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]

He hesitated. Of course he hesitated.

"I...I'm not sure if..." Would it be different, compared to his Aislinn's? Would it still be fair?

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She scowled, pushing away from the bar.

"Well, if you don't want to, you don't have to."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

His eyes widened and he reached out, catching her hand.

"I want to." He wouldn't lose her now, not after all this.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She stared at him, chin tilted almost defiantly.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He drew his hand back, but held her gaze firmly enough.

"Please. I'd like to."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"If you're sure...." She sounded uncertain now.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I am," he said, his eyes wide and earnest, expression rather contrite.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She smiled a little, and there was almost a flash of triumph in it.

"Then I can take you."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He smiled back, rising from his stool, the drink utterly forgotten.

"Thank you."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

Tilting her head and looking at him curiously, she repressed a laugh, though it glittered in her eyes.

"Did you want to go now?"

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

A sheepish smile, a hand through his hair, neither sheilding his excitement, both obscuring his uncertainty.

"Ah, well, if you wouldn't mind..."

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"I've gotten what I came here for tonight," she said with an amused smile. "I might as well go home, and you're welcome to come with me."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He gave her a bright grin.

"I would consider it an honour to accompany you." Sparkling eyes and formal words - it was a combination he'd grown rather fond of.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She looked amused and held out her hand. "They are likely sitting down to feast soon. There is dancing most nights, after, though nothing so formal as a ball. But we are creatures of habit..."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He took it, grin fading to an eager smile that made him look very young.

"Would you mind terribly having an alien as a dance partner?"

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

"I think I could find a way to be all right with that," she said with a small smile of her own. Putting down her pint glass she tugged his hand, leading him toward the exit.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"Splendid!" He was led easily, for once, trailing after her with a light gait.

Still uncertain, naturally, but he ignored it for now.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

It was the work of a heartbeat, of a single step, moving through the door so as to be inconspicuous to anyone watching.

One moment they were in the pub, the next, as they stepped out, instead of on the street, they were in a glade in a wood where evening was falling softly.

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He tread on grass instead of pavement, and stopped, eyes wide as his head turned about.

"That's...handy..." His voice was faint; he was far more concerned with his sight, and what was in it.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She smiled slightly. "It's just the Veil. One steps through, if one knows how. Though truly, I ought to have taken us to Ardagh before doing it. It's still quite a walk to Bri Leith."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I've never minded a walk," he said softly, eyes still wide and searching, delighting in it. The world felt...different, somehow, and he couldn't pinpoint it, and instead of frustrating him it exhilarated him.

No, he wouldn't mind a walk at all.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

It was dusk, the sun gone, and yet the world still seemed very green. Fireflies came out, and the air was softer than in the mortal world. Fresh, without taint of pollution or overpopulation, it seemed like the world must have been before men came, and yet was softer than that even. Magic hummed in the air, here, the breath of creation and life, swirling all around them. Aislinn could feel it on her skin in a way that always signalled when she was home.

The land was old, deep, rife with its mysteries, and if people felt that when stepping on Eire's shores, it was surely a reflection of what pulsed here. Anything was possible. Everything.

The stars came out one by one, and the moon was already in the sky, though not very hight. Enough to light the path through the forest, at least.

"That's good," she murmured with a smile. "Distance is different here, but it's still a ways."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

He nodded as she spoke, returning the smile before kneeling down. He'd already admired the stars above, felt the pull of a different sky; he wanted to be closer, closer to a ground he'd never walked before, to an Earth he'd never known.

His hands brushed the grass - soft, lush, he was used to seeing it ruined - with the clinical examination of a scientist, and the reverence of a guest. His gaze was sharp and curious and filled with wonder.

"Beautiful..." he said softly, tilting his head up to look at her.

"Everything is beautiful." It wasn't quite the right word, not really, but it was the best he could manage.

[alainn-aislinn.livejournal.com]

She smiled a little, looking around her at the night as it started to fall.

"I love it here," she confessed. "It's been so long since I've lived here properly. I just....come and go."

[thecricketer.livejournal.com]

"I know that feeling," he said softly. After a moment he rose, gaze sweeping the land once more. It was always exhilarating to be somewhere so new, and the familiarity only captivated him further.