Clara bursts out of the TARDIS coughing, happy to be in the fresh air. Unlike most usual alleyways, the walls are graffiti painted with landscapes of hills and forests, all kinds of nature scenes inhabiting the walls.
Running her hand over the art, Clara realizes that instead of paint, the walls are decorated with a thick powder almost like paste. Her fingers now covered with the multicolored substance, Clara notices that it was not the best idea to wear a white dress. The dress has a collar and a pattern of little blue birds that buttons up in the front, but she already notices a few orange and pink smudges from the sunset painting she ran her hand over. Clara doesn't mind though. If she wanted to keep her clothes in shape, she wouldn't wear then on adventures. Besides, the running and getting into stuff is her favorite part. If her dress gets messy, so be it. The TARDIS doors open and the Doctor stumbles out closing the door as a puff of smoke floods out from behind him.
"Clara… I don't think we should go back in there… Until the TARDIS filters the smoke out." The Doctor says between coughs, barely a split second passing before he notices the powder on the walls.
"Clara! It's Solarius' festival of the sun! And if I'm right, there is a market right around the corner from here." He says excitedly. One of the things Clara didn't realize was how every work of art somehow had a sun in it.
The Festival of the Sun is an annual event on the planet Solarius. The people of Solarius worship their sun, as a provider of all things, which is true for them given all of their natural resources wouldn't be able to grow without complete and direct sunlight. In celebration of that, the people have a festival every year. It's actually a common tourist location for the people of Earth. Like the Doctor has told many humans before, humans are all over the universe. They're seeing solar flares, touring other planets… Visiting Solarius sun festivals.
It was beautiful outside, and The Doctor had actually taken off his purple trench coat and thrown it on the TARDIS doorknob so his red suspenders and button up shirt were showing. Clara found herself liking those quite a bit today, not that she hadn't seen him in suspenders before. And, the Doctor without his jacket? Now that was a sight.
"Well, I'm going to the market." Clara says just as a light force hits her back. She turns around to see The Doctor smugly grinning, his hands covered in green power. What Clara didn't see when she arrived was all the pots and dishes of powder along the walls of the alleyway, each of them a neon color, the one on Clara's back bright green.
"Oh… You did not Chin Boy." Clara says grinning, scooping up powder from a flat ceramic dish, throwing it all over The Doctor's chest, his button down and the tip of his chin now neon pink.
Soon the two are in a full-fledged powder war, laughing and running, their faces and hair covered in every bright color imaginable and then some.
"We are both messes!" Clara exclaims. When she jumped in a box with a two hearted alien, this is exactly what she wished would happen. Today there was no danger (hopefully), just a bow-tied man to take her to see festivals and cultures from all around the universe.
"Now, are you going to show me this festival?" Clara says as she grabs his hand and pulls him out of the alley. The scene in front of her is like one of the Indian bazaars she read about in her book of places to see, and now she was living it… All the multicolored canvas hanging over stands of colorful baubles and trinkets. Plus, she was next to her Doctor. She looked over at him, his eyes bright with the same look he gets every time they enter a new planet and see new cultures and traditions. He's told her about all the planets and galaxies he's seen, all the history he's witnessed and all the people he's met, and yet, he always has that look of complete wonder on his face when they step out of his little blue box.
"Clara, I have got to go get some of those sunfruit-juice things… They only bloom during the festival. Want one?" He asks, but before she can answer he spins away on his heel and walks to the stand with neon green fruits hanging off of the awning. Guess she would be trying sunfruit today…It had got to be better than the disgusting green soup they had tried on the last planet. She almost hurled after she found out it was made out of crushed bugs.
When the Doctor did not come back for a while and he's no longer at the juice stand, Clara decided to take matters into her own hands and looks around for something to wear… Who on Earth was able to say they had a frock from Solarius? Finding a small clothing shop, she is met by a plump saleslady who rushes over to help her. The lady has pink hair and her dark skin is dotted with elaborate patterns, as with all of the other life forms, even the youngest children. Clara assumes that they're all born with them. Also, Clara notices that she has three green eyes. It's odd how Clara hardly even notices aliens with three eyes, two heads, or five arms… When she started travelling with the Doctor an alien with three eyes would've shocked Clara. Now she hardly gives it a second thought.
"Well aren't you just the cutest little pink thing! I haven't seen a human since Galaxy Cruisers cancelled their flight here because of those damned meteor showers… Never good for the travel business. Honey, what are you looking for today?" The lady helps Clara pick out a long strapless red sundress with a flowy print skirt, and while they're browsing for other things in the shop, they come across the subject of the Doctor.
"Well, who are you here with?" The lady named Marigold asks Clara who is observing a red flower clip.
"I'm here with the Doctor… He actually wandered off awhile back. He's always getting into stuff when we travel." Clara says with smiling. She wonders what he's up to, but no one could ever guess what the Doctor gets himself into.
"Oh… You're here with your man…. Well in that case, all of this is on me. I'll just need you're consent in giving you a full makeover." She says, but before Clara can respond she is grabbed by the wrist by the woman who sits her in a chair and readies her makeover supplies on the table next to her. She remembers the last time she let someone give her a makeover… She still had nightmares of all the makeup and glitter Angie plastered on her face.
When the makeover is done and Clara is in her dress, Marigold (finally) lets Clara look in the mirror. Instead of the dots that all the creatures here are born with, Clara's skin is painted with henna-like designs that she stands in awe of. Her favorite one is a large detailed flower that's drawn on her collarbone in bright orange ink. The Doctor would like it… Her hair is loose around her shoulders, and Marigold was right. The dress fits her perfectly.
"Thank you." Clara says, still in awe of Marigold's work.
"Your man is going to be falling head over heels for you sugar." Marigold says before Clara rushes out of the store to find her Chin Boy. Who knows what trouble he's gotten into? Thank goodness Marigold helped her pick out comfortable shoes.
The Doctor is sitting in his TARDIS fiddling with some controls, and Clara realizes that it smells significantly less like smoke. It's a relief the Doctor remembered to vent the smoke out before they left.
"Well hello Clara... Clara. Hello. You look…" The Doctor says, his sonic screwdriver clattering to the floor.
"You're going to need to shut your mouth Chin Boy, or you're going to catch flies." Clara says, lifting his funny chin up so his mouth is no longer hanging open. In the Doctor's usual clumsy fashion he manages to slip on the only oil spill on the whole TARDIS floor and taking Clara down with him, her landing right on top of him.
"I like that flower." The Doctor says, feeling a little more than uncomfortable and slightly winded after having Clara completely fall on him.
"Thank you." Clara says. "Doctor, I think we're stuck." She continues, finding that the front of her dress is attached to the Doctor's bow tie.
"Yes. It seems we are." He knows that he could untangle them, but he'd rather not have Clara thinking he was trying to feel her up or something… If the Doctor is nothing else, he does at least know to respect his companions.
"Well, how are we going to fix this Doctor?" Clara says, still flat on top of the Doctor, their noses touching at this point. Her lips faintly smelling of raspberries, the Doctor finds himself staring at them for a bit longer than he should.
Noticing the Doctor looking at her lips, Clara does the same for a moment until both of their lips simultaneously meet, neither minding their close proximity any more.