Prompt 49 (Aladdin): House and Home:Veils -Firefly G (2/4)

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Title:House and Home (2/4)
Chapter Title: Veils
Set: Post Series Pre Movie
Rating G
Prompt: Aladdin
Word Count: 1453
Disclaimer: I am the almighty Joss, beware my wrath. Umm I mean I did not create these characters or this universe. Joss said go playth, and here I play!
A/N: Mucho thanks to my bestest beta spiralleds. Of course I fiddled with it after she saw it, so all mistakes are mine.
I think these will be four parts. Here's hoping for helpful prompts! The first part is Here
Summary: Unfortunately, nothing was direct any more.

Nothing would interfere with such a summons.

Not even her landlord Captain Reynolds.

Not even herself.



Of course, nothing was that easy.

"H'uh. Is that like some Companion re-call?" Jayne smirked.

"I'm sure the 'verse will feel the loss," Mal said in that infuriating way where she wasn't quite sure if he was joking.

"Well I think it's shiny! A Companion Conclave, getting to see all your friends. And the clothes! You'll have to tell me about the clothes."

"Kaylee, we may turn you into a real girl after all. You're sounding as excited as when the latest ship schematics arrive." As misguided as the mechanic's enthusiasm was, it was simpler to focus on her starry-eyed view of what would instead be some very tension filled days.

"May I inquire when we can expect to arrive in Sihnon?" She was in no rush. Arriving early might even be disadvantageous. However, this was an undertaking which required thoughtful fortifications.

"There might be a bit of a difficulty in setting a time line on that. Wash?"

"You barked, Captain, my Captain?" The pilot's voice filtered through the intercom.

"Is interest keen on our little tag-a-long?" This was said with a sideways glance towards her.

Ah, that was his game. Before Wash could continue she bowed out saying, "Please advise me of our expected arrival date."

She had two weeks to complete what she'd calculated as a forty-two hour trip, if they went straight there. Unfortunately, nothing was direct any more.

She could have waited until she and the Captain were alone to ask about the routing, but she'd been avoiding their usual tete a tetes… He hadn't been by her shuttle lately, so maybe she wasn't the only one. Or maybe she was just imagining things that weren't there. He did that to her. Another reason why her choice was clear.

"Truthsome," he'd said, after their time with Nandi. But how long did that truth hold? Not that it mattered, she'd grown soft on this ship and that hadn't been the plan.

And she always had a plan. It was what a good Companion did. Nandi may have joked with her about dulcimers, but the performance skills were just that, facade for their true work.

Like Ma-- the Captain was doing. He had to look out for the best interest of the crew; and towing the bounty hunter's ship around was a target, and could hurt them as much as the money from its sale would help. While she was no longer--had never been--part of the crew, she did not wish them ill.

And she had time.

She just wasn't sure what to do with it.

Luckily Kaylee interrupted what she had to own up to as brooding. No brood could survive that influx of energy and cheer. Physics texts made no mention of a power like Kaylee, but

Inara was not one to dismiss something for a lack of quantification.

"Ship's all shaped and since nothing exciting is happening around here," they both ignored the shadow that Early had drawn over Serenity, "I was thinking you could use some help choosing your clothes."

"And grant you the opportunity to try a few on? I think that you've been losing weight. It's not for..."

"Not for no one," she replied with a vehement shake of her head. "Just protein rations aren't quite as tasty when you know it'll be the same tomorrow."

Yet another reason that the Captain was right in seeking to raise money for the crew.
Another way he protected his own.

Like Nandi had, like she would, once she decided who her people were.

"Do you have special colors? Will there be a ball? Without the kidnapping I mean. I don't think I've seen anything as pretty as that ball, well except for this one experimental model…don't let Serenity know but she had a real sweet wing construction, none of our girl's personality though." Kaylee nodded and absently gave one of the walls a pat.

Thinking of the House's reaction to being compared with a new ship was the final push Inara needed to break out of her doldrums. Had she stayed in the Central Worlds, her path would have been clear. Since she'd struck out on her own, she had no idea of her standing among her peers, and that standing would be determinative to what she could accomplish at the Conclave.

But Kaylee was right, no matter what, she needed to pack carefully.

With a tilt of her head, she indicated a trunk to Kaylee, who helped her move it into the seating area. She'd seen the others come aboard with only haversacks, and in Jayne's case an arsenal, but image was an essential component as a companion. One could not travel light.

Answering Kaylee's question, she replied, "There maybe entertainment, but Conclave is only for Companions."

Kaylee's face dropped. "You means you won't need that dress? It was a powerfully pretty dress – much nicer than those girls was wearing. You're friends are nicer than them I 'spect. They must be; you are."

Powerfully pretty – she could use that right now. And no point in trying to avoid clothes that reminded her of, there wasn't a piece here that didn't carry some memory. Maybe time with Kaylee was a good idea, and good practice. To be thought of as nice. In a rush of gratitude Inara sent up a prayer of thanks that those gossips were the worst of female battles Kaylee knew. She'd witnessed it, but as she was on contract that night, she'd been helpless to intervene. She'd warmed herself with the knowledge that they'd have not survived a five minute encounter with true Companions.

"I do believe you are correct, Miss Frye." She dropped into a playful curtsy. "That dress should definitely be amongst my-–"

She'd been about to say arsenal. Had she truly grown so lax in her speech? If so, they would rightly rip her to shreds.

"And what about your pretty veils? With the danglies?"

"Only a few. Why don't you pick?"

Her armor, and she could not afford to wear them. This meeting would be about control, while a veil advertised weakness. However, for her entrance and exit, it would be permissible.

"You don't sound that excited. Ain't there no one you want to see again? No one you got in messes with? You've helped with too many of our plans for you NOT to have done some funning in school."

"Well, there was Aladdin."

The mechanic's normally open face drew together like a closed parasol. "But ain't Aladdin a boy's name?"

"No naughty thoughts there. Aladdin was the Head Priestess' cat. Persian, a fluffy ball with blue eyes and sharp claws."

Kaylee broke into a wide grin. "That's the first time you've smiled! So what adventures did you get into?" Kaylee plopped herself down on the nearest pillow.

How much to tell? Given the look on her face, not discussing it was not an option.

"Your first few years in the House, there's a uniform for all the trainees: dark blue."

"But you never wear...ohh."

"It does grow tiresome, especially when the older girls are training in clothes and each day –"

"But what's a uniform to do with a cat?" Kaylee always focused on the heart of a discussion.
She settled down and leaned back, a pose actually taught to put others at ease, granting then more space for intimate secrets to spill out. At least she could still recognize the move. Maybe her skills hadn't atrophied out here in the Black as much as she'd fear.

"It was a test. After curfew, we'd sneak out of the dorms and try to shadow Aladdin to pet him."

Kaylee's voice may have stayed silent but her eyes were eloquent in their entreating.

Dropping her head, Inara confessed. "I was always able to stroke him. Without getting scratched. Nandi was too impatient, I believe she still has – had—a scar on her little finger."

This was a memory of happier times; it didn't hurt as much as the others.

"No infirmary? Even here, Simon's able to heal cleanly."

"Ah but then she'd have to admit to getting caught by the cat that we were forbidden to touch. Normally the trick was to get all the white hairs off our dark outfits. I suspect that they knew about our escapades, but would only enforce it when one of us was sloppy enough to leave them evidence."

"Will your other friends be there?"

That was the question, wasn't it? Did she have other friends in the House? But that was not Kaylee's concern.

"Of course. There will be a lot to catch up on." Given Kaylee's happy grin, maybe she didn't need the veils after all.

Part Three Different Ways of Seeing