Just Another Shop Girl (4/18)
Dec. 2nd, 2008 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amberfocus Chapter Four: Safari
“Wait, Tessa,” Rose said. “You don’t want to go out there in sandals. What size are your feet? I’ll get you some trainers from the wardrobe room.”
“I don’t know. I just get whatever’s in the thrift stores that fits. Can’t remember if I’ve ever had shoes where the size marking hadn’t been rubbed off first,” she said. Rose made a moue of sympathy. She well remembered a few years like that when things were tough for her and her mum.
“Actually, why don’t you come back with me and we’ll see if we can find you some better clothes for exploring than that dress,” Rose amended.
The Doctor sighed and looked at the ceiling for patience. “Last time you went into the wardrobe room I didn’t see you again for five hours,” he said grumpily.
“I seem to recall you rather liking the effect of the outfit I finally emerged in,” Rose said pointedly and the Doctor blushed. “And it was only two hours. For a Time Lord you can be a bit rubbish about keeping track of real time.”
“I am not!”
“Are too,” she said only a trifle petulantly. “Just give us a couple of minutes. Honestly, I’d like to see you try to tromp across an unknown planet in flats and a dress.”
“I’d like to see that, too,” said Jack with a snicker. He subsided at a glare from the Doctor.
“Fine, just hurry up. I’d like to see what’s out there before the sun sets.”
Rose led Tessa into the corridor and up to the wardrobe room. “Wow,” the girl said as she gazed around at the racks and racks of clothes and the tall, spiraling staircases that led to other floors. “Is this all clothes?”
“Mmm, hmm,” said Rose. “A little girl’s dream, really. I didn’t have much growing up and sometimes, well, I know it’s silly but I just come in here and I play dress up. It’s fun to indulge my fantasies a little bit.”
“With the Doctor?” Tessa asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Hard enough getting him out of his jumper and leather jacket if I have a good reason,” Rose said. “Now Jack likes to try on the period costumes with me.”
“He seems quite a bit more relaxed than your Doctor,” she commented.
“Oh, he’s not my Doctor. I mean, well, we’re not…like that.”
“Really?” Tessa asked. “I could have sworn the two of you were exactly like that. You got someone waiting for you back home?”
“No,” Rose said. “Not since…not since I started travelling with him, not really. Here we are. Try some of these,” Rose said pointing to the shelves of trainers. Tessa found a pair that fit on the first go and then they went and found jeans and a t-shirt and rejoined the men.
“Twenty minutes, that’s a record,” said Jack impressed that Rose could get into and out of the wardrobe room so quickly.
“Shut up,” Rose said with a smile. “Wasn’t me I was dressing.”
The four of them emerged from the TARDIS and stepped out onto the planet’s surface. “Any ideas where we are, Doc?” Jack asked.
“We’re in the Sagittarian sector according to the TARDIS’ readings. And judging from the type of star overhead I’m pretty sure that’s Rukbat.” He pointed towards the planet’s sun.
Tessa smiled. “Oh, do you think we’ll see dragons? Or fire lizards?” Tessa asked.
“That’s fiction, Tessa. This is the real thing, the Doctor told her.
“Yeah, well I thought time travel and alien space ships were fiction, too, until a few minutes ago.” She sniffed. “I love the way it smells here. Sort of like jasmine and honeysuckle. It sure beats where I live.”
“Shall we get on with it, then?” Rose asked. Jack nodded and hoisted a pack onto his back.
“Let’s see what’s out there.” The Doctor locked the TARDIS and they set off into the unknown.
The trek had been relatively easy, despite being in tropical jungle overgrowth after the first mile of savannah. Some kind of large animal had made constant use of the trails so paths were easy enough to forge. “Just keep a sharp eye out in case whatever animal made these trails shows up and wants the right of way,” the Doctor warned.
They stopped by a river a few hours in and broke out food supplies from Jack’s pack. It was peaceful and calm and really a little bit disappointing, Rose thought. Not much to impress a newcomer to their ranks, that was for sure. Rose was beginning to wish she’d see Tessa’s longed for and imaginary dragons.
She was relieved then to finally hear a noise to break the stillness. There was something very familiar about the loud bleating noise. “Wait a minute,” she said standing up. “Wasn’t that the sound that Tirawl on Earth was making?”
Indeed it was. The animal came into view a moment later lumbering up the pathway behind them. It hesitated when it saw the little group of people then looked behind it before letting out another loud bleat.
“Does it…?” Tessa hesitated then looked at the Doctor for reassurance. “Does it sound frightened to you?” She raised a hand to her temple, gently massaging the spot as if it were bothering her.
“Doctor, what would frighten an animal that big?” Rose asked.
The animal took off, going as fast as it could. The four of them just made it to the edge of the trail in time to get out of its way as it trundled past them. “Oh, I don’t know,’ said the Doctor. “Humans on a safari?”
“What makes you say that?” Jack asked.
“Because I can see them,” replied the Doctor. “They’re hunting it.” The Doctor told them to hide behind the foliage. They waited in silence until the party of hunters had moved well out of sight.
“This is not good,” Jack said. “Tirawls eventually become sentient. This is like aliens coming to Earth and hunting Neanderthals. We need to put a stop to this.”
“Us and what army?” Tessa asked. “It’s horrible, but we’re only four people. There were at least twenty in that hunting party and they were armed. I don’t see any weapons on any of you unless you have something in that bag, Jack.”
“We don’t need weapons,” said Rose staunchly. “We’re with the Doctor. We’ll wing it.”
“And operating without some kind of a plan works for you?” Tessa wanted to know.
“Generally, yes,” said the Doctor. “But I do have a plan.”
“Oh.” Relief washed over her face. “What is it?”
“It’s highly unlikely they know these creatures have such potential. We’ll simply follow them back to their base camp and try to reason with them,” the Doctor said.
“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.” Tessa reached up and pulled her ponytail tighter. She’d long since lost the pins and bun cover to the jungle’s branches.
“Like I said, we’ll wing it,” Rose said trying hard not to become annoyed with Tessa’s constant adversarial role. She hadn’t exactly thought the Doctor was fully sane when she’d first met him, either and true she did challenge him a lot, but she’d earned that right.
“Come on, then,” Jack said stepping onto the path and leading the way. “Waiting around here all day isn’t going to get us anywhere and it’s certainly not going to protect the Tirawls.” The girls followed him with the Doctor taking up the rear behind Rose.
“It is beautiful,” Tessa said on a sigh a few minutes later. “I still can’t believe it’s me walking around on an alien planet halfway across the universe from the one I was born on.”
“That feeling never gets old,” Rose said with a laugh. “I love it.”
“How long have you travelled with the Doctor?” Tessa asked.
“Almost a year now. Best year of my life, too. It’s been one marvelous adventure after another,” Rose told her.
“What about Jack?”
“He’s only been with us a couple of weeks, really. But he’s used to time travel. He used to be a time agent in the 51st century before he joined up with us. He’s almost as knowledgeable as the Doctor in some areas. He’s quite useful in procuring hard to get items, too.”
“He’s awfully gorgeous,” said Tessa without thinking.
“Thank you,” said Jack turning around and giving her a saucy wink.
Tessa blushed and Rose laughed. “He is awfully pretty. I think that’s why the Doctor keeps him around.”
“I can hear you, Rose. Time Lord senses. And it is not,” grumped the Doctor from behind them. The Doctor always got grumpy when Rose mentioned Jack’s looks. “It’s because you get into so much trouble all the time, I thought you needed more than one minder.”
“Is that so? If I’m that much trouble you can always send me home,” she said with a cheeky grin.
“Not after I’ve gone to all this trouble training Jack to pluck you out of trouble,” he returned.
“Anyway, most of the time it’s you getting into trouble. I seem to remember on the planet Belilou that you were the one that accidently offended the princess by eating part of her pet Danja plant.”
“They looked like strawberries. How was I to know it was something else? Besides I got us out of trouble, didn’t I?”
“Actually, that was me, Doc. I got us out of it,” interrupted Jack turning around and walking backwards for a bit.
“So maybe it’s you who needs two minders,” Rose informed the Doctor.
“How’d you get out of it?” Tessa asked.
“You don’t really want to know. All I’ll say is when I was done there was one happy princess on Belilou,” said Jack.
“There was one happy royal court on Belilou,” the Doctor muttered under his breath and Jack smirked and turned back around.
The trumpeting bleat of another Tirawl interrupted their conversation. As the animal came into view they stepped off the pathway and into the jungle. The creature made as if to go around them then stopped. It looked directly at the Doctor. Moments later they were all clutching their heads in agony.
“Too loud,” the Doctor said. The Tirawl damped down on the sound. It wasn’t exactly talking so much as transmitting feelings of fear and helplessness.
“We’ve got to help it,” Rose said.
“What’s going on,” asked Tessa. “What’s in my head? Why does it hurt?”
“It’s the Tirawl. We must be later in their history then I thought. They’re achieving sentience now!” exclaimed Jack.
“They’re hunting a thinking creature?” Tessa was horrified.
“Yes, they are. And I’m putting a stop to it right now.” The Doctor stepped forward with one hand extended and stroked the Tirawl’s head. The animal’s posture relaxed. “We’ll help you,” the Doctor said. “We’ll figure out a way to keep your herd safe and keep those men away from you.
Tessa took a deep breath and stepped forward touching the creature in front of her. “He’s so soft,” she said in wonder. “So gentle. How could anyone hunt him?”
“And how did a pair of them end up on Earth in the 21st century?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Take us to your people,” the Doctor said thinking hard at the Tirawl at the same time. The animal turned from them and lumbered forward with one look over his shoulder to make sure they were following him. With determination the little group headed deeper into the wilds.
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-03 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-03 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-03 05:59 pm (UTC)I read this with a good deal of innuendo ("good reason," indeed!), which brings a funny scene to mind.
"C'mon, Doctor, it's time for sex."
"::whining:: But Rooose, I dun wanna!"
"Now, Doctor, you know if you don't, you're just going to be cranky later. Now shift."
Then came this line: “Now Jack likes to try on the period costumes with me.”
And it was even more hilarious.
“He’s so soft,” she said in wonder. “So gentle. How could anyone hunt him?”
If they're that soft, fur, duh, Tessa. People are jerks.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 05:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 11:29 pm (UTC)You can bet Jack tries to help her with fitting the corsettes, too!
Well, not fur exactly, more a leathery type hide, but yeah, pretty much.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-04 11:30 pm (UTC)