River gave him a very pointed look that told him in no uncertain terms she thought he was being dense, and likely on purpose, before she rolled her eyes. "Courting," she settled on after a moment of thought. "Dark not red blue not green," River chanted slightly before she tilted her head and looked away. Scanning the path around them, she relaxed her shoulders slightly.
"Won't find their own way back. Relocation through different time-streams, slip like fish through cracks to foreign tanks. The old tanks smelled rotten clogged with algae," River murmured. "Will see her again and bring new life to old places." She glanced over to Mal, brows arching almost accusingly before she shook her head slightly. "But not that way."
Her expression softened as she caught the edges of his thoughts. "Made a friend," she agreed. "Showed him the library. Smart like me but in different ways. Makes the numbers dance like I do, in a different rhythm from a different drum."