♚ We are mirrors [each of us meant to reflect every bit of the other's karma]
Splunk.
"Damn!"
At the banks of the pond stood what looked to be a young teen. A look of determination was etched upon his face as he pulled back his arm and threw another stone out over the water. Chilly winds ruffled his hair as well as his clothes. And at his feet were a number of textbooks and a little hand held device with strange symbols constantly shifting and changing across the screen.
Ker-splunk.
He huffed and frowned, mumbling to himself under his breath before bending down to find another stone. Over head the twin suns were shining down upon him from the orange sky above. Along the ground there were a number of indentations from where little rocks and stones had once resided in. And from the count it proved that the lad had been going at this for some time now. It had been better than listening to his tutors drone on about things he already knew.
As he tried the stone he held tightly between his fingers, he found more enjoyment in watching his failed attempts to skip stones than in taking notes and sitting in class with the other students. Nikkale was in the top percentile of his class but it was still unbearably dull to sit and do nothing. The only real excitement he found was when he heard the tail end of whispers between students or heard bits of conversations between the tutors.
There was a war going on but the elders were doing all that they could to hide the fact from those who attended the Academy. But the students weren't stupid. Disputes between races were still a common factor in every day life but now many of them shared common ground when the discussion fo war came up. Many a time the tutors would be called away right in the middle of a lecture only to return micro spans later to pick up where they left off without even acknowledging the interruption. But the strain was obvious in their eyes.
Or at least, to Nikkale it was.
Now, he'd never seen any member of the High Council but everyone knew the face of the leader of their people. Not many of the students had. But stories circulated and rumors grew. There was plenty of talk about the Lady President and what was possibly going on outside the dome. Day in and day out meetings were held in the Capitol, delegations between the races. There were even rumors of exiled Time Lords being brought back to help in the struggle.
One of his friends, a Phaidon Warpsmith named Nimusan, had even sworn to have seen The Doctor once in one of the lecture halls speaking to Chancellor Braxiatel. But then again, Nimusan was always one to talk just to keep a conversation going, so Nikkale had his doubts.
Splunk.
It was while he was searching for another rock that he heard footsteps approaching. At once he stood up straight with eyes wide, stone in hand. Heading towards him was another Time Lord, a woman, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. When she caught sight of him she faltered for a split second. Nikkale swallowed heavily and watched her come closer.
He had been caught in the faculty area during a study period after having skipped two lectures earlier on. This wasn't going to look good for him.
The Time Lord said nothing when she came to a stop only a couple of feet away from him. Grey eyes that were much older than his own blue ones studied him carefully. Her arms were hidden in the sleeves of her robes. It was not until her footsteps came to a stop did he get a good look at her face. At once he thought both of his hearts would stop when recognition hit him hard.
"What is your name?" The Lady President finally asked in an even tone.
"Student Nikkalenaccinn," he answered without hesitation, immediately dropping his gaze to stare at his feet. He shouldn't even be here and now he was going to get into trouble. This woman would find his tutor and tell him that he had skipped his lectures to study and skip stones at the pond the students weren't even allowed to be at. This entire area was for faculty only.
The woman had gone quiet for a moment and he dared not to look up. I'm in for it this time. Tutor Ghalin will surely make an example of me in front of the other students! And after that incident in relativity--
"May I see that stone you're holding?"
Nikkale's eyes immediately looked up at her, bewildered for a moment. His hand was suddenly all thumbs when he held it out to her, nearly dropping it. There was a mumbled apology uttered on his part but the woman didn't seem to be listening. Instead her attention was on the stone, her thoughts having gone off on their own again it seemed.
Running her thumb across the surface of the stone, she twisted her wrist back as she drew her arm to reach as far away as her arm could stretch. And then, as she quickly swung her arm forward there was a flick of her wrist that sent the stone through the air.
It struck the water's surface for a split second before bouncing over to cause a second set of ripples. He watched as the stone skipped across the pond seven times before finally sinking beneath the ripples. Looking up at her with a wide grin he said, "I can never even get one skip! How on Gallifrey did you manage that?"
A smile of her own graced her lips as she chuckled softly. "As my mentor told me once, it all rests in the wrist."
"The wrist you say?"
"Yes. But come now, shouldn't you be focusing on your studies?" The blond-haired woman was calm, her tone soft but rather stern when she looked down at him with both eyebrows raised questioningly. If I'm not mistaken Tutor Alarunatel's lectures will be beginning in about fifteen micro spans."
Nikkale needed only to glance down at the device by his feet to see that she was, indeed, correct. And the last thing he wanted to hear was a second long winded speech on the importance of being punctual on top of a lecture regarding the principles of relative dimensions. Crouching down to gather his books and portable data carrier, the young Time Lord paused long enough to extend his hand to the woman.
"Thank you, ma'am," he said when she accepted with a firm handshake. It wasn't until she nodded her head once did he turn his back to her and run up the hillside with his hand holding back the longer strands of golden brown hair from his face.
Watching him leave Romana folded her arms across her chest as the corners of her lips turned up into a faint smile. The breeze tossed blond locks about, causing her robes to wave a bit. From behind she could hear footsteps moving across the bridge and along the grass, heading her way. At the touch of a hand to her shoulder all she said was, "He reminds me a bit of you, you know."
The familiar head of brown curls came into her line of view, as did the green velvet and cravat. Standing beside her with hands settled in his pockets, she could see the Doctor grinning. "Oh, is that so? And here I had thought myself to be one of a kind!"
"Yes, well, not many typical Gallifreyan children would rather spend their time skipping lectures to skip stones. He attends fewer classes than you have, according to both of your Matrices files - but he is far too clever to be stupid. He knows the material. Leela has told me from the few classes he had attended of her's."
"If you listened to Alar's lectures you'd be doing the same. Or anything remotely more entertaining - I believe that old man would have put Rassilon to sleep; he would have been so dreadfully bored from it all," he gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. "Not to mention he goes about it all wrong. One of these days he should look into updating the curriculum. What worked a thousand years ago is fairly old of fashion today."
"Such as your entire wardrobe?" Romana pointed out with a smirk.
There was a pause before he paused, pointing accusingly at her with a miffed expression on his face. "Romana, I do obj--" But the Time Lord was already walking away from him with a triumphant smile, hitching her robes up enough to keep them from dragging across the ground.
Character: Romana II
Series: Doctor Who
Word Count: 1430
Prompt: Photo
Beta: rude_not_ginger & sinister_charm
"Damn!"
At the banks of the pond stood what looked to be a young teen. A look of determination was etched upon his face as he pulled back his arm and threw another stone out over the water. Chilly winds ruffled his hair as well as his clothes. And at his feet were a number of textbooks and a little hand held device with strange symbols constantly shifting and changing across the screen.
Ker-splunk.
He huffed and frowned, mumbling to himself under his breath before bending down to find another stone. Over head the twin suns were shining down upon him from the orange sky above. Along the ground there were a number of indentations from where little rocks and stones had once resided in. And from the count it proved that the lad had been going at this for some time now. It had been better than listening to his tutors drone on about things he already knew.
As he tried the stone he held tightly between his fingers, he found more enjoyment in watching his failed attempts to skip stones than in taking notes and sitting in class with the other students. Nikkale was in the top percentile of his class but it was still unbearably dull to sit and do nothing. The only real excitement he found was when he heard the tail end of whispers between students or heard bits of conversations between the tutors.
There was a war going on but the elders were doing all that they could to hide the fact from those who attended the Academy. But the students weren't stupid. Disputes between races were still a common factor in every day life but now many of them shared common ground when the discussion fo war came up. Many a time the tutors would be called away right in the middle of a lecture only to return micro spans later to pick up where they left off without even acknowledging the interruption. But the strain was obvious in their eyes.
Or at least, to Nikkale it was.
Now, he'd never seen any member of the High Council but everyone knew the face of the leader of their people. Not many of the students had. But stories circulated and rumors grew. There was plenty of talk about the Lady President and what was possibly going on outside the dome. Day in and day out meetings were held in the Capitol, delegations between the races. There were even rumors of exiled Time Lords being brought back to help in the struggle.
One of his friends, a Phaidon Warpsmith named Nimusan, had even sworn to have seen The Doctor once in one of the lecture halls speaking to Chancellor Braxiatel. But then again, Nimusan was always one to talk just to keep a conversation going, so Nikkale had his doubts.
Splunk.
It was while he was searching for another rock that he heard footsteps approaching. At once he stood up straight with eyes wide, stone in hand. Heading towards him was another Time Lord, a woman, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. When she caught sight of him she faltered for a split second. Nikkale swallowed heavily and watched her come closer.
He had been caught in the faculty area during a study period after having skipped two lectures earlier on. This wasn't going to look good for him.
The Time Lord said nothing when she came to a stop only a couple of feet away from him. Grey eyes that were much older than his own blue ones studied him carefully. Her arms were hidden in the sleeves of her robes. It was not until her footsteps came to a stop did he get a good look at her face. At once he thought both of his hearts would stop when recognition hit him hard.
"What is your name?" The Lady President finally asked in an even tone.
"Student Nikkalenaccinn," he answered without hesitation, immediately dropping his gaze to stare at his feet. He shouldn't even be here and now he was going to get into trouble. This woman would find his tutor and tell him that he had skipped his lectures to study and skip stones at the pond the students weren't even allowed to be at. This entire area was for faculty only.
The woman had gone quiet for a moment and he dared not to look up. I'm in for it this time. Tutor Ghalin will surely make an example of me in front of the other students! And after that incident in relativity--
"May I see that stone you're holding?"
Nikkale's eyes immediately looked up at her, bewildered for a moment. His hand was suddenly all thumbs when he held it out to her, nearly dropping it. There was a mumbled apology uttered on his part but the woman didn't seem to be listening. Instead her attention was on the stone, her thoughts having gone off on their own again it seemed.
Running her thumb across the surface of the stone, she twisted her wrist back as she drew her arm to reach as far away as her arm could stretch. And then, as she quickly swung her arm forward there was a flick of her wrist that sent the stone through the air.
It struck the water's surface for a split second before bouncing over to cause a second set of ripples. He watched as the stone skipped across the pond seven times before finally sinking beneath the ripples. Looking up at her with a wide grin he said, "I can never even get one skip! How on Gallifrey did you manage that?"
A smile of her own graced her lips as she chuckled softly. "As my mentor told me once, it all rests in the wrist."
"The wrist you say?"
"Yes. But come now, shouldn't you be focusing on your studies?" The blond-haired woman was calm, her tone soft but rather stern when she looked down at him with both eyebrows raised questioningly. If I'm not mistaken Tutor Alarunatel's lectures will be beginning in about fifteen micro spans."
Nikkale needed only to glance down at the device by his feet to see that she was, indeed, correct. And the last thing he wanted to hear was a second long winded speech on the importance of being punctual on top of a lecture regarding the principles of relative dimensions. Crouching down to gather his books and portable data carrier, the young Time Lord paused long enough to extend his hand to the woman.
"Thank you, ma'am," he said when she accepted with a firm handshake. It wasn't until she nodded her head once did he turn his back to her and run up the hillside with his hand holding back the longer strands of golden brown hair from his face.
Watching him leave Romana folded her arms across her chest as the corners of her lips turned up into a faint smile. The breeze tossed blond locks about, causing her robes to wave a bit. From behind she could hear footsteps moving across the bridge and along the grass, heading her way. At the touch of a hand to her shoulder all she said was, "He reminds me a bit of you, you know."
The familiar head of brown curls came into her line of view, as did the green velvet and cravat. Standing beside her with hands settled in his pockets, she could see the Doctor grinning. "Oh, is that so? And here I had thought myself to be one of a kind!"
"Yes, well, not many typical Gallifreyan children would rather spend their time skipping lectures to skip stones. He attends fewer classes than you have, according to both of your Matrices files - but he is far too clever to be stupid. He knows the material. Leela has told me from the few classes he had attended of her's."
"If you listened to Alar's lectures you'd be doing the same. Or anything remotely more entertaining - I believe that old man would have put Rassilon to sleep; he would have been so dreadfully bored from it all," he gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. "Not to mention he goes about it all wrong. One of these days he should look into updating the curriculum. What worked a thousand years ago is fairly old of fashion today."
"Such as your entire wardrobe?" Romana pointed out with a smirk.
There was a pause before he paused, pointing accusingly at her with a miffed expression on his face. "Romana, I do obj--" But the Time Lord was already walking away from him with a triumphant smile, hitching her robes up enough to keep them from dragging across the ground.
Character: Romana II
Series: Doctor Who
Word Count: 1430
Prompt: Photo
Beta: rude_not_ginger & sinister_charm