(Untitled)

[burbonmilkshake]

Faye is in 202, curled up on the couch and studying Chinese.

Or, at least trying to.

She yells and restrains herself from throwing the book across the room.

Come in and see what's up, if you want to. Or mock her, if that's your thing.

Comments

[fengmei]

River, standing in the doorway, puts her own hand to her brow -- it's the reflected frustration.

"Easier to start with pin yin," she suggests.

[burbonmilkshake]

She blinks and looks up at River.

"I'm sorry?" she says to the pretty, yet incomprehensible, girl in the doorway.

[fengmei]

"Pin yin. If you speak English. Uses the same letters. Primer around here somewhere."

River dives under one of the couches, and appears with a beginning pin yin primer.

"Here."

[burbonmilkshake]

"Oh jeez. Thank you so much." She smiles at the girl, and takes the book. "My name's Faye, by the way," she says, holding out her hand.

[woolyblacksheep]

"Something wrong?" Tsuzuki's dense, but not so dense that he can't notice yelling and general frustration at things. So, he comes over, peering at the book.

[burbonmilkshake]

"I've been trying to teach myself Chinese for a while, and it's a pain." She looks up at Tsuzuki. "Argh," she adds with a weak smile.

[woolyblacksheep]

"Right, everything here's in Chinese, isn't it?" Tsuzuki smiles. "I tried to teach myself Chinese back home a couple of decades ago and gave up after two hours, so I can't really help with that."

[burbonmilkshake]

"I can understand why," she says.

"How have you been, anyway?"

[wash_drives]

Wash, resplendent in his orange jumpsuit, wandered into 202 humming a Chinese song he had picked up from Jayne. Not surprisingly, the lyrics were mostly filthy and had to do with subjects he wouldn't ever discuss in polite company.

He snuck a peek at the cover of the book the girl on the couch was reading and grimaced, "Studyin' the language, huh?" He asked amicably, "Don't tax yourself too greatly, we who speak it are willin' to translate."

[burbonmilkshake]

She grins. "I know, but it's hard to read a book in Chinese if you're always asking people to translate." She puts the book aside--damn thing--and holds out her hand. "Faye Whitaker."

[wash_drives]

He shook it. "Hoban Washburne, call me Wash. I found some books in English a while ago if you'd like 'em. Gave a big book of Shakespeare to some genius kid but the others are just takin' up space in my room. My wife's not one for reading and I'm more than comfortable in Chinese. Where ya from, Faye?"

[burbonmilkshake]

Her eyes widen. "I would love those. Thank you, Wash."

"I'm from Massachusetts, USA, Earth, 2006. You?"

Faye is meeting the whole damn Serenity crew.

[meimeichanic]

Apparently trying to learn Chinese is something of a radar for Chinese speakers.

Kaylee's trying to get out more, and not lose herself in the building-a-spaceship project. So she's in 202 to get something to eat, just in time to catch the yell.

"Ni meí shì bà?" she asks, easy as anything.

Sometimes she forgets, you see.

[burbonmilkshake]

"I'm... I'm sorry?" she asks, tilting her head at Kaylee.

[meimeichanic]

"What? Oh!" Duh, Kaylee! "Are you okay? Sorry, I slip into Chinese sometimes."

[burbonmilkshake]

"It's okay. I'm just trying to learn the language," she says.