Becoming Sleepers (11/14)
Title: Six (Introductions) (11/14)
Series Title: Becoming Sleepers
Rating: R
Title: Six (Introductions) (11/14)
Series Title: Becoming Sleepers
Author: Cricket
Disclaimer: I’m just playing with Joss’ toys, but I promise to put them back when I’m done.
Rating: R for graphic (Reaver) violence and language
Notes: This is based on stormwolf-dawn7’s Sleepers (alt.version). Even if you decide to skip my story I highly encourage you to read (or re-read) hers.
His crying had stopped and after a few minutes of silently holding on to one another he slowly loosened his arms around her shoulders just enough for him to be able to look into her face. She looked back at him, noticing that though they were only mental projections of themselves, his mind had adjusted his appearance for the physical effects of crying. His eyes were puffy and red and his nose was raw from repeatedly swiping at it.
“Thank you.” His voice was quiet and though he looked at her face his eyes refused to meet her own as if he were embarrassed to be seen in such a vulnerable state.
River had the urge to wave off his gratitude and tell him it was nothing, just something she was happy to do for him as her parents would have expected of her, but she felt that they both had been lied to enough and now was the time for honesty, at least to each other. “While I would like to say that it was a purely selfless action on my part, I’m afraid it’s just not the case. I did it to save myself. If I had killed you I would have been burdened with the knowledge that I had taken another life, only this time I was fully aware of what I was doing. So you see my only choice was to pull the part of you that was still human to the front of your mind, otherwise you would have been freed from your cage in a matter of hours and killed me as I lay helpless before you.”
He nodded slowly as if her words were taking an inordinate amount of time to work their way into his brain to be attributed some kind of meaning. When he finally seemed to piece together what she had said he let his arms fall from her small frame and looked away from her as he scooted back into a more comfortable sitting position. River, herself, allowed her body to sink down from her knees and curl her legs to the side as she rested he weight on her left hip.
He blinked a few times in rapid succession and lifted his gaze to her face again, this time meeting her eyes. “Who are you?” His voice was low and gravelly and River found her arms breaking out in goose flesh as the sound sent tingles down her spine. Her brow furrowed in confusion at her body’s reaction but pushed it to the back of her mind as unimportant at the moment. Instead she gestured to the room around her filled with her own thoughts and memories. “Would you like to see?” He nodded once and she closed her eyes, concentrating on recalling her life and sending the thoughts to him.
He saw a small girl with long dark hair running up a flight of stairs covered in expensive carpeting. She trips and her knee slams into the corner of a step ripping the skin slightly and turning the surrounding area bright pink. She presses her hand to the cut and winces at the sharp pain. She feels a soft hand gently tug her hands away and looks up to see a boy only a few years older than herself with the same pale skin and dark hair inspecting her injury. Simon, River thinks to the man. The boy pulls out a handkerchief, wipes off the small smear of blood and wraps it around her leg securely. She beams down at her older brother with a smile full of love and trust.
The scene jumps to the same girl at an older age. She’s dressed in a pink flowing dress as she twirls and jumps across a brightly lit stage. She looks out at the audience and searches for familiar faces. Her family is easily spotted in the front row, her parents watch stoically as her brother gives her an encouraging smile. Afterwards, they meet her in the lobby of the theatre. Mother and Father smile at her and she basks in their approval even though their smiles don’t quite reach their eyes.
She’s a little older than last time and jumping up and down as she waves a piece of paper at her brother. He smiles at her frolicking around the room and tells her that he’s very proud of her. There was no need for her to worry so much because, of course, they would want the genius River Tam to attend their school. The Academy didn’t take just anyone and that acceptance letter proved to anyone who would doubt it just how special she really was.
The last memory she showed him was dark and tinged with blue. She was bound at the wrists and ankles to a padded chair while a strange contraption was lowered to rest above her head. A small mechanical arm holding a large needle descended the remaining distance between girl and machine. The roar of pain that erupted as the needle passed through her skin and bone, imbedding itself into the soft tissue of her brain could have been heard throughout the building if it weren’t for the soundproof walls that contained their vile experiments.
Opening her eyes she gazed back at the man sitting across from her. He had a concerned look on his face that confused her until she realized she had tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She started to wipe them away when she felt a warm hand on her chin. He tilted her face towards his and used his thumbs to carefully wipe the tender skin under her eyes. He placed on the back of her head and the other around her back as he pulled her into a tight hug.
Too many tears had fallen from her that day and there was few left to cry. When all her tears were gone from her eyes she kept her arms wrapped around him and her body pressed close against his, enjoying his warm bulk. She finally broke the silence that had settled over them, “Formal introductions are in order.”
“Uh, you’re name’s River, right?” His voice was soft as he drawled the words out slowly. She nodded her head and waited. When no name was offered by him and the silence once again settled over them she was forced to speak up. “Do you remember your name?” He said nothing for a moment before shaking his head and looking away. “You said a name earlier,” she said tentatively, not wanting to bring up the pain he was going through but needing an answer. “Was it yours?”
“Jayne,” he said slowly. “Yeah, that must be me.”
< Previous: chapter 10: Eight (Comfort) | Next: chapter 12: Four (Fire and Smoke)>
Series Title: Becoming Sleepers
Rating: R
Title: Six (Introductions) (11/14)
Series Title: Becoming Sleepers
Author: Cricket
Disclaimer: I’m just playing with Joss’ toys, but I promise to put them back when I’m done.
Rating: R for graphic (Reaver) violence and language
Notes: This is based on stormwolf-dawn7’s Sleepers (alt.version). Even if you decide to skip my story I highly encourage you to read (or re-read) hers.
His crying had stopped and after a few minutes of silently holding on to one another he slowly loosened his arms around her shoulders just enough for him to be able to look into her face. She looked back at him, noticing that though they were only mental projections of themselves, his mind had adjusted his appearance for the physical effects of crying. His eyes were puffy and red and his nose was raw from repeatedly swiping at it.
“Thank you.” His voice was quiet and though he looked at her face his eyes refused to meet her own as if he were embarrassed to be seen in such a vulnerable state.
River had the urge to wave off his gratitude and tell him it was nothing, just something she was happy to do for him as her parents would have expected of her, but she felt that they both had been lied to enough and now was the time for honesty, at least to each other. “While I would like to say that it was a purely selfless action on my part, I’m afraid it’s just not the case. I did it to save myself. If I had killed you I would have been burdened with the knowledge that I had taken another life, only this time I was fully aware of what I was doing. So you see my only choice was to pull the part of you that was still human to the front of your mind, otherwise you would have been freed from your cage in a matter of hours and killed me as I lay helpless before you.”
He nodded slowly as if her words were taking an inordinate amount of time to work their way into his brain to be attributed some kind of meaning. When he finally seemed to piece together what she had said he let his arms fall from her small frame and looked away from her as he scooted back into a more comfortable sitting position. River, herself, allowed her body to sink down from her knees and curl her legs to the side as she rested he weight on her left hip.
He blinked a few times in rapid succession and lifted his gaze to her face again, this time meeting her eyes. “Who are you?” His voice was low and gravelly and River found her arms breaking out in goose flesh as the sound sent tingles down her spine. Her brow furrowed in confusion at her body’s reaction but pushed it to the back of her mind as unimportant at the moment. Instead she gestured to the room around her filled with her own thoughts and memories. “Would you like to see?” He nodded once and she closed her eyes, concentrating on recalling her life and sending the thoughts to him.
He saw a small girl with long dark hair running up a flight of stairs covered in expensive carpeting. She trips and her knee slams into the corner of a step ripping the skin slightly and turning the surrounding area bright pink. She presses her hand to the cut and winces at the sharp pain. She feels a soft hand gently tug her hands away and looks up to see a boy only a few years older than herself with the same pale skin and dark hair inspecting her injury. Simon, River thinks to the man. The boy pulls out a handkerchief, wipes off the small smear of blood and wraps it around her leg securely. She beams down at her older brother with a smile full of love and trust.
The scene jumps to the same girl at an older age. She’s dressed in a pink flowing dress as she twirls and jumps across a brightly lit stage. She looks out at the audience and searches for familiar faces. Her family is easily spotted in the front row, her parents watch stoically as her brother gives her an encouraging smile. Afterwards, they meet her in the lobby of the theatre. Mother and Father smile at her and she basks in their approval even though their smiles don’t quite reach their eyes.
She’s a little older than last time and jumping up and down as she waves a piece of paper at her brother. He smiles at her frolicking around the room and tells her that he’s very proud of her. There was no need for her to worry so much because, of course, they would want the genius River Tam to attend their school. The Academy didn’t take just anyone and that acceptance letter proved to anyone who would doubt it just how special she really was.
The last memory she showed him was dark and tinged with blue. She was bound at the wrists and ankles to a padded chair while a strange contraption was lowered to rest above her head. A small mechanical arm holding a large needle descended the remaining distance between girl and machine. The roar of pain that erupted as the needle passed through her skin and bone, imbedding itself into the soft tissue of her brain could have been heard throughout the building if it weren’t for the soundproof walls that contained their vile experiments.
Opening her eyes she gazed back at the man sitting across from her. He had a concerned look on his face that confused her until she realized she had tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She started to wipe them away when she felt a warm hand on her chin. He tilted her face towards his and used his thumbs to carefully wipe the tender skin under her eyes. He placed on the back of her head and the other around her back as he pulled her into a tight hug.
Too many tears had fallen from her that day and there was few left to cry. When all her tears were gone from her eyes she kept her arms wrapped around him and her body pressed close against his, enjoying his warm bulk. She finally broke the silence that had settled over them, “Formal introductions are in order.”
“Uh, you’re name’s River, right?” His voice was soft as he drawled the words out slowly. She nodded her head and waited. When no name was offered by him and the silence once again settled over them she was forced to speak up. “Do you remember your name?” He said nothing for a moment before shaking his head and looking away. “You said a name earlier,” she said tentatively, not wanting to bring up the pain he was going through but needing an answer. “Was it yours?”
“Jayne,” he said slowly. “Yeah, that must be me.”
< Previous: chapter 10: Eight (Comfort) | Next: chapter 12: Four (Fire and Smoke)>