Just a day, trying to get by

[alwayscoward]

The girl whose records name her "Mary Tyler" is sitting on a curb in the Basin across from the Millennium Center in Cardiff with a paper bag full of chips, eating them absently and very much not noticing the ebb and flow of humanity around her. She looks rather like those young people who are quiet and wallflowery until they either take a gun to

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[spydaughter]

Izzy's only in Cardiff, because it's one of the few places "Jeeves" won't set foot in and she'd rather deal with him right now. He has nothing but disdain for the Welsh, after all, but if he has anything but disdain for any group of people, she has yet to meet them.

You do the sort of work she does on a daily basis and you notice things about people. Little, insignificant things. Usually they don't make you stop and stare.

This one does, however. Something oddly electric that gives a simple little spy-cum-assassin pause.

"Well, you look like ten miles of bad prarie and no chocolate chip ice cream in sight." Not the most clever of observations, but it slips out before she realizes it's kinda silly.

Note the accent is distinctly American, even if she hasn't been back to the States in years.

[alwayscoward]

The girl blinks a bit, like she's not sure that Izzy's actually talking to her. But yes, she is, so she shrugs a bit and returns to her chips.

"I suppose." It's a short sentence, but her accent is London. Council girl, probably, if you get more out of her to go on.

...Sorry, Izzy, she's not exactly talkative.

[spydaughter]

Unfortunately, Izzy's a little chatterbox when she's not on business and this is a vacation. No killing people and no being, you know, someone who really isn't her. Not that she minds when she's not her. It's kind of a thrill.

And she's curious anyway. Student of human nature, maybe, even if that doesn't apply here exactly... Not that she knows that.

"Well, we're sullen, aren't we?" She continues, drawing just a bit closer and drawing out the 'well' like it has at least two syllables. "You know, they say talking to strangers about your problems is helpful or something like that. Must be why people pay shrinks so much money."

Apologies in advance. You tickle her curiosity and she may never let you go. She picked it up from her mentor.

[alwayscoward]

"Mary" sighs and looks up at Izzy. Her eyes are old, impossibly old for... well, a human, and hollow. "Talking to anyone isn't going to be helpful," she says flatly.

Chips are good. She'll go back to that.

[spydaughter]

And Izzy notices that, because... Well, she's just perceptive like that. Yay spy senses. It's more than just this girl being broken, although that's certainly there, it's... Well, she's not exactly sure what it is, but she's convinced she can find out.

She has issues, but that's to be expected.

She shrugs and gets just a bit closer, although she's avoiding getting too close just in case the girl snaps when provoked. "Oh really? Don't believe in the talking method, do you? Maybe it will be helpful. Ever tried it?"

[alwayscoward]

"I think you'll find I'm quite knowledgeable about certain things. Including myself."

Beat.

"Anyway, I already tried. Talking didn't help." Talking won't bring her back.

[spydaughter]

Izzy crosses her arms over her chest and kinda scowls a little, because that first bit? Sounds an awful lot like something Jeeves would say, which does not make her a happy girl.

"Jesus," she swears after a minute. She frowns and pauses, before continuing. "I'm Isabelle, by the way. Everyone calls me 'Izzy' though."

She says that in a tone that suggests, 'No, I'm not going away, because you're interesting and I'm very fascinated by you.' Yes, she can get all of that in her tone. She's special.

[alwayscoward]

There is some serious pondering going on for a moment. Give the girl her name, or give the girl the name that she and Jack created so she could do things like rent a flat?

"I'm the Doctor," she says finally. "Just 'the Doctor'."

[spydaughter]

And there is headtilting, because that? That isn't a name at all, and it's the weirdest alias she's ever heard.

And she pretty much says as much.

"What kind of name is that?" She balks. She's possibly a bit offended, because she was actually nice enough to give her real first name... Well, the last name generally goes unannounced these days. Too many people knew her parents and it raises questions.

[alwayscoward]

"It's my name." In a vaguely insulted tone that casts back to a tall man with big ears and a leather jacket.

Her "real" name, her Gallifrean name, that was left behind when she ran away, exiled, and it burned when the planet did. All she has left is "Doctor".

[spydaughter]

And there's more confused staring. "You had insane parents. Seriously. Sounds like the sort of name yuppies with an inner hippie might have named their kid after they took a wrong turn at Woodstock or something."

Isabelle's brain doesn't work like a sane person's, so there's plenty of apologies for that too. Clearly she hasn't been exposed to the supernatural nearly enough. Then again, she thinks Jeeves had evil parents for naming him Julian.

So no, it doesn't occur to her that she might actually be talking to someone who isn't actually human. That wouldn't occur to most people, of course, because humans, as a whole, are a very closed-minded species.

[alwayscoward]

The Doctor rolls her eyes. "Humans. You've got such a self-centered view on the universe. How do you manage to not be completely wiped out?"

It's fond, though. A little. As much as she can be fond right now.

Really, if she's like any of her previous regenerations, it's her ninth. Which is... a weird combination.

[spydaughter]

"Because we're smarter than the average bear and-"

A beat.

"Did you just refer to humans like you're looking at us from an outside perspective?"

Oh this will be fun. Izzy's about to wish the only crazy things that existed in her little world were things related to Milo Rambaldi (not that Rambaldi's really a big deal anymore, but all the strange little mysteries regarding him still hang in the air).

[alwayscoward]

The Doctor shrugs, and resumes eating her chips.

This could be interesting. Theoretically. At least it'll give her something to think about.

If she doesn't start thinking about Rose in the process.

[spydaughter]

Damn getting too close. This is interesting and maybe if she gets closer, this... Doctor will be more inclined to pay attention to her. Her logic is kinda crazy.

"What the hell are you?" She hisses once she's directly in front of her and leaning over so that her face is mere inches from hers. It's practically an order. That's probably the wrong tone to take with the Doctor, but she wouldn't know better. That's the problem with arrogant assassins- they think they're above everyone because they can kill you. Apparently.

That usually only applies to other humans, of course.

[alwayscoward]

The Doctor looks up slowly, her eyes hard. There is the Oncoming Storm, the being who terrified the Daleks, who had burned Gallifrey and Skaro and Chardin.

"I am far older and more powerful than you, and I'm not afraid to die. But I don't think you could kill me if I didn't want you to."

She actually doesn't believe she's as powerful as she'd like - if she were truly powerful, she could have saved them all.