Who: River and Isobel What: Clothes shopping Where: Maurice's then around town When: Jan. 10th Warnings: Low Status: Closed | Complete
Once River was settled in, Isobel decided a shopping trip was in order. Plus, it was River’s birthday and Isobel wanted to make sure her “niece” had a splendid one. Yes, they were not related by blood, but in the short time she had come to know River, she had started to consider her family. She wanted to make sure the young girl had everything she needed to have a good birthday. Isobel may not be ready to have a child of her own, but she was perfectly happy spoiling other people’s children.
First stop? Maurice’s. You could not enjoy a birthday without proper attire to do so. With an arm around the young woman’s shoulder, Isobel pushed open the door to the shop. Isobel knew it would be a bit overwhelming for River given the time difference. The world obviously looked a lot different than the one she was familiar with.
“How about we start with jeans? Or do you want to look at some tops first?” Isobel asked.
When she'd first shown up in Madison Valley, she hadn't even had shoes. Something that seemed to worry Max, even when it didn't worry her. She'd had combat boots back on Serenity. A pair that she liked. They were even easy to dance in, something that she loved doing.
Even though things had been better for her after Miranda, she was worried that things wouldn't stay good. Her brother, Simon, had been trying to find medicine that didn't make her sleep. Madison Valley was loud. So, she was overwhelmed in crowded places. Hearing their thoughts and knowing their intentions. She's even sure that she'd startled Isobel when she'd first arrived. It hadn't been her intention.
Her eyes scan the area around them, not used to Maurice's. This? It didn't exist on the Core planets. There were places to buy what a person needed, but nothing like this. She does, however, stay close to Isobel who had become kind of like an aunt to her. If Simon had been there, he'd probably not know how to handle having an "aunt" he knew nothing about.
"Tops first. It's less crowded."
She has certainly startled Isobel. Isobel was used to being the mental manipulator, but having someone read her? It was unnerving to put it lightly. It reminded her strongly of Noah, but upon meeting River, she soon found out, the young woman was nothing like the diabolical alien she’d unknowingly been married to for years. River was sincere, kind, and Isobel found as soon as they met that she wanted to help the young woman adjust to this world more than anything. Since coming here, Isobel had lacked a purpose outside of work, but now, helping River adjust to life here had helped Isobel better find her footing.
And River needed that help. Places like Maurice’s didn’t exist in her world. They were brand new to her and Isobel knew that was a lot to take in. A lot to digest. Isobel kept an arm around River’s shoulders as she carefully navigated them towards the tops. It was far less crowded and River would hopefully be less overwhelmed by the atmosphere and the people around her.
“So, what color do you like? We should get you some sweaters probably and long-sleeved tops. It’s going to be cold here for at least another three months. Hey, we can also look into some more shoes too if you are up for it.” Isobel offered River a reassuring smile.
“It’ll be okay. I promise.”
There were things that River knew, not because she wanted to know them, even when she shouldn't. Things that rattled around within a person's mind. Their every day thoughts. Their intentions towards someone. A part of her wanted to ask about Noah. Mainly because she liked hearing Isobel talk. She liked hearing others talk. Sometimes, however, things got a bit jumbled up. It was easier for that to happen while in Madison Valley.
"Pinks and blues," River states with a smile. She'd had a pink sweater that she liked wearing back on Serenity. It had been a bit big on her, but it hadn't bothered her any. They'd had to make due with what they had, after all. Running from the law and all of that. "Purples, too." There wasn't one particular color that she didn't like. As long as they didn't run into anything that had the Blue Sun logo on it, they'd be fine.
She gives a soft smile," It might be." Fine, that was. As for the shoes," I'd like that. Though, I do like my combat boots."
Isobel smiled. She liked seeing River happy, especially since she knew how unnerving the experience was for her. This was an entirely new world to her after all and the young woman was facing it bravely. Isobel was proud of her. She was glad Max had River as a ward.
“Pinks and blues are so doable,” Isobel replied brightly.
She skimmed the racks before gently guiding the brunette over to one in particular with a dusty pink sweater on it. It would look very cute on River. Not that Isobel wasn’t planning on searching out something blue too.
“What do you think? And if you just want to keep your combat boots as your only shoes, it’s fine. Boots are definitely in right now. Some skinny jeans and you’ll look great.”
If the combat boots helped River feel more at home, than Isobel would help her find things to stylize with them. Part of finding styles was being comfortable and Isobel definitely wanted that for River given how new everything was for her in Madison Valley.
Isobel's smile was contagious and River can't help but give one of her own. She was focusing more on the older woman than on the people around them. If she could do that, then it wouldn't be so bad for her. Didn't mean that the thoughts of others didn't slip through her mind. That wasn't something that she could stop any time soon.
Reaching out to the sweater, she runs her fingers along it. The material was soft. Felt softer than the one that she'd had back on the ship. "I like it. It's soft and beautiful." She had no clue, exactly, what skinny jeans were but she nods. "Then I think I'll just keep my combat boots. I don't think normal shoes would feel right anymore."
There was no way that River could see herself wearing normal shoes like Kaylee, expensive shoes like her brother, or fancy shoes like Inara. She preferred the sound of the combat boots on the ground. Even if the ground wasn't metal or a ship.
Isobel was glad to see River smiling. She seemed to be relaxing too. That was important. Isobel wanted her to enjoy the shopping experience. At least, as much as the young girl could anyway. It was obviously new and overwhelming; it would take time to get used to.
“You want to try it on?” Isobel asked. “We could find a blue one to go with it and you could try them both on if you want.”
Isobel was already eying up a blue top to go along with the pink. She tugged the pink top off the rack and handed it to River before steering the young woman over to a rack of fuzzy blue tops.
“What about this?” Isobel asked, gesturing to the top.
Shopping was a bit more interesting here than on some of the planets they'd stopped at. There was more hustle and bustle to them. More people and more minds to slam into her own. Something that she didn't ultimately like.
"I'd like that."
It was, however, taking her a bit to get used to being touched without being harmed. Max nor Isobel had ever made a move to harm her. Though, she could easily defend herself if it came down to it. She was, after all, a living breathing weapon.
With the pink top in one hand, she runs the fingers of her other hand over the blue top. She liked how both of them felt. Soft and not itchy. "That would go well with it, I think."
Isobel tugged it off the rack to join the other they had picked out. “Awesome,” Isobel replied. It was a good start. She didn’t want to overwhelm the young woman with too much too soon. The two tops seemed like a perfect place to start.
“How about we try these on to start and then we can look at some jeans,” Isobel offered. “That way it’s not super overwhelming for you.”
And she knew, in general, this experience was overwhelming and Isobel wanted the young woman to enjoy it as much as she possibly could despite that fact.
It was a bit weird having someone know what would and wouldn't overwhelm her. In a way, it was nice. Even if Isobel didn't know the full extent of it. Didn't truly know the ability that she had. One that gave her a bit of a headache sometimes. That, however, was neither here nor there in that moment.
"Okay. I'd like that."
She's quiet for a moment as they head towards the dressing room, luckily it wasn't too crowded. Even if it still was a bit. "You'll have to show me what skinny jeans are. I'm not sure I know of those." Not considering the year it was where she was from.
River does her best not to let the thoughts of those around them get to her, even when she tries on the shirts. There was no mistaking the smile on her lips even as she showed them to Isobel as she tried each one on. "They're perfect."
Isobel had no idea about what kind of abilities River possessed. She just knew of where she’d come from and how different her world was compared to this one. She attributed to any uncomfortableness that the young woman was feeling to that. Anything else was a mystery to her even if River had been able to pick up on her bond with Max her first day in town. Isobel figured it was probably because of how obviously protective she was of her brother and nothing more.
“We’ll take a look after you try on those,” Isobel reassured her with another smile as the girl disappeared into the dressing room. Isobel, like River, was relieved they were not full of people. The holidays being over attributed a lot to that.
River appeared again twice, showcasing both the tops which Isobel approved completely of. She was pleased to hear that River thought so too.
“I’m glad. We can check out the jeans, but if you don’t like them, we can always just buy these and go check another place, alright?”
From what she learned from the minds of those like Jayne and the others, after Christmas was the quieter time. Or maybe that had been from the mind of someone else. One of the doctors that she'd dealt with before. None of that mattered, however, not now. Not while living with Max. Things were different in Madison Valley, but they weren't bad and she enjoyed the company that she had. Just as she enjoyed shopping and having alone time with Isobel.
She still wasn't entirely sure what skinny jeans were since most of the time she’d worn skirts, but she wanted to try everything that was different. It didn’t matter what it was, she wanted to try it. The past had so much to it. Different streets, normal cars, and stores. They were on Earth that Was and it was weird. Interesting, but weird.
“I’d like that. Maybe we could go for ice cream later?”
She wasn't sure if Madison Valley had a place that had ice planets, but ice cream could very well be better and taste just as good.
All Isobel wanted was for River to have as good of a time as possible despite how different and strange things were here on this version of Earth. So far, it looked like she was having fun. That was a positive and Isobel’s main goal for today. Obviously, her finding nice clothes was a close second. There was no way that Isobel would let River get away with anything, but the best that Madison Valley could offer in terms of fashion.
At the suggestion of ice cream, Isobel nodded quickly. “Yes, we can definitely do that. There is an ice cream place here and a gelato shop. Obviously, we don’t have to try that today, but if you want another experience with a cold treat we can try that sometime too.”
River was perfectly happy with the experience that she was having, so far. Isobel had made sure that everything was perfect. She can't remember if her own aunts were like that, but then again despite being a genius there were some things that she'd forgotten thanks to what had happened to her. None of that mattered in the moment, though. All that did was the outing that she was having with her guardian's sister.
"Ice cream today. We'll try gelato later," she tells her softly. That way there was no chance of being overwhelmed. However, that would come after the rest of the shopping excursion. If she ended up with a few new jeans to go with the tops, then so be it. Things were different, but she was enjoying the difference. It was something that she planned to continue to enjoy, especially if it could make her this happy in the long run.