Doin' a little magic [open]

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee is in the Sensorium, doing her favourite thing in the world: working on Serenity's engine. The whole place has turned into the interior of her ship (without any of the "crew" - that would be too weird), and she's tucked away in the engine room, fixing things that need fixing.

It's not the same, because she doesn't sound quite right, but Kaylee doesn't mind too much. It's enough to keep her from dying of homesickness.

If anyone would care to wander in, just follow the banging sounds up the stairs and through the mess back to the engine room. She won't mind company.

Comments

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim hasn't really been seeking out company lately. Not since the thing with the Yeerks and... everything that came after. He hasn't been avoiding, exactly (well, except for Jaime. Tim's avoiding him just a little while he gets his head back in order), but he hasn't looked for company either.

He's decided to--finally--go see what the big deal is with the Sensorium. He's not usually one for escapism, but... yeah, it seems like a pretty decent idea these days. Only, when he opens the door, it's like he's on the set for Lightning Bug--that sci-fi series Joe Westin had put out that Tim had been so into for a while. Too bad it had been so short-lived.

He wanders through the corridors, grinning and geeking out just a little. It isn't exact, of course, but it's pretty close. He follows the banging noises until he reaches the engine room where someone... not at all familiar, actually, is hard at work.

He waits for a break in the noises, and waves at her. "Hey," he says with a small smile.

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee peeks out of wherever she'd had her head stuck, a smear of grease down one of her shirts, and smiles brightly. "Well, hey!" she says, and wipes her hands on her jumpsuit. "Didja want to use this room? 'Cause I can come back later, if you do."

Hey, she's not gonna impose her idea of a good time on anyone else.

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim shakes his head. "No, it's fine--I was just coming to see what the big deal was, mostly." He glances around, still amused by how much this looks like the TV show he used to watch. "So--what is this place? It... honestly, it looks a lot like the Tranquility set for Lightning Bug." He gives her a slightly embarrassed look. "It's a show I used to watch. Did you watch it too?"

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee laughs a little and shakes her head. "Nope. This is Serenity. The ship I fly on, back home. I'm the mechanic." She reaches out to stroke the wall, a little sadly. "Just started gettin' a little homesick, and I ain't one to mope around, so I thought I'd come do some work on her, even if it ain't really her."

Then she shakes her head to clear it. "Well I'm just dāì ruò mù jī, sorry, I'm Kaylee." She offers a hand. If he'd rather not get imaginary grease on his hands, he can decline, she won't be offended.

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim nods, smiling. "Maybe I'll do that next time I start missing home." Though--he's not really sure where home is these days. Gotham? Probably. Bludhaven's really just a... thing. For now. While he copes.

He steps forward and takes her hand, giving her a firm handshake. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm Robin--uh--Tim. And do you always insult yourself in Chinese, or do you use other languages as well?"

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

That gets a bright laugh out of her, making her nose crinkle up a bit. "Sometimes in English, too. Just grew up speakin' both, though most folk don't use Chinese as much. Well, not where I grew up, anyhow. Some worlds, folk don't hardly speak English at all if they can help it."

She tilts her head and grins wickedly at him. "So do you always change your mind about what your name is, or do you sometimes just stick with one?"

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim grins back at her. "Usually I stick with the one. You can call me Tim. Robin's kind of a professional name." He motions to the mask over his eyes and the utility belt. "But I'd rather not go the whole time we're here without hearing my real name, you know?" He gives her a wry grin. "Plus--there's really not anyone around to be hurt by the fact that you know both."

Bruce is a million miles away, and his actual family... yeah. It doesn't really matter much anymore who knows that Tim is Robin.

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

"Well, even if there were, I'm good at keepin' a secret," she says with a grin, and taps the side of her nose. "Gotta be, line 'a work we're in back home."

She crouches down and starts tweaking something or other, but glances up to him briefly between tweaks. "So... d'you always wear a mask? Got some sorta medical problem, or just lookin' mysterious?"

[mrsarcastic003]

He laughs. "The mask? Oh--it definitely makes me look cool." He reaches up and peels it off carefully, showing Kaylee his perfectly normal face and bright blue eyes. "Not exactly the Phantom of the Opera, huh? My friends used to call me Mystery Boy.

"So--what line of work are you in? I mean--aside from the obvious." He motions toward the engine and the work she's doing there.

[pie-bitches.livejournal.com]

"Hey there, little lady," comes Dean's voice as he leans over her shoulder, grinning. "Nice ship."

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee is used to being interrupted while she's working, thankfully, which means no unsightly squeaks or banging her head on things. Amusingly enough, she's also pretty used to being called "little lady", all things considered, and it makes her grin as she glances over her shoulder at Dean.

"Hey there!" She extracts herself from the engine and pushes her hair back with one hand, streaking a bit more grease across her face. "Glad you like her. You're... Dean, right?"

[pie-bitches.livejournal.com]

He leans back as she works her way out of the engine, and shoves his hands in the pockets of his plantsuit. He really needs to remember to go back to the lockers to see if he can at least find his old coat, but for now, he'll be content with the front pockets.

"She's a beauty." Dean replies. "And yeah, I'm Dean. Think we got here around the same time. You're Kaylee, right?"

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

"Yep, that's me!" Kaylee beams about fit to burst at the compliment to her ship. Clearly, Dean is a person worth knowing.

"She ain't quite the same here. Just don't feel quite right, y'know? Like she's missing her soul. Still, she's my girl whether she's real or in my head, y'know?" Oh, look, Kaylee got philosophical! Or... something.

[pie-bitches.livejournal.com]

Of course Dean is worth knowing. He'd take offense if you said otherwise.

"Nah, I understand. S'like my car back home. I didn't even think of coming in here to work on her." Dean remarks thoughtfully. "But yeah, I get you. Always liked chicks who knew their way around mechanics, y'know."

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

(ooc: I do not fail at tags. Really. Except how I do. ...love me anyway? :D?)

"I'm guessin' 'chicks' means girls, right?" she asks with a grin. "I can fix an engine faster'n you can spit, if I know my way 'round it. Almost as fast if I don't." She tilts her head thoughtfully. "'Course, the workin's here are real different, and I don't... well, they don't tell me what they're doin' so clear, y'know? Most times, a ship or somethin'll just talk to me, this one doesn't so much. Or maybe just different." She shakes her head and laughs at herself. "Look at me, makin' a chŭnrén outta myself, ramblin' on. You a mechanic?"

[re-hymenated.livejournal.com]

"Chicks means girls, yeah," Dean answers, chuckling. He's not too good at remembering slang where he's from is not common in other places. Dean's got the same issue with Geoff.

"Talk to you, huh? Pretty talented. I've never worked on a ship, so I wouldn't know," Dean shrugs.

"Dunno what a choo... whatever the hell it is you just said is, but yeah, I'm a mechanic, sorta. It's more of a sidejob than anything. And I work on cars, not huge-ass spaceships."

[godimgood.livejournal.com]

Geoff's been in the media library, reading just about anything he can coax onto a screen, until his head feels fit to burst. The way his eyes - already poor and abused, and certainly unused to staring at bright screens full of poorly-spelled words - ache doesn't help either.

So, forced to take a break, he decides to let his feet and ears do the thinking. He follows the first to the sensoriums, the second to roughly roundabout where all the noise seems to be coming from. Caught between blinking madly and squinting so hard his eyes are nearly shut, he hikes his kilt up and peers around.

He's never seen anything even near resembling all this. And that's with all the wandering he's done here.

"Hello?" he calls uncertainly.

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee hears a voice out in the mess. It's not loud enough to really understand what's being said, but she hears it, so she pulls her head out of Serenity's innards long enough to call, "I'm back here, if you need me!"

It's not as if there's any actual importance to what she's doing, but it's hard to remember that when she's working.

[godimgood.livejournal.com]

Geoffrey looks around uncertainly, but doesn't see a reason not to go further in. So, very carefully, he picks his way into the depths, following the voice.

"M'lady?" he tries again, wondering vaguely what a woman is doing in a place like this. But then he remembers Kate, and doesn't wonder so much. "Miss?"

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

Kaylee peeks out again and smiles, extracting herself entirely from Serenity's engine and wiping her hands on her jumpsuit. "Hey there, you lookin' for somethin'? If you wanna use the room, I can clear out. Ain't like I have a need t'be here."

[godimgood.livejournal.com]

Geoff automatically smiles back at her, squinting open-mouthed to try and get a decent look at the strange, industrious woman before remembering his manners.

"No, no, I was merely reading and found myself needing to take a break. I wandered away from the library and found myself here. If I'm intruding, I can leave," he says, gesturing back over his shoulder uncertainly.

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

"Naw, it's shiny!" Kaylee says cheerfully. "I was just havin' a poke 'round Serenity's insides. Helps when I get a little homesick, just come here, come home, get my hands dirty."

She glances around with a fond smile - she loves her girl. "Oh, look at me, forgettin' to say hello all proper-like." She offers a hand. "My name's Kaylee."

[godimgood.livejournal.com]

"This is like your home?" A strange home, he thinks, like living constantly in armor.

Still, he immediately shakes her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Kaylee. I'm Geoffrey. Geoffrey Chaucer."

[anaturaltalent.livejournal.com]

"Yep!" Kaylee beams a bit. "Serenity's the best ship in the 'verse."

She shakes his hand firmly. Her hands are calloused - a worker's hands, and she's proud of that. "Well, it's nice to meet you, too. I guess you ain't from somewhere as has space travel?"

[godimgood.livejournal.com]

"The only ships we have are made of wood," Geoff admits easily, "and sail on the sea. But I would say that any ship so well-loved by she who tends her could not help but be, as you say, the very best."

She reminds him, strongly and naturally, of Kate, but perhaps a younger one not quite so beaten down upon. It intrigues him. He decides that yes, this Kaylee's story is definitely one he wants to hear.