bigapplesauce | Bringing home strays [closed]

Andrew at least feels a bit less useless from having accomplished the task of sitting Daine down. He glances at the console, tongue touching the roof of his mouth, and wishes he had a pair of brainy specs on him. He'll have to go out and buy a pair later. The readouts look like normal human from where he's standing, at least. He leans on the railing beside the chair and gives the TARDIS -- rather than the Doctor -- an expectant look. "Find anything yet?" he asks, not bothered about letting Daine know the scans have already begun.

Andrew's question and look are making the TARDIS feel a bit as though she was a voice controlled model, how he's telling her interface what to do and expecting results from it, rather than the console. Honestly she vastly prefers the old-fashioned way, since she wasn't constructed for this (except for the emergency interface), and she rather thinks the Doctor intuitively knows to still use her console for everything important even with her humanoid form standing right next to it. Of course she'd given out plenty of information verbally before, and she'd allowed Ianto to request some destinations when he was staying with her because he couldn't use the controls, and in these special circumstances the Doctor is relying on her to do things for him even when he's out and about. But it's still a somewhat uncomfortable position to be put in when it's not actually necessary, like right now, and she gives Andrew an inscrutable look. "I have found plenty of things, but none relevant, I think." Really, she only provides the readings, evaluating them is the pilot's job.

Then she turns to Daine, because the Doctor has given the commands for a mental scan. "I will examine your mind now." And because it's a medical scan, she doesn't have to worry about avoiding any boundaries like she had out of politeness last night. She begins mapping out the girl's mind and displays the results on the console, including the strange animal influences and that curious wall shutting off a part of her mind. She probes it a little to get a better idea of it, but awaits instructions on whether or not to try to see what's inside.

It's a force of habit, too, using the controls when he's actually there. He prefers doing something, rather than let her do all the work, and he's sure she wouldn't want to anyway. But given he's currently occupying the space in front of the screen, it would be difficult for Andrew to butt in as well. Or perhaps he's simply forgotten how to control the TARDIS, you never know.

And he's quite curious about that wall, though after a few moments consideration, he decides not to look inside - not without discussing it with her first, anyway. It's none of their business, it could have bad consequences, but primarily because it doesn't look to be recent, and thus not relevant. Mostly he's looking for damage or rift-related mysteriousness, but there doesn't seem to really be any.

"Nothing worrying," he informs Daine and Andrew.

Daine had felt a bit indignant upon realizing the examination had started without so much as a by-your-leave, and her mood isn't improved by the TARDIS's cursory announcement that she's going to poke through Daine's mind. Her ma hadn't raised her to fight healers, but at least the healers back home treated you as a person and not just a thing to be examined.

She's about to complain when the TARDIS probes the wall. It's the first time Daine's felt anything intrusive - a sort of twinge accompanied by a sick feeling of uncertainty that she recognizes immediately, for all that she hasn't felt it in years. The blood drains from Daine's face, and she instinctively raises her hands to her temples. "Stop it!" she snaps, suddenly terrified.

The corners of Andrew's mouth draw down involuntarily at the brush-off from the TARDIS (or what feels like a brush-off, anyway). He never knows how to talk to her, it seems, as badly as he wants to be friends even if he knows she's not his ship anymore. It doesn't occur to him that she might be taking issue with him not using the console to ask her; he hasn't been in her console room since being dropped off in Pete's world, and he has this vague but pervasive feeling that either the Doctor or the TARDIS will chase him off if he tries to do anything with her controls.

He's distracted from his own troubles by Daine's sudden outburst, his attention snapping to her. "What is it?" he asks, glancing between her and the console, indecisive about whether he's going to try to get an answer from Daine or from the display.

The TARDIS just blinks in confusion at Daine's sudden and visceral reaction to her careful examination. Her mind is perfectly healthy and she hadn't done anything to it, so what's the matter?

"I'm sorry?" It's more question than apology because she knows she didn't do anything wrong, but the girl's fear and distress are undeniable, and she withdraws completely from her mind.

"Sorry, sorry," he says at the same time as the other two speak, turning to Daine to reassure her.

Good thing he hadn't made the TARDIS probe that wall further then. He doesn't know exactly what the problem is, but he can guess what it was about.

"It's alright, we've stopped, we're not going to do anything, promise," he says quickly, crouching in front of her to be on eye-level and make sure she's okay.

Daine hardly even thinks of the wall in her mind anymore; it's been there long enough that she'd begun to take it for granted. It never would have occurred to her that anyone in this realm would be able to find it, let alone poke at it.

Why was the TARDIS that deep in her mind in the first place? And Goddess, what else could they do to the wall? Crack it? Break it? If something happens to it, without Numair to replace it, what would happen to her?

She keeps her hands clamped over her temples despite the Doctor's reassurances. Her distress over the thought of losing the wall is a new and unwelcome layer to the pain she already feels over Numair's continued absence, and she has to take a few deep breaths and swallow past the lump in her throat before she speaks.

"Just - leave it be," she says tersely, glancing between the Doctor and the TARDIS because she's not sure where she ought to direct that particular request.

"What did you do?" asks Andrew sharply, looking at the Doctor this time -- or rather, at the back and top of his head, since he's busy talking to Daine. He doesn't wait for a verbal answer from anyone in the room, but stalks over to the console to look at the readout. For a moment he looks blank and a little panicked as he realizes he can't immediately tell from a glance what it says, but as his eyes flick over the screen, the familiar forms click belatedly back into place. It takes him longer than it should to find what must have set Daine off and look back over at her in confusion. What has she got in her head?

All this distress and muted panic is rather unpleasant for the TARDIS and a quiet unhappy sound rings through the room. She doesn't miss Andrew's difficulties with her console, but decides to focus on Daine first, her upsetness being the source of all this.

"I've left your mind, Daine," she assures the girl calmly. "I was only examining you; I will not touch the wall again." Though it is an interesting construct, and she'd rather like to know how Daine could even tell she was poking it. But she'll leave the questions to the Doctor, of course.

The Doctor nods, affirming the TARDIS's reassurances. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you after what happened earlier, so there's no need for further examination," he tells her. He might have questions, but not right now.

"How about some tea, eh? Or cocoa?" he suggests kindly, and glances back at Andrew, giving a nod towards the doors leading to the kitchen. His distracting and slightly accusatory questions aren't really helping.

He also sends the TARDIS some comforting vibes, to counteract Daine's distress. Everything's fine, not to worry.

Daine frowns. She hadn't felt anything when the TARDIS had gone into her mind in the first place (until she hit the wall, anyway), and can only take her word for it that she's not still in there. It's not that she thinks the TARDIS is lying to her, but being unable to tell for certain that she's telling the truth makes it difficult for Daine to relax. The wall is still in place, at least - she can feel that much. If she was calm enough to meditate, she could check it for damage, but that will have to wait until she's back at the base.

Despite her continued uneasiness, she doesn't miss how the Doctor's going out of his way to reassure her. She lowers her hands into her lap and straightens out of the defensive hunch she'd curled into. She might still feel like bolting back into the Ramble, but at least she doesn't have to look like she's about to. "What's cocoa?" she asks, grateful for the distraction.

It comes to Andrew only belatedly that he's not doing much to calm Daine down. He feels sort of superfluous, really, and certainly out of the loop, though at least now that he's seen the readings he probably has close to as much information as either the TARDIS or the Doctor on what's going on in Daine's head.

He doesn't want to leave the console room when all this is going on, but he can hardly miss the Doctor's suggestion. "You'll like it," he tells Daine, forcing a smile. "It's chocolate you drink. I'll just go...make some. Now. In the galley. I'll be back." He gives the console a pat before reluctantly turning to scuttle off through the doorway, hoping the TARDIS will at least put the galley close.

Edited 2013-03-31 17:58 (UTC)

And of course she does, wanting to be nothing but helpful. She does think rather disapprovingly that some humans are just so skittish, but she likes Daine and is perfectly aware of what a delicate matter minds are, so she doesn't hold it against her. Besides, she hates to make any guest of hers uncomfortable.

The Doctor's reassurance is making her feel better already and the smaller lights in the walls twinkle kindly, hopefully helping to distract Daine rather than spooking her again. She also spares a comforting nudge for Andrew in the kitchen. That's everyone taken care of, right?

Yes, everyone's happy or busy. Good. The Doctor smiles encouragingly at Daine. "One of my favourite human inventions, cocoa. Chocolate in itself is pretty brilliant, but then they made chocolate you can drink," he tells her, straightening up and going back to the console, cheerfully latching on to the distraction himself.

"And edible ball bearings. Just these tiny silvery balls of sugar put on top of cakes, for no other reason than to be decoration on food. Amazing," he rambles about a familiar subject. Though he may be getting a little (well, a lot) stir crazy and tired of this place, so the excitement over these little human things is mostly for Daine's distraction.

Daine feels a brief pang of anxiety at Andrew's departure, but reminds herself that he did say he'd be right back. And with drinkable chocolate, no less. She has had chocolate before, though not in her realm - Yuri had been aghast when he'd realized she didn't know what it was and had insisted she try it.

She leans back in the chair, feeling a bit better now that the exam is over and done with, and lets the Doctor's chatter wash over her. She even manages a smile at the TARDIS's lights. It's quite pretty, now that she's less focused on the strangeness of it all. Her smile widens as it occurs to her, "Kitten would love it here. Prob'ly get into all manner of mischief, though," she adds, eyeing the console and imagining the little dragon clambering all over it.

Andrew finds the kitchen quickly and sets to work. It's a simple matter, of course, but it takes a little time to heat the milk. He puts in enough for everyone, including the TARDIS (even though he's not actually sure whether her humanoid interface eats and drinks), and then some. He tries not to think about his trouble with the console, or how abnormally normal it feels to be back here...but when he feels the TARDIS brush his mind he nudges back gratefully.

Edited 2013-03-31 22:54 (UTC)

The TARDIS has quite comfortably slipped into her usual role of observer, letting the Doctor entertain Daine and honestly probably getting a bit of a vacant look on her face as her focus drifts away from her humanoid form. The console hums contentedly to itself, glad that Daine is finally relaxing, even though she's talking about hypothetically letting loose some kind of mischievous kitten. She'd check her mind for clarification, but that's likely still off limits, and at this point she doesn't actually remember to just join the conversation herself. Instead, Andrew might notice a cabinet door popping open and revealing a package of Jammie Dodgers. Surely her Doctor won't mind them being used for a good cause.

Edited 2013-03-31 23:23 (UTC)

"No critters in the console room," he answers, lovingly flipping a few switches before going to flop down in the other chair. He glances up at the TARDIS's humanoid form and notices the vacant look, and gives a dismissive wave regarding it to Daine. "Don't worry, she does that."

"Anyway, we've got rooms for that. Got a whole zoo of endangered animals somewhere, not sure where it's got to. Oh, and the butterfly room, quite like that one. And there's bats living in the library. But none of them really venture in here. Well, in my time, anyway. Future me might've gotten lonely and gotten a cat again or something," he continues to ramble, not seeming too bothered about actually explaining.

Edited 2013-03-31 23:43 (UTC)

"Kitten's not a 'critter,' she's a dragon," Daine explains. "Skysong's her proper name. She wouldn't break anything, but she's very clever and curious." She rises from the chair so she can examine the console a bit more closely. Kitten would love it; there are few crystal-looking things that would probably light right up if the dragon did one of her whistling tricks.

The mention of the TARDIS containing a zoo piques her interest. "There are animals here?" She's not sure if she should be alarmed by the fact that the Doctor doesn't seem to actually know where they are. "Who's caring for them?"

Andrew turns when he hears movement in the kitchen, and obediently toddles over to see what the TARDIS has uncovered for him. A grin spreads across his face as he fishes out the biscuits and he lets out a cheerful, "Cheers!" for the TARDIS before remembering that the milk is about to burn and hurrying over to finish mixing the cocoa.

He emerges from the doorway a few minutes after he left, now burdened with a large tray on which he's put the coffee pot full of cocoa along with four mugs and the packet of Jammie Dodgers. The latter appears to have been opened and lightened; one might suppose he'd found it that way if it weren't for the fact that Andrew's still chewing. "Cocoa!" he announces through a mouthful of crumbs. "Which animals?" he adds after swallowing, having caught only the very last bit of their conversation.

Now that all the members of the group are back in the console room, it does occur to the TARDIS to join them as well, and life flows back into her physical form. She blinks once and tilts her head at Daine's question. "I am, of course." She doesn't think much of the idea of bringing a dragon inside, but then it could hardly be worse than the vortisaur, and Daine is likely more diligent about supervising her pets than the Doctor is.

When Andrew comes back up to the console dais, she turns to him and smiles, grateful that he thought to bring her a cup as well. It might not surprise anyone to know that she has a bit of a sweet tooth. "The ones in my zoos and gardens," she explains while relieving him of a mug and a biscuit.

The Doctor jumps to his feet and grabs two mugs, handing one of the to Daine, then takes the pot and pours for her first. "Careful, it's hot," he tells her, then pours for the TARDIS, Andrew, and finally himself. He also grabs a biscuit, considers it for a moment, then dips it in his cocoa before eating it.

"There's practically an entire ecosystem in here, so the animals mostly get along without help. Though, of course, the TARDIS looks after the ecosystem."

Daine turns to smile at Andrew upon his return, and accepts the mug from the Doctor with a quiet, "Thanks." She curls her fingers around the cup, enjoying the warmth, while she waits for the cocoa to cool a bit.

What the Doctor's describing sounds fascinating. The mages back home had been working on improving their majesties' menagerie with things like weather spells, to make each animal's exhibit as similar to its homeland as possible. If the TARDIS has managed something like that - or better - Daine would very much like to see it. If nothing else, she'd like to make sure the animals here are happy. She can't imagine they're being mistreated on purpose or anything unpleasant like that, but there might still be room for improvement.

"May I see it?" Daine asks. In case the answer is 'no,' she cautiously sends out her magic, listening for them. It's very strange at first: some of her friends outside the TARDIS are closer than any animals inside, and it takes her a few moments to reorient herself to the ship instead of the park. Once she has, her eyebrows creep up in surprise. She can hear the little bat colony in the library without trouble, but the menagerie is outside her range - which means it must be quite a distance away. Just how big is the TARDIS?

Andrew finds himself holding a tray with the pot, the biscuits, and his cup of cocoa on it. He frowns at the array as he realizes he can't drink his cocoa or eat any biscuits with his hands full, casts about for a moment or two, looking like he's thinking of setting it down on the console, and finally settles on putting it on one of the steps that lead up out of the console room. Problem (masterfully) solved, he takes up his mug and promptly burns his tongue on the too-hot liquid.

"'Course you can," he answers Daine, ignoring the fact that he is neither the TARDIS nor her pilot. "What's the use of having your own ecosystem if you can't show it off?"

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