Disclaimer: Firefly and all related elements belong to Joss Whedon.

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River sat on the cold metal deck plates on Serenity's bridge, a vast array of plastic figurines arranged strategically before her. She'd sorted Wash’s toys into groups. One group were the carnivores. Another were the herbivores. The third and final group were the omnivores. There was one toy, however, that River could not fit into any of the categories.

"Can't be qualified," River muttered. "It doesn't fit in. It’s an outcast, only one, alone."

She carefully turned the toy elephant over in her hands. It wasn't like the dinosaurs. It was all by itself. She set it down facing the three groups of dinosaurs and tilted her head a little bit, trying to gain some perspective.

"Unique, just one," River said to herself. "Survival of the fittest, the strongest, most advanced. King of the beasts and all will bow down to him."

River rearranged the animals a little, setting a few of the herbivores and omnivores aside, out of sight, spreading the carnivores out.

"They're moving in, expanding their territory, soon they will rule the land," River mumbled. "But there will come a sickness, and cold, deathly cold. They'll die, all of them, even the fittest. No survival, against the natural laws, disprove Darwin..."

Wash and Mal stood in the doorway to the bridge, watching River intently.

"Would you look at that?" Mal said lightly. "You two got something in common."

"Does that make me crazy?" Wash queried.

"Does that make me sane?" River asked having overheard them.

She grinned lightly, sensing the utterly blank looks on both men’s faces. She loved being ahead of the game. It made her like the king of the beasts.