smiles and rainbows

[brainpanned]

who: river & caboose
what: mari wants threads.
when: Monday 08
where: wandering
rating: Low. D for Dumb.

Comments

[caboosebvr]

Neither Church nor Tex nor York seemed to have any inclination to take Caboose out. And he had been dying to go out and see the town. There were amazing things in town. Like ice cream and shops that sold neat things and playgrounds. He liked playgrounds.

He had been peering through windows, pressing his nose against some of them, when a girl had touched his arm. And he blinked. "I'm four!" If she said so.

[brainpanned]

From the moment he turned around, River knew there was something...nice...about him. Something special. (Special was a surprisingly fitting term.) He was taller than her but River was used to craning her neck for the Spartans. Head lolling to one side, she puckered her mouth thoughtfully.

"No. Rather you are minus one. York is four. Though sequentially you are the fourth." Her eyes took him in, narrowing slightly. "Chronologically even despite your oddity."

[caboosebvr]

"I'm not four and I am four? I do not think that I can be both." Which was a surprising bit of logic to come out of Caboose, really.

"Maybe I can be both! I am the un-four! Like how Seven Up is the un-cola." Maybe not.

[brainpanned]

"Different sorts of four." River quirked her mouth into an amused little smile. "Because you're also the last one. Dragged along. The Red sort, even though you're on a Blue team."

She held out her hand for him then. "River."

[caboosebvr]

Did she just call him a Red? Caboose looked mighty confused for a moment, then blinked down at the hand that was being held out to him. "Yes, miss, I am Blue Team," he said and continued to look at her hand.

"We are not near a river."

[brainpanned]

It was disappointing when he didn't return her hand, and River frowned, pushing out her bottom lip in a pouting look. Not so easily deterred, she reached and took his hand with a sharp tug in her direction so he was dragging behind her.

Like a caboose. Cabooses were red.

"We are not. That is my name. River."

[caboosebvr]

Well. Suddenly he was being tugged along. Caboose was fairly used to be told where to go and being dragged around, so this was nothing to worry about. He didn't worry about much.

"You do not look like a River, miss! It's a good disguise!"

[brainpanned]

"Capable of wearing all sorts of masks." She swung his hand a bit, slowing to walk beside him. "Your name?" She had a feeling of it, like she knew the meaning but didn't know the word of it. "Shared mine. Only in fairness that you reciprocate."

[caboosebvr]

"It's Caboose," he admitted after a moment to digest everything River had said. "Michael J. Caboose. Mostly just Caboose." He looked down at their joined hands then at the sidewalk and at the passing shop windows. "Where are we going?"

[brainpanned]

"Aha!" River let go of his hand long enough to clap her own together, jumping happily because it made sense now! Caboose. It was why she'd been so fixated on reds and finality. "We're going..." Logical question -- River had no idea, and the pair of them stopped, River looking up at the sky. "We're going West."

[caboosebvr]

This girl said the oddest things. They went in one of Caboose's ears and out the other. When she dropped his hand, Caboose came to a stop and looked around.

"Can we go to the petstore instead? I would like to look at puppies. Or unpuppies."

[brainpanned]

River laughed a little bit, lighting up at the prospect of puppies. And unpuppies, as it were. "Don't think there is a petstore..." Her eyes scanned up and down the street to confirm this. "Puppies and unpuppies never meant to be in cages. Never seen an unpuppy before." Head cocking gently to the side, she studied Caboose. "Have you?"

[caboosebvr]

"Yes. It's name was Apple." Well. No, but Caboose's reality was a bit different than actual reality. "It was stuck in a tree." Though, the idea that there wasn't actually a pet store sort of made him wilt a bit.

[brainpanned]

"But logically wouldn't the opposite of a puppy have wings?" Caboose was...well, he was confusing and doing a brilliant job of making her head hurt. But catching his dejected look, a fantastic idea blossomed. "We may go for ice cream! Though it is not as exciting as animals."

[caboosebvr]

"Kittens don't have wings." Surely River must know this. She seemed like a smart lady. Caboose sort of stared at her awhile.

At least, until she mentioned ice cream. Then he perked up. "Which one is the ice cream store!"

[brainpanned]

"Kit -- oh!" River's eyes grew wide and she clapped her hands together over her mouth. "I understand!" Of course unpuppies were kittens! What else would they be? She suddenly felt very, very stupid. (Maybe it was contagious?)

"Down the street?" She lifted her hand to point lazily in the direction they'd been going. Caboose was definitely some kind of special, but River found it endearing. "You know York? And Texasmiss and Church?" Her arm hooked around his and the pair of the skipped along. Sort of. As much as she could cheerfully do.