Drabble: A Letter to Wandering Companions (Firefly; Inara)

[the_grynne]

For orange_crushed, since ordinary words fail me when I try to express my thanks. Forgive its triteness.

Set after Serenity.

Inara. PG. She takes a different road.

Flowers fall, flowers bloom, and the time
is chosen for them by the god of the East.
- Yan Rui, 'To the Tune of "Song of Divination"'*

Comments

[hoperomantic]

That is simply lovely.

[the_grynne]

:) Thanks. Glad you liked it.

[elzed]

Lovely indeed - and so very evocative...

[the_grynne]

Thank you!

[ghostrunner7]

Holy clockwork angels, woman. What about that seems trite to you? It's lovely and delicate and a real pleasure to read.

[the_grynne]

The letter format always feels incredibly self-indulgent to me. :) I'm glad you liked it. Thanks.

[devohoneybee]

*happy sigh* you can never have too much Inara fic.

[the_grynne]

Thanks. :)

Agreed, especially Inara gen.

[orange_crushed]

I don't deserve this, or you. But oh God, I wouldn't give it up.

It is natural that the affairs of men are somewhere between.

Oh, Inara.

Good intermediaries are like the thrice-spoken for bride, difficult to win, so please remind our captain of the need to treat him gently.

LOL FOREVER. And I know this is another gentle Inara moment, where she is speaking kindly and politely, but it still manages to convey her tone of absolute disgust, love, and incredulity at the way Mal operates.

Your language here is beautiful, warm and complex as Inara is herself. I smell the summer wind when you write it. It makes sense that she'd send letters to Simon, and that she'd write in this manner. They operate (or, operated) in the same strata and are probably aware of the same conventions, literary and social.

A hundred thanks for your hundred kindnesses.

[the_grynne]

I'm so glad you liked it. :D

but it still manages to convey her tone of absolute disgust, love, and incredulity at the way Mal operates.

That's my favourite line. :) I'm glad that mix of emotions for Mal came through. The letter isn't directed at Mal, but then it is, because Mal is never far from Inara's thoughts.

They operate (or, operated) in the same strata and are probably aware of the same conventions, literary and social.

If Inara was writing letters to the crew - letters that she felt might be intercepted by government agents - I thought it made sense that she would write them to Simon, who would pick up on the subtleties in her words. A counterpoint to the coded messages that River sent to him from the Academy.