un: absterge | video

[downswing]

( Two men and a xenomorph walk into a tavern —

...alternatively, stumble down a woodland road, breath staggered, seemingly drained — if not by the weight of the enormous forest creature they carry, bled and bound to a makeshift pallet of decayed logs, then by the constant, jittery effort to evade the strikes of its tail.

The Doctor drags the animal’s wooden bed by long, loosely woven strips of ripped cloth. Lan Wangji holds the pendant with one hand and his own cutting strings that fetter the beast with the other.

For their trouble, the creature’s tail lovingly smacks the Doctor on his flank, then thwaps Lan Wangji’s temple, on the swing back. It growls its thanks after, before settling into a... disturbing... purr... that seems to indicate the time to nap is nigh.

The Doctor, then: ) It's settling down a bit already! Just needed a proper looking after, really, like anything.

( Well said, Doctor. For your effort, have a nice, friendly, sleepy tail smack on the back. So Wangji doesn’t feel jealous, the snoring beast peers over his shoulder, drenching it in a sea of... drool. He sighs. )

We bear one of the Beastmaster’s creatures. Feral, wounded. Enemy of the Huntress in the woods.

( Who should have been long culled, but don’t let Lan Wangji’s long-suffering expression convince you of that. The enemy or their enemy, so on. )

It requires... healing to resume duties. We number those who know the care of animals?

( ooc: ...sorry, cave buddies, just going to park Fido in the back real quick! Any veterinarians in the house? )

Comments

[makemeasong]

[ She's a little stunned at his words and looks away from the camera, biting at the inside of her cheek. He avoided the answer to her question, but that says enough already. ]

You didn't have to say that. Thank you.

[ Swallowing a knot in her throat, her eyes move back to the camera. ]

He's gone when I'm from.

[ Her voice is pinched and her vision blurs a little. Still, she clears her throat. ]

Being here with him now, it doesn't matter how I feel. This is extra time and I'm gonna be selfish with it, regardless.

[downswing]

( A pause, restless. Turbulent. ) ...deceased?

[makemeasong]

This version of him. The Doctor is alive, but the one we know, he’s gone.

[ Her jaw tightens and she can’t look at the device, instead gazing out into the distance. ]

I came here right after.

[downswing]

To rescue him?

[makemeasong]

Wangji, I didn’t even know he was here.

[ She has to brush away visible tears now, wondering how she got here from basically explaining the Doctor is a five year old. ]

When I saw him, I thought maybe there could be a chance, but then I realized he didn’t know me behind the first day I ever traveled with him.

[ There’s a laugh with no humor in it. Of course it would go like that for them. ]

Now you know more than you ever bargained for.

[downswing]

( And he has two hearts, and neither bleeds for her.

The truth of her pain. Its ugly cheek. )

I thank you it.

[makemeasong]

[ It’s why she’s put everything she feels in a small box and stuffed it into the attic of her mind. It really is okay, she’s grateful she has this time with the Doctor she thought was gone, and her own heart isn’t selfish enough to ask for more. Not anymore, not here. ]

You understand? At least a little?

[downswing]

I widowed young.

[makemeasong]

[ That feels like a punch to the stomach, and Clara closes her eyes for a moment. This is the most personal they’ve ever been with one another, and she offers the same gratitude. ]

Thank you for telling me. I can listen too, if…if you ever need or want to talk about them.

[ But she doesn’t want to push and cause him to never share again. This is so much more than loving someone she shouldn’t, and she thinks of her dad, how he let all of his grief swallow him up. ]

You’re strong.

[downswing]

Strength is fall.

( At cliff's edge, what was strength, then? The surety of Heavens-forsaken madness. )

He returned. To himself. Then to me. I bear no hardship.

[makemeasong]

Oh.

[ Clara inhales deeply, then lets it out, a wisp of a sound. They both got their person back, only she got someone angrier than she's ever known, not allowing her to get close, to even be near. ]

It hurts.

[ Her fingers brush away a rebel tear from the apple of her cheek. When she cries, her eyes are even bigger, a deeper brown somehow. Even when she's fighting against it. ]

But at least he's alive. Even if he's ready for me to go, I know he'll be out there. The Doctor and his blue box.

[downswing]

( He should not look, should not stare. Needn't witness this moment. Her dignity commands it — and he turns his gaze from the communicator, yet allowing it to speak. )

Your doctor and his blue box.

[makemeasong]

[ He isn't hers, he never was, but maybe in private: ]

Yeah. My Doctor and his blue box.

[ There's a pause while she composes herself before clearing her throat. ]

Please don't say anything to him. I don't think you would, but just in case I should say it out loud or something.

[downswing]

Your truth is your own.

[makemeasong]

Thanks. Same here, you know. About you, I mean.

[ She’s a mess, forgive her, Wangji. ]

Anyway, we’re officially friends now. I only cry in front of friends.

[downswing]

Strange regulation.

[makemeasong]

It’s about trust. Crying feels vulnerable, at least to me.

[downswing]

Mere emotion. No more vulnerable than anger.

[makemeasong]

Yeah, well, you didn't get made fun of for crying at school when your pet goldfish died, I'm betting.

[ She can't explain it. It's just an emotion, and yet she's selective about it. Things happening in the moment she might not be able to control, but she can control who sees her react. ]

I was six, by the way. This wasn't like, as I was teaching. My point is, people can be cruel.

[downswing]

But love is kindly.

[makemeasong]

As we've discussed, love hurts.