AN: Okay, so I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Law school has been very stressful and what not. But on a positive note I finally got this update done to my satisfaction. =) I hope you guys enjoy it, it's a bit shorter than past updates, but I felt it was necessary at this point in the story. Thank you to leckie, LeaFairy124, chakra, Ookami Sakura, hideher, Moon FireStar, , and seargentlampchop for the great reviews. Now on with the show!
Where Is My Mind?
XXX
River's POV
She lays in their bed…eyes toward the ceiling above her. She feels the gentle hum of Serenity underneath her, hears the soft whirring as the engines spin; on any other night it would lull her to sleep, but not tonight.
She turns her head toward the sleeping man next to her. His back falls up and down in an even rhythm. She turns ever so slightly to allow her arm to come up and ghost her fingers along his spine. He doesn't stir when she does this though… he's too far into Neverland.
As quietly as she can she extricates herself from the blankets. She grabs one of the dresses she managed to piece back together after Riddick's little hissy fit, although one long sleeve remained missing, and pulls it on over her head. She leaves her feet bare and silent steps up the ladder opening the hatch to the hallway above. She closes it behind her and begins to walk away from it…slowly dragging her fingers along the cool steel walls.
Unlike the last time she wandered the halls this late she knows she will not find anyone awake. She allows herself to catch snippets of their minds and their sweet lullabies…
Riddick's mind doesn't sing a lullaby like the others…it's just like you imagined…brutal, haunting, and powerful…it makes her shiver slightly…
…Jayne sings of the open road…over the hills and far away… And a pocketful of gold…
Kaylee's mind is sweetness and smiles…Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper, I love you…she's dreaming of the endless possibilities that await her…
It's kind of blue in Book's lullaby…the trumpet wafting in and out… and autumn leaves…
Zoe and Wash share the same lullaby…beautiful Clair de Lune…
A blackbird haunts the mind of Mal…Blackbird fly, blackbird fly, into the light of the dark black night…
Like Mal…Inara's mind sings of black, but it's cryptic…and chill settles over the girl's skin as the beautiful melancholic notes play through her mind and she can't quiet distinguish the words that float through…
But none of the lullabies they sing placate her and she continues to wander. Her eyes close and her hands continue to trail along the cool metal. Eventually she feels their music fade away…
…With your feet in the air
And your head on the ground…
She feels the grating of the cargo bay beneath her feet and she opens her eyes as she walks towards the stairs to the upper catwalks.
…Try this trick
Spin it
Yeah…
The grating of the catwalks stings at her feet, like walking over twigs in a forest. She walks towards her "usual" spot…on the walkway towards the extra shuttle…and she lays down, hair dripping through the grating.
…Your head will collapse
But there's nothing in
But you ask yourself…
She feels as if she could melt into the metal and fade away…
…Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?...
She doesn't sleep…her mind won't let her still. It's running the numbers, trying to find a path through the forest….It's as if the next few hours speed up now…the minutes of the clock just tick tick ticking by…and the light of Serenity begins to glow as the morning hour approaches…
…I was swimming in the Caribbean
Animals were hiding behind the rocks…
She feels each thread of awareness being pulled tight in the mind of the crew as they slowly rise from their slumber…like the strings of a guitar plucked one at a time...
…Except a little fish, but they told me
He swears he was trying to talk to me, to me…
…But some of the notes are slightly off, it isn't tuned…some of the strings seem as if they are about to snap under the tension…and she can't tell which…
…Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?...
Her eyes begin to fill with tears as she tries to desperately discern which string is wound too tight…but she just can't make it clear…
…Way out in the water
See it swimming
Where is my mind?...
She continues to try and make sense of it…to isolate the notes…but she can't…all she can hear is the melody play…and eventually she succumbs to sleep…
XXX
River's POV
It's not long later she feels a heavy boot poke at her side…can smell the gun powder and grease… and she groans and rolls to her side….
"Come on moonbrain." Jayne says with mild irritation.
"I know…we're going for a ride." She says as she sits up.
"I? You finally learn a new word there?" Jayne says in a facetious manner…
She rolls her eyes and pushes herself into a seated position. She casts her doe eyes up at the man before her.
"She wonders if she's been changed in the night? Let her think. Was she the same when she got up this morning? She almost thinks she can remember feeling a little different. But if she's not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?"
"You're the crazy moonbrain, That's who. Now get your behind up and to the infirmary…we've got a job to do that you talked us all into."
…Way out in the water
See it swimming…
He begins to stalk away and she sighs and follows…she won't have time to deduce which strings are out of tune today…
…Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?...
He continues to complain as they walk to the infirmary about being told to o find the crazy girl…not in his job description…
"Shouldn't even be doing this job in the dam first place. If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does." Jayne grumbles as they get to the infirmary.
Captain Daddy, Zoe, and Riddick are all waiting, dressed for the parts that they each play. She nods to Riddick as she enters and moves to stand by him.
"So you ready for this River?" Captain Daddy asks her.
With your feet the air
And your head on the ground
"Are you?"
Try this trick
"It's what I do, darlin."
Spin it
Yeah
XXX
AN: Hopefully you all enjoyed the somewhat ominous look into the crew's heads. I know some of you will want to know which songs are the lullabies so I have listed them =) Up next…Ariel and dear brother Simon. Till next time…
The music in the crew's lullabies is as follows:
Riddick – Nine Inch Nails "Just Like You Imagined"
Jayne- Led Zeppelin "Over the Hills and Far Away"
Kaylee – Michael Buble "Dream a Little Dream of Me"
Book – Miles Davis "Autumn Leaves"
Zoe and Wash – "Suite Bergamasque No. 3, L 75: Clair de Lune"
Mal –The Beatles "Blackbird"
Inara – Massive Attack "Black Milk"
River's music – "Where is My Mind?" from the Sucker Punch Soundtrack