Friday early evening, after work - the Kinney Building

[brambless]

There are lots of nice things about Fridays. One of the nicest about this Friday, though, is that it means Saturday is tomorrow. Which happens every week, granted, but it's not every week she and Shane have plans to go get tattoos

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[brambless]

Tara laughs, nodding. "It's the Callahan's crowd. There's a bunch of us who tend to go to the Planet in the morning, and Callahan's at night. Not all the time, obviously, but... yeah, we tend to know the same folks, met at one or the other."

[moonbraingirl]

River smiled, nodding along with her explanation. "And Buck's," she added, remembering the first night she'd met Tara.

"May I have some tea, when you get Simon's wine? And is there anything you need help with? I can't promise cooking skills, but setting the table or...?" She trailed off, unsure of what services might be needed. Her hand tightened around Simon's arm, feeling slightly anxious, and needing a calming presence. She was getting better at blocking other people's thoughts, but this was a foreign environment, and it upset the delicate balance in her mind. It wasn't much, but enough that she could feel it.

[brambless]

Tara nods, her lips tightening for a moment as she takes in the tiny nervous gesture.

Too many people, and what River really needs is an excuse to find some privacy, if she needs it...

"River, can you come help me with drinks? I'm pretty sure everyone needs a refill by now, and I'll introduce you to bubble tea. Shane got it for me for Christmas, but there's about thirty flavours, so you'll need to come choose..." Which will, incidentally, get her out of the living room and into the kitchen for a few minutes while she acclimatises.

[gifteddoctor]

Smiling but not quite reaching his eyes, clearly a little concerned for River's distress, he nodded to Tara. While she kept River occupied, he would find somewhere to get out of the way.

While Simon may be inept around female love interests or large bar scenes that were not quite fitting in his social milieu, he's not too bad in intimate settings and small gatherings of more socially comfortable mindsets and he wandered further into the living room.

[moonbraingirl]

River smiled her thanks at Tara, she squeezed Simon's hand and followed her into the kitchen when she's done talking to George who is making incorrect assumptions and making me laugh. Once away from the people, River apologized. "I'm sorry, I just--new environment, new people; I'm actually rather shy, and it makes me a little nervous."

"Tara, what's this...bubble tea? It is carbonated?"

[brambless]

"I know," Tara says simply. She understands being shy, and just because these are her people, the people she feels safest with, doesn't make them River's.

"Bubble tea is... well, it's kind of odd, actually. There are these little balls of sago, see?" She opens the packet, pouring some into the bottom of two cups, and turning on the kettle to boil. "They cook in the hot water, and then you add flavours. Anything - honeycomb, watermelon, chocolate... really. Anything. It's pretty amazing, actually. And then you drink it from one of these big wide straws, and the little balls come up as you drink. And those are the bubbles, see?"

[moonbraingirl]

River cocks her head and watches Tara with interest. "Wow. Sago, that's tapioca, right? The word is familiar, but the drink isn't. And there's any kind of flavors?"

She pulls out a chair and sits on it, having thought for a moment about sitting on the table, but decided it was rude. "Um, so you met Simon the other night? I'm surprised he talked to you; he's--well, he's kind of inept in social situations. Especially around women." She smiles shyly, looking happy all the same.

[brambless]

Nodding at River's question, Tara brings the box of flavour packets down from the cupboard for River to browse through.

"Not around you, obviously," Tara murmurs, her eyes twinkling.

They make a very nice couple. A matched set, really.

"Shane charmed him, and brought him over to meet me. I have yet to meet the human being who can resist Shane - and Simon is, after all, only human."

[gifteddoctor]

[ooc- *laughs* You guys are killing me...]

[deadlikegeorge]

George walked into the kitchen at this moment, seeing Tara and River talking together. She noted the box in Tara's hands.

"Bubble tea," she said cheerfully, calling attention to herself. "Good stuff."

[moonbraingirl]

"Shane is very beautiful, Tara. You're both lucky."

River turned and smiled at the blonde. She looked familiar, though she wasn't able to place her, and certainly didn't know her name. "Is it? I've not tried it yet." There was something strange about her thoughts and her 'aura,' for lack of a better word. River frowned just slightly, almost imperceptibly, as she tried to figure it out. "I'm River," she said after a slight awkward pause.

[deadlikegeorge]

George nods at River, leaning against the door frame. "Yeah, they have bubble tea places all over Seattle," she explained. "That's where I'm from originally."

George gave the other girl a crooked smile. "George. Nice to meet you." She made a vague gesture. "So... What flavor are you going to try? I kinda like the weird purple one. I think it's called Taro or something."

[moonbraingirl]

River glances up at Tara from her chair, then back at George. "I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like this before. Taro sounds good, though." She pauses for a moment, then asks, "Seattle? Where is that? My geography knowledge about this planet is limited."

[deadlikegeorge]

"Other side of the country, far to the west. It's about as far from here as you could possibly get, and still be on the same continent." George replies. "It's a big city like Metropolis." She smiled shyly. "Where are you from?"

[moonbraingirl]

"Osiris," River answers. "It's one of the Core planets of the Alliance. We lived just outside Capitol City, which is huge and very rich. But for the past year I've lived on the ship Serenity." She bites her bottom lip, unsure of how to explain Serenity and its crew. "It was a transport ship," she offers after a moment's hesitation. "Though sometimes the cargo was less-than-legal."

[deadlikegeorge]

George's mouth made a little "o" of surprise as she tried to figure out what to say. "So, you're from 'up there' like Han and Jayne?" She pushed from the door frame and took a seat at the table next to River. "How in the world did you end up here? Earth seems so boring, in comparison."