27 - Awards That Were on Earth That Was
[post Serenity]
They had a job on the far side of the 'verse over by Persephone. It wasn't a high paying one, but it was one that was going to tide them over until something bigger and better came along. It just so happened that nothing ever did. It was usually just small jobs here and there, as if they were living from job to job just hoping the next one would leave them set for a bit longer. Still this moon at least had good trading, and River and Kaylee had headed off toward one of the vendors that claimed to have the "Largest Collection of Earth That Was" which usually meant a box of small trinkets that likely weren't in working order anyway. Still River hadn't seen much of the odd belongings that one could consider antique, so it was with an eager arm pulling that she dragged Kaylee into the shop.
"Well alright River, no need to be pullin' my arm out'a the socket over this." Kaylee didn't mind, mostly because River was the closest thing she had to a best friend on Serenity. Inara and her still talked, but once they were planetside there was the usual business to attend to. River's heavy boots clomped around the interior of the shop, her eyes darting across the knick knacks lined up along the shelves, all with tiny white tags marking them and the name they had been called by. River's fingertips ran along the shelves pausing every so often to pick up a tag and see what name it had been given. Kaylee was right though it wasn't anything worth being tugged across the square for, but still River had been curious.
"This one." River's eyes had fallen onto a statuette of a winged woman. Her hands reached outward and up toward the sky, but she was holding what looked like a hollow globe of sorts. River took an interest in her, because she could sense envy and pride within her thin frame.
"Oh Miss, that's a nice pick. Earth That Was held great value to those that entertained, used to be big gala's and balls with dresses with such detail and fine silks. The entertainers would be chosen for how entertaining they had been that year, and one by one they would win a winged woman just like this and then give a speech telling just how grateful they were that they had won. It'd likely end up on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. Weren't too many more celebrations like that after the great fires and the sinking of Calimexnia. Whole left side of that land mass just dropped off the side and into the ocean. This here's mighty valuable, but I'll let you give a speech like they'd have done." The market owner took the winged statue off the shelf and dusted it off with the corner of his apron. "Here ya go, now thank everyone that's important to you, and don't forget the little people."
Kaylee was already trying to hide the smirk that was growing on her face, and River caught notice of it and glared at her. She hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of the item, it just caught her eye. But just like most things that caught her eye it ended up getting her into more trouble than it was worth. Still she clutched onto the statuette and took a deep breath, "I'd like to thank you for this award..." She paused and turned to the vendor whose eyes had lit up when she started to speak, and nodded to prod her on further. "... I worked really hard to get where I was, and if it wasn't for those at the Blue Sun corporation I might not be standing here today. I'd like to thank them for scraping away part of my brain, so that I don't have to worry about never feeling what everyone else is feeling, and for doing all those horrible tests on me. I'd like to thank Simon for saving me and for the crew of the Serenity for not turning me in when the reward was so high." River smiled, and glanced back to the vendor who had a look of shock and dismay on his face, "Oh! And I'd like to thank the little people." Smiling brightly she handed the statue over to the man again. "Thank you, that was very enjoyable."
"Right and proper too River. That was real nice, I liked bein' in there for not turnin' you in. Should'a thanked Jayne for Ariel too while you were at it, but I can see how you'd want to keep it simple." River nodded in agreement and felt Kaylee's arm rest over her shoulder as they headed out to meet up with the Captain and Zoe. It had been a good day, even if they were still wondering where the next pay would come from.
They had a job on the far side of the 'verse over by Persephone. It wasn't a high paying one, but it was one that was going to tide them over until something bigger and better came along. It just so happened that nothing ever did. It was usually just small jobs here and there, as if they were living from job to job just hoping the next one would leave them set for a bit longer. Still this moon at least had good trading, and River and Kaylee had headed off toward one of the vendors that claimed to have the "Largest Collection of Earth That Was" which usually meant a box of small trinkets that likely weren't in working order anyway. Still River hadn't seen much of the odd belongings that one could consider antique, so it was with an eager arm pulling that she dragged Kaylee into the shop.
"Well alright River, no need to be pullin' my arm out'a the socket over this." Kaylee didn't mind, mostly because River was the closest thing she had to a best friend on Serenity. Inara and her still talked, but once they were planetside there was the usual business to attend to. River's heavy boots clomped around the interior of the shop, her eyes darting across the knick knacks lined up along the shelves, all with tiny white tags marking them and the name they had been called by. River's fingertips ran along the shelves pausing every so often to pick up a tag and see what name it had been given. Kaylee was right though it wasn't anything worth being tugged across the square for, but still River had been curious.
"This one." River's eyes had fallen onto a statuette of a winged woman. Her hands reached outward and up toward the sky, but she was holding what looked like a hollow globe of sorts. River took an interest in her, because she could sense envy and pride within her thin frame.
"Oh Miss, that's a nice pick. Earth That Was held great value to those that entertained, used to be big gala's and balls with dresses with such detail and fine silks. The entertainers would be chosen for how entertaining they had been that year, and one by one they would win a winged woman just like this and then give a speech telling just how grateful they were that they had won. It'd likely end up on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. Weren't too many more celebrations like that after the great fires and the sinking of Calimexnia. Whole left side of that land mass just dropped off the side and into the ocean. This here's mighty valuable, but I'll let you give a speech like they'd have done." The market owner took the winged statue off the shelf and dusted it off with the corner of his apron. "Here ya go, now thank everyone that's important to you, and don't forget the little people."
Kaylee was already trying to hide the smirk that was growing on her face, and River caught notice of it and glared at her. She hadn't wanted to make a big deal out of the item, it just caught her eye. But just like most things that caught her eye it ended up getting her into more trouble than it was worth. Still she clutched onto the statuette and took a deep breath, "I'd like to thank you for this award..." She paused and turned to the vendor whose eyes had lit up when she started to speak, and nodded to prod her on further. "... I worked really hard to get where I was, and if it wasn't for those at the Blue Sun corporation I might not be standing here today. I'd like to thank them for scraping away part of my brain, so that I don't have to worry about never feeling what everyone else is feeling, and for doing all those horrible tests on me. I'd like to thank Simon for saving me and for the crew of the Serenity for not turning me in when the reward was so high." River smiled, and glanced back to the vendor who had a look of shock and dismay on his face, "Oh! And I'd like to thank the little people." Smiling brightly she handed the statue over to the man again. "Thank you, that was very enjoyable."
"Right and proper too River. That was real nice, I liked bein' in there for not turnin' you in. Should'a thanked Jayne for Ariel too while you were at it, but I can see how you'd want to keep it simple." River nodded in agreement and felt Kaylee's arm rest over her shoulder as they headed out to meet up with the Captain and Zoe. It had been a good day, even if they were still wondering where the next pay would come from.