Tender Lumplings Everywhere, Life's No Fun Without A Good Scare [Open to All]

[applesaucemod]

The woods are dark and deep, but not particularly lovely. If anything, they feel dangerous, as if something terrible might come lurching out from behind any given tree and tear into the nearest warm body. What that terrible thing might be is anyone's guess. A cat with hands? Slenderman? Stegosaurus? Actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf? All of the above in a horrible mob? It's anyone's guess. But every dreamer will be absolutely convinced that there is something unspeakable out there, and that it's after them.

The dreamers have two things on their side. The first is that there is actually nothing dangerous lurking in these woods (with the possible exception of other dreamers). The pervasive terror the dreamers are feeling is just that: a rift-given feeling, nothing more and nothing less. That snapping twig or rustle in the undergrowth is almost certainly just a squirrel or something else equally harmless.

The second is that no dreamer is alone. They all will be reunited with - or introduced to - their dæmons, a source of comfort in this dark, intimidating wilderness. However frightened the dreamers might be, at least they have someone with them who definitely doesn't want them dead.

[OOC: as ever, any and all are welcome! You don't have to be in the game to join the fun. Dreamers can remember or forget the events of the dream at the players' discretion. And the party only stops when you want it to; feel free to backtag forever.]

Comments

[captain_mal]

Walkin' along with the stallion is a strange comfort. It ain't that the forest is made any less murky or the path any more clear, and a horse hardly offers a man much in the way of protection mostly preferring to run rather than fight, though judging from the heavy muscles and scars running across the old fellow Mal's thinking that might not so much be the case with this one.All and all, hard to say that his situation has actually improved in any measurable way. Then again, speaking in as far as he could tell, it hasn't gone and gotten any worse, either, and sometimes - 'specially when one's luck has a tendency to go in all the wrong ways - sometimes that in itself is enough to make a man thankful.

Truth is, maybe just having someone else there at his sides comfort enough, and all and all the horse didn't make such a bad companion. He keeps pace with Mal, not trotting ahead or stopping to graze or stare about but always staying right at his side almost like a faithful old hunting dog. Neither of the two men talks all that much or makes too much noise, in the case of the horse, but the silence between them feels agreeable. It's not strained and awkward they way it would have felt it, say, he'd gotten lost out here with the likes of Wash or the good doctor. Probably Wash wouldn't have allowed much in the way of quiet, and with Simon, well, let's just say it the talking would have been just as awkward as the nontalking.

No. Maybe it's just because, well, he's only a horse so it's not like they could be holding much of a conversation either way, but their shared silences feels much more like the kind Mal'd share with Zoe. Natural and easy the way only certain kinds of quiet could be.

So both Mal and the old stallion take some notice when their shared peace is broken by the slightest gasp.

Once again the muscles in the horses back tighten as Mal's hand settles on the butt of his pistol. Even in the fog it's not so hard to make out the shape of two small figures perched up in the tree tops - they stand out pretty heavily in contrast to all the darkness the trees themselves have to offer, and Mal's surprised with his own self he didn't spot'em even before now. Course he hasn't exactly been staring up at the canopy, not after he realized earlier on what a waste it was since he wouldn't be getting a clear look at the sky any time soon. He's been more concerned with the way in front of him and what out there could be closing in, but now that he's seen someone up there it strikes him he's been a bit of a fool. After all, from up there a person's got the perfect position to spring any kind of trap on an unsuspected, likely lost soul wandering these parts of the woods.

That could very well be what's set up here, a trap to lure people in under the tree and spring on them, possibly folks all around or any number of devises at the ready, Mal's seen enough guerrilla war tactics and desperate border world communities to know just about anything could be waiting a man who wanders in blindly. Best to keep one's guard up if you plan on staying alive long, that's for sure.

All the same, Mal can't help thinking that if you were setting up some sort of trap you might do a better job at, well, blending in, and now that he's gotten a good look at the pale little thing up in the branches looks to him like nothing more than a small little girl. Not that Mal's never seen communities using kids to set these kinds of traps, often easier for the little ones to get into certain hiding spaces and lure in the likes of the unsuspecting, but even so... Something about threatening a little girl sitting up in a tree with a gun makes him feel like some sort of big bad wolf in a story tail. It doesn't exactly sit right with Mal.

Doesn't mean he relaxes - no more than his new companion does who is still standing tense and on guard at Mal's side, staring up into the tree tops and keeping a watch on the child - but he once again Mal decides against pulling his pistol out in the moment, instead just keeping his hand resting at his side and his senses open. If it is some sort of trap likely she's got folks around to go into the ambush. Exactly the sort Mal wouldn't have much bad conscious about shooting if it comes down to a struggle.

"You up there." Mal actually comes off sounding bit friendlier than he means, but then it's hard sounding too harsh with such a small little thing. "You hiding from something?" Figures that's the nice way to ask if there is any danger around, and of course if she's leading them into it Mal can only hope he'll be able to read as much from her. Other wise, well, maybe she'll have some answers for where in the ruttin' hell he is and how in the good Lord's name he can find a way out.

[all_the_gifts]

As soon as the noise is out, Melanie regrets it. She knows everyone here is on edge, which is bad, and she didn't even think to look for a weapon on the man, which was worse, because he has one. They can't see much of his gun from up here, but the way he's resting his hand on it is awfully familiar. He could be Sergeant Parks, or any of the soldiers from her home universe, instantly wary in her presence.

He should be wary in her presence. It'd almost be nice, comforting in its familiarity, if Melanie didn't know that it was the dream making him nervous and not any knowledge about what she carries inside of her. It's probably just as well that he doesn't know, though; if he did, he'd shoot first and not bother with asking her questions.

Niko sidles along the branch until his feathers brush against Melanie's arm, looking down at the man with wide eyes. His focus is on the man's hand, and the gun just beneath it. Melanie, for her part, lifts a hand in a peaceable little wave. No weapons up here - none that they could see, anyway.

"Sort of," she admits. How much does this man know about what's going on? It might be too much for her to tell him he's dreaming and that the horse by his side is actually his soul. She decides to lead with: "We're just trying to keep out of the way. Everyone's jumpy."

[captain_mal]

"Everyone?" Mal repeats back. Now ain't that interesting. He takes a good long look around him, squinting through the fog to see if he can catch a glimpse of even a shape or two, and sure enough he sees plenty. Problem is they're all generally tree shaped which ain't particularly helpful. It sure doesn't look like there is anyone out there, but then they could very well have the advantage of being well hidden, won't take much in a place like this. "Doing a mighty fine job, then, I must say. Picked a nice spot for it. I haven't seen anyone for ages myself."

All Mal really has to go off is his instinct and gut feelings, and as far as that's consider, well, truthsomely the girl don't seem particularly harmful which,sure, maybe ain't the best way to go thinking about it seeing as Mal still doesn't know a gorramn thing about who she is or where in the hell he might be. Two piece of information that could go a long way in knowing how much trust he could put in her act. But then how many times do folks set up an ambush by having one of their own straight out tell you she's hiding out from all the people about that you haven't even caught sight of.

For no discernible reason, least not one he knows of himself, Mal checks over with his new friend who had sniffed and look about same way Mal had, or at least that's how it came off though who could say for certain one way or the other. If he had been trying to sniff folks out then it sure seem as though he's had no more luck at it than Mal. The hard muscles in his shoulders loosen up once more and he turns his attention back up into the trees, staring at the little girl and what appears to Mal to be some kind of bird she's got with her.

Swear to you, Mal'd never known a horse who acted so much like a dog. It's almost uncanny.

Then again, seems the animal has some smarts too him, which don't surprise Mal all too much having spent his youth working a ranch and all. Some folks that just see'em running about or trodding down roads hitched up to carts might just find themselves amazed how much personality each individual horse could have, and just like people while some of the were dumb as a brick others proved more clever than some of the field hands ma kept around to reign them in. His patients with just standing there staring up at the little girl could very well mean he's familiar with her somehow.

Certainly he ain't feral, got to belong to someone, and so far Mal'd only met up with two souls in this big old forest. "So, any chance this old horse belongs to you or your folks?" Mal asks, and for the first time he reaches over, actually touching the stallion, petting his mane behind his ears the way he remembers doing as a boy that so many of their own horses enjoyed. Honestly, he's a bit surprised this particular one let's Mal touch him at all, he comes off as a something of an unapproachable force. At the same time, he shakes his head, not so much knocking Mal's hand away as if he's shaking off something or maybe just the whole suggestion altogether. But he let's Mal's hand remain, stroking behind his ear, and despite the fierce independent streak Mal could see running through this old stallion, he appears to be enjoying it at least somewhat.

Actually, it's calming for Mal too in it's own way. Along with the fact that the girl just doesn't seem like that much of an immediate threat, Mal finds his fingers are no longer resting right on his gun at the ready. At the same time he's finally feeling a moment of calm, a less than cheerful thought crosses through his head. "Is that who your hiding from then, your folks?" Maybe she's just up there playing some kind of hide and seek, but the way she'd commented.... Well, let's just say that if that's the case, he's thinking that when whoever it is looking for her finds her it won't end up being much of a game. Not that he's looking to get involved. Oh, no, Mal knows how that goes. Don't matter what the problem is: you land on a world, you get what you need, and you take back off. Anything more than that and a man is just looking to make his own trouble.

But then what if her father comes looking for her and he's exactly the sort of person whose worth hiding from in a dark old forest, up a scary old tree, sitting there for who knows how long? It's not like he'd be getting into a mess of planetary affairs, just sorting out some family business. Not that he's even sure what he could do to help the situation but, well, that just don't seem right. Not at all, and Mal could hardly just sit back if that's the case.

Which it very well may not be, he reminds himself. She's just a kid after all, and kids do all sorts of crazy things. For all he knows she's just playing some sort of made up game, and the people she's hiding from are as real as fairies and goblins. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Reynolds, best to suss out the situation a little more fully 'fore he goes setting any sort of plans around a few things one random strange kid sitting up a tree has told him.

[all_the_gifts]

He certainly has an interesting way of speaking, both in terms of accent and word choice. It takes Melanie a few extra moments to parse his words, for all that he seems to be very straightforward. 'Folks,' she guesses, must mean her parents, because he's probably from a universe where most children have them. Being lumped in with 'most children' is still uncomfortably jarring. It feels as if she's lying by omission. But even in a dream, she'd very much prefer not to be shot. If it didn't wake her up right away, it would just be upsetting for everyone, especially Niko.

As if sensing her thoughts, he shifts a bit closer. Melanie runs her hand over his feathers, then shakes her head slowly. "I don't have... folks," she says, trying out the term to see how it fits. And it really doesn't, not with her unspecified English accent, so she amends, "parents. Not that I can remember." There's no trace of self-pity in her tone. She's just stating a fact, albeit gently, in deference to the fact that other people might find it upsetting. Anyway, she has Aziraphale, and he's the best guardian anyone could ask for, so she's not complaining.

It's nice to see him petting his horse (though odd that the horse still hasn't said anything; Niko seems to be waiting it out, as if daring the horse to speak first). Melanie smiles faintly. "He's very handsome, but he isn't mine. He belongs to you. Niko belongs to me." She strokes the owl's head for emphasis, and he makes a pleased burbling sort of sound. "I'm Melanie."

[captain_mal]

Oh come - yú měi gè kě​néng jī​bāi de shì​jiè... Mal takes another good look around his surrounded, less sensing out for trouble and more looking for, well, not even sure himself. Someone better suited to deal with little children hiding themselves away in forests telling him they don't even have folks to go home to. It really ain't Mal's area of expertise, that's all. He's a man much better suited had to child actually been leading him into some sort of ambush, least that is the sort of incident that can be solved relatively easily and quickly enough with little words and a few bullets. This is the sort of thing better handle by someone with 'Nara's skill, or even a sweetheart like Kaylee.

Actually probably best Kaylee ain't about, come to think of it. She'd probably already be fawning over the child, wanting to take her on the ship and Mal's got more than enough mouths to feed without adding a hungry orphan. Ain't his responsibility no matter how bad the kid might have it. Don't look like she's starving anyway, and the way she mentions her parents seems they haven't been around for a while - probably lost them in the war tiān​shā​de zhèng​fǔ móu​shā wáng​bā​dàn. Then Mal would have to look like the bad guy, of course, explaining how it hardly makes her much of a special case and they can hardly go around adopting every child they find living on the street (or the trees in this particular case) 'less they're willing to stop taking on cargo and give up every inch of the ship. It just ain't practical, that's all, and there's nothing of a cruel intention behind him saying so. Course Kaylee wouldn't see it that way. She's always got to go putting others ahead of herself or all good reasoning.

Clearly it's a bad habit, and possible Mal's spent too much time 'round that sweet girl because she may be rubbing off on him. After all, only real reason to talk with the kid is figuring out how to get the hell out of this place and back to his ship without finding himself dead. Her home life really ain't any of Mal's business or concern. So there's really no reason for him asking, "Guān​guǎ​gū​dú de zhànshí​qī?" because what is it to him if she's one of those? The mothers, fathers, men, women, and children all left behind and alone after the war passed through? Up in that tree she looks to be nothing more than a wisp of a thing, almost seems she'd be too young, but Mal's not so knowledgeable on the subject and having no gorramn hell of an idea where he is, it's easy enough to imagine this is one of the planets that held out long past when the fight had been lost.

Mal ends up looking down at his boots allowing a moment of silence to sit there after he's spoken. Why would he go asking after that particular piece of information when it don't matter any to him? Trouble is he just don't know how to go talking with young'ens. Not sure the right thing to say, that's the problem.

Best way to go about it is probably starting fresh on an entirely different, unrelated matter. Mal looks back up the little girls way, giving it a second go. "Name's Mal. Captain Malcolm Reynolds," he says, giving a polite nod of introduction much like a tip of the hat if he had one. "As for this old thing," He reaches out, laying his had on the back of the stallion. He still half expects it to go making a fuss even though so far he's been patient enough. "Not sure what they call'em, but he ain't mine. Just happened up on me all random-like just a while back. Thinks he's probably trying to find his way out of all these woods, same as myself."

See, now, that all sounds friendly enough. So far he hasn't scared the girl off possibly on account of her being stuck up a tree but either way, that's more than someone like Inara probably would have given him credit for. Seems like it's going better than his first attempt as well, mostly thanks to not bringing up any dead parents. "Picked a fine spot to hide, that's for sure. Haven't seen a single other soul the whole time I've been here." Which... Mal ain't quite sure how long that's been but it sure feels like a stretch of time. More than long enough that if there were that many folks around he feels sure he would have stumbled on them by now. Then again, in all likelihood the girl has a much better picture of what all is around than Mal who don't even know where he is precisely.

Mal draws out his pistol, holding it out so that the girl can get a good look, but not aiming it anywhere or even turning the safety off. "See this? Had it well over 20 years of my life and plenty have tried their damnest to take it from me," he explains, thinking that might be just about the nicest way to talk about how often folks have tried to kill him. "Not a single one has succeeded. Made it with me through the whole war and plenty worse, if you can believe it."

Mal holsters the gun again, even doing so in a careful and purposeful manner so she can see that he's put it away and means her no harm. "How 'bout we make a deal? You come down out of that tree and show me and my friend," he nods towards the horse, because the little girl seems to like him well enough and while he looks like a bit of a wild old thing he probably still has a friendlier face than Mal. "A way to town or out of this here woods and in return, promise no one you don't want finding you will be any trouble. Jiāo​yì?"

[all_the_gifts]

And there he goes; Melanie can see him feeling sorry for her - or maybe not sorry, exactly, but more like he thinks something needs to be done about her (and that maybe he'll have to do it). It's a look she recognizes easily, though this time it lands somewhere between Aziraphale's or Daniel's excessive kindness and Sergeant Parks's brutal efficiency. He doesn't want to adopt her, but he doesn't want to put a bullet in her head, either. She can work with that.

She's about to reassure him that she isn't alone in the world when he lets out a strange, fluid run of syllables that means nothing to her. Another language? Melanie knows a smattering of French and Spanish, little scraps of vocabulary and a simple sentence or two, but that was like nothing she's ever heard before. It didn't even sound like a Romance language at all. Her brow furrows in polite bafflement. Why lapse into a different language when they were both speaking English without trouble? Does he expect her to be bilingual?

Maybe he realizes it was a bust, whatever it was, because he's back to English when he introduces himself. The 'Captain' catches her attention - perhaps he's a soldier, after all, though not the kind she'd envisioned when she first found herself here. She frowns a little when he pulls out the gun, and Niko puffs up defensively, but she realizes it's not a threat. Not to them. He's just offering to protect them in exchange for guidance through the woods, which is sort of sweet. Pity there's nowhere to go.

"It's nice to meet you, Captain Reynolds," Melanie says politely, nodding in turn. "We can come down, but it might be hard to find what you're looking for." Given how he's been so far, that might be as close to 'none of this is really happening' as she ought to get. He must not be used to this whole dreaming thing, and she doesn't want to drop it all on his head like a ton of bricks.

She picks her way down the trunk with great care, not wanting to cut herself accidentally, and then makes the final leap down to the ground with ease. Niko flaps down to land on her shoulder. It's a tight fit, and they probably look a bit silly, but Melanie hardly minds. Tipping her chin up - Mal is tall, now that she's no longer looking at him from up a tree - she asks, "Are you an army captain or a ship captain?"

[captain_mal]

Hardly much in the way of a major accomplishment yet Mal can't help feeling strangely pleased with himself in getting the girl comforted enough that she's willing to leave her tree. After all this forest gives even a full grown, well armed man the creeps, so it ain't hard to imagine why a child might feel more safe well out of the reach of whatever is slinking about down here, and Mal's not always known for his ability to be overly-social. Hell, doubt he could even convince half his own crew to come down if it came to it.

Stepping back he allows the girl plenty of room to land on the solid ground. The owl follows along with her, the two of them making quite the couple as it perches there on her shoulder. It's not even that they look all that out of place together, kind of have this sameness about them if you really see them up close together, or that he's just unsettled by the girl keeping a bird - it ain't every day you see a pet a owl but then Mal'd grown up on a ranch and spent most his adult life traveling through the 'verse and it's hardly the weirdest pet he's seen - but perching on her shoulder the way it does, well, certainly it's not the most natural pose for an owl. What can't be missed, though, is how an owl ain't exactly the smallest of birds but the girl certainly is a tiny little thing so much so that you'd swear the weight of her companion should have been enough to unbalance her.

Mal actually smiles some, because he's just imagining how Kaylee would be babying this poor thing. He could almost hear his mechanic say how it just about looks as if the bird could have easily plucked her right up and fly off with her. To easy to picture Kaylee saying just that, all while making those eyes at Mal when she's going to start begging and pleading with him.

Luckily, though, Kaylee's not around to make Mal feel bad about any of that. Though part of him can't help missing her all the same. At this point he just wants to get back to Serenity, that's all. Hell, at this rate if he's stuck wandering around down here much longer he's even gonna start missing Jayne.

"Are you an army captain or a ship captain?" The girl... Said her name was Melanie, didn't she? If Mal's going to try being friendly enough to get her to go properly trusting him probably best if he stops thinking of her simply as 'a girl' even if she's got a hell of a lot of growing left to do to be much more than that. Then there's the fact that using names can get.... Messy. Something Mal prefers to avoid whenever possible. He likes keeping things nice and simple unlike, say, that little question right there. 'Course Mal had never reached the rank of captain back when he'd been a volunteer, but there's still something in the question that reminds Mal just how complicated his life can get against all his protest.

"I'm the captain of a ship," Mal answers, deciding it best not to go over thinking his past or the war or anything of the sort. As far as Mal's concerned, he would gladly go and give up all those memories easily in return for the ones on how he got here and where his ship is. "A Firefly ship named Serenity, you ever seen a Firefly?" Mal's not expecting her to say she's seen his ship, although that would have been a more than welcomed answer, but of what little he does know when it comes to interacting with kids - and from what he remembers of being one himself even if that had been all but forever ago - plenty tend to like their spaceships to some extent or another. Hell, Mal remembers memorizing just about every type of ship that ever landed in the nearby town back on Shadow even if they were mostly just cargo ships and the like and nothing too exciting by most measures. He'd just been so taken with their size and the way any time they wanted they could take straight off and disappear into the stars with nothing to gate them in.

[all_the_gifts]

Melanie's stronger than she looks, and Niko lighter, so he's no burden. He is a bit overlarge for his current perch, though. He's wary of changing his shape - he really does feel as if he's in some sort of stand-off with this horse - but he does shrink just a little, subtly, to make them both more comfortable. Given how closely he's huddled to Melanie, anyway, it might just look as if he's flattening his feathers.

Melanie, for her part, is instantly fascinated by Mal. A ship's captain. It's only since she came through the rift that she's begun to truly appreciate how many interesting jobs people had before the Breakdown. She knows little about ships of any kind - in retrospect, it doesn't really surprise her that the hungry children's education was a bit thin when it came to methods of long-distance travel. For their teachers, long-distance travel wasn't a thing that happened much, and if it did, it was by helicopter or heavily armored vehicles. She imagines a 'Firefly' as some sort of oceangoing vessel, the sort of thing that disappeared after the Breakdown. And while she's aware that she's probably not picturing the right thing, her face lights up at the prospect of learning something new - not out of a book, but straight from someone who knows.

"Never," she says, shaking her head. "We don't have ships anymore, where I'm from. What does Serenity look like?"

[captain_mal]

We don't have ships where I'm from? Mal frowns a bit, scratching at his neck as if he really has to take a moment to digest those words. It's just not something you normally hear is all, or that he could ever have imagined hearing. Every planets got ships, of course, because how else is the terraforming equipment gonna be brought in, never mind the people themselves. Even after they're good and settled, every worlds' got trade that needs to be done in one form or another, and ships are just a necessary part of that life.

Of course, that's not to say that every planet is like Persephone where it seems like near every inch of dirt is a port of some kind or another. Out on the edge of the border only a ship might very well pass through only on very rare occasions, and of course some towns will attract more trade than others. Suppose there are plenty of places ships don't often bother to go, either because they're so far out of the way or they just don't got much in the way of jobs nor need for travel, and if you live far off from the settlements than you're even less likely to be catching sight of a ship first hand. "Well, little lady," Mal drawls very slowly, really thinking this one out. "Just because you don't see'em hardly means they're not there any more does it? I mean, folks got to get from world to world somehow, don't they? Course it's harder for any to land when you're surrounded by all these trees and what not. A ships a lot like a horse, you know. Needs a lot of nice open space."

Something is definitely strange about this one. She ain't got any family and apparently there's not much of a settlement nearby, least not one with more than 50 people at best Mal would say. After all, how else do you explain a child being so sheltered that not only has she never seen a ship, she thinks they don't even have'em. Might be true of her little town, of course, but it still seems like an awfully strange thing to say.

Plus it leaves Mal having to try and describe Serenity to some one who doesn't seem to know a thing about ships. Can't compare her to a slicker Troy model seeing as he doubts that would mean much to Melanie if she's never seen even one of the older Fireflies. It honestly leaves Mal a bit confounded as he stumbles up some, trying to conjure up the best way to describe the ship. "Serenity she.... Well, she's somewhat like a bird, I suppose," Mal says, motioning to the owl perched at her shoulder, at least knowing it's a good point of reference for the both of them. "Only less an owl and more... more something like a sparrow but with a long neck and instead of wings she's got two side booster engines and her tail.. Her main engine is at the back like the tail and when she powers on the whole thing starts spinning and lights out, leaving the sky streaked with these bright streaks of light like the brightest, most dazzling shooting stars you've ever seen."

Mal is finding it easier now, now that hes really thinking of her and the first time he saw her, just how beautiful she was just sitting our there in that used ship lot. It's an imagine that he doubts he could ever describe to anyone, he ain't one for pretty words and such, not sure how he'd ever be able to do her justice. But he figures if he could just describe for Melanie in the roughest of terms what all Serenity was, well, how could you not want to get back to that ship? "The metal on her haul is a bit worn in, something like the color of.. Suppose there's not much like it 'xcept maybe a dull looking stone sitting in a riverbed that when the sun hits just right reflects back all shiny like a precious jewel and she's just the right size, too. Not so big that you could get lost in her, but enough space you never feel like you're trapped, neither. Feels like exactly the right kind of room to live in, so when you're way out in the black you don't even miss the ground at all she feels so cozy and right."

"And she flies perfect, too," Mal adds with a little smile that one would very nearly got smug, but it's got just a little too much love behind it. There is definitely pride in his voice, though, when he's tells her about how, "A little bumpy when you first hit atmo, of course, but once your outside the horizon line it's like being free from just about everything; not just gravity, but anything that could possibly weigh a man down. Serenity sails right on through. She belongs out in space, and makes you feel like you belong there, too, that's how well she flies. Steady and true as any ship you'll ever set foot on." Mal's smile has turned a bit wistful and for a while now he's not been looking at the girl at all, but straight up towards the sky. Not that he can make out much through the canopy hanging over his head, but at the same time it don't matter much. Because he knows what lies past all those branches and leaves, way of past the very top of the trees no matter how thick or high they grow. And he knows somewhere out there is his ship, where he's meant to be, just waiting for him to come home and that eventually he'll find her and when he does... For one, won't matter that for now he's stuck wandering along, lost and weary, or that he can't even seem to recall how long he's been away. She's left him right back off and, hell, he'll never have to land on this ruttin' planet again if he don't like. Serenity means he'll never be trapped anywhere, not for too long.

"Which is why," Mal breaks his own thoughts, turning his attention back to Melanie. "I need to get myself out of this here forest. See, ship can't really land with all these trees about, and she don't have no way to see me. So?" Mal hunches down so he is almost face to face with the girl. "That's why I need your help, dǒng ma?"

[all_the_gifts]

From world to world. Melanie's smile - formerly something bland and polite, since she can't expect Mal to know anything about where she's come from, and it's probably not worth arguing about the state of her universe's boats (not least of all because however many there might have been before she finished things, there certainly aren't people sailing the ocean anymore) - shifts into something genuinely astonished. He's not even talking about the ocean, he's talking about space. He's the captain of a space ship!

As Mal describes Serenity in some detail, Melanie and Nikolaos listen with similar expressions of wide-eyed amazement. It's clear that he loves his ship just from the way he talks about it, and Melanie wishes she could actually see it. She knows there was some space travel before the Breakdown, but nothing like what Mal is describing. Wherever (or whenever) he's from, they must be a lot more advanced on that front.

"She sounds so beautiful," Melanie says wistfully. But there's little chance of this forest coming to an end, she figures, and even less so of them actually finding his space ship waiting if it did. Trying to keep up the pretense that they might find it seems cruel. Especially because, unless he's come through the rift, himself, chances are he's already on his ship as they speak.

Still, she'd rather be gentle about it. Melanie pulls in a breath, really hoping he takes this well. "But I don't think she's here. This is a dream."

[captain_mal]

Crouching down so they're more or less eye level with one another you'd figure that Melanie would be bit easier to get a proper read on. Typically Mal knows when folks are on the level or when there's something off. Shouldn't matter too much whether the person's hundred and nine or rather new and fresh to the 'verse, should it?

At the same time, can't help feeling he's at something of a disadvantage here considering his lack of properly understanding children and the likes. Don't so much as allow them on the ship most of the time seeing as the crew's line of work ain't exactly one where you want a mess of little ones running under foot. Hell, even back when he wasn't more than a babe himself Mal spent most of his days at the ranch with his ma and the forty or so ranch hands that lived with them. Unless it's a case of a liú​làng​'ér making for his pockets or knowing when an extra check is needed before taking off in order to ensure no stowaways have snuck on figuring themselves small enough to pass unnoticed, Mal lacks any real experience on the subject. Be easy if kids weren't nothing more than tiny versions of full grown humans, though seems likely that's not the case. Kinda confuses the whole matter of being able to tell what all is normal behavior and when catching onto the queer little hints that something ain't quite right.

Then again, even if he knew whole bundles of younglings, Mal suspects that it wouldn't be too terribly helpful right at this moment. Melanie don't seem like she'd be so easy to read even with all the baby-raising experience in the 'verse on his side. For starters, she's got a near eerie sense of calm to her, which could be nothing more than her being plenty mature for her age but Mal's not certain... This whole place gives him something of the creeps, if he's being truthsome, which he very well could be effecting his impression. Or it could be he's just gotten so use to River that he's making quick assumptions even if he's never met anyone quite like River and Melanie don't really have too much in common with her from the outset. 'Xcept it's got a very River flavor of weirdness how she just coolly makes such a strange statement when most sane folks wouldn't be nearly so composed about saying such things. Most sane folks wouldn't say those sorts of things at all.

Probably best to give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, up until now... Actually, suppose she has been acting sort of strange well before this, but she'd mostly been speaking sense. "You mean dream as in zuò​mèng or just that it's a yuán​mèng?" He asks, trying to suss out her precise meaning, making sure he's fully understanding what she's saying. For all Mal knows could just be that she's so excited about the prospect of seeing a ship in real life and Mal just misunderstood, what with the way he said it right together with pointing out that she ain't here and all in a way that didn't exactly express all too much excitement, but then how much emotion of that type had Mal really seen from her to compare it against?

On the other hand, sure hope she ain't trying to say the first one because, well, that makes it sound just damn near impossible to find your way out of this forest and that's not something Mal is ready to accept. Or she figures it wouldn't matter seeing as Serenity has already departed because, well, might be that she's use to folks just up an abandoning her but Mal's certain that wouldn't be the case. He'd willingly bet his life on that and in lots of ways very much has, and she hasn't failed him yet.

"A ship can't leave without her captain," Mal explains, just in case that's what she's assuming, that Serenity has already long gone leaving Mal stranded back on this world with no way of finding her again. "Just like a captain wouldn't leave without his crew." Well, there are times... But that's a rather confusing concept to go bringing up to such a youngling, even Mal understands as much. Besides, she don't need to know about every decision Mal's ever made, just that in the end it's kept the crew safe and together. "It's the rule of the sky." That might not always prove true, less so not within a certain class of crews of which Mal and Serenity would have definitely found themselves included among but there ain't a job in all the 'verse filled with only honorable men, and just because some folks have no trouble acting like traitors and cowards don't make the idea behind what he says any less true. "Sides, Zoe would very much sī​huǐ xuè​lín​lín de kuài jī​ròu anyone who tried pulling that sort of stunt with my ship. So you don't worry none about that. Trust me, second I get out of this place, she'll be there waiting." Even the slightly over exaggerated violence (though not by too much, he'd imagine, not if it were someone like Jayne pulling such a stunt) that, if he'd really thought on it properly, wasn't something necessary to go describing to a small child Mal only had the best of intentions. It's all about reassuring her that her efforts wouldn't be a waste ending in a broken dream and abandonment. Serenity would be there and all Mal needs is a bit of help finding her, that's all he's asking.

[all_the_gifts]

Melanie looks faintly perplexed by the spurts of foreign language. It's sort of hard to answer his question when she's not sure what he's asking, though from context she'd guess he just isn't sure what sort of dream she means. Maybe he thinks she meant it in a too-good-to-be-true sort of way and not in the literal sense of the word. But that hardly makes sense, either, because being stuck in a creepy forest without his ship isn't a good thing.

Best to try again, and to just be as clear as possible. "I'm not sure what those words mean - the not-English ones," she admits. "I only know a little bit of French and Spanish, and I'm sure it wasn't either of those." If it was latin-based, she figures she would have recognized something. As it is, all she can do is offer an apologetic little shrug. Whatever language it is, it might not even exist in her universe, so she's not disappointed in herself for not recognizing it. But if they want to actually have a proper conversation about all this, he needs to know that she's missing a good chunk of what he's saying. Context only makes up for so much.

"And when I say this is a dream," she continues, "I mean that you're dreaming. You're asleep - we both are - and this is literally a dream." She makes a little forest-encompassing gesture with one hand. "You're probably on Serenity right now, as we speak." She watches him closely, wondering if he's going to believe any of this, then offers, "I can prove it, if you like." Nikolaos could prove it, more likely. Guessing her plan, he gives her ear a disapproving tweak with his beak, but that's as far as he can take his objection without doing precisely what she wants him to do.

[captain_mal]

See, it's exactly these sorts of things that really aren't doing much to help with Mal's current state of general confusion. Is she meaning to tell him she doesn't speak a word of Chinese, not even the slightest bit? Hell, Mal don't know a single soul who doesn't at least know the basic curses, and that's only the least educated, backmoon types who live in some highly remote settlement with little to no contact with outsiders. Even then... Well, it's just such a foreign concept, like how is it she knows English well enough but not a lick of Chinese? Don't even make sense, none that Mal can figure.

Either this world is way further of any civilized map than Mal had originally assumed - and he'd gone in assuming it was pretty much near the border of the known 'verse - or this little's girls story, well, maybe he should have gone asking for it after all. Doesn't know her parents known, just hanging out here in the woods talking with strangers, not even knowing proper language skills... What the yīng​'ér Yē​sū de shén​shèng mǔ​qīn hào xìng​jiāo and where the gorramn hell is he?

"And when I say this is a dream I mean that you're dreaming. You're asleep" she's telling him, and this is precisely why Mal don't like this whole child thing. He's looking her right in the eyes and still not a single clue to if this is just some game to her, the way hái​zi​men in these parts spend their days playing? Or does she mean this to be dead serious, and if that's the case (and, see, if he were just having to go by her face Mal would say it is, but how could he be sure?) than what's she up to exactly? Some sort of long game, a trick she's trying to pull over on Mal for who knows what reason, can never be sure what crazy schemes get concocted out on these truly frontier worlds, or does she honestly believe what she's saying to him to be true? And which one of those possibilities is more unsettling? "We both are," Melanie goes on, and Mal knows his brow is wrinkled up in complete and utter confoundment, but on her part Melanie looks eerily serene about this whole pronouncement which is even more worrisome. Comes off like she's not even aware of the insanity in what she's saying and that she honestly believes every word her own self. Turns out that is far more troubling. "And this is literally a dream. You're probably on Serenity right now, as we speak."

Now, see, Mal knows damn well he ain't in his ship because the whole time he's been here it's all been terribly off. Well, maybe the horse ain't so bad, but not even he seems entirely right in the head, or at least he don't act like your typical horse should. Anyway, it just goes to show he's not on his ship and... why is he even arguing the point when that's pretty damn obvious? He's standing out in the middle of a forest for gorramn sake, his feet firmly planted on the ground, of course he's not on his ship! Ain't something he should even have to be questioned on!

He's still in this awkward position, though, of not knowing quite what to make of this girl standing in front of him. Is it all just some childhood game he's meant to play along with? Is it some kind of trap they use round these parts to gather folks up who get lost out here and then God only knows what? Is she being truthsome with him and just don't know reality from a dream? He'd almost prefer it be the one where's he's dragged into some sort of scheme being played out, as that last one manages to find a way to even make Mal's old heart feel a bit hurt, and it's been pretty well hardened over the years.

"I can prove it, if you like," Melanie offers, though Mal's hardly in a hurry to answer. He's still turning things around in his head, trying to sort it all out, not that he's having any luck on that front. Seems sometimes River has a hard time differentiating reality from what all is just in her head, those funny little visions and dreams she's always having. Suppose this girl is like River and... Mal's not even sure where to go with that thought, can't really go anywhere good or even useful.

Maybe he should just get up and walk away now but that seems harsh, even for a mean old man like the captain. No, he can't just walk off now. See this is what happens when you go and learn folks names. It never ends up going his way. "Doesn't seem all that likely, the both of us having never met but having the same dream, does it now?" Mal asks, trying to be just about as gentle as he can while also drawing some attention to the fact that, well, she's speaking plain nonsense. "How long have you been out here without your folks? You been all alone this whole time?"

[all_the_gifts]

Melanie sighs heavily. His gentle attempt to steer her back onto what he thinks is the right track is unhelpful, but it's also sort of moving. She doesn't get the sense that Mal is used to children or knows quite what to do with them, even the normal ones, and she is not a normal one. He's still trying, though. And if he truly believes she lives in this forest - that she has for years - then there's no reason not to think she couldn't keep doing it, and no reason for him to spend valuable ship-finding time trying to set her straight.

It's probably a good thing she doesn't cry easily.

"You're a good man, Captain Reynolds," Melanie says solemnly, reaching out to give his shoulder a gentle pat. It's an odd, formal little gesture, but she doesn't feel she knows him quite well enough for a hug, and a hug would unseat Niko, anyway. "But I'm not confused, and I'm not crazy. I'm telling you the truth, because," she falters a moment, pulling her hand back and dropping her gaze - why is she so determined to make him understand? - then continues, "because I don't want you to be upset when you don't find your ship here." Especially because his ship isn't even really lost, in all likelihood.

"Most dreams feel real when you're in them, right?" Melanie takes a step back. Nikolaos squeezes her shoulder in silent warning - kind as Mal has been, he still has a gun that he's quick to reach for - but Melanie quells him with a stroke of his feathers. "Even if it's weird or scary or doesn't make sense. But it's still a dream. Look."

She turns to Niko. "Maybe try something smaller," she advises, before adding, for Mal's benefit, "I promise we're not going to hurt you, or your horse."

Niko gives her an incredibly unimpressed look, but truthfully, he's also getting a bit tired of pretending to be a normal bird. That doesn't mean he relishes the idea of taking an even smaller shape, but he sees Melanie's point. After a moment's consideration, he turns into a squirrel, his grip still tight on her shoulder, his muscles tense in case they have to move quick.

[captain_mal]

"You're a good man, Captain Reynolds," Melanie assures him, patting him on the shoulder like she's some what more grown that she looks. Almost makes him feel bad about not being much of a good man. Surely wouldn't be saying that if she knew Mal'd just imagined her setting this as bait for some town-wide trade. Wouldn't be the first incident of the sort he wandered into. All the same, not the nicest thing to go around assume of anyone. "But I'm not confused, and I'm not crazy. Because I don't want you to be upset when you don't find your ship here."

On some level that's just about the kindest sentiment Mal's ever heard anyone express, at least from the ones directed his way (which tend to be a lot less charitable). Gāi​sǐ Shàng​dì. To think he'd been hoping this could've ended without turning into a tangled mess and certainly without Mal feeling any worse than he's already started.

"That's a might fine thing for you to say, miss," Mal replies, repaying the compliment with a quick bow of his head. "And don't think I ain't relieve to hear that you ain't guò​q-" cuts himself short, awkwardly recalling that she wouldn't understand what he meant. "That you ain't all crazy-like," Mal corrects after a slower start up before getting back on track with what he'd been trying to say. "Not that I'd been thinking you were a fēn--" He sighs as he has to pause once more to think up the word he wants in English. "A total madman with a rambling mind."

While Mal's trying to be as gentle as possible about introducing Melanie to the idea that mayhaps staying all alone in some terrifying old woods for however long ain't the healthiest place for such a little girl to be living - mentally or physically judging by her slight size and all even if Mal's still not much sure where to peg her age - and back on his ship he just happens to be good friends with a fine young doctor that could likely fix her right up or at least a sweeter than honey mechanic that will get her fed.

For such a little thing, though, she sure is full of determination, probably holding more in than grown men four times her size. It's a trait Mal find very admirable under the right circumstance, just ain't sure this is one of those. Because in this case Melanie just goes on insisting that they really are living out nothing ore than a dream which.... Well, young ones like her should be plenty tankful to the roly-poly buddah above that they ain't actually in Mal's dreams. It's not a place kiddies belong, or any human beings whose minds weren't very well left behind in the war and so who relive it with the dead at their side every night. No, here she is just a child, she don't need to know about the sort of horrors Mal has seen and she certainly shouldn't be dreaming about them.

No need to even bring up the fact that Mal shouldn't be dreaming this, either. It ain't a war valley or a ship caught between fleets of alliance cruisers and running short on supplies or the blackened, unlivable terrain of Shadow. For as wicked as it might feel sometimes, when it comes straight down it, this isn't nothing but a bunch of trees and not ones Mal's ever been around before. How could he be dreaming this in his whole head if he doesn't even know the place?

Melanie keeps on persisting, though, and eventually Mal relents with a tight nod. He ain't scared for either himself or the horse although honestly don't have the slightest clue as to what she might be planning. Still, the bronco seems to be pretty brave as far as horses go, and more than anything Mal's just feeling confused.So, sure, let her go and prove that they're just sitting around sharing he same weird dre--

"Xié​'è de fū​huà guǐ dàn." Mal had been making something of an effort to avoid Chinese ever sense Melanie insists she didn't know any, as impossible as that still seems. Still, the situation really did call for it in this case, tumbling out of Mal's mouth before he's had much time to reconsider.

At first he just blinks some because who knows how long he's been in this place, could be he's suffering from sever dehydration and don't even know and this is just his eyes playing tricks on him. "Now how'd you do a thing like that?" Mal stands back up, looking at all the branches around them for some sign of the owl. He'd seen his fair share of street magicians, tricksters and the likes but, still, not like she's got a box of props around in order to hide and grab what she needs, and hardy seems like just standing around in the woods is any sort of distraction technique most of those charlatans use.

Still, what's more likely? That the girl has just had lots of time on her own to prefect these little tricks of hers or that she's actually some kind of witch...

Course, suppose that at one time or another River had some off as a normal enough girl, least far more so than she does know, and it that's true than it go be-

Is Mal really even considering that possibility? Might as well just accept he is dreaming at that point if he's going to start believing that just 'cause kid can pull off a stage trick that it makes her some kind of real witch. Not that there aren't folks out there that believe in those sorts of things but Mal isn't one, least he wasn't, Seem since he picked those two Tams up back on Persephone that things have been getting a mite weirder 'round, well, which ever parts they just so happen to be passing through. Like this moment right here which, again, Mal's sure there is plenty of reasonable explanation for, even if he don't see any immediately around.

Decide it might just be time to go on the defensive here. "Not saying that weren't plenty impressive, but I've seen men on traveling fairs make whole elephants disappear with just a sheet, so you're going to have to pull something a bit more out there if you're hoping to convince me." Mal's not daring her own, oh boy not at all. He's just really hoping that's all she's got.

Without even thinking on it Mal reaches out for the stallion, running a steady hand down his neck. Don't know why the horse has bothered sticking around so long but Mal's starting to think he's actually looking for a traveling companion and, well, Mal don't mind the company so it's fine by him. "Now I have a ship to go and find...."

At that point Mal should just turn his back and take off, but it hardly seems right jut up and abandoning the child, regardless of what she might be. "You're still free to come along, of course, since you had to bothering getting down from your tree."

[all_the_gifts]

He is stubborn, Melanie will give him that. To be fair, he's not the first person here to be surprised that Nikolaos can change his shape, since it doesn't seem to be a thing that other dreamers' animals can do. But he's the first person to see it happen right before his eyes and then deny that it was real. He won't believe that this is a dream, but he will believe she's some sort of magician who can change an owl into a squirrel.

She opens her mouth to protest that it wasn't some sort of trick - being strapped to a wheelchair for most of your life makes it sort of difficult to practice sleight of hand - but Nikolaos beats her to it. His patience, it seems, has worn thin. He leaps to the ground and resumes the enormous dog shape he was favoring earlier. Sitting down, his head is about level with Melanie's, and he turns to give her a deliberate little nudge with his muzzle. "I told you he wouldn't believe it," Niko says. Then, to the stallion, "And why haven't you said anything?"

[captain_mal]

Mal turns his head away for and suddenly he's hearing voices or the two of them ain't so very alone as he'd been assuming. He don't even hesitate - might be plenty easy in such a state of gloom to appear and come right of nowhere but the voice sounds plenty familiar with the two of them meaning whoever it is must have been stalking about unseen and, well, in Mal's opinion that kind of sneaking makes a man untrutworthy least until he can prove others - drawing his pistol and twisting around in one fluid motion, aiming at his best approximation of where he'd heard the fellow peak, expecting to find himself face to face wit a full grown man.

See, that all comes pretty natural once you've lived the sort of life Mal has for the last all too many years. He's damn used to firefights and tight spots and in certain parts of the 'verse you either learn to react immediately without much time to think on it or else wind up with no time left to think or do much anything at all depending on how good a shot the other man is and how long it takes you to bleed out. Point is well before Mal's had any any time to mull it over or digest what's been said he's already staring down the barrel of his gun at the stranger, or by all rights were the stranger should be.

After the adrenaline passes and Mal's head's actually had time to catch up with his muscles he appears to be aiming at not much more than the thick forest air. Shàng​dì de yě​zhǒng de mǔ​qīn is he going mad, then? Maybe whatever the little girl has is contagious or maybe it's something about this planet's atmo? You hear of terraforming causing all sorts of unexplainable side effects,wouldn't be tso difficult to imagine the air here's got something fundamentally wrong with it and the longer he's grounded drinking it in the worse the effects will get. Actually might offer up an explanation for all these endless wood lands if they're trying their damndest to clean out the air system, as well as why there's something so unsettling 'bout this whole place even when you're just standing there.

All just wild-ass guessing bá chū pì​gu, but he ain't exactly working off of a lot to go on when it comes to being able and explain what precisely in the fluffy Lord's name is going on down here. Mean, his mind is pretty well filled with possibilities flying all over the place, most of which are straight up absurd, and taking under consideration his two prevailing theories that's saying a whole lot.

Makes him wish all the more there HAD been some kind of villain sneaking around listening in on private conversations before slinking out of the darkness. Would give Mal a good excuse to at the very least knock a few teeth out of the man's head might be just the sort of solid, straight froward confrontation he needs right now. Help sort his head out and get his mind put straight or at least let him just go on reacting without all this annoysome careful amounts of deliberating he's got to be bothered with.

The whole situation clearly throws Mal off his game for a few moments there. He'd been so expecting some full sized person to be standing right there when he'd turned around that the shock of seeing no one at all had - well, it's not exactly like he's been rattled up, just been so sure that he'd heard someone. Takes his brain a second to reboot is what he's getting at, which is when he first noticed the giant sheep life dog sitting next to Melanie right where his stranger should be. He looks something like a newfie from what Mal remembers of dogs back home on Shadow, certainly recalls those being plenty huge and this one seems to all but dwarf the child he's resting beside.

Now where in all the heavens did she go and pull THAT from? A squirrel and bird were easy enough to hide away, but a beast that big certainly couldn't have fit up in that tree with her and Mal hadn't seen so much as a whisker the whole time he'd been standing here.

"And," There is that voice again and Mal would swear it.. Not that anyone would believe him. Hell, he don't even believe it himself and he's standing right there. "Why haven't you said anything?" Don't even matter what the gorramn hell the dog meant by that and, yes, he said the dog as if it had been he one speaking because, well, that sure a hell is what it came off looking like to Mal. He blinks a few times, slowly at first, then shakes his head almost like a man sober up though he's fairly certain he's not drunk. Is he?

It's as good a theory as any of his others and would explain plenty of what he's seeing right now. Actually, there ain't much that would truly explain what he's seeing if in fact he's seeing it all. Hasn't completely ruled out the possibility that he's just going out of his gorramn mind.

"I'm sorry," Mal says in a way that clearly ain't so much an apology as a polite way to demand someone explain just what he ruttin' hell is going on here. "But did you just hear that dog talk?" Melanie might not be the best person to check his sanity against but Mal's not being left with very many choices. One of the few he does have is keeping his gun drawn and aimed in the general vicinity of the voice - human or otherwise - because regardless of whose doing the speaking right now Mal figures he's well within reason to find this whole situation just a tad threatening.

[all_the_gifts]

"His name is Nikolaos," Melanie explains, resting a hand on his furry shoulder, "and he's not really a dog. Just like your horse isn't really a horse."

"Because this is a dream," Niko butts in. He stands, then very pointedly takes the shape of a warthog. "See? I can change shapes and I can talk." He starts to pace back and forth around Melanie, his shape changing again, this time to a large, armored creature neither he nor Melanie could name. "How many times are we going to have to go through this? It's starting to get boring."

"Niko," Melanie protests, glancing at Mal in mingled apology and nervousness. He's still got his gun drawn, and while Niko isn't actually making any threatening moves, that might not matter if the sound of his voice is enough to frighten him. In a dream like this, it's not as if it would take much, anyway.

But her soul has been bottling things up for long enough that he's not even close to being ready to fall silent. "Well, it's true," Niko says, taking what he's pretty sure is a smaller sort of bear shape (not quite) and lifting his chin to sniff in the general direction of Mal's horse. "And that so-called horse has been no help at all," he concludes with an unimpressed huff.

[captain_mal]

Here's the thing: Mal is confused, he's lost, and he's armed. Which, generally speaking, ain't a good state for anyone to be in, 'specially not a grumpy, mean old captain with practice aim and a tendency to be a bit too bullheaded for anyone's good. Didn't at all help that, hell, as far as he is concerned that had been he he'd spent the whole of his day so far, his frustration over the whole matter increasing with every second ticking by. And that had all been well before this little show or whatever the hell you'd prefer to call it, the only purpose of which seems to be exasperating the captain's already thin patients with this whole situation.

This time can't be much mistake to what he's seeing. Mal keeps his eyes set right on the creature as it starts moving around, running it's mouth the whole time and continuously shifting from the body of one monstrosity to another. What he really needs is Kaylee or Wash here right now with their curious way of looking at things and figurin' out how they go about working. Mal's got no doubt there is some form of trickery behind this and he just ain't smart enough to see through it. Hell, he'd even take the good doctor. Wouldn't guess it watching him at a local tavern or actually any situation that called on him interacting with folks 'less he's got a scalpel in hand but the boy was clever as all get up. Normally it ain't a quality Mal would go encouraging him to exercise and show off. Terrible as it might sound, truth is Mal does get a kick out of Simon clearly having not a gorramn clue what to do with himself and so mayhaps on a couple of occasions pushes him into circumstances knowing he'll come out looking tún, but part of that is just that as far as Mal's concerned there is just too more core-breed properness to him (which ain't doing anyone no favors when he's on the run and endangering every one of Serenity's crew crew in the process, so as long as no harm comes from it Mal's actually doing him something of a kindness in forcing him to get more familiar with how regular human beings act when they ain't being cut open) and he's got a strong enough head on his shoulders to be able to stand up to some teasing 'specially since if it comes down to trouble the boy has wits enough to keep himself mostly out of danger and if situations were ever reversed and they found themselves out in the corner Mal knows how quick their roles would switch 'round. Can't help but find it somewhat annoying, putting him in something of a disagreeable position with the two Tams. Have the feeling that either one of them in any given moment has worlds worth of knowledge more than has even been through Mal's head. Now River, well, at least she's crazy enough that the thought of what all she might know is only ever terrifying. With Simon... Well, Mal would never go as far as to call the boy intimidating exactly, but can't help finding something about him dòng​hè. Can't help feeling at times that he just knows too much, and while the fanciness of his appearance and strange mix of stumbling stiffness make it hard to get a fix on at times, the boy has a hell of a backbone and at the very least the smarts to back it up. It's one thing for the mechanic and pilot to know more about wires and engines, ships and navigation than Mal - after all, that's what he went and hired them for - but Simon is a different matter, a man in a much more desperate situation and that's reasoning enough to keep Mal weary.

By far, though, this strange little playing being put on all supposedly for Mal's own benefit leaves him feeling far more wearisome. That ain't precisely the appropriate word, and neither is frightened though he could surely see how many man would be. Could be the only thing keeping Mal from feeling threatened is he's finding it far too perplexing to bother being properly scared out of his wits, even if they aren't much help to him right at that moment. Got to be a trick, short of straight out weirdness well beyond what Mal is prepared to deal with it's the best excuse he could manage and it's not much of one at that.

What doesn't help his mood none is the creature going and taking on a shape that's almost more of a horse than a bear, but one look at his claws really clarifies that point well enough. No if it is just something of an illusion doubting it's a strangely solid one. Then it goes making a threatening gesture at the stallion that Mal had picked up and, well, like he'd said it ain't really his so to speak but he don't take to kindly towards people... or things making threats at it and surely seems to startle the bronco more than anything so far had done, although not enough to chase the boy off. Enough, though, that his frightening sounding neighing is enough that Mal's nerves, already on edge, end up bubbling all over the surface.

It's not meant to kill the beast or whatever it was, not even to really hit it proper though Mal suspects it can't really be alive what ever it is. Still, his wits aren't so much frayed that he don't think this through and so ends up firing off nothing more than a warning shot, aiming it just past the giant's side where it shouldn't strike nothing more than a tree and maybe shock it enough that Mal can get some silence and slow his heart down, didn't even notice when that had started beating so fiercely, and give him time to properly think about all this insanity that seems so determined to go and drag him in.

stand by for one (1) angel

[all_the_gifts]

"I'm not sure you're helping, either," Melanie starts to say - scold, really - her gaze sliding away from the gun only for a moment, to give Nikolaos an exasperated glare. Maybe trying to explain things to the captain was a lost cause and they would have been better off not bothering, but that doesn't mean taking big shapes and all but taunting him is a good idea.

In fact, it's a terrible idea, as Melanie quickly realizes when she looks back to the gun and sees he's pointing it with purpose, toward Niko, and his finger is on the trigger and she knows, she knows what comes next. Or half of what comes next, because what will happen if Nikolaos gets hurt in this dream? She'll lose him, either from him dying here or her waking up, and she doesn't want that, not so soon. And it's so stupid of her to throw herself sideways, as if her little body could shield his much larger one, but she does it anyway with a panicked yelp.

In the same moment, Nikolaos resumes owl shape, taking flight in alarm, but he doesn't get very far before there's a sharp, stabbing pain in Melanie's chest and an echoing cry from her bird-soul. She hits the leaves, and Niko crumples to the ground beside her, then heaves himself onto her chest, feathers in disarray. The pain eases immediately - she'd thought he'd been hit, or that she had, but he's not bleeding. "What," he pants, "what...?"

No time for questions; they have to get behind a tree or something, have to keep moving in case Mal shoots again, because if he hits Niko, or if he hits her…

He's already hit her.

It's just a graze, really; she notices it as she attempts to scramble to her feet with Niko bundled in her arms. The far greater pain she'd experienced a moment ago had masked the fainter twinge coming from her upper arm. But she's bleeding. She's bleeding, sluggish and red and grey.

"Oh no," she says, sitting back down hard on the forest floor and clamping her arm over the wound. Niko struggles out of her arms and resumes dog shape, nosing at her worriedly. "Oh no."

Snarling, Nikolaos rounds on Mal, standing over Melanie like a large, furry shield. "You fucking dipshit!" he snaps, furious enough to borrow from Sergeant Parks's vocabulary.

No no no. All the latent fear the dream possesses crashes down on her like a wave. She just wants to get out of here, before she contaminates anyone, before something terrible happens to Niko. She just wants to be safe…

Then she remembers a warm hand cupping her cheek, and a promise. Squeezing her eyes shut, Melanie thinks about Aziraphale as hard as she can. Will this even work in a dream? "Aziraphale!" she cries for good measure. "Help!"

[bibliophale]

Aziraphale lost track of Melanie some time ago - that happens in these dreams, you just lose track of people, frightfully troublesome, and unnerving besides. Much like how he loses track of himself every night, managing to fall asleep even when he really doesn't mean to. Quite a bother.

The moment she calls for him, though, every other petty concern leaves him - he should not have let her slip out of sight, he knew these woods were dangerous - and Orisa lifts her head sharply as a tidal wave of panic and preemptive anger surges through them both. In a moment he's there, spirited from one metaphysical point to the space occupied by her consciousness, and she's on the ground, and she's bleeding. He scarcely even notices that his unkempt, tawny wings are tangible now, spread threateningly as he turns on the apparent assailant, some human he's never laid eyes on before, carrying a gun.

"What have you done?" he demands, his voice lower and darker than usual. In an instant his fiery sword has come alight in his hand; overkill, perhaps, but in his righteous fury he finds it a necessary measure. Orisa slithers down from his shoulders and crawls quickly to Melanie, curling around her protectively. Aziraphale feels a strange internal clench when her head brushes against Melanie's hand, but this too is necessary, and it's comfort he desperately wants to offer. Fortunate that he can, in these circumstances.

He makes no motions forward, does not angle the sword toward the human; a wrathful stare will do for now.

[captain_mal]

Tā​mā​de!

See now this is one of the problem Mal's got with people who come off all sweet and caring. He's got plenty good aim and enough confidence in it that even with everything around him acting so gorram bizarre, he trusts his hand enough to keep steady and hit a ruttin' target, in this case a tree or nothing much at all and the only thing that can possibly mess him up is when folks go acting like fools sometimes thinking they can dive out of the way of what's meant just to be an arm or leg shot and end up with the bullet lodged somewhere worse, but most of the time just by going and trying to be heroes.

Yeah, well, Mal has been around in this 'verse long enough to tell you acting like a hero don't do anyone damn bit of good. Because a hero ain't really anything more than a fool who thinks he's doing something good, and not just good but good enough to be worth dying for. So he goes and puts himself in harms way and all that happens is all hell rains down on him and anyone close to him and for all his efforts he find himself either dead or worse having to watch others dying because of him. And for all the good he thinks he's doing that's always the only real change that comes from it, that at the end of it all there are a few less folks still living.

Mal is old and weathered and knows enough to see heroism for what it is; just a man's way of being selfish while feeling good about himself for it but the young ones? They don't know any better yet than to carry on being optimistic, they haven't had to look right into the worst of humanity and even if they do, well, they can't help but believe the flicker of light they see is some sort of hope or good intention when it ain't nothing of the sort. So they go on with their goodness and believing their hearts to be in the right place. Exactly the kind of shǎ​dàn who don't even give a second thought to just how stupid it is before, say, jumping in front of a bullet not even meant for no one.

They're just too young to know better than to play at being heroes.

A lot happens all in a flash, which happens plenty of times when you fire a gun and Mal's practiced enough to know how to react without much more than maybe a single fleeting thought, just takes it in and counters quick as a man can. Still, most of that comes from his years in the war and even back at the ranch and ever since then he's been in plenty a situation that called for a good solid grasp on fighting and gun skills so it's hard to think of a time where he's been so out of his element he's got no idea what to do once bullets have been fired. Fair to say this may just be one of those times.

Before he's even released the trigger the mountain of a bear that had been sitting before him all but disappears which Mal had been thinking about before he fired. No matter how things might look after the fact, he ain't Jayne for heaven's sake. To be certain, Mal might be a bit less gun shy than most other folks but likely they wouldn't feel the same way had they lived out his life. Mal's just more than use to being in situations where being able to protect oneself is the only way he's still left standing today against what he is sure Zoe would argue is all good reason. Mal don't just shoot for the hell of it as Jayne has been known to do; when he's not liking the situation or the person is disagreeable or its just one of those days. No, Mal don't approve of treating a serious weapon so lightly, see, 'cause once you've fired well you never can be certain what the consequences will be.

Like here.... Here Mal had felt more than right in pulling the trigger. Not even just because he's been made to feel utterly confused and there's a real weariness to this place he just can't shake but because, damnit, even if this beast ain't real or is some kind of trick he seems real enough and he's got claws easily the size of Mal's arm and he's waving them at his gorramn horse (which, no, ain't technically his, but had been traveling with him and stayed beside him this entire time and had shown to have a certain amount of trust in the captain, and when an animal is willing to give you all of that, well, you've got to take a certain responsibility for it even when these no real good reason as to why). Now you threaten what is his and of course Mal's going to make a move to protect it, in this case he figured it best to just put a little sliver of fright in the beast's heart in return for scare the stallion. That's all it's meant to be, nothing more than a warning to shake up the system and quiet people down some, giving Mal a chance to contemplate this big old mess he's in.

Would be his luck that doing so only makes more of a mess of things. You just know, too, Jayne wouldn't have put a single thought into shooting that thing straight off ages ago, and probably wouldn't have wound up with half the trouble Mal's now got on his hands.

Should have been able to see it coming, too, that's the part he hates the most in all this. Well, no, in actuality that would be the fact that Melanie is now laying out on the dirt, blood welling up under her clothes but if that weren't more than enough for Mal to feel guilt over, than add to that the fact that he should have known better than to take that shot because he should have realized she is precisely the kind of good-hearted soul who wouldn't want to see anyone hurt, even just some elaborate talking animal side show.

Tāmāde niǎo... If she'd just kept herself still no one would have gotten any more hurt than a bit of shock but of course she probably didn't even consider as much because heroes rarely ever do.

"Gāisǐ," Mal curses first because he can't think of much else to say then immediately wishing he hadn't said anything at all, particularly that, and is more than a little relieved to remember she won't understand as it's just about the most inappropriate curse Mal could have pulled out, and here he'd been worried about toning down his language for the sake of the youngster.

Duō​me fēng​hé​rì​lì rì zài dì​yù.... Could have prevented all of this if -- well, for starters if he'd never gotten stuck this ruttin' excuse for a civilized world in the first place, and then if someone 'round here hadn't wasted their precious time teaching their children circus tricks instead of Chinese like normal folks. Those are the first two things to come to mind and he's sure there are plenty more if he really thought on them, but at the moment Mal's brains already been working at something of a frenzied pace to keep from panicking, and it ain't even working at that.

Besides, all the excuses in the 'verse don't make up for the fact that this is his fault, after all. He's a ruttin' full grown old man and she ain't nothing more than a wisp of a child and it don't really matter if she's got some kind of trick shape bender with her, does it? Not seeing as she's still such a little thing who really hasn't been all that mean to Mal - crazy, sure, a little, but never straight out mean and now Mal's gone and given her plenty of good reasons to be seeing as he's the one who shot her and all.

Mal learned long ago that it don't matter how much of an accident it had been or what the other person had done, you shot someone and it's on your hands. And now this is in Mal's.

"Duì​bu​qǐ, wǒ yī bèn lǎo​tóur yǔ méi kē xīn," Mal apologizes before realizing that, too, wouldn't make a lick of sense to the poor girl and she surly don't need to be hearing nonsense words when she's probably already pretty good and confused. Still, there are some things that are just easier to express in Chinese. Left with only English Mal sort of stumbles trying to find the right words to say.

Then again, talking has never been his strongest quality. 'Sides, they don't really mean much next to action. Supposed he'd just been expecting a moment of silence to think things through and now all he could here is this poor child near sobbing and crying out some word Mal doesn't recognize at all, could be one of those French or Spanish languages he'd never heard of. Mal holster's his gun and starts to scramble over to her, he could at least try and stop the bleeding or - Lǎo​ye de wú​shù tiān​táng don't do this to them. Of all the good persons to be here dealing with this... Not that Mal wants to up and leave, just for the girl's own sake seems like there must be someone better out there.

Now, on the one hand it's been a while since Mal's actually gotten around to praying much, mostly on account of God clearly all but abandoning him back when Mal believed in his holiness and kindness and all so he might be somewhat rusty on how it all works. On the other hand, do believe he would have recalled if it worked like this. Don't think even the good Shepard's prayers have ever been answered with such haste, and he's a much better man than Mal's ever been and likely with a better signal. Also, suppose he would have used it more often if every time he did it summoned some kind of wing angel directly too him.

Course that's nothing but utter nonsense running through a very frantic, already good and freaked out mind that he'd given no permission to just jump ship that way. Hardly any decent people out in the 'verse these days, never mind real and true angels. He's minds just stressed past the point of reasonablity and doesn't know what else to make of a winged man appearing out of thin air. Plus now he's got a swords. On fire.

Sort of thing that can get a man to stop dead in his tracks.

Perhaps he really is dreaming, Mal briefly considered, or perhaps - and far more likely - he's finally snapped and this is what it's like to be in River's head all the time to have things just changing shape on you and folks coming out of nowhere not looking quite right or human and using all sorts of crazy unreal weapons while sounding all kinds of real threatening. No wonder that girl can go throwing the loudest fits you ever heard. Hell, Mal's wishing he could do the same right about now.

Don't really have the time, though, least of all right this moment because with all the messed up pìhuà happening, most of which Mal ain't sure is some sort of trick or hallucination of lord only knows, there are only a couple of things left Mal knows and recognizes as being real. Things like naive young things who throw themselves in front of gunfire even when it could easily end them all to save something other than their own skin. It's the sort of ridiculous, irrational, selfless things that makes you wonder what the person was thinking and why they'd be so damn reckless?

Because they're real and human and if Mal knows anything it's that means making a whole lot of mistakes, often dangerous and usually stupid.

Which means some poor girl is bleeding out on account of Mal's own rash decision making, and could very much be in a real bit of trouble. So everything else around that talk when it ain't suppose to or appear from where there'd been nothing before, or had unnatural-like wings that don't rightly belong on them would just have to wait to the side while Mal took care of the more pressing troubles that he's far more sure of. He's had plenty of real life experience with bullet holes and how quick things can turn nasty, so as scary as it might be to go lighting some oversized knife on fire it ain't really something Mal's got any good reason to let frighten him.

'Sides which, the stubborn streak in him has failed to back down in face of a lot more far heavier armed forces, so unless he's brought the good Lord's entire fencing team, he don't see why he should be the one to back down here.

"Alright," Mal says with a bit of a nod of his head, doing his damnedest to take this all in strides. "Don't know where you came from just now or what the hell you folks 'round here do for fun." Meaning the whole act with dressing up and all the tricks they seem to be able to pull off. Hey, some worlds, he's been told, have taken up the hobby of juggling geese so as far as he's concerned this is just another weird lot of locals that he pretty well intends to never visit again. "But let me tell you something about me, you best get out of my way and let me get to that xiǎo​xiǎo yī​ gè or so help me I will shoot you down." Mal keeps his gun holstered, but that doesn't stop him from making threats. His stance pretty much says it as well as a gun to the face, anyway, with tense shoulders, a hardened glare, and pointing right at the... well, might as well call it an angel since Mal has no gorram clue what the hell this thing is, just that he doesn't have the time to care.

[all_the_gifts]

Mal starts forward, not to threaten but because he wants to help, because he still thinks he knows what's best. She might appreciate the good intentions if she didn't know what would happen if he gets her blood into his system. Would he even wake up if he started to turn into a hungry? Or would he just run through the woods, mindlessly tearing into any other dreamers he came across? She can't let that happen, she won't, and she scrambles backward accordingly as Nikolaos plants himself between her and Mal, teeth bared.

Then Aziraphale is there, just as he promised, wings flared and a blazing sword in his hand. Melanie stills, floored by the sight of him. Her heart clenches in much the same way that it had when Miss Justineau had crashed into Dr. Caldwell's lab with a fire extinguisher. For someone so good to do something so big, for her, it's so much more than she deserves, and she is so, so desperately grateful.

But she doesn't want anyone to get hurt. "He doesn't know what's going on," she explains in a panicked rush, "and Niko scared him and I just--I was so stupid." And there's no excuse for it, really; the star pupil should have been able to figure out the right thing to do.

"We tried to explain," Niko says. He still sounds annoyed, but now that help has arrived, much of the earlier anger has been supplanted by worry. Still, he stands his ground, hackles raised, just beneath Aziraphale's left wing.

Melanie watches the standoff anxiously, but her attention is diverted by Orisa's sudden arrival. "Oh," she says, astonished, as the snake curls around her like a hug, smooth and strong and warm from the angel's body heat. She nudges her head against Melanie's free hand, and the girl's fingers brush against the tiny, soft scales around her neck. "You shouldn't be here," Melanie says, little as she actually wants to send Orisa away. "It's not safe. I'm bleeding."

[bibliophale]

Aziraphale narrows his eyes and stands firm, unmoved by the threat or the weapon that backs it up. "I believe you've done enough," he says. "That 'xiǎo​xiǎo yī​ gè' is under my protection." Not sure what to make of the man's sudden burst of Mandarin, but it's scarcely relevant at the moment. Melanie and Niko's contributions he ignores for now; poor thing, always so well-intentioned, but he isn't about to hurt this upstart and he knows well enough, whatever happened, it could not have been due to Melanie being 'stupid'. No matter what she may have done or said, she is not the one firing on the defenseless.

Speaking of, that'll be quite enough of that, thank you. With a subtle flick of his wrist he alters the weapon's interior, subtly but enough to change the weight; no more bullets, only water. To Mal, he says, "You'll stand there, and you'll deal with me. I have no desire to harm you, but I will not allow you to touch her."

"I'm not going anywhere," says Orisa to Melanie, quiet but matter-of-fact. "Your blood can't harm anyone here, and regardless you can't harm me. It's going to be all right." She examines the wound briefly, then tilts her head to look at Nikolaos, so brave and vicious. "Come here, Niko, Melanie needs you." Better to diffuse the situation, if the animals are what's making this man jumpy.

Aziraphale wants to heal Melanie's wound - it will be the work of moments, but he needs to make contact with her, and he won't turn his back on this human just yet. Melanie will be fine, it is only a dream, but even in dreams this sort of behavior is unacceptable. "Explain yourself," he says coldly.

[captain_mal]

To Mal's mind, whoever this stranger is, he's acting downright rude.

First off, you don't just going showing up out of nowhere. Well, not unless you're looking to get yourself shot. In this case the fellow had been lucky enough seeing as Mal had just something of a misfire and his brain was taking it's sweet time catching up with the whole mess of a situation. Add to that being rightly preoccupied with the kid and, well, who goes and uses that as an excuse to go sneaking up on a man? 'Specially seeing as right at the moment time is not on their side.

It's hard to get a god look at Melanie, what with as small a creature as she is and seeing as Mal has a pair of wings, dog, and for some gorram reason a ruttin' snake now wrapped around her blocking his view. Mal might not be the most educated of folks but he's pretty certain that snakes can't sniff out blood like some kind of creeping coyote, and the large ones can rarely move all that fast or where it even came from....

But, no, of course Mal is the dangerous one here, not the giant snake that looks to be easily able to swallow that girl whole if it took to the idea. Yet here is this niǎo rén is trying to hold Mal back when he seems to be the only one around the least bit concerned about the girl lying there on the ground bleeding out, and without a proper look at her wounds Mal can't tell if the bullet is still lodged in there or not, causing even more damage. They need to get that out soon as possible, but suppose it's more important this guy show off whatever tricks he's got up his sleeves. Seems this whole gorram world is full of folks training to swindle hardworking types out of their well-earned coins. Probably doesn't even care about the poor kid, just looking for a way to show off is all.

Whoever he is, sure is protective for someone who couldn't be all that close to Melanie. After all, what sort of responsible adult lets a child go wandering through dark forests talking with strangers carrying guns and luring them out of trees? She all but told him she don't have no one to rely on, so he couldn't be anyone who looked in on her all that often. Also, seemed to understand language well enough. Sort of hùsheng knows well enough how to speak in both languages of this 'verse and then goes and only teaches a youngster one of them? Keeps her rather grounded, no wondered the poor thing don't know anything about ships.

Not that alone it's enough to end a man's life over, Mal reminds himself as he pulls his pistol out to make his point a little more clear. Just saying that he's accumulating reasons awful quick-like for a man he's just met.

At the same, Melanie seems to be familiar with the stranger, but suppose that's a given seeing as must be they come from the same backward circus show. So Mal figures whoever he is, he ain't nearly as important as saving someone never seen meant to get shooting the first place, who certainly don't deserve to loose an arm about it never mind worse. If Mal goes and kills someone Melanie knows don't seem likely she'll be very open to letting Mal get a look at that wound even if it's all in the name of trying to help. But hell if he ain't going to help her, and no niǎo-nǎo de guài​wu is about to stand in his way.

"Now, I'm telling you to back down," Mal growls, the end of his pistol pointed square in between his eyes. He shot her he'd damn well make it right, well, if he could just get this asshole out of his way. "Or else I'm going to have to-"

It's all done in one quick, sharp movement. Mal tosses the gun up just enough to grab it by the barrel, slamming the heavy butt of his pistol right into the angel's ear without hesitating that comes with a good conscious but plenty of practice pulling much the same trick on more than a handful of occasions. Good for knocking folks out so long as you ain't too worried about causing brain-damage.