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Hello! It's the Doctor; didn't quite catch you in all of the kerfuffle near the end there. Things got a bit hairy, a lot of explosions, some yelling.
[ Just a regular Tuesday-or-whenever for the Doctor, really. ]
Hope you're quite all right.
Good news, though: I got to keep my shawl!
[ Just a regular Tuesday-or-whenever for the Doctor, really. ]
Hope you're quite all right.
Good news, though: I got to keep my shawl!
[ well, that's definitely a voice he's gotten used to, considering how much time they'd spent together on braccia, at least before things had gotten as crazy as it did at the very end, where keeping track of much of anyone had become too complicated to even try.
(he wouldn't say it, but he's relieved to hear from him, indicating that he's doing plenty fine.) ]
Shit, I'd been worried to hell we'd lost it. [ plenty sarcastic but it's not necessarily mean-spirited either. ] Everything else in one piece?
(he wouldn't say it, but he's relieved to hear from him, indicating that he's doing plenty fine.) ]
Shit, I'd been worried to hell we'd lost it. [ plenty sarcastic but it's not necessarily mean-spirited either. ] Everything else in one piece?
I know!
[ The sarcasm willfully goes right over his head, because it is a relief that he'd managed to bring it over from Braccia. Along with his iridescent bowtie and stripey trousers, which he'd worn at the Lionetta Distraction Party; and a good thing too, otherwise he might have left them behind at the lower headquarters. ]
Yes, yes, everything else is right as rain, as they say. And smashing job, you and Peter. That gives us a 100% success rate so far.
[ The sarcasm willfully goes right over his head, because it is a relief that he'd managed to bring it over from Braccia. Along with his iridescent bowtie and stripey trousers, which he'd worn at the Lionetta Distraction Party; and a good thing too, otherwise he might have left them behind at the lower headquarters. ]
Yes, yes, everything else is right as rain, as they say. And smashing job, you and Peter. That gives us a 100% success rate so far.
[ he's not even mad that the doctor doesn't catch his tone, already used to his more carefree attitude whenever they exchange words. it at least saves him from having to talk about himself, not necessarily caring to go into how shit he feels physically. ]
Did what I needed to do. We all need the orbs, right? [ for whatever reason or another.
he pauses for a moment, thinking about the way he listened to the orb speak out in his head during his confrontation with cheri. ] You think what we did is really gonna make a difference?
Did what I needed to do. We all need the orbs, right? [ for whatever reason or another.
he pauses for a moment, thinking about the way he listened to the orb speak out in his head during his confrontation with cheri. ] You think what we did is really gonna make a difference?
[ Yes, a blessed thing sometimes, to forgo the video for audio — he'd done it once, with Clara, in order to spare her the pain of having to see him in his (thankfully) temporary monstrous form. ]
I don't know. [ It's the truth. And the shift in his tone of voice, from the excitable, whimsical Doctor, has gone a bit more serious; thoughtful. ] Suppose we're going to have to keep collecting them in order to find out. I've thought a lot about it, about these orbs. This station collecting them; the promises they've made to us.
This one glowed red. Not quite sure what that means.
I don't know. [ It's the truth. And the shift in his tone of voice, from the excitable, whimsical Doctor, has gone a bit more serious; thoughtful. ] Suppose we're going to have to keep collecting them in order to find out. I've thought a lot about it, about these orbs. This station collecting them; the promises they've made to us.
This one glowed red. Not quite sure what that means.
Was the last one a different color?
[ he wouldn't know, and before this last mission, he hadn't really thought to ask so many details about what it meant to obtain the orbs, mostly cause he hadn't realized the life and energy that would be pulsing in it, how it's proven to be a lot more complicated than just snatching up a sphere.
quiet for a moment, he thinks of himself on that top floor, talking with cheri, with the voice that had suddenly rung in his head. ]
When I was up there, it ... I could hear it. [ he hasn't talked about it with anyone else, more focused on his healing, but now he can't help but recall the feeling of hearing that echoing sounds in his mind. ] The orb carrying these ... voices. Right after it stopped Cheri from using that magic poison stuff on me. [ a beat, and then: ] And it felt ... strong. Maybe too strong. Maybe the price of all of this is too big.
[ he wouldn't know, and before this last mission, he hadn't really thought to ask so many details about what it meant to obtain the orbs, mostly cause he hadn't realized the life and energy that would be pulsing in it, how it's proven to be a lot more complicated than just snatching up a sphere.
quiet for a moment, he thinks of himself on that top floor, talking with cheri, with the voice that had suddenly rung in his head. ]
When I was up there, it ... I could hear it. [ he hasn't talked about it with anyone else, more focused on his healing, but now he can't help but recall the feeling of hearing that echoing sounds in his mind. ] The orb carrying these ... voices. Right after it stopped Cheri from using that magic poison stuff on me. [ a beat, and then: ] And it felt ... strong. Maybe too strong. Maybe the price of all of this is too big.
You could hear it? What did it say? What was it telling you?
[ Well, that's new. The Doctor had been curious about the orbs, quite personally, but he hasn't had a chance to share a private moment with one, didn't get more than a glimpse along with the rest of the orbers before it had swiftly been passed to the man behind the closed door of the North wing.
(And that door is one the Doctor has been trying to no avail to get past, too.) ]
The last one was a bright gold, and it'd been given freely to us by the one who wielded its power. Nice girl, I wish we could have done more to help her, really. [ By the end of it, the story had become a tragedy and the Doctor can only hope that she'd found some peace before she embraced the end. ] We didn't have to take it from her.
[ Well, that's new. The Doctor had been curious about the orbs, quite personally, but he hasn't had a chance to share a private moment with one, didn't get more than a glimpse along with the rest of the orbers before it had swiftly been passed to the man behind the closed door of the North wing.
(And that door is one the Doctor has been trying to no avail to get past, too.) ]
The last one was a bright gold, and it'd been given freely to us by the one who wielded its power. Nice girl, I wish we could have done more to help her, really. [ By the end of it, the story had become a tragedy and the Doctor can only hope that she'd found some peace before she embraced the end. ] We didn't have to take it from her.
Yeah, honestly, Cheri put up a hell of a fight. She wasn't giving it up. [ which is extremely telling with the injury he's bearing now that seems to be lasting longer than any healing tech on this station could heal fast enough. ]
But it spoke to her actually. I could just ... hear it for some reason. Maybe because I was close enough for it, I don't know, but — it was something about how killing us wouldn't add to the chaos. That the deal was made and they wanted to be whole.
[ they because it wasn't just a singular voice either. ]
As long as we got this deal, we're essentially in their protection. For now. Which only makes me more skeptical about where this thing's gonna end up by the end.
But it spoke to her actually. I could just ... hear it for some reason. Maybe because I was close enough for it, I don't know, but — it was something about how killing us wouldn't add to the chaos. That the deal was made and they wanted to be whole.
[ they because it wasn't just a singular voice either. ]
As long as we got this deal, we're essentially in their protection. For now. Which only makes me more skeptical about where this thing's gonna end up by the end.
They wanted to be whole? [ The Doctor repeats this, turning the words around on his tongue. Curious; very, very curious. Hmm.
Thoughtfully, he repeats: ] They.
[ Not only can these orbs speak, but they're plenty aware that they come as a ... set, then. A they. Perhaps a species of their own making, intelligent, with their own agenda? Or, perhaps just as likely, a device used by another race not unlike his experience with the Shakri cubes. But to what end? ]
Well, that's very interesting, isn't it? Given a chance to study these orbs, we might learn more than just hearing a couple of voices. But you're quite right, this does seem to raise a few more questions than answers. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
[ He brightens a little. ]
Which makes this something worth investigating.
Thoughtfully, he repeats: ] They.
[ Not only can these orbs speak, but they're plenty aware that they come as a ... set, then. A they. Perhaps a species of their own making, intelligent, with their own agenda? Or, perhaps just as likely, a device used by another race not unlike his experience with the Shakri cubes. But to what end? ]
Well, that's very interesting, isn't it? Given a chance to study these orbs, we might learn more than just hearing a couple of voices. But you're quite right, this does seem to raise a few more questions than answers. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
[ He brightens a little. ]
Which makes this something worth investigating.
It's like they were all talking at once. Communicating like a hive mind.
[ which says a lot about what these orbs could be, that not only are they alive, but that there's unified intention here, and if they're so eager to come together as one, something big is going to happen when they do. ]
Not like we get much of a chance to study them though, right? Guessing the first one was locked up tight as quickly as possible just like this one. [ he'd only barely gotten to see it when cheri was using it and it's not like parker was in any position for studying it. ] Don't blame 'em. Orb of that kind of power could turn any one of us into Cheri. But keeps you thinking.
[ which says a lot about what these orbs could be, that not only are they alive, but that there's unified intention here, and if they're so eager to come together as one, something big is going to happen when they do. ]
Not like we get much of a chance to study them though, right? Guessing the first one was locked up tight as quickly as possible just like this one. [ he'd only barely gotten to see it when cheri was using it and it's not like parker was in any position for studying it. ] Don't blame 'em. Orb of that kind of power could turn any one of us into Cheri. But keeps you thinking.
Ah — yes. That room with the unopenable door. The Doctor and I have tried just about everything to get that thing open, but! There's always a way through. It's just a door.
We'll figure it out.
[ He lets out a breath. ]
Suppose you're not wrong though. [ Hm. ] About the effects those orbs can have on us, if they're starting to speak now. [ Or if they've always had that ability but haven't decided to use it until now, which is the more likely scenario. ] Do you think you might be tempted by one?
We'll figure it out.
[ He lets out a breath. ]
Suppose you're not wrong though. [ Hm. ] About the effects those orbs can have on us, if they're starting to speak now. [ Or if they've always had that ability but haven't decided to use it until now, which is the more likely scenario. ] Do you think you might be tempted by one?
Every door's got a key. Or a button to get it open.
[ kovacs hasn't necessarily been scrambling to get past it, but there's no doubt more to why it isn't being opened for them than what's been let on.
but maybe it's for a good thing if the orbs are being kept somewhere behind it. ]
I could tell you no. No, I don't want of the things Cheri did — all that power and immortality. But I've seen corruption twist the best of us. And if we're all here because we made a deal to get something we want, no matter how good-willed it might be, that just means the most susceptible people to being corrupted by that thing are right here on this station.
[ kovacs hasn't necessarily been scrambling to get past it, but there's no doubt more to why it isn't being opened for them than what's been let on.
but maybe it's for a good thing if the orbs are being kept somewhere behind it. ]
I could tell you no. No, I don't want of the things Cheri did — all that power and immortality. But I've seen corruption twist the best of us. And if we're all here because we made a deal to get something we want, no matter how good-willed it might be, that just means the most susceptible people to being corrupted by that thing are right here on this station.
[This comes through about a minute after everyone's back on the station post mission. She was going to wait, but well, she lost track of him at the end of things thanks to the sleeping sickness and her injury. So she's worried and is keen to speak to him.]
Please tell me you made it back in one piece.
Please tell me you made it back in one piece.
— Clara?
[ it's only his second round, but he already knows the jarring feeling of the initial return, when everyone's crowded back into the station, the orb obtained. last time, he was fresh from the fight with cheri, practically falling apart on every limb, but with the lack of a big fight this time, he's actually in one piece. ]
Yeah, I'm alright. I'm — [ peering around, his voice is almost distracted, more concerned with trying to find her amongst all the other crowded orbers. ] Where are you?
[ he's at least relieved to hear that she made it back, that she's alive (especially because that word feels different these days, as far as she's concerned). ]
[ it's only his second round, but he already knows the jarring feeling of the initial return, when everyone's crowded back into the station, the orb obtained. last time, he was fresh from the fight with cheri, practically falling apart on every limb, but with the lack of a big fight this time, he's actually in one piece. ]
Yeah, I'm alright. I'm — [ peering around, his voice is almost distracted, more concerned with trying to find her amongst all the other crowded orbers. ] Where are you?
[ he's at least relieved to hear that she made it back, that she's alive (especially because that word feels different these days, as far as she's concerned). ]
Headed to the infirmary.
[She's mostly keeping her promise to the Doctor and is heading there right away, so that he won't do something ridiculous like scoop her up and carry her there on account of her being stubborn.]
But I'm not in a hurry. It can wait. Are you still with the others?
[Relief that he's alright is evident in her tone. She's grateful he hasn't done anything stupid to help get the orb this mission. Or if he has, he didn't wind up seriously injured because of it.]
[She's mostly keeping her promise to the Doctor and is heading there right away, so that he won't do something ridiculous like scoop her up and carry her there on account of her being stubborn.]
But I'm not in a hurry. It can wait. Are you still with the others?
[Relief that he's alright is evident in her tone. She's grateful he hasn't done anything stupid to help get the orb this mission. Or if he has, he didn't wind up seriously injured because of it.]
Wait, why the infirmary?
[ he's not even listening to her question, because that word already has the full draw of his attention. last mission, that's where he had to head straight to. she doesn't sound like she's in a dire condition, but — ]
You hurt?
[ he's not even listening to her question, because that word already has the full draw of his attention. last mission, that's where he had to head straight to. she doesn't sound like she's in a dire condition, but — ]
You hurt?
You broke your damn arm!?
[ it comes out angry due to the sudden escalation of concern more so than directing that anger exactly at her, though he's definitely one to talk considering that he was in the exact same predicament about a month and a half ago. ]
[ it comes out angry due to the sudden escalation of concern more so than directing that anger exactly at her, though he's definitely one to talk considering that he was in the exact same predicament about a month and a half ago. ]
It wasn't intentional!
[Her voice raises a little as she gets defensive. And she tries crossing her arms over her chest to take on a defensive stance, which earns her some stings of pain. She sharply hisses in response, before sighing in frustration.]
I don't even remember how it happened. Someone must have hurt me while I was sleeping, after we were separated in the dreams.
[Her voice raises a little as she gets defensive. And she tries crossing her arms over her chest to take on a defensive stance, which earns her some stings of pain. She sharply hisses in response, before sighing in frustration.]
I don't even remember how it happened. Someone must have hurt me while I was sleeping, after we were separated in the dreams.
[ he'd managed to not get himself injured in his dreams, which is lucky for him considering he'd been parading around with a gun through them at one point, but when he'd seen her, she'd been alright, at least in the instances they'd been together before attempting to get out, unsuccessfully making their exit and landing through someone else's dream. he'd assumed, had hoped, she'd at least gotten out then. ]
How far are you from the infirmary?
[ because he's definitely going to make sure he finds her now. ]
How far are you from the infirmary?
[ because he's definitely going to make sure he finds her now. ]
Far enough away to find you.
[Her voice pipes up on the earpiece, as well as from behind him. Okay, so she was on her way to the infirmary. But seeing for herself that he's just fine was more important to her.
And seeing that he really is unharmed has her smiling in relief. She's clutching her bandage wrapped arm close to her chest, but still moves in for a hug.]
[Her voice pipes up on the earpiece, as well as from behind him. Okay, so she was on her way to the infirmary. But seeing for herself that he's just fine was more important to her.
And seeing that he really is unharmed has her smiling in relief. She's clutching her bandage wrapped arm close to her chest, but still moves in for a hug.]
[ he can hear the change in her voice, how it overlaps like an echo, both right into his ear and right behind him. he spins on his heel almost immediately, breath catching in seeing her standing there. the injury's already evident but from the looks of it, it's not as bad as it could be.
and not having seen her since their dreams, it's plenty of a relief, hand pressing lightly to the nape of her neck when she slips close to hug him, making sure not to pull her in tight as to avoid trapping that arm.
he remains there for a moment before reeling back, eyes squinting again, easing away from relief to something annoyed concern as he brings his hand in to lightly hold her arm. ] You get this looked at back at the castle?
and not having seen her since their dreams, it's plenty of a relief, hand pressing lightly to the nape of her neck when she slips close to hug him, making sure not to pull her in tight as to avoid trapping that arm.
he remains there for a moment before reeling back, eyes squinting again, easing away from relief to something annoyed concern as he brings his hand in to lightly hold her arm. ] You get this looked at back at the castle?
The Doctor helped me best he could after he woke me up.
[She gives a light shrug of her shoulders as she watches his expression carefully. It's hard to tell if he's worried about her or simply annoyed she had let herself get hurt. In turn she winds up frowning, eyes glancing down and away as she lets out a soft exhale.]
I just need to get it properly set and wrapped. And then I'm either looking into painkillers or drinking enough that I don't feel a thing.
[The last part is an attempt at light humor. She's trying to keep him from thinking she's in over her head here, that she doesn't belong with the rest of the people here who have powers and can fight entire armies without any effort at all.]
[She gives a light shrug of her shoulders as she watches his expression carefully. It's hard to tell if he's worried about her or simply annoyed she had let herself get hurt. In turn she winds up frowning, eyes glancing down and away as she lets out a soft exhale.]
I just need to get it properly set and wrapped. And then I'm either looking into painkillers or drinking enough that I don't feel a thing.
[The last part is an attempt at light humor. She's trying to keep him from thinking she's in over her head here, that she doesn't belong with the rest of the people here who have powers and can fight entire armies without any effort at all.]
Eyebrows?
[ he can probably take a shot at guessing which one. funnily enough, that doctor had actually been the one to take a look at his own broken arm in his return from the last mission. not that it'd needed more than just a bit of bandaging and a sling. at least he'd gotten the practice from it to look after clara too.
but kovacs is in the midst of both emotions, concern and annoyance all swirled into one, namely because it's difficult for him to ever stick exclusively to one. ]
Well, I can get you a drink, but only after you get your ass to the infirmary and get this in a sling. If I had to do it, so do you.
[ he can probably take a shot at guessing which one. funnily enough, that doctor had actually been the one to take a look at his own broken arm in his return from the last mission. not that it'd needed more than just a bit of bandaging and a sling. at least he'd gotten the practice from it to look after clara too.
but kovacs is in the midst of both emotions, concern and annoyance all swirled into one, namely because it's difficult for him to ever stick exclusively to one. ]
Well, I can get you a drink, but only after you get your ass to the infirmary and get this in a sling. If I had to do it, so do you.
[At first, she thinks it's a nickname. And she's utterly charmed by the fact that her Doctor is out there making friends. And not only that, making friends with her friends. It makes her incredibly happy. But then she realizes he's asking a question, and the corner of her mouth quirks upward in amusement.]
Intense eyebrows, yeah. And if this is your way of trying to tell me what to do, I regret to inform you that I was already on my way to the infirmary before you distracted me.
[Forget the fact that she was the one that reached out to him first. There's a huff of annoyance as soon as she's done speaking, and she turns on her heel to leave. She hates being bossed around. She's the boss here, obviously.
But any annoyance she may be feeling fizzles out quickly, leaving her glancing back behind her before she gets too far.]
Walk with me?
[She's fine going in on her own. But wouldn't mind his company for the few minutes it takes to get there.]
Intense eyebrows, yeah. And if this is your way of trying to tell me what to do, I regret to inform you that I was already on my way to the infirmary before you distracted me.
[Forget the fact that she was the one that reached out to him first. There's a huff of annoyance as soon as she's done speaking, and she turns on her heel to leave. She hates being bossed around. She's the boss here, obviously.
But any annoyance she may be feeling fizzles out quickly, leaving her glancing back behind her before she gets too far.]
Walk with me?
[She's fine going in on her own. But wouldn't mind his company for the few minutes it takes to get there.]
Edited 2021-12-04 03:56 (UTC)
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