Quiet Moments... Part 3: ~ CAVE PAINTINGS ~

The day after next, River and Kaylee were in the woods, just exploring around, basically because they were bored and there wasn't much else to do. And River seemed to like exploring. Kaylee didn't really care for the woods as much as River seemed to, but she did kind of like to go along because River made it fun anyway. Always investigating this or that, explaining what she thought about birds or wondering why squirrels acted the way they did.

Right now, they were sitting by a group of trees by a rock wall. Kaylee had watched while River had made some paints from inedible berries and such and had painted a picture on the rocks of the two of them sitting together and looking up at the sky with Serenity flying by and the waterfall in the background. Kaylee had mostly watched silently, fascinated. Cave paintings, River had told her. To mark us when we're gone.

The painting was remarkably lifelike for using such simple, seemingly casual lines. It reminded Kaylee of this old woman she'd met in a marketplace once who did calligraphy on cloth banners and sold them as decorations. She'd bought this miniature one, only fourteen by fourteen centimeters. Just one character on it that meant Luck. Kaylee had figured she could hardly go wrong with more luck, after all.

Kaylee had told River how great she thought her painting was and gotten a kind of shy but very pleased smile for saying it. River had told her a little about how scientists on Earth-that-was had found paintings on caves and learned things about their ancestors that way. Kaylee had gotten to like it when River told stories like that. Not that she always knew what River was talking about, it was more that River had a way of telling stories that was just fun to listen to. After she'd finished telling about the cave paintings though, one of those quiet places that happened sometimes when they talked happened, and Kaylee was just going to ask if they should get up and start walking again when River had an idea.

"We should play a game." River offered.

"Um, kay, what sorta game?" Kaylee asked, curious, seeing nothing better to do and willing to go along.

"I don't know. You can pick." River offered, getting up and taking Kaylee's hand and pulling her up to her feet from sitting.

"Um, okay... Hideaway? ...Tag?" Kaylee tried to think of the games she and her sister played back on Isis.

"Tag." River agreed, tapping her on the shoulder and dancing away from her a ways. "You're it." She smiled, and ran off.

"River!" Kaylee ran off after her into the woods, thankful she'd thought to bring along a homing beacon set to lead them back to the shuttle, because no way was she going to remember the way back after this probably.

Kaylee chased River into the forest and only barely kept her in sight. She'd round a tree and see River leaning against one. "Can't catch me." She'd smile, ducking behind the tree and Kaylee would get there and she'd be gone. Maybe up ahead, or even once or twice back where she'd just come from.

After a while of this, Kaylee got the idea there was just no way she was going to be able to tag River back. "I give up, you win!"

River walked out from the tree right next to her. "You're not very good at this game. Why'd you chose it?" She asked curiously.

Kaylee giggled a little. "I underestimated your ability to dart around like that."

"Oh... That's understandable then." River smiled.

Kaylee narrowed her eyes at her. She wanted to do something to her for that. Mess up her hair or wrestle with her a little like she and her sister did sometimes, but... she was still a little hesitant to surprise River with things that might be looked at as aggressive. Just... Just in case she might react bad to it. She sighed. "We should be getting back." She said.

River looked at her a little quizzically, like she was trying to figure her out again. She stepped in closer to her and Kaylee didn't quite know what to expect. "I'm sorry... because I wasn't fun to play tag with." River apologized softly. "I get carried away and..." She kissed Kaylee on the cheek. "You still like me?" She asked.

Kaylee felt all the sudden a little uncomfortable. Butterflies in her belly or something. She smiled, a little unsteady. "Course I do, don't be silly." She said quietly. "Um, we could play guess who on the way back?" She offered, stepping away and taking River's hand in hers to show her friend that there really where no hard feelings or anything. It made her feel better too.

"Okay." River agreed easily, apparently set at ease from Kaylee taking her hand and all.

"Only, has to be someone I'd have a chance at guessing, okay? No fancy stuff from school I wouldn't know. Right?" She asked.

"That's fair." River agreed.

"Who guesses first?" Kaylee asked.

"I do." River answered as they walked.

"Alright. Okay, I got someone. Have at it." Kaylee said, looking off into the trees and smiling.

"Are they living or dead?" River asked.

"Living. Last I heard at least." Kaylee supplied, looking over at River a little curiously and then looking ahead where they were going.

"Male or female identified?" River asked.

"Male." Kaylee supplied.

"Johnny Nolen?" River asked.

"How'd you know?" Kaylee stopped and turned to her in surprise.

"He's your favorite male identified singer, and you looked like music when you started the game." River told her. "Your turn to guess?" She asked expectantly.

"Um, sure." Kaylee shook her head a little. River really was something sometimes. To have picked up on something like that about her. She really... really must have paid a lot of attention to her. Or maybe River just naturally did that for everyone? For some reason she kind of liked to think maybe she was special though. "Got someone?"

"Uh-huh." River said as they started walking again.

"Living or dead?" Kaylee asked.

to be continued

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