theatrical_muse: Impossible
His eyes, so often capable of transitioning from light to dark with barely a pause, twinkled now in the dusky half-light as he pulled coins from thin air, flipping them rapidly between his fingers in order to enchant the young child.
"What else can you do?"
The Doctor pulled his paisley scarf from around his neck, jamming it into the circle he had created with his fingers, then opened both of his hands to reveal that the scarf had disappeared. The child with eyes like obsidian and hair dark as the hour just before sunrise, peered up at this strange alien with unabashed amazement.
"Where is it?"
The Doctor simply smiled and touched his fingers to his neck, pulling the scarf delicately across his fingers and handing it to the boy.
"How'd you do that?"
"Oh, a bit of enchantment, silent incantations, and the firmest belief in the possibility of anything happening."
The boy ran his fingers over the edges of the scarf curiously before handing it back to the Doctor and crossing his arms into his lap.
"Anything?" He probed.
"And nothing less," the Doctor smiled gently, looping the scarf around his neck again.
"So...you can do anything?"
"Certainly. Regardless of what people may say, there's no such thing as 'impossible,' it's simply a word bandied about by simpletons, applied to situations in which they would prefer to give up, rather than apply just a slight degree of effort."
The boy chewed on this wisdom a moment, folding his chin into his hand. "Anything's possible. So...I could be a king?"
"A benevolent king with many subjects, and a vast expanse of land to preside over."
The boy grinned. "And...I could see stars?"
"Far more than that, you can touch stars," the Doctor's smile promised endless possibilities.
The Doctor suddenly heard Ace coming up behind him, and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder.
"What're you talkin' about, then?" She smiled at him.
"Oh, just the fact that nothing is impossible," he supplied, nonchalantly.
"Nothin'?" Ace looked briefly dubious, though she was used to such lofty assertions from him by now. "Nothin', huh? So I can live forever?"
At that, the Doctor was silent and immediately reflective. Rather than focus on a distant point, to aid in more wholly removing himself from this unsettling moment, the Doctor turned his suddenly-dark eyes on Ace. Outwardly, he gave away nothing, though his irises were buckling under the weight of unpleasant scenarios.
"Professor?"
He had no answer.
Instead, he watched her body move breaths to the world, wrapping invisible tendrils around all the words and ancient exhalations that exist among the living.
Muse: Seventh Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 424
"What else can you do?"
The Doctor pulled his paisley scarf from around his neck, jamming it into the circle he had created with his fingers, then opened both of his hands to reveal that the scarf had disappeared. The child with eyes like obsidian and hair dark as the hour just before sunrise, peered up at this strange alien with unabashed amazement.
"Where is it?"
The Doctor simply smiled and touched his fingers to his neck, pulling the scarf delicately across his fingers and handing it to the boy.
"How'd you do that?"
"Oh, a bit of enchantment, silent incantations, and the firmest belief in the possibility of anything happening."
The boy ran his fingers over the edges of the scarf curiously before handing it back to the Doctor and crossing his arms into his lap.
"Anything?" He probed.
"And nothing less," the Doctor smiled gently, looping the scarf around his neck again.
"So...you can do anything?"
"Certainly. Regardless of what people may say, there's no such thing as 'impossible,' it's simply a word bandied about by simpletons, applied to situations in which they would prefer to give up, rather than apply just a slight degree of effort."
The boy chewed on this wisdom a moment, folding his chin into his hand. "Anything's possible. So...I could be a king?"
"A benevolent king with many subjects, and a vast expanse of land to preside over."
The boy grinned. "And...I could see stars?"
"Far more than that, you can touch stars," the Doctor's smile promised endless possibilities.
The Doctor suddenly heard Ace coming up behind him, and he turned to glance at her over his shoulder.
"What're you talkin' about, then?" She smiled at him.
"Oh, just the fact that nothing is impossible," he supplied, nonchalantly.
"Nothin'?" Ace looked briefly dubious, though she was used to such lofty assertions from him by now. "Nothin', huh? So I can live forever?"
At that, the Doctor was silent and immediately reflective. Rather than focus on a distant point, to aid in more wholly removing himself from this unsettling moment, the Doctor turned his suddenly-dark eyes on Ace. Outwardly, he gave away nothing, though his irises were buckling under the weight of unpleasant scenarios.
"Professor?"
He had no answer.
Instead, he watched her body move breaths to the world, wrapping invisible tendrils around all the words and ancient exhalations that exist among the living.
Muse: Seventh Doctor
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 424