log: inara serra + simon tam Who: Inara Serra & Simon Tam When: Tuesday, evening Where: Hospital What: A few hours after Inara wakes up and realizes this is all for real, she has to come clean about a very uncomfortable secret to the only person here she trusts
A dark, metal room lit only by artificial lighting. The clean stench of antiseptic. The hollow ring of distant footsteps on metal floors. It was all entirely familiar and actually somewhat comforting, given the circumstances. Inara pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders; it wasn't chilly, but her shawl wasn't all that warm, either. She just wanted to shield herself from the more... unusual elements she'd encountered so far. Inara was no stranger to exotic cultures and unfamiliar customs, but she never expected to find such strange.. "people."
Meeting Mordin so soon after waking up hadn't been anyone's plan for her, but she'd handled it — well, she didn't handle it poorly. She was too well trained for that, alarming though his appearance was. She'd retreated to a private room to calm down as soon as she was able, which also gave Simon some time to finish his other duties. Seeing Simon here had been almost more alarming than Mordin, once she'd realized where "here" was. It was comforting, of course, to have someone she trusted close by, but not enough to dispel the bad vibes this place gave her.
She would probably have gone to her room, grating though it was to realize she'd have a permanent roommate, but there was something that couldn't wait. She believed Simon when he said she was going to be here for a long time, and a prolonged stay away from her things was not going to work for her. The remains of the tea she'd been given were cold. She resisted looking at the leaves; they'd told her the same thing for far too long and she definitely didn't need a reminder right now.
Footsteps approached her temporary sanctuary and she straightened her spine, schooling her features into calm expectation with just a touch of a warm welcome on her lips. It didn't matter who it was. She was not going to be caught off-guard again today.