SO very sorry i haven't update. school has been crazy. i've had a musical and swimming and standardized tests and...but here's the next part in dinah's story. if you have any suggestions or questions send me a review or a message. if you want to see any particular interactions just ask me and i'll see if i can work it in.
i own nothing but dinah.
Dinah was winging this. Really, she was. The bible debacle seemed to really upset River and Dinah had wanted to help her in someway. She was growing up and okay, maybe she was crazy but, that didn't really make her any less of a teenager. So Dinah had hoped to help her. Give her some guidance. It would work. In theory. River was following her, her feet barely making any noise as Dinah's boots clunked on the metal grating.
"Now, what I am going to show you is something special. I don't mean to be rude or anything but, you can't touch it. Dong ma?"
"Yes. backwards"
"Uhhh...sure." stepping into her cabin, Dinah bent down to pull the silver case from under her bed. Gently, she placed it on her bed and opened it slowly. Prying the velvet apart, the familiar spicy smell filled the air. She stepped back to let River look at her treasure, River's usual abstract amazement on her face.
"Go on; look at it. Just don't-"
"No touching. Right. Its sacrilege," River teased with a light playful smile. Dinah sat down in the shaky metal chair, a knee pulled up to her chest. River bent downward, her back as flat a a table, in order to get a closer look. Dinah breathed deeply; she loved that smell. Cinnamon and something else. Something stronger and more pungent. Dinah's mother had called it nutmeg but, Dinah couldn't be sure. In all her years and travels, Dinah had never come across such a spice nor had anyone else who knew it. It was probably on of the few things that had been left on the Earth That Was to die.
"I found you."
"What'd you say, River? Sorry. I was just thinkin'."
"I found you," River repeated, a delicate finger pointing to the text. Even though the digit was a good distance form the paper, Dinah still cringed. It was not to be touched.
"Whatcha mean?"
"Your name. I found it. Dinah. The namesake. Your namesake," River said. Dinah was quiet for a moment.
"How'd you know that River?"
"Its a West Semitic language of the Afro-astiatic language family. Characters correspond with Anglo-saxon characters. You could also find sino-tibetan parallels but, who really wants to translate it into 12 interpretations?" River said jokingly, as if they weren't discussing how she had just miraculously translated a medieval language into its modern day usage. Dinah tried to say anything, something but, she just stood there, her mouth gaping open. How in the 'verse did River know something like that?
"Its also has a beat, a rhythm. Bereshit. Shemot. Vayikra. Bamidbar. Devarim. 5 books. And also a rough thick texture not ideal for writing. Besides, cellulose wouldn't need the spices. Writ on animal skins," River explained, as she stares at the paper, her face tense with concentration. Suddenly she her face brightened. "This is the Torah."
"...Yeah. Actually. How did you-"
"You stole it. For your faith."
"Shi. I did, River but, its so much more complicated then-"
"And you wanted to explain what to me?"River asked looking at Dinah with the expression of an eager student.
"Well, you seem to understand it all," Dinah teased, pulling her fingers through her hair.
"Yes, but, I like it when people say what they think. When people don't, it gets so confusing."
"Straightforward, huh? Well, in Judaism, I am Jewish, you know-"
"Yes, I know."
"Well, every Jew is supposed to create a copy of the torah during their life. But, its not like everyone can just spend all their life writing, right? So usually a scribe or someone will write a torah for a whole community of people. My abba- my dad created that Torah. And he wrote every word on that scroll," Dinah said, pulling the silver case into her lap. The parchment was a beautiful brown-yellow and the words were stark and black, expressive and religious. She remembered the brushes, soft and elegant and most sacred when her father used them to transcribe the word of their God.
"Then came the War. And confusion and chaos. It was really hard to keep track of really anything. And someone took it, thought they could pass it off as an Earth That Was artifact. My community was able to get another but, it just wasn't the same. At least, not to me."
"He died, didn't he? Your father. I didn't make that up did I?"
"Yeah, I did lose him. But, he was an old man by then. It was a good death. Peaceful like. Anyway after the War, I went a little mad, you see? So many things were lost, so many people. I didn't have much to do and well, I knew I could get it back and so, I stole it," Dinah finished, a devious smile on her face. River was quiet, no doubt contemplating quantum physics or astrobio science. Finally, the young girl looked up.
"I should go say I am sorry. To Shepherd Book."
"Only if you really are. Otherwise its as useless as fei hua."
"I am sorry." and with that River stood and left. Dinah closed the case. She lightly caressed the smooth top.
"Love you, abba."
Dinah walked back to the kitchen, tying her blonde hair up. She sliced the rest of the veggies and prepared the dough for the dumplings. Then Dinah let her ingrained cooking skills take over. Spread it out into a thin sheet. Don't break the dough. Press the veg into the dough gently. Don't suffocate it. Fold it over and seal it up. Put in a pan to steam. Wait till the pastry puffed up. The smell of cooked bao brought Dinah's attention back to her task. She admired her handwork; the soft dough was pale and puffed, perfect and symmetrical. The kitchen now smelled like home. And it was nice.
Before she heard the scream. It was a loud shriek that made Dinah jump and drop the pan she was holding. It fell to the stove with a loud clunk and drops of hot oil splashed, searing her skin like pin pricks.
"Go se!" Dinah cursed before running toward the sound. She saw Zoe running towards one of the cabins. She followed Zoe till she saw it.
"Mother of a- Shepherd! What the hell did you do to ya hair!" Dinah exclaimed. The shepherd's hair was usually pulled back and neat. Now it was a crazy mess of frizziness that surrounded his head like a halo. and it was very very odd. Kind of funny too.
"Nothing! This is what it looks like normally!" shepherd exclaimed, 'it' obviously being the crazy party on his head.
"Normal, my boot. And you made River go away crying," Zoe scolded.
"Where'd she go?" Dinah asked.
"River!" Zoe called. There was no response, just the faintest sound of light footsteps."She's probably hiding."
"Could this day get anymore crazy?"
FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***
Dinner time. Everyone on board seemed to be gathered. The table was a mass of reaching and twisting arms, everyone grabbing for rice, bao and fruit. Dinah was constantly being jostled from side to side. And everyone was yammerin'. Wash was chattering loudly with his wife and the captain; Kaylee was talking to Simon, who was actually smiling and loosening up. River was carefully dissecting her bao, peeling the steamed dough from the vegetables. Shepherd Book was talking with Mal about somethin' and...where was Jayne?
"Where's Jayne?"
"Probably in his bunk," Kaylee said, before her brow furrowed. "Hey, why ain't he? You'd think Jayne would be the first one at the table for a real cooked meal."
"I think he was pretty shaken by the 'hero of canton' deal," Zoe explained.
"So what exactly happened today?" Dinah asked. Wash let out a very loud laugh, almost choking on some rice. His wife patted his back as he calmed down a little. His smile grew even wider and he began to giggle.
"Jayne turned out to be a genuine- I'm sorry – I just can't-"
"He turned out to be folk hero," Zoe clarified, as her husband burst out in fits again. "Apparently he dropped a lot of money right on the Mudders and they now treat him like their god. They made a statue and all. So the Mudders had a parade for him while we got the goods."
"Then, apparently, the Magistrate got word of Jayne and sent one of Jayne's old comrades after him. Real ugly fellow too," Mal added, taking over the story. Everyone else was munching happily on their food; well, except River who was trying to put rice into the hollowed out dumpling. Dinah shook her head focused back on the story. "He must have lost an eye and it was all crusted over. And he had this wild crazy hair-"
"Still watching me. Waiting," River said, glaring at Shepherd Book from across the table. Dinah smiled as Book looked up to see the young girl staring at him accusingly.
"-and anyway. They had a brawl and guns were drawn. But, you see this young Mudder took a bullet for Jayne. Literally. He died and Jayne must have had an epiphany or somethin'. Basically denounced the whole hero thing. Pushed his own statue off its pedestal. I think he's probably still hung up about it."
"A man did die for him today," Book wisely said. "I believe anyone would feel something for that kind of sacrifice."
"Probably, preacher. That ain't wrong either. But, Jayne a complex fellow. "
FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***
Dinah carried a plate of food, the warmth seeping onto her hand. Everyone was elsewhere on the ship, either in their bunks or in the common area. Dinah had cleaned the meal up with Shepherd, who told her about his abbey. Now, she was searching the ship for Jayne, at the captain's request. She was in charge of meals and she should make sure everyone on board ate.
After awhile she was becoming a little annoyed. Jayne wasn't in his bunk or in the medical bay or the engine room. Dinah was tired of looking around and this was a complex ship. Well not so complex, but, kind of difficult to navigate. Climbing the stairs, however, Dinah found her target. Jayne was sitting on the stairs of a shuttle, cleaning his gun.
"Hey! Jayne! You want food?" she hollered at him. God help him, if her refused the meal she just lugged around the ship. He looked up at her. She half expected him to turn down the food, from the look he was giving her. Kind of distracted and careless. "Answer, gorram it! Do you want dinner or not? Now I ain't your mother, so make up your mind already!" they were about 20 ft away and Dinah was pretty sure everyone on board could hear her. She huffed and was about to leave when Jayne spoke up.
"Shi."
Dinah moved forward and handed him the hot plate. She took a seat on one of the stairs. He stuffed one dumpling in his mouth then swallowed it whole; Dinah grimaced as he continued to eat like that.
"You're welcome, Jayne. I was glad to bringing you a wonderfully hand made meal."
"Xei-Xei." He shoveled some the rice into his mouth and an orange slice. In the short while Dinah had known Jayne he had always had something to say, whether it be dirty or stupid or startling appropriate. He was always prattling' on. Now, he said nothing. As he chewed the food, Dinah looked at the gun he had. A big modified one, with a whole jumble of mismatched parts put together.
"Whatcha got there?"
Jayne mumbled something but, it wasn't clear; his mouth was still full of food and he wasn't talking too loudly to begin with. Dinah was getting pretty fed up with the whole cold shoulder deal, too.
" I can't hear a thing you're sayin' on account of all that well cooked food you tossed into your mouth!"
"I said, she's a semi-automatic shot gun," Jayne said with annoyance. Satisfied, Dinah leaned back arms crossed. At least she got him talking.
"How she handle?"
"How she handle? She's the best gorram gun on the rim! Hell, in the whole verse, maybe. She shoots straight and clear. This here is a piece of genuine machinery," Jayne said, instantly becoming more animated, his voice full of pride and admiration. He stroked the gun with affection. "You know, one time six men came to kill me. And the best of them carried this, Vera, my girl."
"Do a lot of people come around to kill ya?" Dinah teased.
"Well, I do piss people off. Hell, I piss the captain off most of the time. And of course, we tend to make quite a ruckus on whatever planet we land on. It can get pretty bloody"
"Seems like it from what I heard. Hey, didn't you stir up something in town?" Dinah asked. Jayne's face hardened and he went back to cleaning his gun with a rag, ignoring Dinah. What the hell put him in a nark?
"Come on, hero-" Dinah said, trying to make amends. Jayne suddenly stood up, the grating shaking as the man, quickly walked away. He left and Dinah was left sitting on the stairs, knees up to her chest. The half eaten meal was still on the grating: a few leftover apple slices, a piece of bao. So isolated and lonely. Always alone. Bloody brilliant. She was over analyzing food now. Had she said something wrong? What was up? It was almost as if the Jayne had transferred his sad depressed state over to Dinah. Suddenly memories became dredged up. Not just memories but, ideas that the boy who sacrificed himself had epitomized. She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard loud footsteps on the metal, bringing her quickly back to reality. Jayne was back.
"I am taking the food with me," he said petulantly, picking up the half empty plate before walking off again. Suddenly she was angry with him. Really angry. Angry because he was being rude. Angry because he was eating her food. Angry because she wasn't home with her family right now. Angry because he put her in a bad mood.
"Hey, Jayne!" Dinah shouted at the tall man, a hard sharpness in her voice. "I know your feeling bad, what with the boy dying for you and all but, you can't just go around making putting the rest of us or more specifically me, in a nark. He died and it wasn't your gorram fault so, stop acting like it is! Last thing anyone in the whole gorram 'verse needs is misplaced pity," Dinah marched off to the kitchen. "And you were right. You do piss people off!"
FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***FIREFLY***
With a sigh, Dinah rested over the counter, rubbing her eyes. She was tired but, she didn't really feel like sleeping. It was so quiet on board. Only the steady thrum of the engine. The distant hum of machinery keeping everyone alive. It was calming. Maybe, Dinah should be getting to bed.
Suppressing a yawn, she went to leave the kitchen. She rubbed her head; what should she make tomorrow. Maybe just some protein or something not too fancy. Then Dinah saw something.
"Gah! Zoe! You frightened me. Don't you make any noise?" Dinah exclaimed, trying to be quiet. Everyone was asleep, after all. Zoe laughed at Dinah.
"Sorry. I am just waiting for Wash to preset the coordinates."
"oh. Do you have any idea what moon we're headed to?"
"not sure. I think, we'll be near Artemis in about 3 days."
"Really? This boat moves quicker than I thought. All for the better though."
"Shi. Serenity, she'll deceive you sometimes," Zoe said. Dinah had a question to ask. Something that had been bugging her for a while.
"Did you and Mal fight at the battle of Serenity?"
"What?" Zoe asked obviously caught off guard by the question.
"Did you-"
"I heard you clear. We did. For the Independents," Zoe said in her cool stoic way.
"I understand. I was just wondering. You both seemed like Browncoats. Brave and all. I think I'll be going to bed," Dinah said giving Zoe a tense smile before shutting the lights off in the kitchen.
Getting into her bed, Dinah stared at the ceiling. The Battle of Serenity. Not a lot of people knew a whole lot about it. Dinah had seen it. Not the actual battle but, the aftershock. She remembered the battlefield covered with bodies, most of them wearing dusty brown coats. Sure, you'd see a downed alliance cruiser and a several armor clad soldiers with their throats slit. People died. It was the way of life. Closing in her eyes, Dinah fell asleep, wishing that her past would stay in the past.