Lay your hands over me WHO River Tam OT Winter McIntyre WHAT River wanders and makes a new friend WHERE Winter’s shop (Healing Hands) WHEN Saturday, September 24, 2016; 11 AM RATING G
It was Saturday, and River was on her own. The shelter didn’t usually schedule her for the weekends - they already had solid coverage from other volunteers, although she knew that they also didn’t want her around on their busier days to scare away potential adopters. Usually Simon tried to get weekends off to keep an eye on her, but today hadn’t worked in his favor.
He probably would have preferred she stay inside at home, where he knew she’d be safe. She had casually reminded him that seven percent of household burglaries involved a violent assault, although she left out the fact that burglaries only affected one percent of the national populace. She was also fairly certain that any burglar who attempted to break in while she was home would immediately regret it, but she didn’t want to let her brother realize just how dangerous she could be.
She knew that he had learned about what had been done to her, to an extent. Early on, she’d had a number of outbursts that could be categorized as violent, but in the wild and flailing way committed by those with a tenuous grip on reality. And while she knew her brother wouldn’t likely be surprised by the amount of training and conditioning she’d undergone while at the Academy, she knew he would be dismayed. More than anything, she wanted to spare him that pain, as long as possible.
Dressed in an oversized sweater over her flowy sundress, she left the house late in the morning, wandering up and down streets until she found herself outside a window with a sign that advertised “Healing Hands”. Curious, River walked inside, looking more like she was drifting over the ground, even in her heavy combat boots.
She was surprised by the warmth she found inside, not just in temperature and lighting, but in mood. It was unlike any space she’d ever been in, and she spun slowly in the lobby, eyes wide in wonder.
“I thought it would be colder,” she murmured, mostly to herself.