damned_institute | Day 20, Nightshift: F1-F10 Block Corridor

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Day 20, Nightshift: F1-F10 Block Corridor

Nightshift always seemed to come far too quickly for Inara's tastes. She regretted not having the chance to talk more with Mal and the others and could only hope that they had some inkling of what they would be facing. Truth be told, the Companion wasn't entirely certain that she truly knew the extent of the horrors that took place during Nightshift.

As the Head Doctor made his mocking announcement, the dark-haired woman busied her with gathering together the most essential of supplies. A flashlight and some spare batteries would be obvious and further inspection revealed little that could be of substantial use to her. Inara would hardly want to be over-burdened if she had to run from anything this time. She'd been fortunate during her last encounter to have Lust around, but, until she could re-group with Mal and the others, she was alone and would have to make due. Of course, there had been no official decree from the Captain declaring a meeting; Inara simply assumed that they would try to find one another for safety's sake.

Besides, though it was somewhat difficult to admit, she was worried about him.

Flashlight in hand, Inara flipped the switch and made her way cautiously out into the hallway, careful to check both directions before stepping fully out of the room.

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Zoe had her flashlight in her hand when she left her room. Once again she looked as if she could use it for light or for a weapon, whichever fancied her most at the moment.

It wasn't long before she spotted a familiar shape in the darkness. Even without the rich clothes Inara still seemed like one of the most beautiful women ever to grace existence with her presence. "Inara," Zoe said evenly, he face was cold and stony, though the expression wasn't directed at the Companion. This was just how she dealt with tough situations. "I'm plannin' on finding the Captain," she informed the other woman. "Care to come with me?" Even if Inara said no Zoe was planning on dragging her along anyway, but she figured she could pause enough to let the more dignified lady time to answer.

It was a relief to find a familiar face so soon upon venturing out into the darkness, though the sound of anything in this place, even her name, caused Inara's heart to beat a little faster than it should have.

"Zoe, it's good to see you," she finally said honestly. "I'd wanted to try and meet up with him anyway. We... had a brief conversation that was cut short earlier, and I didn't have the chance to warn him fully about this place. It would be best if we could try to find everyone at some point, but I suppose that might be a bit ambitious considering."

Inara cast a quick glance down the hall before turning back to Zoe. Those rats and everything Cliff had warned her about had made her a touch paranoid.

"I'm not exactly sure where the men's rooms are, but I suspect he'll be trying to find us as well, which should hopefully make it easier."

Zoe nodded, a small, precise and curt movement. Then she turned to start walking down the hallway. She didn't feel the need to say anything else, and besides that it was better to keep her ears open for sounds of danger. It wasn't surprising how easily her body started moving like it had during the war, only now instead of hunting Alliance soldiers she was keeping her senses open for 'monsters'. At least Reavers were loud when the wanted to attack. That gave them a little bit of an upper hand. It wasn't much, but she was used to that.

"Be careful," Inara had to warn the other woman, quietly of course. She didn't want to draw excessive attention from the very things they'd seek to avoid. "I've talked to a lot of patients, and dangers here that I've never experienced in my life. Monsters, as silly as that sounds, and I've seen enough to know that they aren't just stories."

They had to get to Mal and warn him in time. Poor Simon and River too.

"I heard," Zoe said quietly as they walked. "Captain thinks people got the Reavers confused." Her voice was dark when she spoke of those twisted people. She didn't believe in monsters, just as she didn't believe in other ridiculous things, at least not until she saw it for herself.

"They aren't talking about Reavers. I thought as much when I first came here as well," Inara replied, wondering if Zoe would think she'd lost her mind. She hadn't believe in monsters either until she'd come to Landels. "My first night here, I ran into rats, enormous ones the size of at least a large feline. They attacked a small group I was speaking with without hesitation."

Kaylee, attracted by the familiar voices, ventured outside her room. Despite her rather...bizarre experience with the doctors the shift before, good food and a nice nap had renewed her spirits, and she was back to old form again.

The mechanic padded quickly towards the two other women...realizing, with a sinking heart, that Zoe was probably still mad at her for insisting that Wash was, in fact, NOT DEAD...despite the fact that it was, well, the truth. Still, she clung to the few familiar faces she knew in this place...and Zoe was one of them.

She got to them just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation.

"Big rats and Reavers? What?"

Zoe tensed when she heard Kaylee's voice, but she had to remind herself that Mal had been concerned about the girl when she couldn't remember what happened to Wash. It probably wasn't a joke she was trying to play. Likely something had happened to her mind to make her forget.

"There's talk of things that are likely to try and attack us. Stay with me until we find the Captain. If we find River and Simon or Jayne before then we should all stick together." She clenched her jaw, ready to hear Kaylee mention Wash or Book and reminding herself not to punch the girl if she did. Something was wrong with her brain... it couldn't be helped.

[[Sneaking from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/36377.html)]]

Fox crept in the shadows until he was close enough to determine that the situation was safe, there were only the three women. He was quite surprised to hear them talking about River. He was willing to bet that there wasn't more than one.

The silver haired soldier stood up straight and walked towards them, no longer trying to hide. However, he still didn't make any sound as he walked, something that was as ingrained and natural to him as breathing.

"You three know River?" He should probably explain why he was looking for her, one of the women reeked of 'Soldier' and he didn't want any misunderstandings. Especially because he just snuck up on them, and most women absolutely hated it when he did that. "I'm suppose to meet up with her."

"Kaylee..." Inara breathed a sigh of relief as the other girl made her appearance. There was one less head they had to worry about gathering up, and Kaylee was one of the ones the Companion knew they were all most worried about. As perpetually 'shiny' as the girl usually was, being alone in a place like this would probably be an easy way to dampen her bright demeanor.

Inara moved to stand beside Kaylee, reaching an hand out to place it gently on her shoulder.

"It'll be alright. We'll stick together until we find the Captain," she assured the girl. Though it was unwise to move in large groups, Inara wondered if it wouldn't be best to try and find Simon and River while they were at it. A headcount would do wonders to soothe her nerves, and no doubt Mal was worrying.

Only moments after Kaylee appeared did another voice pipe up from the shadows. Inara whirled around, tense and alert though she was sure not to seem too defensive. Her dark eyes narrowed suspiciously as the stranger mentioned River.

"Who exactly are you, if you don't mind me asking?" He would probably infer that she was indeed familiar with the girl from her words, but there would be no information given without a proper introduction. Strange men from the shadows looking for River... It was a sign that never bode well with the woman. Her eyes didn't need to dart to Zoe to get an inkling of how the other woman would react.

Kaylee leaned into Inara, resting her head on the Companion's shoulder. It always felt more comfortable this way. Maybe...Inara and the Captain would make up whatever stupid little argument they had, and after they got out of all this she would wave the Companion House and tell them that she was staying on Serenity. The mechanic didn't want to even think about a world without her friend/surrogate older sister in it. River was a nice girl and fun to talk to...but Kaylee felt so much closer to Inara.

Speaking of River--

Kaylee looked at the newcomer with narrowed eyes. It was, after all, only a few days after the Jubal Early incident in her time, and the mechanic was still a little jumpy when it came to strange men looking for River.

"What do you want with River?" she asked, suspicious.

Zoe didn't say anything to this man, just looked at him cautiously. Last night there had been some man who had seemed to want to comfort River, and now this one was looking for her. Zoe didn't want to automatically assume his intentions were less than noble, but it was natural for her to assume those types of things. Either way, Kaylee asked the important question, now it all depended on how he answered it and if Zoe could believe him.

As far as first meetings went, this actually was among the better. There was a clear lack of threats and attacks, which was always a good sign.

However, it appeared he had run into people who knew River. There was no way to be sure that River wasn't among them, but none of them seemed like the girl who had written on the bulletin board.

Best to handle things in order, looking at the dark haired woman who had asked him first. "I am Jack Doughter, but most people call me Fox." They were protective of River, and he planned on giving River his codename, the name he was more comfortable with, so he should give it to her friends, also. He was calm and confident, he wasn't by the scrutiny and suspicion.

Next he looked to the younger woman who was giving him a look that clearly stated she thought he was suspicious. "River asked me to find her." And perhaps he should elaborate on that a bit.

"River and I," he wanted to tell them without stating it outright, "Have been through similar experiences," Fox had never met anyone else who had been turned into a 'weapon'. Snake had been created to be a soldier, as had his sibling, Liquid, but it wasn't quite the same. "Since you seem to know her, you probably know what I'm talking about." If she would tell strangers she couldn't see on a bulletin board, people who knew her personally would almost certainly know. "But I'm afraid that until I find River and see how she's doing, I'm not going to say much more than that."

He was honestly concerned about this girl who called herself a sword. Fox had been a soldier for years before he'd been experimented on, and if a young girl had gone through it, she might not be able to cope as easily. Now that he was finished he glanced towards the woman who had remained quiet, meeting her gaze for a moment.

No doubt about it, that one was a soldier. After holding her gaze for a moment, not long enough to be challenging, but long enough to show that he knew what he was doing, and hopefully convince her he wasn't out to hurt anyone, he looked back to the other two, more talkative women.

As uneasy as Inara was with strangers coming to look for River, she could find no flaw in the man's presentation and introduction. River seemed to have made a good deal of connections already here, and the story was all the more believable if he was telling the truth about having gone through something similar. She was, however, honestly baffled that the girl would've given her life story to a man she didn't know. Again, River Tam was an unpredictable force, and her eyes saw things that other people didn't.

Inara snaked her arm around Kaylee's shoulder, seeming more comforting than protective. The girl had been through quite a bit, most notably that incident with the bounty hunter, Early, before coming here, and it was understandable that she'd be nervous or even wary.

This Jack Doughter, Fox as he seemed to prefer to be called, seemed genuine, though Inara had to admit that it was difficult to truly pick up any hint of emotion to betray a false motive. The look that he sent Zoe, however...

"I suppose one should not ask a name without being willing to give one in return," she began evenly, still gently holding onto Kaylee. "I'm Inara Serra. We've not run into River yet tonight, though I'd at least be personally willing to accompany you if you'd like to find her."

Inara cast a veiled glance at Zoe, hoping she'd understand her meaning. Genuine though the stranger might be, it would still be best if someone went with him in case he did find River, and his intentions were less than noble.

'Fox,' huh?

Kaylee looked evenly at him, still a mite wary...but a bit more understanding. Similar experiences? He seemed a little too old (and a little too mentally stable) to have been a 'student' at that awful Academy that the Alliance sent River to...but he could have been a prototype. Or the Alliance could have used him in other ways.

"I'm Kaylee," she said after Inara had introduced herself. "I'll go, too. River's probably with Simon, and I'd like to find him."

Zoe didn't offer her name. Though she found herself inclined to believe the man that didn't mean she was willing to show it.

"We should keep moving," she said and then turned to walk down the hallway. Made no sense to stick to one spot and even if finding River was important Zoe really wanted to find Mal. There was no telling what sort of trouble the man could get himself into when he was alone. At least River wasn't in the habit of doing stupid things (crazy things, sure, but not stupid), where as Zoe couldn't say the same for the Capitan.

Of course, that was one of the reasons Zoe felt so loyal to him. Stupid heroics where awfully endearing at times.

"That's a good idea, my friend is waiting at the end of the hall." Having back-up was always a good idea, and Fox walked down the hallway as well, moving a little quickly to make sure that he got there ahead of the woman who hadn't given her name, just in case.

"His name's Hans Davis," Fox really hoped he'd gotten that name correct. He'd feel very foolish if he'd mistaken the fake name of his closest, and only, friend.

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Day 20, Nightshift: F1-F10 Block Corridor

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