damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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Daemon blinked at all this, his assurance that he could follow her jumps in logic faltering for a moment. He'd understood the first part of her words, for the most part, but he'd lost her at the end.

"A social experiment?" he echoed her, looking curious and confused. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to offer you two propositions, and it's your job to tell which is a more acceptable form of courtship when attempting to engage a perspective partner in hopes of copulating with them by the end of the evening," River said plainly, looking Daemon right in the eye without any hint of shyness. "Whether or not the intercourse is intended for breeding purposes is irrelevant. Whether or not the intercourse is between heterosexual or homosexual couples is also irrelevant." She didn't even wait for an answer before diving right into the proposals.

"Option one: If I told you that you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?." A brief pause.

"Option two, variation one: I find you physically attractive, and your temperament is favorable, therefore your company would be greatly welcomed, and I myself would be personally honored, if you would join me for dinner at my residence. What sort of meal would you prefer? I am capable of producing dishes consisting of any manner of cooked meat or a vegetarian meal if you're opposed to consuming deceased animal." River forced herself to keep a straight, very serious face as she spoke.

"Option two, variation two altered to suit the current environment: I find you physically attractive, and your temperament is favorable, therefore I would be personally honored if you would partake of my [ insert name of dessert option assigned to the particular day the subject is being approached ] with me this evening in addition to some intelligent conversation."

Daemon stared at her in complete and utter bewilderment for a moment. Had she just...?

For a moment, the words didn't matter, it was the innuendo implied with them. The compliments, the invitation, the inevitable use that - in his mind - invariably followed. He'd spent thousands of years playing this game, dancing this dance, until he'd tried to leave it behind him, but it had followed him even to Kaeleer. The coy and knowing looks from those outside Jaenelle's Circle, the rumours, the challenge he presented.

He'd spent his entire life being an object, a wild thing to be tamed, if a witch had the daring to attempt it. Few survived such attempts, but they tried all the same, when the horrors of the last attempt faded from memory.

But this wasn't one of Dorothea's pet witches that he had to dance to please, to accept the invitation due to twisted constraints on protocol. This was River, a female who flitted through the Twisted Kingdom with an ease that baffled him. She wasn't the sort who would bring this subject up for those purposes.

That didn't make the sudden topic change any less startling, however.

"What?" he finally managed to respond, his voice a hoarse croak, trying to get over the start she'd given to him, feeling as if he'd just been punched a second time.

River sighed as though the need for clarification was a childish request.

"It's an experiment. I'm attempting to solve the equation of romantic innuendo on the basis of seeing which form of courtship, with the intent to engage in sexual intercourse for pleasure and/or breeding and pleasure, is most widely acceptable." Romance, love, sex. It was clearly something like a mathematical problem or a scientific theory to River, as her curious gaze at Daemon's discomfort might imply.

"I'm going to integrate numerous variables into the equation to receive optimum results." River cocked her head to one side. "If I'm failing to integrate something into the process, it's be appreciated if you could at least think it at me."

"River," Daemon started, looking completely flustered. "There's not one common answer for that. It's not just that there are numerous variables, the answer would be different with every pair."

Raking fingers through his hair in bemused agitation, he met her gaze and tried to explain it as best he could. Somewhere, Saetan was laughing at him. Again. "Look, there's not a wrong way or a right way to proposition someone. Sometimes there are better options than others but it depends on the situation and the people involved."

"If it's just seduction involved, your first option could work, if there's mutual interest from both people involved. If there's only interest on one side, it will fail, but so would just about anything in that scenario. Seduction can also be carried out more leisurely over dinner or a walk or even a day spent in each other's company. The first scenario usually proceeds something rushed and passionate, which can be enjoyable, but the latter would often result in a deeper understanding of each other and perhaps a more meaningful... intercourse."

Despite spending 1,700 years as a pleasure slave, something about explaining such things to an innocent - whether she was eleven or seventeen - always seemed to result in him stuttering and blushing like an untrained adolescent himself.

"There can be a seduction in any phrase or activity, in any sort of courtship. Often it's even entwined in unconventional means. My brother taught his wife how to decapitate with a frying pan," he added ruefully, lips quirking as he picked an example off the top of his head.

River followed Daemon's every word, hanging on them like a student positively absorbed in a professor's lecture. The science of courtship and seduction was a positively fascinating one, but the math didn't add up. There simply had to be a common equation that would generally lead to success in most scenarios. It was troublesome.

"But there's no sense in it," River protested, particularly in response to the seduction of decapitation with a frying pan. "In all manners of things, even human emotion, there's an equation, a mathematical or scientific one that yields results. There has to be one that adds to acceptance of proposition and pleasurable intercourse to follow, if the persons involved have any sense of how to make copulation a pleasant experience. There just has to be."

A pause.

"But you're telling me, based on the example involving your blood relative and his mate learning how to sever limbs with a generally blunt object, that if I'd been accompanied by someone of a particular persuasion when I exterminated that army of Reavers on my own, that it could possibly be considered 'seductive'?" River used her fingers to quote the sword, looking positively perplexed.

Daemon didn't know what Reavers were, but he got the basic gist of her question. "It could have been," he replied thoughtfully, trying to explain it to her.

"Seduction is a dance, River. There are many, many steps and many different types. The style of dance could be wild and exuberant and passionate or slow and exquisite and intense or purely for the enjoyment of the dance. The steps you take reflect those of the person you're dancing with, your movements a counter and invitation to them, and theirs to you. It's a dance of your body and your Self and often your emotions."

"You can dance with nearly anyone, but occasionally there will be a person that you match with much better than an average dancer. Seeking that partner is what makes the dance so alluring. Some believe there is only one perfect partner for each person, and others believe that with the right combination of steps, a perfect dancer can be found in anyone."

Dancing... Dancing, River understood very well. She was quiet, thoughtful and less in disbelief as she contemplated those words. For once she felt very much the foolish child, the one who couldn't comprehend. Or, rather, the ignorant child being taught a manner of something that she'd never known. She could've known, maybe. If she hadn't gone to the Academy.

"She's always loved to dance, but for once she's not sure she knows all the steps," River lamented quietly, almost an admittance of defeat as though they'd been dueling in the first place. "It's not a general equation, not a theory can be proven. Each individual component creates an equation unique to the composition. Each dance with the partner means something else."

River hung her head. Sheepish would be a proper description.

"Her brother's little genius looks a fool now. I'm sorry. I never learned, and I just..." The girl sighed again. "I understood, but I didn't comprehend."

"Hey now," Daemon said gently, offering her a smile as he tapped her chin back up with a finger. "There's nothing foolish about innocence. You've an entire lifetime to learn the steps, they're not so hard. Most you learn are made up on the spot, when you get invitations to dance. There is no rule or regulation to it, no right or wrong way, you follow the movements your body instinctively moves in. It's a melody only you can hear."

"And it's not the time nor the place," River agreed in s wistful tone. People had made unities here, formed bonds, but she'd no one to dance with. No one save Sasuke, and due to his aversion to skin-to-skin contact, that seemed a hopeless route. And there was the storm to worry about, windows to board upon and door's to reinforce.

"I'll have to wait to dance that dance until I go home." Another face, like she'd just tasted sour milk. "But then having a prince on your head and living in a ship where folk are either related, moon-brained over another, or Jayne, the likelihood decreases by at least 67%." River offered Daemon a thankful smile. "It's nice dream though. Maybe someday when it stops raining."

"The dance pays little attention to whether it's the right time or place, River," Daemon chuckled quietly at the expression she made. "Sometimes it chooses the wrong times and places just to lure you all the more. Then it's merely your choice to dance or not, despite the situation. Don't rule anything out before it even happens."

His expression turned curious and he fixed her with an intent golden glance. "What made you want to ask all this now? Is there someone you want to dance with?"

It was so much easier to discuss this when he could pretend they were just talking about dancing...

"You're saying it's instinctive, then." Human instinct River could understand. "An instinctive dance made proper when two individuals attempt to combine themselves to form something whole, a perfect step." It sounded a bit complicated, but perhaps she meet a partner who knew the steps. It could then come as naturally to her as it did them. Schuldig was an option; certainly not Sasuke or Dias. Perhaps she should seek to spark instinctive urges to engage in proper, romantic copulation with newer acquaintances, ones yet to be made.

River blinked twice, seeming as though the thought that the mention of subject might seem strange to someone was downright ludicrous.

"Result of a discussion with a patient via the public messaging system. Varied responses and the like, so like any able-minded being interested in unearthing some form of truth, she began to dig." The thought was there... Someone to dance with. "Most male specimens find my lack of amygdala and abnormal brain functioning to be a hindrance and thus wouldn't consider the option." It was a day to sigh. "The options in the pond are very limited."

Daemon gave another quiet chuckle and reached out to tug a lock of her hair in playful affection. "They often seem that way, but you never know when someone may surprise you. I doubt your tangled webs will not affect your dance any, River. I think you are a beautiful lady and will make a beautiful dancer."

The compliment was meant as that, and Daemon spoke truthfully. He knew many people could be shallow and not see past the outside, but some could, and it was those that would see the true worth in River.

The genuinely touched smile, not the playful one but every bit as vibrant, that River considered her nicest feature was offered in thanks to the compliment. Her appearance wasn't as prim and orderly as other's, and she wasn't nearly as gorgeous as Inara, but to be called beautiful by someone, especially when she could see an idea of what he truly considered most beautiful in his heart, well. It was more than a comfort. Perhaps she even felt a bit shy, dancing along the road she'd come to find along the way.

"Would it be too painful to ask about what she's like?" she wondered quietly, gently as a girl or a dove could land on a thin branch.

A quiet smile slipped over Daemon's lips at the question. "It is painful," he answered softly, "But not to remember her. Only the worry and the unknown is painful. What she's like... that's not unknown. She's Witch. She's... everything. I saw every type of female that was wrong in two realms. The ones that were vain and selfish and power-hungry and greedy and ignorant. I watched the ones that were good and gentle and just get Broken before they came into their own."

"She was the one dreamed into flesh to make that balance right again. But she was so much more. She would have loved this conversation. She would like you. She laughs, and it seems the whole room lights up around you. She gets this mischievous, impish look on her face when she's teasing you, even though she tries to hide behind an expression of innocence, but you can always tell by her eyes that she's up to something. And when you call her on it she gives you this exasperated look and huffs at you as if you've accused her of something she'd never even consider doing. And then she often goes and does it anyways."

"She's caring and sweet and fiery and dangerous all in one. She will set to right any wrong done to an innocent, or unjustly, and she'll not stand for bullying. Unless she's doing it, of course, but it's often done in affection, like when my father isn't taking his tonic, or Lucivar's being stubborn about something silly, or Andulvar and Mephis won't let her try out a new trick."

He stuttered to a halt, Daemon being the one looking a bit sheepish this time as he glanced over at her with a crooked smile. "And I'm babbling."

River listened quietly, smiling that knowing smile, the one she imagined Wash smiling when he would talk about Zoe. Though it was certain Wash's words would be less elegant and more, well, Wash-like, but it was of the same make. Two people created for each other. Was that what it was like? To remember small, little quirks and habits. Daemon spoke of this Witch in the sense that she was all-powerful, one destined to balance his own world.

And yet what he focused on were cute facial expressions and for-your-own-good bullying. It had been so long, especially in light of recent ripped prides and broken selves, since she'd felt such a surge of light and happiness in a person. All at once mixed with a sadness because he wasn't with her; he didn't even know where she was. At that moment, River wished the world for the ability to read other world's, things beyond what lay on the scape of his mind.

"You are. But it's okay." River drew her legs up against her chest on the bench, seated facing Daemon like a child listening to some fantastic tale. "I like listening about you, about your world. About her." The images of his mind danced again, and River's smile grew. "I know I would've liked her too."

"What about your own world?" Daemon asked, watching her curiously. He recalled the young man they'd come to rescue the night before, and the way River had curled up in his lap to comfort him. "Were you and your brother brought here together?"

"Oh, he's not blood relation," River answered casually, eyes falling as she recalled the first day she'd come here. She'd been all alone, alone without Simon, without her captain or her friends. But Dias had been there. Dias and Lust and Scar. "Got brought here a long time ago with another batch of cattle. In case you've not eyes in your head, I'm not quite right. Calmed me. He's a way with little sisters, and so he's my brother."

Talking. Oh, River was scarcely encouraged to talk, but here she'd even been asked!

"Came from a large 'verse, lots of worlds inhabitable. Governed by the Alliance, a group that fought in the war to end all wars, fought for what they liked to call 'unification'." River laughed, a bit sarcastically. "But that's not the truth of it. Dictatorship. Did all manner of unsightly things to folk just because they thought they could. They're looking for me, looking to take me back. My brother, my blood brother, Simon saved me from the smelly, white rooms. We've been running forever. Since we found a home. Serenity. Mid-bulk Transport. Standard Radion Accelerator core. Class code 03-K64--Firefly. Found a home there. Found a family." It was a pleasure to talk about home, but also a bit of a trouble. The secrets, the memories... "What they do to some folk here..." River's voice trailed off and a deep breath of air was taken in.

"Not unlike what the Alliance did to me when they took me away."

Daemon listened avidly, hearing tales of another world. It seemed unreal, but he didn't doubt her words.

"I'm not sure if it is a comforting or disappointing thought that despite all worlds being so different, their problems all still seem the same," he finally spoke in reply, a thoughtful expression on his face. "The woman who owned me was like your Alliance. She wanted to rule where she had no right, and she destroyed any who opposed her. Tried to use me as a weapon to do it for her, but I refused and I was too important to her to destroy. She did horrible things as well. Different from what they do here," he started to say, then paused, remembering Renji.

"Well. Maybe not so different."

"And yet there's nothing in the 'verse. Nothing in the 'verse or the worlds can stop us if we want it enough." River's tone went from somewhat dejected to hopeful and bright all in a moment. "Been there and back. We'll win it in the end, missing brain parts or dark corners of the mind be damned."

However, with that word, River's head jerked up, gazing over to a small group as something dawned on her. A duty. A welcoming and a wagging of the finger all at once. Past in hand, the girl bolted to her feet and tapped Daemon on the nose with her free.

"Wait a spell. She's to deliver a package."

Daemon blinked in surprise at the abrupt change, laughing quietly when she leaned in and tapped his nose.

"I'll be here," he called after her in bemused affection, turning back to his pasta while she delivered whatever it was she had.

Quite pleased with what she'd decided to do with the remainder of her lunch, River promptly trotted back to her seat next to Daemon, the widest, brattiest grin on her face that she could spare.

"It was rude of her. Her conduct needs a bit of work. But he deserved it." Referring of course to the dinner Scar new wore on his head, and he did so deserve it. In River's world, anyhow.

Daemon's eyes were even wider now as he stared at the mess River had left behind her.

"Dare I ask what he did to deserve that?" he finally asked, his voice strained from the effort it took to restrain a mixture of laughter and astonishment. "At least so I can remember not to do it and avoid the same fate?"

"Passed the time by in the nothing. Not sure, but he's unharmed." River sniffed the air and huffed dramatically. She'd always had a flare for it, even if it was mainly just for fun. "Even the day when the skies were clear. Was a family outing, and he stayed indoors to play with the rats." The girl took a sip of her water, and thought for a moment.

"If you could utilize some of your illogical effects to alter the structure of reality and manifest some pudding, you'd be granted a free pass."

"Pudding?" Daemon echoed, laughing for real this time at the unexpected request. "I'll see what I can do. Although I'm afraid that would require more physical ingredients than magical ones. Chocolate?"

Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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