The explosion of sand was probably unexpected, as was the black dog that seemed to be jumping for Harriet's face.
Ponch, if he'd been able to talk (which he had at one time), would have probably said something about his this woman smelled like home - in that she smelled like car exhaust and dirt and cities. Not like Hempsted, but like Earth. He abruptly stopped jumping and started sniffing at the woman's legs as his owner (de facto, as it were) crashed out of the jungle to run for him.
"Ponch! Ponch, no- I'm so sorry." Nita smiled in a distracted way as she tried to pull back her dog, not giving in to those soulful brown eyes - not this time, anyhow. "He's just... overly excited sometimes, and I think he thought he heard a squirrel." She paused for just a second, before her eyes grew. "Oh! Not that you're a squirrel." She held onto his collar with one hand, sticking the other out in greeting. "Nita Callahan. Nice to meet you."
Great, Neets. Insult her, let Kit's dog attack her - even though you know Ponch didn't mean any harm, still!
A dog jumping at her face was indeed somewhat unexpected though Harriet had to admit that it was somewhat better than being greeted by a Dalek which is what she had originally thought was happening. She had steeled herself for her killing shot but when she heard the dog she had flinched back instinctively until she realized her mistake.
It was somewhat undignified, of course, but she was so relieved that she didn't care and smiled warmly at both the dog and his approaching owner. The girl seemed somewhat uneasy so she shook her hand warmly in hopes of helping her relax. Being able to talk easily with strangers is one of the skills a politician relies on and Harriet had always been good at charming those she needed to.
"Oh, don't worry about it, he hasn't done any harm. Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."
Nita smiled wide. "Prime Minister of what?" She kept Ponch down, still bend half-over as she grabbed for a nearby stick. "If you don't mind me asking, anyway." Nita finally got her hand on it, and turned, throwing it as she let Ponch go - and off he went, running into the ocean.
Face it, you need better aim. Last thing you needed was wet dog. Excited wet dog.
Harriet had become somewhat used to being recognised and even though she knew that people came here from all different times and places it was still something of a surprise to find that no-one here knew her at all.
"Of the United Kingdom," she replied. "You're an American, is that right?"
"Yes - I'm from New York." She wasn't about to rattle off her planetary code to this woman - she didn't quite even know if she'd understand it. "Hempsted, actually." She didn't say anything stupid, like Isn't Tony Blair the Prime Minister or anything like that, since this Ms. Jones could be from any of the various universes.
"That's Ponch, by the way." Nita smiled, and looked over at the dog currently chasing breakers.
She looked back at the woman, her brow creasing for a moment. "Are you new?"
"It usually is. I've been here for almost two years- is there anything you need?" Ponch was still frolicking in the waves. "I'm a wizard, by the by. All sorts, here, I guess." She smiled, trying to put the other woman at ease.
There was a vast amount of things about that Harriet found worthy of comment but you could only really be incredulous for so long before you have to accept something and she had a great deal of practice at that.
"Here, it doesn't, for the most part. Back home... well. It's largely through communication and... Oaths that are given to slow the death of the universe and stop pain as much as possible, giving deference for life." She shrugged.
"It's... It's the way I've lived my life for a long time." Which is something pretty odd, coming from someone who couldn't be more then her early twenties - she was, in fact, eighteen.
"Stopping pain is always something to be desired," Harriet replied slowly and it was hard to tell whether she was taking Nita seriously or just humouring her. "But everything has a price."
"Depends on who you are." Nita tilted her head. "And believe me, I know about prices." She bent as Ponch came running towards her, all wet dog stuck with sand, a stick in his mouth. "Did you get it? Did you? Here-" She picked it up and threw, and shook her head slightly.
She wasn't ever going to say that she knew the price more then anyone. That little voice - that one that all people had, the one that she'd firmly ignored (or not so firmly, depending on her resolve) since she was thirteen - since she'd taken her Oath.
"It's a price you have to pay," she shrugged. "It's the greater good."
"In my experience, no two people can agree what the greater good is in most cases," Harriet remarked wryly. She wished she still had such a simple view of the universe but she didn't. It was hard to maintain it after a life in politics and harder still as a leader. She'd made many choices which still haunted her, where she wasn't sure whether she was right or not.
"We do what we have too, and what we think is best," she said, shrugging. She didn't know how they'd gotten to this, especially so quickly. "When it's a person's life versus cancer, you have to remember that the cancer's alive, too." She licked her lips, and looked back at her dog. "So! Anyway."
She'd had to deal with it. Make that choice more often then she cared to admit.
That made Harriet raise an eyebrow. She had seen people wither and die through diseases and the idea that you had to respect the cancer's right to live was as ridiculous as the idea that you had to let aliens conquer your planet rather than fight back. She would have said so in as strong, if polite, as terms as she could had the girl not so obviously changed the subject.
She had been about to say "I'm sorry but I disagree completely" but she changed it into "I'm sorry, you must have been awfully young if you've been here two years. Do you have family here?" before it got out.
Ponch, if he'd been able to talk (which he had at one time), would have probably said something about his this woman smelled like home - in that she smelled like car exhaust and dirt and cities. Not like Hempsted, but like Earth. He abruptly stopped jumping and started sniffing at the woman's legs as his owner (de facto, as it were) crashed out of the jungle to run for him.
"Ponch! Ponch, no- I'm so sorry." Nita smiled in a distracted way as she tried to pull back her dog, not giving in to those soulful brown eyes - not this time, anyhow. "He's just... overly excited sometimes, and I think he thought he heard a squirrel." She paused for just a second, before her eyes grew. "Oh! Not that you're a squirrel." She held onto his collar with one hand, sticking the other out in greeting. "Nita Callahan. Nice to meet you."
Great, Neets. Insult her, let Kit's dog attack her - even though you know Ponch didn't mean any harm, still!
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It was somewhat undignified, of course, but she was so relieved that she didn't care and smiled warmly at both the dog and his approaching owner. The girl seemed somewhat uneasy so she shook her hand warmly in hopes of helping her relax. Being able to talk easily with strangers is one of the skills a politician relies on and Harriet had always been good at charming those she needed to.
"Oh, don't worry about it, he hasn't done any harm. Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."
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Face it, you need better aim. Last thing you needed was wet dog. Excited wet dog.
"There, that's better."
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"Of the United Kingdom," she replied. "You're an American, is that right?"
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"That's Ponch, by the way." Nita smiled, and looked over at the dog currently chasing breakers.
She looked back at the woman, her brow creasing for a moment. "Are you new?"
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"A wizard?" she said and her tone was more incredulous then disbelieving. "I'm sorry, you're a wizard?"
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"It works a little differently in our universe, I think."
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"How does it work then?"
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"It's... It's the way I've lived my life for a long time." Which is something pretty odd, coming from someone who couldn't be more then her early twenties - she was, in fact, eighteen.
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She wasn't ever going to say that she knew the price more then anyone. That little voice - that one that all people had, the one that she'd firmly ignored (or not so firmly, depending on her resolve) since she was thirteen - since she'd taken her Oath.
"It's a price you have to pay," she shrugged. "It's the greater good."
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She'd had to deal with it. Make that choice more often then she cared to admit.
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She had been about to say "I'm sorry but I disagree completely" but she changed it into "I'm sorry, you must have been awfully young if you've been here two years. Do you have family here?" before it got out.
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