A Break in Travels...

[Roslyn Walker]

(couldn't think of a proper title, so it can be changed too, I don't mind. ^^]
Roslyn Walker dodged a few passing kids as they ran in front of her, calling to one another in excited tones. Flashing a smile as she watched them turn a crowded corner, she popped another piece of her bao into her mouth, brushing her hand on her slacks as she took a seat on the bench placed outside of a shop. Heaving a sigh, she wrapped the rest of the bao up in its wrapper and shoved it back safely into her jacket pocket to save for later. After all, there was no knowing when she'd happen upon a cheap-costing scrap of food to tie her over.

It felt odd to be back in her home planet. No matter how far she was from her actual home at the moment, it still felt like she could look around and know exactly where she was. How long had it been since she could do something like that? Part of her felt like it had been years, but she knew it hadn't been quite that long... or had it? Urgh! One thing I promised myself to do was not loose track of time, Rose thought to herself, shaking her head. But she brushed those thoughts off quickly when she spotted an older woman she knew before she had left Hera staring at her in interest.

Just as she was turning away from the woman, Rose heard a crash coming from down the street, above all the other noise that made up Hera. Darting her eyes in that direction, she heard the familiar angered yell from a man, followed directly by the kids she had seen earilier just running for their lives around the corner, headed towards Rose. Standing up, she prepared herself as the kids drew nearer, grabbing one of them by the shoulders as he tried to dodge her.

“Whoa, what's the wrong here?” She knelt on one knee in front of the panting boy, who swallowed quickly.

“There's this feng zi (lunatic),” he pointed towards the street, where still the man was yelling after them as he seemed caught up in something and not able to pursue them, “he said we tried to steal his money. I don't know what's his wrong!” and with that, he broke away from her grasp and ran after his friend, who was already several yards down the bustling street. Furrowing her brows, Rose stood straight again and cast her eyes towards the man who was just coming around the corner, a rage full look on his face: Jayne Cobb.

Flashing a smile, Roslyn folded her arms and cocked her head to the side, pacing forward nonchalantly to meet with the gunman.

[meh, it's actually horrid. Oh well, if you want me to edit it, I totally can. I just couldn't think of anything better. *sighs * sorry. ]

[Inara Serra]

Inara was glad to be back in civilization. It wasn't even business this time. She just liked to be reminded that there was something out there aside from the stars and Serenity. She had come to enjoy the parts of the universe most people didn't even know existed. There was something tranquil about it. Still, Inara knew they would never be home to her the way they were to Mal and Zoe. Yet, part of what made it so refreshing to see was that it wasn't often that she did get to see a city outside of her shuttle or the parties she would attend. There was a beauty about the buildings and the people. It was comforting to know they were there. Space was an interesting place. As homey as Serenity was, she always knew it wasn’t solid ground. There was something so comforting about feeling earth under her feet. It made everything feel much more real again. There had been tales from Earth that was about the times she was living in, but her it was. This world was reality.

As she walked a small trinket caught her eye. The figurine reminded her of something Kaylee would own, and she mused over buying it as a gift. Inara was pleased to say that she wouldn't possess something so crudely made, but unlike Kaylee she couldn't see the beauty in everything. The street markets and vendors were never places Inara intended to buy things from, or even encourage. She liked to hold As soon as Inara heard the commotion down the street she knew better than to think it was a coincidence by now. She had spent enough time with the crew of Serenity to know that it was never a coincidence when there was trouble in the streets of a central planet. She could only guess as to how they had come upon it this time though. She hoped it wasn't something with Mal and the Alliance. He should know better by now. But that would be too hopeful for Mal. He would always be getting himself into some sort of trouble. There was always a bit of fun to be had getting him out of it, but she would prefer to simply enjoy a quiet visit while they were planet side this time.

“Damn it” she muttered as she sharply dropped the trinket back on the table and stormed towards the source of the disturbance. Today had been so lovely so far, and of course there came Mal to ruin it. He was always there to bring his brutish ways to the most civilized places and times. If she had any shred of sense she would get herself as far away from him as she could and forget about anything she had ever thought that wasn’t bad about him. He couldn’t go one day without causing a disturbance. And it was never just a disturbance. It might start that way, but he would always make it into something worse. It would be a disturbance in an Alliance bar, or some other equally appalling thing. Already she was mad, before she even had time to realize just how mad she was.

The short couple of strides seemed like forever. Yet when she found what she had been looking for, she felt that she should have known better. Inara was still flustered, but suddenly she felt like she should have known better. Of course it wasn’t Mal. There was always one person who would cause trouble before Mal. If it wasn’t him, it was Mal, but this time, not Mal. She sighed for a moment, trying to calm herself down, but only found herself being annoyed again.