The smell of liquor and tobacco. Piano music is playing. You're with another girl on stage. You're both dancing. Leg up, leg down, repeat. A man in a white cowboy hat enters the saloon. Your eyes meet his. They're hazel. You've met before..."
And River dreamed.