Just another part of his life, you know, running on, new faces, new times, new worlds, new people to meet, greet, have fun with, sometimes lose. But still his life in the centre of it, still him in the end, no matter the face, the features, or the nature rather than the nurture. And yet, so many of his friends still haven't gotten the hang of that. He always finds that unfortunate in his world of understatements, and he finds it unfortunate now, walking down the ramp with not even a hint of his discomfort in his strides, as he has quickly found himself very good at doing.
He pretends that it doesn't bother him that they've come back to somewhere they've been before on purpose, something that he only tended to do by accident or if the universe was feeling very funny, or because he had a (very very good) reason, but there was no particular reason for this visit other than... well all right, he doesn't like to leave things unfinished as much as the next person, but all the same...
"Well I am ready for a planet full of cats this time, which is more than I could say last time."
"Last time you took a support beam to the head and passed out. I had to carry you back to the TARDIS. Think we can try not to almost get you killed this time?"
Okay, so maybe she's overlooking the fact that she also got injured the last time they were on this planet. But good things happened too! The cats were friendly... to her, at least... and the planet itself was beautiful. And there definitely was still a mystery to solve. More than enough reason to go back and "finish the job", so to speak. Dorothy smiles and opens the door, practically bouncing through. She was going to be in a good mood for this if it killed her.
"Ahh. Just like I remember!" There seem to be just as many cats wandering through the trees, anyway. "Pink sky, fresh air... nice! D'you think we'll run into that weird fog again?"
"Last time, you tried running up a particularly unstable, particularly untested flight of stairs and dislocated your shoulder. This one, right here." In case she'd forgotten what a shoulder was and which shoulder it had been, of course. "And it's a nice shoulder, I like that shoulder, so let's not try that again, right? Now-..."
He rubs his hands together quickly as he strides on ahead of her, looking very to the point like he so rarely actually is. He clicks fingers as if alighting on an idea and brings out his sonic screwdriver, letting it whirr searchingly through the air. "Yes, just like I remember too."
A large cat blinks at him from a bit further on and with a grin he snaps the screwdriver off to go grin at it in the same way a certain predecessor of his was unable to. "Look at you-... Magnificent. All fur and ears..."
The cat yawns. "... And teeth. Lots of teeth. Lots of sharp, pointy teeth. Girl or boy?" A hiss. "Yes, well, we'll preserve your dignity then-... Fog! Yes. Fog. I have a very good hunch - a very good hunch, mind, that we will run into it again. And how do I know this, you ask? Well, because we're going to go looking for it. Perfect weather for it-" he licks a finger and holds it to the air. "Slight breeze coming in from the North. Ish."
Dorothy presses her lips together in a line when her shoulder is brought up. Maybe it was dumb, but how was she to know those stairs would give out? But he wouldn't be the Doctor if he didn't bring up the stuff she'd rather forget every now and then, and pretend like he doesn't know she hates it.
It's a good thing she likes him so much, she decides.
"I say we start from where we found it last time." Dorothy points off towards some mountains in the distance. "That valley we passed through was full of fog. We could head out there, check it out again." A cat winds its way around her legs, and Dorothy bends over to pet it, as if her whole statement had been logically leading towards cat-petting. "Good kitty."
It was difficult to not pet a cat here - there were enough that you could possibly trip and accidentally pet one without meaning to. It was a pity he had firmly denied most pets in his TARDIS, mostly due to their inability to distinguish between a scratching post or a restroom with some of the support struts in the console room.
"Right, yes, of course, that way," he says in that way he has of pretending like he knew so all along, but very obviously hadn't. Though to be fair it has been centuries for him, and it had been in a body where remembering his name was itself something of a feat on occasion.
Suppressing an eyeroll (but not its accompanying smile, because why would she, ever?), Dorothy abandons the cat at her feet and jams her hands in her pockets, starting off towards the path between the mountains. They had landed in a different place from the last time, or at least a different section of forest, but with the mountains clearly visible, it wasn't exactly like they were lost. Especially with her impeccable sense of direction. Her silver slippers were pointed in just the right direction, she was sure of it. The pink sky was bright and the planet was humming under her feet.
Everything felt right. That was a rare thing.
"Never got much of a chance to talk it over last time, so..." Admittedly for good reason, but Dorothy is Not Bringing That Up. "What did you make of that... what was it, a chalet? The big mansion in the valley. Abandoned, but all-of-a-sudden, like they just evaporated."
Just another part of his life, you know, running on, new faces, new times, new worlds, new people to meet, greet, have fun with, sometimes lose. But still his life in the centre of it, still him in the end, no matter the face, the features, or the nature rather than the nurture. And yet, so many of his friends still haven't gotten the hang of that. He always finds that unfortunate in his world of understatements, and he finds it unfortunate now, walking down the ramp with not even a hint of his discomfort in his strides, as he has quickly found himself very good at doing.
He pretends that it doesn't bother him that they've come back to somewhere they've been before on purpose, something that he only tended to do by accident or if the universe was feeling very funny, or because he had a (very very good) reason, but there was no particular reason for this visit other than... well all right, he doesn't like to leave things unfinished as much as the next person, but all the same...
"Well I am ready for a planet full of cats this time, which is more than I could say last time."
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Okay, so maybe she's overlooking the fact that she also got injured the last time they were on this planet. But good things happened too! The cats were friendly... to her, at least... and the planet itself was beautiful. And there definitely was still a mystery to solve. More than enough reason to go back and "finish the job", so to speak. Dorothy smiles and opens the door, practically bouncing through. She was going to be in a good mood for this if it killed her.
"Ahh. Just like I remember!" There seem to be just as many cats wandering through the trees, anyway. "Pink sky, fresh air... nice! D'you think we'll run into that weird fog again?"
Reply
He rubs his hands together quickly as he strides on ahead of her, looking very to the point like he so rarely actually is. He clicks fingers as if alighting on an idea and brings out his sonic screwdriver, letting it whirr searchingly through the air. "Yes, just like I remember too."
A large cat blinks at him from a bit further on and with a grin he snaps the screwdriver off to go grin at it in the same way a certain predecessor of his was unable to. "Look at you-... Magnificent. All fur and ears..."
The cat yawns. "... And teeth. Lots of teeth. Lots of sharp, pointy teeth. Girl or boy?" A hiss. "Yes, well, we'll preserve your dignity then-... Fog! Yes. Fog. I have a very good hunch - a very good hunch, mind, that we will run into it again. And how do I know this, you ask? Well, because we're going to go looking for it. Perfect weather for it-" he licks a finger and holds it to the air. "Slight breeze coming in from the North. Ish."
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It's a good thing she likes him so much, she decides.
"I say we start from where we found it last time." Dorothy points off towards some mountains in the distance. "That valley we passed through was full of fog. We could head out there, check it out again." A cat winds its way around her legs, and Dorothy bends over to pet it, as if her whole statement had been logically leading towards cat-petting. "Good kitty."
Reply
"Right, yes, of course, that way," he says in that way he has of pretending like he knew so all along, but very obviously hadn't. Though to be fair it has been centuries for him, and it had been in a body where remembering his name was itself something of a feat on occasion.
Reply
Everything felt right. That was a rare thing.
"Never got much of a chance to talk it over last time, so..." Admittedly for good reason, but Dorothy is Not Bringing That Up. "What did you make of that... what was it, a chalet? The big mansion in the valley. Abandoned, but all-of-a-sudden, like they just evaporated."
Reply
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