The Doctor wakes up to pain, because strangely enough, lying on hard, cold ground with a couple broken ribs is not the most comfortable thing in the universe. He groans, and rolls over slowly, opening his eyes to blink at the surrounding area in quiet bemusement. His head's fuzzy, but clearing quickly, and it doesn't have to be clear anyway for him to register that this is so very much not where he should be. Not even a little.
He bounces to his feet - or, rather, starts to bounce, winces at the twinge in his chest, and then just straightens awkwardly the rest of the way. He's not the only one here, but he's the only one conscious at the moment, so he homes in on the next most interesting thing in the area - that shimmering stone arch, which he immediately starts circling, leaning in to study the stones and the inscription at close range. Looks like a way in or out of this place, probably...
Well, except for the fact that it's broken. That might be a problem.
Cold is the first thing Neal notices. Silk satin trousers and dress shirts, not so much with the protectiveness. He shudders and rolls onto his hands and knees, gives his head a little shake, and looks up.
And immediately goes into emotional lockdown as logical calculation takes over. The hand towel he was going to use to clean the charcoal and gun grease off his face is still in his hand. He's still dressed for that damn showing, and... he has no idea who any of the others here with him seem to be.
Also it's winter.
This makes about as much sense as...
His talent for metaphorical comparisons seems to have abandoned him for the moment. It left a headache behind. How sweet.
Neal struggles to his feet, looking up at the arch--and then checking sharply and taking a half-step back when someone circles around it toward him.
Toph immediately shifts into a defensive stance at the movement, hiding the momentary panic of waking up alone behind a stony glower directed... Slightly between the two guys she can "see" on the other side of this arch.
"Okay, crazy spirit things," she says in a no-nonsense tone that really doesn't match up with her tiny, twelve-year-self, "you got to the count of five to explain what's going before you get beat down. I don't know about any of the usual mumbo-jumbo, but let's see how big and bad you are when I'm kicking your butt."
The Doctor pulls up short as one of the people sprawled on the ground sits up, and grins brightly at Neal - like he's not cut and bruised from recently falling through a skylight, like it's not at all strange that they've found themselves in a strange forest for no good reason...
"Oh, hello! You're awake! I was just-"
He isn't sure what explanation he can give for their current situation. He doesn't have to give an explanation, thankfully, because then one of the others wakes up and starts... threatening? He turns away from the man he'd been speaking to for a moment and swings toward the girl, eyebrows raised.
"Duh," she replies acidly, rolling her eyes as she keeps her ears on these two. "Who else would I be talking to? The trees?" She's not some weirdo, banjo-playing hippie refugee. The suspicion abates slightly when the second guy denies being a spirit - he's not lying, not as far as Toph can tell. But then again, she's learned that even that's not an entirely foolproof system.
She smirks in arrogance, tilting her head in Neal's direction. "Because sometimes spirits like kidnapping people and that's the only way anything would be able to get me like this."
The Doctor snorts in amusement at that, glancing all around them one more time. There's something odd about this grove of white-barked trees, a faint psychic whispering just at the edge of his awareness. Faint enough that he doesn't notice it until he pays attention, but present enough that it makes the hairs rise on the back of his neck. Unsettling, but probably not dangerous.
"With these particular trees? I don't know, they might listen." He cocks an eyebrow at the girl. "These spirits. What're they like?"
Toph blinks, and the look on her face shifts from "I am just that awesome" to "were you dropped on your head". Of course, the effectiveness of that look as it's not pointedly directed at either one of them - instead still aimed between them - might be less than Toph intended.
"They're spirits," she says, with sarcasm lathered on nice and think. "Kind of what it says on the jar, genius."
She senses the other people around the arch moving, and tenses slightly. If any of these spirit bozos try to sneak up on the poor little blind girl, Toph is more than prepared to make them regret it.
The Doctor shrugs, and starts to move around the arch again, and there's an odd sort of hitch in his step as he starts to bounce - again - and stops himself when he remembers that that causes pain. It's hard not to bounce around, though, when he's just landed smack in the middle of a nice big puzzle, and--
And he is trying not to think about Wilf in that radiation chamber, what happens to him if the Doctor can't find a way back in time, at exactly the right time to... do... something...
He was doing very well not thinking about that, until now, and he shakes his head and refocuses on the arch, determined to go back to that. One thing at a time. "Well, there are all sorts of things people call spirits. Just like vampires, or angels, or gods... That's why I'm asking. If the name itself were descriptive enough, I obviously wouldn't have to, now would I?"
He might be getting a little snippier at her than a sarcastic blind girl really warrants. Don't worry, Toph, it's nothing personal.
Neal glances back and forth between the two of them, instinctively taking in their attitudes and tones and adapting his own to match. He addresses Toph first.
"Kind of surprised you can read a jar, given that you haven't looked directly at either of us since this conversation started. Some of us don't deal with..."
Spirits. Briefly, the ludicrous nature of the situation cracks his facade. A quickened heartrate, a brief unsteady breath, and he's back into the calm, neutral clarity of control. "Spirits. I know I never have. Oh, and I'm Neal. Neal Caffrey. Since we're introducing ourselves."
"Just 'cause I'm blind doesn't mean I don't know that jars have labels," she replies dryly. "And I don't know what vampires or angels or gods are, so j-"
Toph is about to fire off another snarky shot, but then both men lay both their cards on the table, so to speak. Toph looks from one to the other, head slightly cocked to the side before she sighs. "Maybe it's not the best idea to go exploring when you're all busted up like that," she remarks to the Doctor, though she's still looking at Neal. "And you're twitchier than a hog-monkey."
She shakes her head at both of them. Man, people were dumb. Toph then kicks the ground, raising a small pillar of earth to sit on, since apparently they were all going to have tea and cakes now with this getting-to-know-you party. "Toph. Super to meet you." Yes. That was sarcasm.
The Doctor stops for a moment, and leans a little around one column of the Arch to glare through it at her. Not that she can see him, so it the glaring is a bit unnecessary, but he just can't help himself sometimes. "I'm fine," he says firmly. "I just had a bit of a fall, and now I'm..."
He trails off, staring at that little pillar she'd just... created, apparently without any effort or real thought at all. "Fine," he finishes absently, all his annoyance fading in favor of curiosity. "And I'm the Doctor! Can I ask how you did that, or are you just going to snap at me for asking? Again?"
"Your not," Neal says to the Doctor, his own tone equally absent as he studies the rock pillar himself. "And whatever a hog-monkey is, I'm offended at the comparison."
He tilts his head and tucks his hands into his pockets, leaving the towel slung half-around his neck. "Better question. More on point question--it doesn't seem like any of this is strange to you. This kind of thing happen a lot where you're from?"
Right, he's still got charcoal on his face. He snags a corner of the towel to wipe at his cheeks.
"What he said," Toph says confidently to the Doctor, looking at him jerking her chin at Neal to differentiate. Then she deliberately points a finger at Neal, but still facing the Doctor. "And you should be, because you're all high-strung and stressed and it's really obvious."
Then her expression shifts back into the "dropped on your head" variant. "I'm an Earthbender," she answers as if it's the most obvious thing in the world (and in her world, it is) - but at least she keeps the duh to herself. ...Not that it's not evident in her tone, but it's the principle of the thing. "And yeah, it's kind of strange, 'cause I've never gone messing around with spirits. That's Avatar stuff and I leave all that for Twinkle Toes to deal with."
The Doctor pretty much expected her to look at him like that. Or at least, look in his... general direction like that. He sighs a little - explanations are clearly not her strong suit, which is annoying, under the circumstances - and kicks the arch experimentally.
It hurts his foot a bit, but nothing happens to the arch.
He pauses a moment, and then tries licking the stone, which doesn't tell him anything useful either. That's disappointing - he'd hoped it would, since he's not even sure what it's made of, but it doesn't taste like much of anything, even to him. The Doctor takes a moment to eye the arch like it's personally offended him before he sighs and leans back against one of the pillars, one foot hooked over the ankle of the other leg.
"Things like this happen to me all the time, just... not usually quite so often in one day." He drifts off for a moment, frowning. Who would have brought him here anyway? It seems ridiculous, and pointless - nothing's even trying to kill and eat him here. How did he even get here? Not a
( ... )
She'll get better once she realizes this is more than spirit world shenanigans, Doctor. Promise. Because she likes knowing more than other people and explaining it in her condescending way.
But that's not happening now.
What is is Toph's raising an eyebrow at the kicking. "Yeah, Doctor, that's really gonna get you some answ-" Then she makes a ridiculously disgusted face at the licking. "Did you just seriously lick that thing? Euugh." She shudders in disgust "Start downing some cactus juice and you'll be Sokka."
The Doctor wakes up to pain, because strangely enough, lying on hard, cold ground with a couple broken ribs is not the most comfortable thing in the universe. He groans, and rolls over slowly, opening his eyes to blink at the surrounding area in quiet bemusement. His head's fuzzy, but clearing quickly, and it doesn't have to be clear anyway for him to register that this is so very much not where he should be. Not even a little.
He bounces to his feet - or, rather, starts to bounce, winces at the twinge in his chest, and then just straightens awkwardly the rest of the way. He's not the only one here, but he's the only one conscious at the moment, so he homes in on the next most interesting thing in the area - that shimmering stone arch, which he immediately starts circling, leaning in to study the stones and the inscription at close range. Looks like a way in or out of this place, probably...
Well, except for the fact that it's broken. That might be a problem.
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And immediately goes into emotional lockdown as logical calculation takes over. The hand towel he was going to use to clean the charcoal and gun grease off his face is still in his hand. He's still dressed for that damn showing, and... he has no idea who any of the others here with him seem to be.
Also it's winter.
This makes about as much sense as...
His talent for metaphorical comparisons seems to have abandoned him for the moment. It left a headache behind. How sweet.
Neal struggles to his feet, looking up at the arch--and then checking sharply and taking a half-step back when someone circles around it toward him.
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"Okay, crazy spirit things," she says in a no-nonsense tone that really doesn't match up with her tiny, twelve-year-self, "you got to the count of five to explain what's going before you get beat down. I don't know about any of the usual mumbo-jumbo, but let's see how big and bad you are when I'm kicking your butt."
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"Oh, hello! You're awake! I was just-"
He isn't sure what explanation he can give for their current situation. He doesn't have to give an explanation, thankfully, because then one of the others wakes up and starts... threatening? He turns away from the man he'd been speaking to for a moment and swings toward the girl, eyebrows raised.
"Um. Are you... talking to us?"
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He gives the Doctor a once-over and drapes the towel around his neck, hanging on to either end. "And I think she probably could take us both out."
God, his head hurts. He takes a deep, steadying breath and addresses Toph. "Not a spirit thing. Why would I be a spirit thing, exactly?"
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She smirks in arrogance, tilting her head in Neal's direction. "Because sometimes spirits like kidnapping people and that's the only way anything would be able to get me like this."
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"With these particular trees? I don't know, they might listen." He cocks an eyebrow at the girl. "These spirits. What're they like?"
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"They're spirits," she says, with sarcasm lathered on nice and think. "Kind of what it says on the jar, genius."
She senses the other people around the arch moving, and tenses slightly. If any of these spirit bozos try to sneak up on the poor little blind girl, Toph is more than prepared to make them regret it.
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And he is trying not to think about Wilf in that radiation chamber, what happens to him if the Doctor can't find a way back in time, at exactly the right time to... do... something...
He was doing very well not thinking about that, until now, and he shakes his head and refocuses on the arch, determined to go back to that. One thing at a time. "Well, there are all sorts of things people call spirits. Just like vampires, or angels, or gods... That's why I'm asking. If the name itself were descriptive enough, I obviously wouldn't have to, now would I?"
He might be getting a little snippier at her than a sarcastic blind girl really warrants. Don't worry, Toph, it's nothing personal.
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"Kind of surprised you can read a jar, given that you haven't looked directly at either of us since this conversation started. Some of us don't deal with..."
Spirits. Briefly, the ludicrous nature of the situation cracks his facade. A quickened heartrate, a brief unsteady breath, and he's back into the calm, neutral clarity of control. "Spirits. I know I never have. Oh, and I'm Neal. Neal Caffrey. Since we're introducing ourselves."
The sarcasm. It is palpable.
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Toph is about to fire off another snarky shot, but then both men lay both their cards on the table, so to speak. Toph looks from one to the other, head slightly cocked to the side before she sighs. "Maybe it's not the best idea to go exploring when you're all busted up like that," she remarks to the Doctor, though she's still looking at Neal. "And you're twitchier than a hog-monkey."
She shakes her head at both of them. Man, people were dumb. Toph then kicks the ground, raising a small pillar of earth to sit on, since apparently they were all going to have tea and cakes now with this getting-to-know-you party. "Toph. Super to meet you." Yes. That was sarcasm.
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He trails off, staring at that little pillar she'd just... created, apparently without any effort or real thought at all. "Fine," he finishes absently, all his annoyance fading in favor of curiosity. "And I'm the Doctor! Can I ask how you did that, or are you just going to snap at me for asking? Again?"
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He tilts his head and tucks his hands into his pockets, leaving the towel slung half-around his neck. "Better question. More on point question--it doesn't seem like any of this is strange to you. This kind of thing happen a lot where you're from?"
Right, he's still got charcoal on his face. He snags a corner of the towel to wipe at his cheeks.
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Then her expression shifts back into the "dropped on your head" variant. "I'm an Earthbender," she answers as if it's the most obvious thing in the world (and in her world, it is) - but at least she keeps the duh to herself. ...Not that it's not evident in her tone, but it's the principle of the thing. "And yeah, it's kind of strange, 'cause I've never gone messing around with spirits. That's Avatar stuff and I leave all that for Twinkle Toes to deal with."
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It hurts his foot a bit, but nothing happens to the arch.
He pauses a moment, and then tries licking the stone, which doesn't tell him anything useful either. That's disappointing - he'd hoped it would, since he's not even sure what it's made of, but it doesn't taste like much of anything, even to him. The Doctor takes a moment to eye the arch like it's personally offended him before he sighs and leans back against one of the pillars, one foot hooked over the ankle of the other leg.
"Things like this happen to me all the time, just... not usually quite so often in one day." He drifts off for a moment, frowning. Who would have brought him here anyway? It seems ridiculous, and pointless - nothing's even trying to kill and eat him here. How did he even get here? Not a ( ... )
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But that's not happening now.
What is is Toph's raising an eyebrow at the kicking. "Yeah, Doctor, that's really gonna get you some answ-" Then she makes a ridiculously disgusted face at the licking. "Did you just seriously lick that thing? Euugh." She shudders in disgust "Start downing some cactus juice and you'll be Sokka."
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