AN: Just a little one-shot that had been bouncing around in my mind for awhile. Because the Doctor Who universe is super vast and complicated, yet somehow always manages to connect in ways you wouldn't think of.
Rani smiled as she stepped outside and felt the warm sunshine on her face. It had been rainy and dreary the past couple of days, so she welcomed the nice weather. Coupled with the fact that it was the weekend, it had the makings of a perfect day. Of course, her mother thought it was the perfect opportunity to give her daughter some chores to do. In particular, running down to the shops with a rather extensive list. Rani didn't mind helping her parents out, but she just wished it wasn't on her day off.
She took a shortcut on her way down to the shops through a quiet little neighborhood. Unlike her street, there weren't any people out and about, enjoying the nice day yet. The occasional car drove past, but that was the only sign of life. Rani was mentally calculating the fastest way to get all the shopping done, when she heard an odd noise behind her. Turning, she was a girl about the same age as her, standing in the middle of the street. She was examining a device on her wrist. It was too far away to see in detail, but based on the fact that she had seemingly appeared out of nowhere – paired with the unusual noise – Rani's now-expert eye could tell that it was most likely alien.
The girl was so intent no prodding her device with an increasingly frustrated and annoyed look on her face, that she didn't see the car turning onto the road behind her. Judging from the speed the car was going, it didn't look like it would be slowing down anytime soon for strange girls in its way. Rani was running towards the girl before she had time to realize that she had made the decision. Instinct had kicked in, and although logic told her that shouting a warning to the girl would have been safer, somehow she knew it wouldn't have worked.
She hit the girl from the side at full force, pushing her over and onto the sidewalk. The driver of the car sounded his horn and yelled something rude out the window at them before speeding off. Rani just rolled her eyes and tried to catch her breath. The girl had not noticed the car, or apparently Rani for that matter – until Rani had grabbed her. She was now looking both confused and inexplicably angry.
Now that they were closer, Rani took a better look at the girl. She had long, shiny black hair that fell past her shoulders, and piercing dark eyes that were alert and intelligent. Her clothing was quite odd, now that Rani thought about it, but it just confirmed her theory that the girl wasn't actually from Earth. The device on her wrist was certainly alien, with lots of buttons and flashing lights, the likes of which Rani had only encountered in Sarah Jane's attic. The girl was strikingly attractive, even though she was currently glowering and muttering under her breath. Rani caught a few words: "primitive," "idiotic," and "asinine" among them.
She was barely paying attention to Rani, who thought that was just a little unfair, considering the circumstances. However, she clearly wasn't from Earth, and might have been using anger to cover up how scared she was, so Rani decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Are you all right?" she asked the other girl. Dark eyes snapped up to meet hers, and Rani was a little taken aback by the intensity of the stare.
"I am uninjured, if that's what you mean," the girl replied. "However, I am not pleased with the fact that I'm stuck in such a primitive place where people attempt to hit others with moving vehicles."
"Well you're not really supposed to just stand in the road," Rani said with a laugh. "Although that guy did seem like a jerk."
The girl studied her for a moment before she seemingly tried to collect herself. "Ah yes, well as I am not from around…" She trailed off and looked frustrated for a moment, as though she wasn't sure how to explain herself.
Rani just smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry; I understand what you mean." She glanced down at the device strapped onto the girl's wrist, and the girl's gaze followed hers. When their eyes met again, the girl still looked confused, but now more wary.
"You shouldn't know about that," she said accusingly. "This is a Level 5 planet."
"I'm friends with someone who knows about this sort of stuff," Rani replied.
The girl studied Rani for a moment, considering what to make of her before abruptly asking, "What's your name?"
"Rani. Rani Chandra."
"Rani," the girl said slowly, rolling the word around in her mouth, as though trying it out. "What does it mean?"
"Well, my mom always says it means 'queen' or 'song' but I certainly can't sing to save my life," Rani joked.
The other girl's eyebrows had risen. "So you are royalty?"
"No!" Rani laughed. "Lots of names have similar meanings. I mean, we have a real queen but she doesn't really have any power over us or anything."
The girl was ignoring Rani's babbling and in deep thought about something. However, she snapped back to attention when Rani finished talking.
"I would like to…thank you for saving my life," she said uncertainly, as though she had never used the phrase before. "But now I must leave. I am technically not supposed to be here."
Rani raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. As long as she wasn't here to cause trouble, it wasn't Rani's business as to what the alien girl was up to. The girl began to punch a sequence into the device on her wrist, seemingly knowing what she was doing.
"Wait, you never told me what your name was," Rani said suddenly.
The girl seemed to melt away into thin air with a beep from her device signaling the event, and was accompanied by the strange whooshing sound that Rani had heard when she arrived. However, before she vanished, she did manage to answer Rani's question.
"Ushas. My name is Ushas."