| 11:14a |
Who: Inara Serra and Mal Reynolds
What: Inara is preparing to leave Serenity
When: Dark Period between Firefly (series) and Serenity
Where: Deep Space; 1 day’s flight from the Academy of House Madrassa
Rating: PG-13 to start
Inara couldn’t stand the sight of her shuttle anymore for one day. It was bad enough that she was going to need to return there to sleep. The boxes and satchels she had prepared made her home feel like anything but a home. It was just a steel shell now; an unpleasant reminder of what was to come. She was leaving.
But what was she leaving?
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts escaping
Home, where my music’s playing
Was the Academy home? No, Serenity was home. At least it had been. Inara sighed. She slipped outside the portal to the shuttle into Serenity’s cargo bay. She wore an elegant house coat of red and white silk over her more intimate apparel beneath. Her hair was piled loosely atop her head and her subtle make up was applied flawlessly.
The ship thrummed and rattled. The air was cool. Inara loved the chill of the ship in flight at points and hated it at others. No one said she was a simple creature.
Wandering on foot, Inara’s mind began to do the same. For the thousandth time she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She had no answer, just a stubborn resolve born of a decision already made and plans proceeding towards it.
Stopping at the railing by the portal to the galley, she leaned over the railing and looked down at the piles of crates and boxes below. |