Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 18, 2021 1:16:11 GMT -5
Crutchie quickly realized that covering his ears didn’t help at all… it was clearly not outside, but in their heads. He looked at the Doctor for help, trying to see if she knew what was happening, if she could fix it… he was relying on her to be his guide, and he didn’t know how to make the sound go away. It hurt.
And then, like it had never been there at all, it was gone. His white knuckled grip on his crutch loosened and he shook his head, trying to figure out where they were. It looked like the same place as before, only… no creepy town. Where had it gone? A sense of unease rose in Crutchie’s throat and he immediately turned to look at the Doctor. If anyone had an explanation, it would be her. Although… he wasn’t getting his hopes up given how their adventure had gone so far.
“Miss Doctor? Crutchie?” A voice sounded from several feet away as Orpheus eased himself onto his feet, looking pale and more than a little bit thrown off balance. “Do… you happen to know where we are? Or… what happened?” He tapped his temple with a small frown, trying to tell if the sound was still there. It felt like it was gone, but it had come on so suddenly it was hard to tell…
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Apr 30, 2021 1:32:44 GMT -5
The Doctor hurriedly backed up. Primarily from Orpheus, but also from where the town had been. This did not make sense. None of it. And from the way she was looking at Orpheus, he made the least sense at all.
She was inclined to think it was an illusion. More so, she was inclined to think it was a trap. An interesting town, with unknowns, just as she liked it. But then whatever this was. That would make Orpheus *not* an illusion or a cleverly disguised trap.
She didn't know what other theory made sense. That they'd been tossed back in time was possible, though unlikely. That someone back then would be tossed forwards and then the town that had started it all would also disappear?
She didn't think so. It didn't add up. It made very little sense.
"Not a clue," she said stiffly. Maybe even a bit coldly. "Why don't you tell us? What are you? New form of Weeping Angel? Time Lord? Something else?"
Time Lords messing with her head ... ha ... seemed likely.
She glanced at Crutchie and then Orpheus again.
"Why are you here?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Apr 30, 2021 23:55:12 GMT -5
“What?” Orpheus asked, staggering backwards a few steps as the Doctor’s demeanor changed entirely. She had been nice before, if not a bit of an enigma. Now, though… he didn’t understand half of the words she was saying, only that they were an accusation that he didn’t know how to field. “Weeping Angel? Time Lord?” He clutched his lyre close, looking around as he tried to figure out what had happened. It seemed more like a dream than anything else, but he was fairly certain he hadn’t been sleeping a moment ago. If he had just fallen asleep now… well, Jason wouldn’t be pleased. He shook the thought away, instead focusing on the Doctor.
“I don’t know where we are,” he admitted softly, something in his voice sounding a little bit desperate. “I’d like to get back to the Argo… if we encounter the sirens again, they need me.” He pinched his arm, half convinced that he must have just fallen asleep. When that didn’t work he frowned, looking between the Doctor and Crutchie.
“I promise if I knew anything, I would tell you. And I’m a terrible liar. I mean… I don’t mean to be, but I can’t lie to save my life.” Which, he realized, was probably not the smartest thing to tell a stranger who may or may not have just kidnapped him.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 5, 2021 22:50:38 GMT -5
These answers weren't ones which the Doctor could use. They weren't ones which answered any of her questions, for starters. They were the ramblings of a confused being, but maybe they were a bit too much like the predictable answers. Her eyes narrowed further. She wondered just how likely it was that she would get any of the answers if she played along. Only it didn't seem like Orpheus was following a good script to 'play along' to.
She turned toward where they had parked the TARDIS, just out of view. She could practically feel that the beautiful, wonderful ship was still there. But she also knew that this would be where she had to get the stubborn probably-not-actually-Orpheus. If he was a Weeping Angel, at least the TARDIS would likely be able to figure it out.
Ah.
Or why wait?
The Doctor spun, taking out her sonic screwdriver and waved it a couple times in Orpheus' face and then up and down his body. When she pulled it back and checked the readings, her expression scrunched up in confusion.
"Human?" she said. The question mark was tacked there, because there might have been some anomalies. But that could be from anything, even the surrounding area. A town had just disappeared, after all.
She frowned at Orpheus.
"Come with me," she said, nodding back toward the TARDIS that he couldn't see.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 6, 2021 2:04:52 GMT -5
“What?” Orpheus asked, eyes widening as she scanned him with… well, he didn’t know what it was. It hadn’t hurt or anything, but knowing that she had gotten information about him from waving the weird thing at him was vaguely uncomfortable. He just didn’t know what to make of it, or the fact that he was here instead of back on the ship. He glanced at Crutchie, who gave perhaps the most phenomenally unhelpful answer he could: a shrug. “Of course I’m human, mostly!” Orpheus added, brow creasing. He didn’t actually know if he was fully human or not, but he had a feeling he was. He was told his mother was a muse, but he didn’t really know what that meant. He wasn’t a hero or a demigod like Jason or Heracles. He was just Orpheus, the poet. Orpheus, the boy who had gotten himself into a situation he didn’t know how to handle.
The only option he really had was to follow the Doctor. He didn’t know where they were going, and he didn’t even know if he trusted her, but he didn’t know where they were, and she seemed to have the most information. If he wanted to get back, he was going to have to either follow her lead or find someone else. Given they were alone here, he was more than willing to hedge his bets following the Doctor.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 20, 2021 0:01:22 GMT -5
The Doctor wasn't even really listening or paying attention. She was striding toward the TARDIS with confidence and purpose that she might not have expressed to this degree yet. From the look on her face, it seemed as if she was decidedly mystified by the whole affair, but also fascinated.
The big blue box that was the TARDIS was still there, still looking exactly the same as always, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed likely that this was fairly close to the time they had left. There at least weren't any visible signs to contradict that, including how the sun was sitting in the sky.
The doors of the TARDIS opened even before the Doctor reached them, a snap of her fingers seeming to indicate the que for them to do so. Beyond was the same honey colored lighting, the same pillars, the same honeycomb style walls. The Doctor headed directly for the console, while the doors were left open behind her.
"Hello dear," she seemed to murmur to the console, a hand running along its rim. "Sorry to be away. Something fascinating happened. I'm just going to do a scan ..."
She started pressing buttons, even while half an eye was watching for Orpheus.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 20, 2021 3:26:47 GMT -5
Orpheus wasn’t really sure where they were going, but he was in a strange place with two mostly strangers, and he didn’t know how to get out. He would rather follow people he sort of knew than get lost somewhere he had never been, however, so he took to following a few paces behind. He figured the Doctor would probably tell him if she didn’t want him following – after all, she had been candid enough when she had accused him of not being human. At least he had passed that test, despite not really knowing his parentage. Apparently, being the son of a muse didn’t stop him from being human. In this case… he thought that was probably a good thing. He didn’t think the Doctor was particularly violent, but he didn’t know for certain. Being human may have just saved his life.
The blue box was a surprise. Orpheus had never seen anything like that, though he was more surprised by the light glowing from the inside than he was by the outside appearance. It was a blue box. Unusual, but not impossible. Light that bright shining from the inside? Now that bordered on impossible.
He took a few steps forward, frowning as the Doctor stepped in, closely followed by Crutchie. It looked too small for that…
Nonetheless, he took a few steps closer, hesitating before gently stepping in himself. What he saw knocked him absolutely speechless. It was… wow…
“It’s bigger on the inside,” he murmured, too awestruck to realize he was just pointing out the obvious.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on May 26, 2021 21:56:24 GMT -5
It was the same line that the Doctor had heard a thousand times, but she still found herself looking over at Orpheus. She seemed to think about something for a second, one hand pressing across the dials.
The doors of the TARDIS closed automatically. The Doctor pulled down a lever, tossing them into the time stream. It would be easier and she would feel safer if they were drifting between times rather than actually staying where they had been before. She truthfully didn't trust that particular patch of land anymore.
"She is," she finally said. But she didn't introduce the ship with the same excitement she had Chrissi. Instead she seemed to just let the take this current traveler in with a wary distrust.
She'd already pressed the buttons needed to scan their new guest. A proper one. Letting him into the TARDIS may have been a small mistake, but she wasn't yet sure to what extent that might be the case.
"And have you ever seen anything ... strange?" she asked. An eyebrow arched. "Out of the usual, that is?"
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 27, 2021 2:45:26 GMT -5
Orpheus could tell something was the matter, but he had a feeling that asking would just make it worse. He hesitated for a long moment, looking around the TARDIS without touching anything, for fear he might upset the Doctor. He didn’t want to do that, and he most certainly didn’t want to accidentally break anything. With how complicated it all seemed, that felt pretty likely. He had never seen anything like it in his life, and he had considered himself to be fairly well versed in things most people never saw. A perk of growing up next to gods.
“Strange?” Orpheus repeated, tilting his head a little bit to consider. “It depends on what you mean by strange. I suppose this counts as strange, I’ve never seen anything like this before. But if you mean things like the sirens… you saw them too, and though I feel most people would consider them strange, they’re not terribly so in my eyes. A world with gods is bound to be covered in monsters as well. I try to avoid them, but it’s impossible to do that forever.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 1, 2021 1:07:58 GMT -5
So ... the Doctor was suitably puzzled. She wasn't actually sure if Orpheus was telling the truth. But she wasn't sure she was ready to discount aliens. Far from it. In fact, she would sooner not even start to discount them.
But that didn't mean that she knew the answer. She was perhaps even more puzzled than before. It was, all in all, more disturbing than she would have liked to admit.
"Well then," she said, eyes narrowing a bit. Then she glanced at Crutchie. "There's a bit of a ... how to put this ... disconnect to our stories. You see ... me and my friend here ended up in your time -" If it was a time and not a trap "-because we went to a village. And now those things don't connect at all. Then suddenly we end up right back here, only now we have a plus one."
She couldn't help but get excited. Excited, but very untrustworthy.
"I don't actually think we can get back to your time. Since to my knowledge ... it doesn't properly exist."
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 1, 2021 1:54:32 GMT -5
Crutchie watched the Doctor, his eyes narrowing a little bit as he looked at Orpheus. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t sure how to react to someone he didn’t know, it was that the Doctor clearly didn’t trust him, and anything the Doctor didn’t trust, Crutchie was fairly wary of as well. He bit his lip, not saying anything. It didn’t really seem possible to him that Orpheus’ time didn’t exist. They had been there. They had almost died there, so unless Orpheus was manipulating them somehow, it had to exist, right? He leaned against the back wall of the TARDIS, deciding it would be best not to say anything. Let the Doctor handle this… she was better at talking to people anyway.
Orpheus hesitated, brow creasing. “I don’t know about the village,” he murmured slowly, shaking his head from side to side, a few moments passing between each movement. “But I know that my time… my time,” that was going to take some time to get used to. He wasn’t in his time anymore… he hadn’t really considered that time was something you could just… leave…. “I know that it’s real. I mean… I grew up there. I lived there and worked there, and we were just there. You were there with me, you saw the sirens… how can that not exist?”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 10, 2021 2:23:20 GMT -5
It didn't seem like the order of events that was logical, that was why. The Doctor struggled with actively believing it was an accident. She didn't trust that she wasn't being tricked or dooped.
But she didn't feel like saying that. She felt like this was an argument that wasn't going to be at all convincing.
She pulled the TARDIS lever again, this time sending the time machine off in the direction of Crutchie's time. It seemed like as good a start as any and she was decently sure that she wasn't going to get anywhere with this.
"Huum," she said, sounding a bit annoyed, but otherwise holding in the majority of her emotions. Then she indicated the door, well timed with the 'thump' and shake of the TARDIS touching down.
"We're back," she said to Crutchie. She would admit that she didn't even know if she wanted him to leave - not with Orpheus here - but she couldn't leave any excuse.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 10, 2021 21:41:16 GMT -5
“Back?” Orpheus asked, tilting his head. It was clear that the Doctor wasn’t talking to him, but he thought he would ask anyway. It meant that, like the Doctor, Crutchie wasn’t from the same place that Orpheus was. It was possible that the place Orpheus was from didn’t exist at all… the thought made him a little bit sick to his stomach, but he tried not to let it show. It didn’t matter.
Crutchie, for his part, didn’t seem pleased. He glanced at the Doctor, shaking his head as he realized what she meant. They were back where she had picked him up. He wasn’t entirely sure he understood what she meant by bringing them both here, but he had a suspicion.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked after a long moment of silence, his knuckles white where they clenched around his crutch. “I mean… I want to help you figure this out, if you’ll have me. I don’t… want to just go back to my life and pretend that nothing at all is happening… it’s just… not true.”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 14, 2021 1:08:28 GMT -5
"No," admitted the Doctor. She did not want Crutchie to leave, but at the end of the day ... was he really meant to be here?
Well, of course he was. He had every right to be here. But the question maybe should have been whether the Doctor had any right to make him stay.
"You don't have to be here," she said softly. "You don't have to risk anything like that. If you leave now, you'll have a good story to tell. I don't want you risking your life."
Somehow, deep down, she felt like that was exactly the possibility. She remembered the sense that he'd met a Time Lord before. That they had somehow twisted something in his head. She didn't want something happening to him. He seemed happy how he was.
And Orpheus? She didn't know what - or how - she was going to deal with that. But at the end of the day, it was better than letting Crutchie risk himself when he probably didn't want to.
"Traveling with me is dangerous. Really dangerous. I mean that."
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 15, 2021 14:48:48 GMT -5
“Living on the streets is dangerous, too,” Crutchie replied, eyes sharp as he looked up at the Doctor. “I mean… probably in a different way, but… we risk heat stroke and hypothermia every day. We risk angry people believing that we’re polluting their great city just by existing. We risk infection and starvation and so much more just to survive, because there’s no other place for us. We walk until we have blisters trying to sell enough to earn ourselves dinner. I know what danger is like, and… and I think I’d like to see more of the world… or… the universe, I guess. I can always come back home if I survive. But there’s nothing much exciting about home.” There were his friends, of course. People that he didn’t want to leave behind because they were like family to him. He could go home now, have a laugh and pretend this had all been a dream, but… the world was so much bigger than New York City. Jack had always dreamed of going to Santa Fe. Was it so wrong of Crutchie to dream of traveling as well?
“I want… I want to choose to risk things. I want to choose to go with you, because what happened today was more impressive than anything that’s happened in my entire life, and… and I think I want to live, for once. Not just survive.” New York City was home. But maybe… maybe home wasn’t enough right now. Maybe he wanted a little bit more.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 18, 2021 2:43:02 GMT -5
While Crutchie wasn't wrong, it really didn't bring much comfort to the Doctor. Of course she wanted to have him come along, but it also was a war of responsibility.
Add to that the fact that she really didn't think it best to let him or Orpheus go until the latter had been worked out properly.
The Doctor pulled the lever of the TARDIS again, sending them (with the usual hum and shakiness) back into the time vortex.
"Alright," she said after a while. But just until we work him out." And here she nodded in the direction of the aforementioned Orpheus.
"So ... let me consider where it is we have to go ..." She was looking at Orpheus when she said that. If he was some time-eating hitch-hiker, then the TARDIS should have been able to tell. Not least of which something probably should have happened by now. But that wasn't what had happened. So what then?
She glanced at Crutchie.
"Any ideas of destination?"
She'd probably come up with something, but she needed something to fill the silence.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 18, 2021 14:14:28 GMT -5
Crutchie frowned, following the Doctor’s gaze to Orpheus. He didn’t really know what to make of him. He had been exceedingly nice on the Argo, but if the Doctor was to be believed, that didn’t really mean anything. He could be dangerous. He probably was dangerous. He had been sent back to Ireland with both of them, which… didn’t seem like a very good thing, especially since he seemed to be as bewildered as both of them. Crutchie found he would much rather have an enemy in front of him than one pulling the strings somewhere hidden behind the scenes.
“We could… try to go back to where Orpheus is from?” Crutchie suggested, frowning a little bit. “And we can see if the version we saw of it was real or not…” he trailed off, giving a small shrug. “Or we can go somewhere that has a really big library where you could look things up and try to find answers…” that wasn’t where Crutchie really wanted to go, but he could tell the Doctor was worried about the Orpheus problem. Better suggest ways to fix that than suggest just zipping around the universe for the hell of it.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 23, 2021 1:08:08 GMT -5
There was a small frown on the Doctor's lips, but eventually a brisk nod. There was an issue that she saw with Crutchie's suggestion, but she didn't want to mention it. Because in the end, he was right. There was an issue with avoiding the suggestion was well. After a second, she explained, pulling down the lever which dematerialized the TARDIS. "Perhaps that is just what these forces at work want. Perhaps. Admittedly ..." her eyes were alight with curiosity "that does not detoure from the fact that this is probably exactly what we need to do."
Yes, it probably was. But she was also still watching Orpheus. Watching him and waiting for him to show his hand.
"Ancient Greece then."
The TARDIS and the noise stopped, grounding them without the constant shaking somewhere the Doctor had already been several times. Which made her all the more skeptical that there was anything like a mythological figure existing in this space. Even still, she indicated the door. "But by all means ... we are here."
Despite her best efforts, there was a flicker of a smile on her lips.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jun 23, 2021 1:48:48 GMT -5
Orpheus was, admittedly, slightly put out by the idea. He hadn’t liked being taken randomly from the job he was working (a job that, should he do it right, would save countless lives), but there was something exciting about a time machine. A time machine that could travel anywhere in the universe, as well. The possibilities were all open – Orpheus did his best not to envision all of the music he could hear with a machine like this that nobody else in his lifetime would ever be privy to – but all they were doing with it was going exactly to the moment they had left on.
It wasn’t that Orpheus didn’t understand the why behind it, it was just that… well, part of him loved the idea of exploring.
“Here,” Orpheus echoed, casting a nervous look at the door. So far, there had been nothing that seemed absolutely impossible. But a version of his time and place without him made his skin crawl with nerves.
“On the Argo, or just in Greece? Thrace or somewhere else?” He didn’t want to step foot outside the TARDIS until he had prepared himself just a little for what he was about to see.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 23, 2021 2:15:48 GMT -5
Well, that was the question, wasn't it? The Doctor didn't know. She had used more of the TARDIS' judgement than she had her own knowledge of what was and was not Greek. Though the fact that this would not give Orpheus an answer was another matter. The Doctor hmphed.
"It is where we need to be in Greece to find answers," she said after a second. Then spun a screen around on the console so that both Orpheus and Crutchie could see what she meant my that. There was a light, flashing on the screen console, pulsing lightly along a line which made no sense to anyone but the Doctor. What that meant however was that she wasn't really explaining anything at all. Instead, it was just a matter of assuming this was what she meant by 'supposed to find answers.'
"Come on!" she said brightly, heading for the door. "Let's go, before all the answers leave for greener pastures." She said this as she threw open the door and walked out into salt tinged air.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jun 30, 2021 2:30:50 GMT -5
"Looking for proof he existed during this time," the Doctor said. She was looking around now, her eyes trailing over the water and the docks they were now on. "Or looking for proof that he didn't."
Which generally left most of history very open and very difficult to access, if you thought about it. Either Orpheus did exist or he didn't. The Doctor was trusting that the TARDIS had brought them somewhere they could test of this idea.
To Orpheus, in a louder voice, she asked, "Does this place look familiar?" It wasn't the same docks they'd left from, she (reassuringly) knew that much. But she wasn't sure about any of the rest of it. Who knew. Maybe she'd be surprised.
She just hoped it was the good sort of surprise.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 1, 2021 15:31:54 GMT -5
Crutchie’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t’ say anything else. Orpheus seemed real to him, but if he wasn’t… what would they do then? Would they have to get rid of him? Was he a spy? Crutchie edged a little bit closer to the Doctor, ignoring the guilt that squirmed in the pit of his stomach. Orpheus had been kind to him, and here he was, just… ignoring him. Acting like he could be an enemy. He just… didn’t know. The Doctor didn’t seem to know, either.
“Familiar?” Orpheus asked, biting his lip a little bit as he noticed Crutchie edging away. He didn’t want to scare the boy, but he didn’t know how to avoid that. He didn’t know what the Doctor was implying, didn’t know what it could possibly mean if he didn’t recognize anything here. He had to recognize something, right? Orpheus hesitated, then took a few steps forward. He could tell it wasn’t the same docks, but even the smell in the air was unfamiliar. It didn’t seem like home. It just felt… slightly off.
“Is this Thrace?” he asked after a moment, turning his head to look at the Doctor instead of their surroundings. “If it’s another part of Greece, I’m probably not very familiar. I’m… I guess I spent most of my life in Thrace…”
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 8, 2021 1:49:29 GMT -5
"It's Thrace," said the Doctor with very little hesitation. She didn't really look at Orpheus, instead focusing on the area around them, looking for any signs of this Orpheus.
"Where would you go to work out what you were looking for?" she asked nonchalantly. "Where would you have lived or worked where people would recognize you?"
It wasn't as if she wanted to force Orpheus into a trap, but ... well ... if she was able to work out his identity, than wouldn't that be better for everyone?
Orpheus looked nervous. She wanted to find that good, but she couldn't help but worrying. This felt like something - a trap of some sort - but if it wasn't than she was treating him a bit more poorly than she would have liked.
"If you wanted company while exploring, I don't mind looking around with you," she added. Not an olive branch ... but maybe an olive leaf.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 8, 2021 18:18:36 GMT -5
Orpheus looked around, heart thudding in his chest as he realized that nothing looked familiar. He knew Thrace was large, but being raised by the god of travelers, he had traveled a lot. He had thought he’d seen all of Thrace – if this was Thrace, though, he was wrong. He swallowed, trying not to panic yet. It was possible they just weren’t near anywhere he would recognize.
“I worked at a small restaurant,” he managed softly, looking around to try to figure out where it would be. “I played on street corners and at dinner parties, symposiums, weddings…” he hesitated, following a worn path as though that might reveal why there was nothing familiar here.
“I… would like company,” he said, turning to look at the Doctor. “So long as you don’t mind, of course. I just… well, it’s strange that this is Thrace. This road… well, it’s larger than any of the other roads around here, so it probably leads to one of the city centers. Maybe we’re just in a suburb I’m unfamiliar with.” Judging from the look Crutchie sent the Doctor, Orpheus figured that neither of them believed him.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Jul 26, 2021 6:30:52 GMT -5
"Maybe," said the Doctor. She didn't think that was the case though. She was willing to say the word, but she didn't believe it. So instead, she turned toward the street and started walking down it. Out of the corner of her eye, she still watched Orpheus. She didn't trust him, but something in her chest - her hearts - were tugging at her. The story he told wasn't as detailed as she might have liked, but the emotions seemed real. It didn't seem like he was lying ...
But she pushed that idea. Maybe she was being jaded and paranoid. But she didn't think she was able to trust the situation as much she really would have liked to.
"Then we will have to see if that's the case, wont we?" she said over her shoulder. "Come on. A walk would do some good." Or maybe she just didn't want Orpheus back in her ship again for the time being. She wasn't really sure how he was going to fair if he found out that this wasn't the home he was supposedly familiar with.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jul 26, 2021 14:26:28 GMT -5
Orpheus wasn’t lying, but that didn’t mean he knew what he was doing here. That didn’t mean he understood what was going on. The further he stepped away from the TARDIS, the clearer it became that this wasn’t his world. This was… it was like his home. The landmarks were there, he could recognize bits and pieces, but it was almost as though he was looking at his home through a kaleidoscope (if he knew what a kaleidoscope was). It was all turned around and twisted until it was nearly unrecognizable. But if this was the “real” version of Thrace, then where was Orpheus from? Who was he, if not someone real? He was flesh and blood, wasn’t he? He breathed out, trying to process what he was seeing.
“I agree,” he whispered, trying not to sound as panicked as he felt. He wasn’t the best actor. “A walk might be best to clear my head. And I might find something familiar.” He wanted to ask the Doctor what it meant if he didn’t find somewhere that felt like home, if he didn’t recognize this place, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. At least… if he were an imposter, the logical thing to do would be to lie and say that this was home, right? He couldn’t be a threat if he was telling the truth about this all being unfamiliar. At least… that was what he was hoping the Doctor would think. He didn’t want to be treated like a threat, especially given how overwhelming this all was.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 2, 2021 22:07:31 GMT -5
It seemed very easy for the Doctor to sense the tension from Orpheus. There wasn't a lot that the Doctor could do about that. Instead, she found herself following after him. Knowing that he wasn't finding what he was looking for.
But what did that mean? What did it mean when Orpheus was literally missing a part of what he knew was home? Even if he still knew this part, in some portion. How scary must that be? To know this as home, but only partly?
The Doctor didn't ask though. Because what did that make Orpheus? What did that make him, but a fake? He clearly wasn't what they had thought he was. He wasn't real.
Not in the sense they'd believed him to be, at any rate.
This left her questioning what to do now that she knew that. How long he would go saying that everything was okay when it wasn't. Where they would have to go for them all to believe that this wasn't what they wanted.
"Alright," she agreed again. Then she looked at Chrutchie. Because maybe he had better ideas than she did.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Aug 3, 2021 9:18:16 GMT -5
Crutchie was unnerved by the expression on Orpheus’ face. It was clear to him, as it was to the Doctor, that he didn’t recognize this place. That there were portions of it that were familiar, but that it wasn’t the home he knew. He couldn’t imagine that. He couldn’t imagine going back to New York only to find that the Statue of Liberty was bright pink and also not in the middle of the Hudson anymore. The thought sent a shudder down his spine. Was that what this was like for Orpheus? Knowing that things were different, knowing that whatever you thought was real… wasn’t?
“Should we give him some space?” Crutchie asked the Doctor, eyes wide as he looked up at her. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Orpheus all on his own – after all, the Doctor had been suspicious about what he might be – but it felt rude to intrude on this discovery. It felt like something they weren’t supposed to see. Or maybe it just felt like something nobody was supposed to see, because it shouldn’t have been possible. If this was real Greece, then where had they been? What had brought them there, and… and why? Why had it created fake people? It just seemed cruel.
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Post by mintedstar/fur on Aug 8, 2021 20:02:07 GMT -5
The Doctor had no intention of giving Orpheus the space which Crutchie was talking about. Even if she wanted to. Sure, it would have probably given Orpheus some time to breath, but she didn't think that she could let her feelings get in the way of this one.
Or at least that was what she originally wanted to say. But after looking down at Crutchie for several long, aching seconds, the words on her lips, she relented. She looked ahead and tried to think of what to do. How this felt.
Then she slowed down, letting space grow between herself and Orpheus. It might not have been as much space as he could have really benefitted from. But she was willing to let him have his time.
I'm not sure what's going on, she almost admitted to Crutchie. But she held in the words. She had to appear in control. At least for this one.
"You like traveling, don't you?" she eventually asked. A different question which would hopefully keep him occupied.
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