Prompt #23- Lose

It was Mal who heard River's scream first. He was on his way to … actually; he had no idea why he'd decided that tit was a good time to go for a midnight stroll in the guest quarters.

Mal had a sneaking suspicion that his affinity with Serenity was being shamelessly manipulated by the little Reader—with or without her knowledge—because the fact was, that he felt closer to the young girl than he has any right to.

From the first glimpse he'd had of her, naked and cold in that box, he had felt an overwhelming urge to hold and protect her, to keep her safe from the monsters and the things that made her scream in the night. After hearing about her life and all that she had endured, that urge had only grown stronger and Mal had added River to his family way before he'd even asked Simon to stay.

Whether his connection to River was fuelled by her own connection to Serenity, he had no idea; all he knew was that he was wandering around near the medical bay in the off chance that River needed someone when Simon was off doing whatever with Kaylee.

He was the first to hear her scream and was in her room before the first cry had even managed to echo down the hall.

"Hey, River?" he called gently. "C'mon, little one."

Mal wasn't about to go near the girl— no matter the connection they had— until she was awake and aware of who he was.

He had seen what she'd done to those Reavers and he may be reckless and impulsive, but he wasn't stupid.

River shot awake, startling him as she lurched into a sitting position, her hair swirling around her like a manifestation of the nightmares that swirled inside her head, the long lank strands tangling, blinding and frightening her even more.

"Hey, shh, shh," he soothed, holding his hands up in a universal gesture of "don't-shoot-I'm-unarmed".

River shrank back against her headboard and yanked at her hair, trying to see who it was that had intruded into her space and Mal stepped forwards into the light.

"It's me, li'l albatross, we're all friends here."

River sniffed and nodded her head shakily. She shuffled back and Mal took that as invitation enough to perch himself next to her on the bed.

River rolled her eyes and shifted against the wall and Mal grinned, climbing onto her bunk and sliding up against her so that he was sitting against the wall with River leaning against him. She sighed and nuzzled her head against his shoulder until he lifted it to drape over her.

He held himself stiffly for a few moments, not used to being so close to someone in this way. He hugged Kaylee and, despite what anyone thought, he wasn't some kind of eunuch, but he wasn't used to sharing space with another human.

He pulled the blanket up around them to keep warm; Serenity's air-conditioning was on the blink again.

"Thank you," River said suddenly. "Didn't want to be alone."

"Ya wanna tell me what the dream's about?"

River eyed him and pushed hair away from her face. "Darkness and death, blood and red. Like yours. You know."

He swallowed. "Yeah, I know those."

"Captain keeps the dark clouds away," she decided and lay her head on his chest, his arms coming around her to keep her anchored in place.

He smiled down at her hair. "See, now, I don't want you tellin' no one about this. Folks don't got enough respect for me as is. Have even less iffin they knew I was some kinda teddy bear, dong ma?"

"Yes, Cap'n," River said and he could hear the grin in her voice and he relaxed. "Good girl."

He found himself petting River's hair and she smiled against his chest. "Not a bear."

"Huh?"

"Not a bear," she repeated. "Captain's not a bear."

"What then?"

"Wolf," she decided. "From Earth-that-was."

Mal wrinkled his nose in mock indignation. "A wild dog?" He pretended to move. "I think ya'll can get a new toy."

"No!" River laughed, a delightful tinkling sound that Mal decided he wanted to hear more of, and she pulled him back to her, settling against him again. "Wolf, Canis Lupis, mammal in the order of Carnivora. The Gray Wolf, being a keystone predator, is an integral component of the ecosystems in which it resides, and can adapt to any habitat reflecting adaptability as a species. Often imagined as lone animals but in reality a strong pack mentality, protects its family grouping with its life. Adaptable, strong, Captain Wolf."

Mal thought on that, flattered. "Huh, well, I guess it could have been worse. So if I'm a wolf, what're you?"

"Albatross," she replied quickly and shot him a 'dumbass' look.

"Right," he grinned. "Forgot about that."

"Simon's a goose."

Mal blinked. "Well, now, he ain't the smartest tool in the box, but I wouldn't have said he's—"

River poked his chest and then settled back. "Geese flap and look ruffled but can turn nasty to protect their young. Even bigger animals won't like to attack geese."

Thinking of the way that Simon had tried to protect his sister from Jubal Early, Mal nodded. "Yeah, I guess he does at that."

"Zoë's a panther," River continued. "A fighter, dark and scary."

"Oh, Zoë's a big pussy cat," Mal lied, thinking of how dark the warrior had been since her one true love died.

"Kaylee," River closed her eyes. "She's a kitten. Playing and delicate, makes people smile, purring and grins, a Cheshire cat so says Alice."

Mal grinned as her words started to lapse into the hodgepodge of images that she usually worked so hard to dispel. "That she does."

"N'ara's a peacock," she yawned. "Beautiful, graceful, colours of rainbow, rainbow bird."

"Yeah." Mal stroked her head. Wolves ate peacocks, didn't they? Destroyed them because it was their nature.

"Not what she was thinking," River replied crossly, like a tired lioness. "Animal's have instincts, humans are governed by other laws. Too much lateral thinking." She poked him sleepily. "Bad Cap."

"Sorry, li'l one." He pushed his morbid thoughts away. "You missed one though."

"Hmm?"

"Jayne?"

River smiled. "Jayne's a bear. Strong and mean, gruff but soft inside. Brown. Hairy," she giggled so softly that Mal thought she'd fallen asleep then and there but her little voice continued, barely a whisper. "He wants to be held."

Mal thought about this carefully. "'n who does he want to do the holdin'?"

"Birds of a feather, good fortune 'fore some idiot killed it," she murmured. "Stay as she slumbers? Keep nightmares away?"

"I'll be here," Mal promised, tightening his arms around the sleeping girl. "I ain't going nowhere."

Mal wasn't going anywhere while she needed someone to stay and he closed his eyes.

Both of them missed Jayne as he walked away from the dozing pair, his eyes hard.