planets oblivious
by greensilver
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River didn't like being planetside. Planets were huge, lumbering creatures that spun through space in slow motion, sticking to well-worn paths through the ether. Anyone could find a planet, if they had the correct charts and knew the correct patterns. Anyone could chase a planet down, and planets were too stupid to run away from danger.
Worse, planets were all out in the open, held together with invisible, untouchable forces. Planets were exposed to space, but they didn't even seem to know it; planets let their insides stretch out toward the stars and trusted that gravity would keep all the bits tucked in. Planets trusted more than River did. In wide open spaces where she could see the ground curve away at the edges of the horizon, she could feel empty, hungry space waiting for her to float away from the planet's surface.
So in their forays onto planets, River avoided the open areas. When reliable structures were not available for hiding, she found trees. Trees were smarter than the planets they lived on, she guessed; they dug in, hanging onto the dirt and rocks as though they knew the danger, like she did. Mostly she sat on roots where they protruded up from the ground, but sometimes she climbed up into the swaying tree limbs. At that height, the trees protected her all around - wide branches and clinging twigs to keep her up; soft, obtuse leaves in brilliant greens to hide her away.
When Simon came to get her, as he always did, she laughed at him until he climbed up after her. Simon was a good brother, but he didn't understand; he preferred the openness of planets. He couldn't tell that they were limping along beneath him, always two spins away from throwing him off.
The only ones who knew that were River and the trees, and when they tried to give warning, no one would listen.
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