darn tourists (OPEN)

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei had done nothing during the invasion of the resort planet. Nothing. It was like he'd frozen. He knew how to fight - albeit, he wasn't that good at it - and he'd always considered himself an altruist. When he was a boy, he used to pretend to fight off aliens and save the world, and yet he'd done nothing when it actually happened. He'd retreated.

The biggest problem, he reckoned, was that he didn't know how to react to something like this because he couldn't go forward or back into time and figure out what could happen, what shouldn't happen, what had to happen. When he watched Earth get conquered in a little under a week in the 24th century, he was able to stand back and let it happen, because he knew it would lead to a better planet. But he'd had no reason to stand back when fighting the Ohm... or to fight.

He wanted to shout at himself, to get angry at himself. This wasn't Earth. There are no Guardians here. The rules are different. He wanted to beat things up in the Sensoriums like he'd seen so many other people doing. But that wasn't him. He didn't get angry very much any more, and it usually didn't last long.

So instead of creating hordes of whatever to fight, he created Greece. The Acropolis of Athens, to be exact. He'd chosen to view it around the late 2000s. He'd already seen it when it was still in use, and now he wanted to see it after it had fallen. He'd been on a tour, once, but it had been hard to enjoy it, since tour guides always get things wrong. Besides, they rarely let him touch anything.

He walked throughout the empty ruins, thinking about his place on the ship, his place in the universe as a whole.

Comments

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Why were the sensoriums always being used when she wanted to use it? And always by someone she found rather interesting as well.

This time it was Rei, who had gone missing in the fight. Not that it mattered much, since she had needed far more blood than he could give. Still, she felt a need to know why. As far as Nanashi was concerned, his place on the ship was to aid her. Then again, every adult's place on the ship was either to aid her or hinder her in her opinion.

Walking up behind Rei, so he had time to hear her coming, she went to put her arm around his shoulder as she asked, "Where were you at the end of shore leave, little one? You did not get injured early, did you?" She sounded warm, comforting even, masking her true intentions. Even if he was now supposed to be always willing to give her his blood, that did not mean he had to like her. She always preferred her servitavi to like her. It made the relationship seem more natural. Raised less questions about why.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Whoa, hey!" Rei jumped when she touched him, having not been paying attention to his surrounding. He slipped out her arm with a bit of flailing, and put some distance between himself and her. "Personal space, respect it, geez," he said.

"And was that supposed to be a jab at my height?" He continued, smoothing the front of his shirt and slightly adjusting his tie. "Because I'm not that short. You're just... weirdly tall, has anyone ever told you that? Then again, I do tend to know a lot of really tall women, but still. I'm averaged size for my country of origin." He didn't speak very quickly, just rambled on enough that it was clear he had no intention of answering her question. There was something about her that he just made it so didn't like answering her questions.

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Nanashi laughed. He was still jumpy around her. How cute. "I call just about everyone 'little one'. It is a 'jab' at your age, rather than your hight."

What was it with time-travellers avoiding her questions? Not that she even knew that they were time-travellers, they just had both happened to avoid her questions.

Still, having her questions avoided was not something she was unaccustomed to. "Usually when someone avoids my questions, little one, they are trying to hide something. Do not be afraid to tell me."

This time, she kept her distance. She was trying to make Rei comfortable. Try to get him to open up to her, maybe even eventually consider her his friend. Sure it would take time, but it was not like she did not have enough of that.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I have a name. Use it," he snapped before he could work on hiding his annoyance. Only one person had ever called him 'little' anything - Reagan, the Guardian he was replacing. He was 'little brother' to the old time traveler, and that moniker didn't even come close to summing up the closeness of their relationship. He didn't like this vampire, who he hardly knew, using such a familiar nickname.

"Haha," he laughed. It was an obviously fake laugh. "I've been hiding almost everything about myself for four years, lady. That's not about to change just because you gave me a supernatural hickey."

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Well, this was going down in flames. Still, it was worth trying to make peace, as irritating as it was. Why did she have to pick the difficult one?

She did not hide her discouragement, but added a bit of pain to her expression. She suffered enough pain that it would look real enough. All she had to do was think of Kano and Chiharu, and ignore their voices when they spoke up. They always spoke up when her thoughts turned to them.

"I am sorry Rei. I mean no insult. I merely mean to be a friend to you. I know this takes time to occur, but I do like you. And in more than just that way. You are a very sweet man."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Yes, Rei was a difficult one. And something about Nanashi just brought out the worst in him. It was almost a relief, though - he spent so much of his life hidden behind his smile and charms. He'd done that since he first met the other Guardians, to keep them at ease, to keep them from being afraid. Now, he was actually feeling anger and resentment towards someone. It almost felt good, but it wasn't him. At least, it wasn't the Guardian part of him.

He took a breath, removing his hat and running his fingers through his hair. He put the hat back on, and with it, tried to get control of his attitude. A coy, condescending smile was back on his face. "I thought I'd already made my feelings on friendship pretty clear. Maybe you just didn't listen, too busy being indignant. Besides, babe, I'm hardly what you could call a sweet man."

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Nanashi laughed coldly, "You have not met the people of my world, trust me, you are a sweet man, especially compared to them. If you do not believe in friends, then how about at least we get along? Give me the chance to change your mind."

"Change his mind? You are not going soft on me are you my child?" Oh, great. The last thing she wanted to deal with was her mother. It made it harder for her to keep that solemn look as she reached out her hand to him. Still, at least this time, her pain was genuine. She wanted somewhere deep in her heart to have a real friendship herself, but the mere idea of just wanting that scared her so much that she tried to ignore the feeling. She had been doing this so long that she was not even conscious of this fear.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"I'd argue that point," Rei said - and he had plenty of evidence to back himself up, but none that needed to be shared - "but what's the saying? The one with the unstoppable force and immovable object or whatever? I don't know, some English idioms still escape me."

He looked down at her hand, then back up to her eyes. He slid his hands into his vest pockets. "Honestly? I don't like you. We've clearly got very different views, and you kind of make me feel like a stock animal. A cow, to be specific. I'm not saying I can't be pleasant to you - I can be pleasant up the wazoo - but getting along? Friendship? Feels like a stretch."

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

'Don't like you'? Well, that was the first time she had actually heard that. Usually she just got the feeling that plenty of people thought that.

"A stretch, perhaps, but is it not worth trying? I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable."

At least Nanashi was being honest. She really did not want to make him feel uncomfortable. She wanted him to learn to trust her. "Please, give me a chance."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Honey, you went far past uncomfortable when you pretty much used me as a soda fountain and made me get a... um. Never-mind.

"But hey," he said, shrugging, "it's not like I'm going to be an ass about it or anything. I can be polite, unlike... some people." By 'some people' he specifically meant 'The Doctor'. To whom he was going to be hugely passive aggressive to, even when the time traveler wasn't around.

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Nanashi smiled, well, it was a start. "I am glad for that at least. I do like you. And not as a meal." Read that: 'I like you as a meal.'

She seemed sincere as she continued, "I thank you though. And I apologize. It is not like me to lose myself like that. It is an honour." She bowed more deeply than she had to anyone on the ship before.

They were alone, and a little bruised ego was most definitely worth making their relationship less awkward.

Besides, if Rei was going to say what she thought he was before he cut himself off, that meant that he was like any other man. Perhaps after a few personal confessions he might even open up to her- or at least feel more connected to her.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei made a face that was about halfway between a scowl and an eyeroll. "Don't, just... don't do that. It's embarrassing for both of us," he said as she bowed. "C'mon now, I'm a Guardian of all of Time, I don't need someone to bow to let me know how inherently awesome I am."

Well, his sense of brushing things off with humor was back, so at least he was feeling less threatened. Or at least more willing to be civil.

[sanguineroyal.livejournal.com]

Nanashi smiled at his wit. "Oh, well, great Guardian of All of Time, it is all the more of an honour." She bowed again, though the manner was a bit more joking. She kept her eyes locked with his with a smile on her face. Doing that in her world to someone ranking higher than you could easily get you killed. It wasn't against the law, just that extreme of an insult to social standards. Of course, it was just funny if someone of a higher rank bowed that way to someone of a lower rank.

For the record, she considers herself removed from time. She also is glad to have the wit that he had used when they first met return.

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie was having his usual luck when it came to using the Sensoriums. That is to say, he came down to play around with them and found the lot of them occupied. Most of the other ones in use didn't have anything he wanted to investigate (or couldn't, in the interests of avoiding further injury). This place, though, looked interesting. If he was careful, he could probably avoid hurting himself. And, frankly, he was bored enough that he was willing to take that small risk. Having made up his mind, he slipped inside to investigate.

"I wonder what this place was," he murmured to himself as he picked his way through the ruins. He knows he's talking out loud, but hasn't seen anyone else yet - so isn't too worried about being overhead. There's always the possibility, though, especially in someone else's Sensorium session.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"It used to be Athens," a voice said from the side and a bit above Jamie. Rei was carefully perched on top of a pile of rubble, holding a chunk of stone in his hands. He'd managed to hear him, which was the nice thing about getting the ruins to himself. Another nice thing was that he could pick up picks of things and then chuck them to the side if they turned out not to be as interesting as he'd hoped. Which he did with that piece of stone. Really, why wouldn't tour guides let him do that? He knew way more about what was and wasn't important in the temples then they did.

"Well, technically, this was the Acropolis. And I think we're standing right around... the Sanctuary of Artemis. I might be wrong though, bit hard to tell where things were when it was new."

[bonnypiperlad]

There's a glance to the side and then up at the sound of the voice. "Oh. Aye, hard to tell with ruins," Jamie replies affably enough. As he looks around, though, he's got a fair idea that he's found the person responsible for this particular recreation.

"Look, I didn't realize this was your session, Rei. Sorry to barge in on ye like this."

He doesn't seem to show any signs of leaving any time soon, though, reaching over to pick up another piece of stone and turn it over in his hands.

"The Acropolis in Athens, ye say? That's..." He breaks off, frowning a little as he tries to think. Didn't the Doctor mention something about that at some point? It's on Earth somewhere, he's pretty certain. He's just not sure exactly where.

"Where is that, anyway? Athens, that is."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Oh, no, that's cool, stay," Rei said, smiling. Though, since he smiled most of the time, it was unclear if he was actually happy about something. "I don't really get to share places like this with h-- uh, most people." He'd almost used the term 'human' to describe Jamie, but he stopped himself. If he did that, he was admitting he didn't feel completely human anymore.

"Athens is in Greece. One of the oldest continually inhabited cities on Earth, actually. It's a bit hard to pin-point when exactly is started, seeing as it's been around so long. But that's fine, most cities don't really have official foundings, and even when they do it's kind of boring. I'd keep going, but it's kind of weird talking to you like this and, uh. I'm not entirely sure how to get down from here without breaking my neck."

[bonnypiperlad]

If Jamie noticed the slip, he doesn't seem to be overly bothered by it. The faint frown on his face from his trying to figure out geography clears up as Rei explains and things click into place.

"Oh, aye! That was it! I thought I was told about that before." Okay, so it went a bit in one ear and out the other at the time, but Jamie can hardly be blamed for that. It's a coping mechanism against rambling, after all.

Speaking of that, there's a little twitch of his lips that almost turns into a smile as Rei admits to being stuck, but he manages to keep it under control. Ever practical, though, he points out, "Ye could just think of some stairs or a path to use to get down. Or a big pile of pillows ye can jump into, if ye prefer."

Jamie kindly does not add the part where he blatantly points out they are in the Sensoriums - at least, not yet.

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei looked down at the pile of rubble. He looked back up to Jaime. His mouth was slightly agape. "I can do that?" He said, honestly surprised. "Oh, wow, that makes this place, like, a million times cooler."

After a moment, the rubble transformed itself into a short stone stairway, and Rei stepped down it, smiling like mad. This place was just so cool, way didn't he come by here very much?

"Well, Athens is pretty important to history," Rei said once he was down, "so I'm not surprised you've heard of it. You said you've traveled through time - if you get the chance, check it out when it was actually in use. It's pretty amazing." He cringed a bit saying that - he couldn't believe he was encouraging someone to time travel. What would the Guardians say?

[bonnypiperlad]

"Och, you've not figured that out yet?" There's some surprise on his end as well - at least for a moment, then he decides it's likely that Rei just hasn't spent as much time in here as he has, so it's not something that would have occurred to the other man. Jamie also wonders if maybe that means he's spent a little too much time here, but is distracted by the talk of Athens.

Unfortunately, it's not the best distraction. Rei had to go and bring up time travel, and that reminds him of the non-functional TARDIS, which is something he still is rather unhappy about. This, in turn, causes him to look at the other man with a somewhat disgruntled expression.

"Aye. If I get the chance...if we can restore my universe, and if the Doctor can fix the TARDIS so we can actually use it." That's rather a lot of ifs, unfortunately.

"Maybe there'll be another one of those other universe-Earths, though," he muses - mostly to himself. He's not looking at Rei now, instead turning his attention outward to the ruins and regarding them thoughtfully. "The last one had a Scotland, so maybe another one would have an Athens."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"Well, just hope that the other universe isn't mine, or we'd have some... problems...." The sentence started out rather cheery, meant as a friendly warning, but it petered out as the rest of the Scot's words registered in Rei's head.

"The... Doctor, you say? This wouldn't happen to be a tall, skinny guy, kind of stupid hair, snippy? Or a blonde guy, bit more polite, both kinda... British-y?" Of course, they had already told Rei that they weren't human, but damn it, they sounded British.

[bonnypiperlad]

Curious as to what Rei meant by 'problems', Jamie turns back and is about to ask him to elaborate on that just a wee bit - but is caught off guard by the descriptions of the Doctors.

It takes him a moment, but he realizes that given the Doctor's natural tendency to poke into places, the chances are good one or the other of them would have run into a goodly portion of the crew by now. In this case, it seems Rei's met both of them. Jamie nods. "That's him."

He doesn't bother to use anything other than the singular. By now, he's used to there being two Doctors, of course, but in his head he always just thinks of them as being 'the Doctor'. "And, aye, I know what ye mean about him coming across as an Englishman. Nearly wound up running him through with my dirk when I first met him because of it."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei raised an eyebrow. He was started to get confused.

"Which one, though? There's two guys running around calling themselves "The Doctor"."

He wasn't even going to touch the fact that they both also called themselves 'Time Lords'. He didn't think he could say that phrase with a straight face.

"Good think I didn't have a dirk on me," he muttered under his breath.

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie wouldn't blame Rei for getting confused. It's not exactly the easiest of things to describe...and Jamie's probably not the best one to be doing the explanation. He knows this full well, but since he's here, he's what Rei is going to get - like it or not.

"Well...they're both the Doctor. Neither one of them look the same as the man I met in Scotland, but they're the same person, aye?"

He realizes this is likely not helpful at all, and adds, "It's a wee bit complicated to explain."

Jamie's about to give it a go anyway when he catches the muttering. He can't make out the all words completely, but he does think he heard 'dirk'. Without the rest of the context, however, all that winds up doing is confusing him. He gives Rei a puzzled glance. "Hey?"

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

"I think I can safely say I am not getting that at all." Rei said slowly. He really wasn't - he might have to talk to the Doctor (Doctors?) directly to understand.

Rei'd always had problems with filtering things through his brain before he talked. This was not the first time he'd said something out loud that wasn't meant to be heard, and he knew full well it wouldn't be the last. However, this was somewhat more offensive then most, so he did his best to back-pedal.

"Um, what I mean to say is, I can understand feeling a bit... um... hostile toward the Doctor. When you first meet him." He still felt hostile toward the Time Lord, but best not to go too far with this.