Mirrors - AU RP for alainn_aislinn

[thecricketer]

The Doctor is fairly certain he is going to crash.

He is, honestly, more worried about his ship than himself, and desperately tries to steady her as they rip through Time and Space and something else entirely, something he can't quite discern. Her distress pricks his mind like needles, and his fingers are going numb on the controls.

Eventually he realises that he's done all he can, and simply holds on.

When he opens his eyes he's still more or less upright, and those his swiftly beating hearts echo the state of the TARDIS, she is undamaged. With a quiet sight of relief he straightens, and crosses over to the doors.

He isn't sure where he is, and there's really only one way to find out.

Well. One proper way.

Comments

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"Almost?" he said lightly; his fingers were moving more deliberately now, the same movements traced over eachother.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She tried to decipher them, caught almost by the curiosity.

"It might not be worth the bother."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His hand paused, eyes widening with feigned, hurt indignation.

"I can promise you I'm never boring, at the very least."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"I bet you can be tiresome," she said, glancing up at him through lowered lashes.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"On occasion, I'm sure," he said, drawing back damp finger to run through his hair.

"I'd like to think it's worth it."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"I can hardly judge that yet, can I?"

Not recognizing the symbols irritated her a bit, and she took a long drink of her ale

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His lips quirked slightly at her irritation, the smile warming at her curiosity.

"No, I suppose not." He nodded towards the glass, and the flowing letters already beginning to obscure; perhaps naturally, perhaps not.

"My language."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"And why were you tracing it on your glass?" There was suspicion there. Spells could be accomplished that way, though she hadn't felt any magic being used.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I wanted to be enigmatic?" he suggested, smiling brightly.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

Her eyes narrowed.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He shook his head; he wanted to ask, lightly, if he was really so suspicious. Or what she thought he could have been writing.

Instead, he spoke plainly, honestly, with a soft voice.

"You know very little about me, which is hardly fair considering. I thought I might offer this at least." And he turned the glass, so that the letters, older than this building, older than the soil it was built on, faced her.

"It's a name. A nickname, really."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She tilted her head, studying it, half of her still expecting a spell of some sort, ready to leap out and entrap her.

"I can't read the letters..." Though her fingers traced lightly over them, never quite touching the glass.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"In time there will be very few who can," he said softly. His expression dimmed, an old conflict struggling to hide from his eyes.

He reached out, after a moment, to press her fingers to the glass; it was a light touch, easily broken if she wished. Such was the brush against her mind, as well - a request, nothing more.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She allowed the touch, and pressed them against the glass. Giving access to her mind was more difficult, but he requested when she had a feeling he could have taken.

She allowed that contact, too, holding his eyes with hers.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

It had been so long since he'd done this manually; usually it was an automatic shift, in tandem with the TARDIS. The concentration was evident in his eyes, though it did not curb the faint, determined smile.

The letters would not change before her eyes, but she would come to realise the this meant this, and that meant that, as he moved her fingers along the words.

Theta Sigma, she would read.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She followed, learning, eyes sharp and attention focused with shrewd intelligence few ever looked close enough to see.

"Theta Sigma," she said, softly, just under the noise of the crowd. "You are called this?"

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I was once," he replied, and though his voice was softer still, it carried easily.

"At the Academy, before I left home."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She tilted her head, studying him. "Names have power."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He nodded once.

"Yes."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"Yet you would trust me with this?"

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

Gaze level, voice quiet, both utterly certain.

"Yes."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"Why?" Her tone indicated she thought him a fool for it.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His lips quirked at that; there was no indication of offense.

"As I said, I have you at a bit of a disadvantage. I'm only trying to level the field, so to speak." There was more to it, of course, but that was all he spoke of.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She nodded a little bit, tracing her fingers over the symbols again, her eyes thoughtful.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His hand fell from hers, resting on the bar. For a while he was silent, simply gazing at her.

"It was mocking in the beginning, if I recall," he said, gently breaking the silence.

"I think I embraced it for that very reason."