eastbound | video; un: hide-and-seek

[ Clara's sitting as privately as it's going to get in the Mouse House, still a little breathless. Not from exertion, but from realizing she might've heard something she shouldn't. She can't know for sure, but her gut tells her it's important. Her first instinct is to find the Doctor and tell him, but she'd done the first thing he'd asked her not to and wandered off. As always.

In need of semi-fresh air, she'd waited until he was busy talking to someone else before quickly excusing herself, walking away before the Doctor could protest. She'd walked a few blocks toward the ports when she'd overheard a small group talking about a person named Cain. The way the apparent co-workers tensed and glared at her when spotted, made her feel as if the complaining hadn't been meant to be heard by anyone, not just her. Back inside, she's decided to share what she overheard when she doesn't spot the Doctor right away. Whipping out her new device she takes a minute or two to understand how it works before her face pops up on the screen. ]

Hullo, I'm Clara. Met some of you during the [ Her free hand waves around vaguely. ] events. I'm not sure what is and isn't important here, but a talking fox told me I needed to make tea to get out of a murder house, so who am I to decide what everyone should or shouldn't know?

[ Either someone tells her not to worry about it, or she's given out something everyone needs to know. She should really wait for the Doctor, but there's no going back now that she's announced it. ]

Went outside and overheard two people talking about someone named Cain do..brick? [ She can't quite remember how it was pronounced, but hopefully, she's close enough. ] They've done something to make an employer angry enough to hit an employee after getting off the phone with Cain. Something about an offer involving parts and grease for Minaras and Eidris. There was more, but I'm not sure if this means anything or not. The people talking about it got pretty upset when they saw me, so I thought it might be worth mentioning.

[ There's a pause as she decides to wrap things up. ]

In case none of this matters, quick question. If you've met the Doctor, what was your first impression, please? [ There's a quick, cheeky and teasing smile that suggests knowing him before the video ends. ]

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Just a little under, actually. I'm more than 800 years old, but I don't really know the exact count anymore.

He said he was a Time Lord? That was the first time I had ever heard of that.

I'd never heard of Time Lords, either. But I'm from a planet that has just barely discovered its own moon and gone to space. A lot of people aren't even convinced there is life off of our own planet.

[ Which strikes Clara as extraordinary considering how often there are aliens walking around on Earth. ]

What about where you're from, what do people think about the possibility of multiple intelligent lifeforms?

Well we know there's a lot of intelligent species, but mostly they're just on earth or in Heaven or Hell. We don't really think of stars as places with people in them, I don't think ?

No way to get to them then? I only ask because I've met a good mix of people who come from worlds that are into space travel and others who don't. I don't, but the Doctor came to me, not the other way around.

I guess someone like me probably could try it, we just ... never really thought about it.

Mortals in my world wouldn't be able to, though.

Mortals in mine have just barely figured it out.

[ She can't help but be curious, not with phrasing like that. ]

What do you mean though, someone like you?

Ah, well... I'm a god?

[He sounds vaguely embarrassed at the admission.]

So I suppose if I wanted to go a to a distant star, I probably could. I've never tried, though.

If anyone's gonna go to a star, my money'd be on a god.

[ His statement only creates a few dozen questions, but she doesn't react save for a slight pause. She's learned to be cool on the outside, keep her shock and/or awe on the inside. ]

There goes the last of my 'maybe we can get out of here' ponderings. If a god can't get out, I'm guessing that's it, then. At least for now. How long have you been here?

It's been.... a while. I'm not very good at keeping tack of time. I think probably a good year and half?

You're the second person I've met that's been here a year or longer. Doesn't sound very promising for those of us who just got dropped here.

[ At first, she'd thought between her and the Doctor they'd be able to figure it out, but she really should've known the man wouldn't have stayed in one spot this long. Not if he could help it. She isn't sure what she could've added that he hasn't thought of. ]

Some people have left. A few have left and come back.

There are those... beacons, that allow us passage back home, but wherever we go, first we have to find them and gain access to them, and then they don't work long enough for all of us to get through, most of the time.

[ That makes knowing the Doctor was here before a little easier to understand. But why doesn't he remember? ]

I've been to places that are hard to get out of, but I think this takes the entire cake. Plus the cherry on top. [ She pauses a beat before continuing. ]

Have you ever talked to someone who left and came back?

I have, yes, but they left for good now I think. They haven't been back in a while.

Apparently to them, more time passed back int heir world than for us. To us it looked like they'd been gone maybe ten minutes, but to them it had been months.

There's a man named Bai Mingyu who just returned, too, so you could ask him. He's been gone almost a year from here.

[ Clara's silence stretches on this time. Biting at her thumbnail, it's about a minute before she says anything else. ]

Sorry, some things are starting to click into place. Thank you for the name, I'll check.

When they return, do you know they know if they remember? I don't mean to pick your brain so much, that's the last question, promise.

The one from before, he remembered his time here when he came back, but not while he was home.

It was like when he was back home, his life started again and he had forgotten his time here, but when he came back, he remembered.

I don't know about Bai Mingyu.

[ More questions for the Doctor. But for now, her focus returns directly to her present company. ]

Thanks for being patient. This must happen a lot, the confusion. Or I'm really bad at figuring things out for myself.

Don't worry about it. It's a lot, suddenly being here. And this place is... more eventful than others, in some ways.

So the Undwining situation, on a scale of one through ten, how intense was that compared to most things that happen?

[ Not that she expects consistency from Serthica, but she's curious in general. ]

Well, it was different form trying to make sure the volcano didn't erupt, I think, and we had illusion attacks with the giant squid too, but it's still a lot.

I'm not really the right person to ask, to be honest. I don't really feel pain and I can't die so I don't tend to view these situations the same way most people do.

That's fair, you did mention the god situation.

[ Clara has her research work cut out for her. ]

You just said a lot of words I'm gonna try and unpack. Volcanos and giant squids aren't typically words you use in the same sentence.

Ah, they also didn't happen at the same time, more like one after the other. Volcano first and giant squid second.

That makes it somewhat better, I suppose.

[ She laughs quietly, more because she's tired than because it was funny. ]

All we can do is take it day by day. Try to find the good in something or someone.

Yes, exactly. I know some people here find it a bit difficult at times but...

Well, everyone wants to go home. Or most people, at least. And not all of them have as much time as I do.

video; un: hide-and-seek

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