(Untitled)

[belongtonobody]

Inara had endured six months on the island of Tabula Rasa, bearing witness to a season of snow and a day of Reavers. She had moved from Serenity to separate herself and still spent time with the crew regularly. She had made plans to start a school, a Companion house of her own, and found herself unable to start so complex a project, one that would

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[benedictbecky]

The spaceship was old news-- in that crazy island way that spaceships COULD be old news, but the pretty lady underneath it was new. To be honest, Becky got a twinge off her, the way she held herself, like all the mysteries in the world were in her head.

Or well, not her head so much.

Becky was on her way to see Wes and Gunn, but she figured she had the time to stop and say hi. Which she did.

"Hi there, traveler. You belong to that there ship?"

[belongtonobody]

It was a curious question, but the rhythm of the girl's language felt familiar to Inara, more at one with her own time and place than much of what she had heard since arriving on Tabula Rasa.

"I suppose that I do," she agreed evenly, though she was certain of no such thing. There was more of herself in that ship and its crew than she wanted to say, and still the divide existed which she had created herself, for her own safety. Still, any uncertainty was well-hidden as she smiled. "The crew are friends of mine."

[benedictbecky]

"Really? That thing has been here as long as I've known this place, and I heard since... the beginning, as it were." Becky stepped forward and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Becky. 'fraid I'm not from space, though."

[belongtonobody]

"Much longer than me, then," Inara said, smiling. "I arrived late last year." Yet the ship itself seemed to be from sometime in Inara's future, one in which she had done as she'd intended and left them all behind for a Companion house elsewhere. Stepping closer, she took Becky's hand and gave it a firm, but gentle shake. "I'm Inara. Have you been here long, Becky?"

[benedictbecky]

"Couple years," said Becky. "Give or take, I'm not really... if you count 'em too much, you end up a little crazy, I think." She flashed a bright smile right back. "Hey, so, d'you know River then? Nice girl."

[belongtonobody]

Nearly as long as the crew then, Inara thought. "I do," she said easily. "She's very sweet." Inara had spent parts of the long journeys from port to port watching over River for Simon, keeping a close eye on her. How strange it was still, though pleasantly so, to realize how far River had come from those days. "I used to rent a shuttle aboard ship and ride along with them."

[benedictbecky]

"Oh, what'd you do? Were you a space... um, person... aw, shit, honey, I don't know what people do in space." Becky wrinkled her nose. "Sorry."

[belongtonobody]

Inara smiled, suppressing a soft laugh. "Don't be sorry," she said warmly. "We set up homes in worlds much like Earth-That-Was." Human nature had changed very little in several hundred years, however their practices may have evolved. "And traveled elsewhere for business. I'm a Companion."