Ariselvin Danič was wandering in the woods. There was nothing unusual about this; his Year were encouraged to spend time alone thinking. Today, though, he was pondering a difficult question, one his friend Ajra Tann had been caned for asking last Watchday.
Ajra had asked why there were only seven Doctors, when according to Scripture, there should be nearly twice as many. It was something no one asked, and something Ariselvin had never thought about; the priests told you how many Doctors there were, and you accepted it. And perhaps Ajra should have known better; he was thirteen like the rest of his Year. But his father was a madman, everyone knew that, so maybe it should not have come as a surprise that he was questioning something that everyone took for granted.
It didn't help that Ajra had evidence, something his Year had been taught to take very seriously. He had pointed out the exact moment it was proclaimed that the Doctor had thirteen lives (Four 14). The fact that the priest had waited until he'd mentioned Morbius to beat him had only driven the fact more deeply into Ariselvin's mind. The priests and Scripture did not agree.
Ariselvin heard a strange noise, one he'd been hearing all his life. But now he was far from the temples; there was no way someone could be watching Scripture out here. His heart leapt. Could it be? Was it, at last, the Doctor? (One 10:6 "One day, I shall come back.) Glancing skyward, he made the sign of two hearts and then hurried into the clearing the sound was coming from.
The TARDIS faded into view before him. He fell to his knees, pressing his fists to his chest again. It was real. The Doctor is coming.
Suddenly it hit him how little time he had to make himself presentable. He adjusted his hat and scarf, checked his coat pockets, and sprang to his feet just as the door opened.
Two humanoids stepped out. The man resembled none of the Seven Doctors, and the woman none of the Companions. But there was no one else they could be. Ariselvin cleared his throat, retrieved a white paper bag from his coat pocket, and greeted the strangers in the traditional manner of the Fourth Year.
"Hello," he said. "Would you like a jelly baby?"
The Doctor was unfazed. "Yes, I would, thank you," he said, taking the proffered bag and eating one of the candies it held. "Here, have a jellybaby," he said to Lindsay with his mouth full. She took on from the bag and examined it.
"Marvelous things, jellybabies," the Doctor went on. "Y'know, I've never been on a planet besides Earth that had them. Mind you, these aren't quite up to Earth standard—" he took another jellybaby and looked it over before popping it into his mouth and handing the bag back to its young owner—"but quite tasty all the same. Eat up, Lindsay, it's polite here. Speaking of here, what is this planet, exactly?"
Lindsay did as she was told. The jellybaby was chewy, slightly sticky, and orange-flavored. Not bad, actually. The boy who'd brought them was strange, though. He was short with scruffy brown hair, probably of middle-school age, and definitely dressed like the Fourth Doctor, except that his scarf barely reached his waist.
"You are on the planet Verity," the boy announced. "We are half a kilometer from the edge of Western Capital City, after noon on the first Twosday of the third month of the sixty-sixth year of the Cyclic Count."
The Doctor nodded as if he understood. Lindsay was dismayed. Tuesday! They got to another planet, and it was Tuesday?
"Verity's been on my list of places to visit for a while now," the Doctor said. "And Western Capital sounds like a lovely place. Can you take us there?"
"Certainly," the boy said, turning and heading off into the trees. "I would be honored to bring the Doctor and his Companion into the city."
"Hang on," the Doctor said, catching up with the boy. "How do you know I'm the Doctor? And who did you say you were?"
"I know you're the Doctor because you came in the TARDIS," the boy said matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows that. And I'm Ariselvin Danič of the Fourth Year. Which Doctor are you? You don't look like any of them."
Strange, Lindsay thought. He goes from sounding grown-up to acting like a little kid. Like he's quoting something half the time. She wasn't far wrong.
"I'm the Eleventh Doctor," the Doctor said, "and this is Lindsay Adams." Lindsay nodded and smiled politely. Ariselvin grinned back.
They were almost at the edge of the forest when Ariselvin remembered the question he'd been pondering all morning, which had been driven out of his head by the Doctor's sudden arrival. "Macra!" he said under his breath, then glanced around to see if anyone had heard him swear.
The Companion had heard him. (What was her name again?) "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"I can't take you in along the main road," Ariselvin said. "We'll have to go around south." He moved off slowly through the trees; the Doctor and the Companion followed him.
"Why do we have to go around?" the Doctor asked suddenly in his ear. Ariselvin jumped, then turned around.
"You're not one of the canonical Doctors," he replied. "If you were one of the Seven, we could walk right in and you'd be a hero. But you're not, and that makes you a heretic and a false Doctor."
"But I am the Doctor!"
"Yes, I know you're the Doctor. And you know you're the Doctor. But that doesn't mean—we talked about this last Watchday in school. My friend Ajra asked—" He had a thought suddenly, and started walking south again.
"So where are we going now?" the Companion asked.
"To Ajra Tann's house. His father can help us. He's a madman and a heretic." To Lindsay, Ariselvin sounded childish again, and gleeful.
"Why the heretic?" she whispered to the Doctor as they followed Ariselvin.
"It's always heretics, for some reason," the Doctor whispered back.
"Think he's related to Binro?" Lindsay joked.
"No, Ribos is too far from Verity, and the people are different species," the Doctor replied, straight-faced.
Lindsay considered a moment, then asked, "Okay, so why is it always humanoids?"
"Do you want to deal with fish or giant insects all the time? Especially after what you thought of the Judoon."
"I dunno," Lindsay said thoughtfully. "I always thought there were so many humanoid species because of budget constraints."
"I don't have a budget," the Doctor retorted.
"My point exactly." Lindsay grinned.
Ariselvin rolled his eyes. Doctors and Companions, always bickering (Four 24:1-4; Six 1:1-10:4). He hurried on, finally reached the old observatory at the edge of the city, and knocked on the door.
A/N: Binro the Heretic is a minor character in the Fourth Doctor serial "The Ribos Operation." All of Ariselvin's citations are as accurate as I can make them; I may update them as I go.