Author's Note: I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who signed up for alerts, added this to your favorites (after one chapter - quite the vote of confidence!) and sent in reviews. I appreciate all the encouragement!
The village was made up of mud-brick huts with roofs of woven reeds. From their vantage point on a small hill, Rory, Amy and the Doctor could see the structures were set out in neat squares, with dirt streets running in surprisingly straight lines between them. At the center of the village was a stone well. Blue-skinned people were moving through the streets, scantily-clad in animal hides. Rory didn't see any signs of weapons and the Doctor had said the people of this world were peaceful, but he couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive all the same. The Doctor, on the other hand, was pleased. He led Amy and Rory down the hill, telling them they should be able to get lunch from the villagers.
They stopped at the bottom of the hill and waited. After a moment Rory spotted a group of the blue-skinned people coming toward them. As they drew closer, he could see they were short – none of them topped five feet in height – with high cheekbones, wide noses, and almond-shaped eyes of gold or brown. Their hair was bluish-black, worn short in the front and long in the back.
"Oh my God," Amy murmured, surveying the group. "It's planet of the mullets." The Doctor looked back at her in surprise.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"What? Are you serious?"
"They can't really be called that," Rory protested, fighting back laughter. "Mullets?"
"Yes," replied the Doctor. "M-U-L-L-E-T-T-E-S." Amy and Rory both started laughing and he stared at them. "What's so funny?"
"We… we'll tell you in a minute," Amy said, continuing to chuckle. With a shake of his head the Doctor turned away, stepping forward to meet the party from the village. Amy and Rory continued to fight back laughter as the villagers engaged in a strange greeting ritual with the Doctor. It involved grasping forearms, half-bows, and some steps which resembled a dosi-do. Once the ritual was completed, the Doctor dug into his jacket pocket, rifling for a moment before producing a cluster of bangle bracelets. They sparkled in the dappled sunlight and the eyes of the villagers went wide. They quickly nodded, accepting the offered jewelry before motioning the Doctor forward. He took a few steps before looking over his shoulder at Amy and Rory.
"Come along, Pond… and Rory," he called. "They're going to give us lunch!"
The villagers led the Doctor, Amy and Rory through the streets to the other side of the village. There was a shelter there with a long table beneath it. Rory could see a river flowing past a few yards away and the breezes had increased. The trio settled on a bench at the table and after a moment a smiling villager approached with a jug and three crude goblets. She left them on the table in front of the Doctor before retreating. He poured out portions of what proved to be a sparkling juice. Rory sipped his cautiously, finding it pleasantly tart, as another villager approached with plates. She left them with a smile and the Doctor passed one down to Rory and Amy. A third villager drew near, carrying a tray of fruits and nuts. He settled it on the table, beaming at them as he bowed and retreated.
The parade of smiling villagers continued. They brought a roasted bird, a huge fish, more fruits and nuts, portions of a flat-bread, and another jug of juice. In each case the villager placed the platter on the table, gave a half-bow, and retreated without speaking. Rory found their smiling silence disconcerting. He spotted a small group of the natives standing at the end of one of the streets, watching. They weren't talking amongst themselves and he felt his skin start to crawl as he realized there were no voices coming from the village either.
The Doctor didn't seem troubled by the quiet. He smiled and nodded as each platter of food was brought to the table. When the last dish was left, the he started to help himself to portions of the food. Rory and Amy followed suit, taking small amounts of everything. Rory wanted to ask the Doctor about the silence but he was afraid to speak. Perhaps talking was taboo here; he didn't want to offend the villagers. He kept his head down, trying to ignore the staring, and concentrated on his food. The amount of food was astonishing and he hoped the villagers could spare all of it. He didn't care for the roasted bird – the flavor reminded him of duck – but he forced himself to eat all he'd taken anyway.
When he finally looked up from his empty plate he found not only the crowd of villagers staring at him but Amy and the Doctor as well. He felt his face grow warm and wondered how long they'd been watching him. The Doctor hadn't finished his portion of the bird, while Amy had left behind most of her fish. A man emerged from the crowd of villagers to approach the table and the Doctor stepped around to meet him. Rory could see one of the bangle bracelets sparkling on the man's wrist as he drew near. The Doctor made a half-bow as they met and the two men stood facing each other for a moment. Rory couldn't see their faces but he didn't hear anything. He started when Amy leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"What are they doing?" she asked. Rory looked over at her, shrugging and lifting his hands in a helpless gesture. She huffed out a sigh, putting an elbow on the table and propping her chin on her hand. The strange non-conversation continued for a few more minutes before the Doctor turned back to Rory and Amy, waving for them to join him. The blue-skinned man led them toward the river, pointing out a path before parting from the Doctor with a repeat of the strange greeting ritual. Rory wanted to question the Doctor, but he was already moving along the path. Amy growled and started after him, with Rory on her heels.
"Doctor…" Amy let her voice trail off as a cluster of blue-skinned people came into view. They'd obviously been fishing as they were carrying poles, nets, and several large fish. They stepped aside, smiling politely as the Doctor, Amy, and Rory passed. Once they were out of sight, Rory started to speak only to find the Doctor waving at another group of natives out on the river in a canoe. The blue-skinned people returned the wave and Rory could see they were smiling. A second boat came into view and its occupants also waved, apparently unconcerned by seeing pale-skinned strangers on the riverbank. Rory stared after them for a moment before turning his attention back to the Doctor.
"Do they get a lot of visitors here?" he asked.
"I shouldn't think so," answered the Doctor. He glanced at Rory and arched his brows. "Why?"
"They don't seem at all… curious about us," Rory said. "They just… wave and go on."
"That's because they know all about us," the Doctor replied. When Rory and Amy both started he chuckled. "They're telepathic. By the time we left the village I'd guess everyone in a 3 mile radius knew we were here."
"Telepath… they can hear our thoughts?" Amy asked, her cheeks flushing.
"No!" protested the Doctor, shaking his head. "No. They're only telepathic amongst themselves, and with other telepathic peoples."
"So they can't tell what we're thinking." Amy was still anxious.
"Of course not," confirmed the Doctor. "And even if they could, they wouldn't. It'd be rude."
"O…k," Rory said, still feeling uneasy. Amy looked anxious as well.
"You don't need to worry," the Doctor told them. "They're very nice people, and they like us."
"And how do you know that?" Amy asked.
"I can hear them," the Doctor replied. His tone was casual, as if it was the most commonplace thing in the world to be able to hear the thoughts of blue-skinned, mullet-wearing, telepathic people. Rory could feel his eyes widening and the Doctor's smile faded. "Time Lords are… well were. No, are – I'm still alive after all..."
"Doctor, are you saying you're telepathic too?" Amy asked tersely.
"Yes," he answered, his hands flapping a little as he continued. "Well, a little. Well, only with other Time Lords. And other telepathic peoples."
"So… is that how we were able to share your dreams?" Amy asked. The Doctor started and Rory quickly shook his head; he hadn't told Amy about the Doctor's nightmare from their first night in the med bay. Amy continued and he breathed a sigh of relief at her words. "You know – with the pollen."
"Oh!" The Doctor relaxed for a second before his nervousness returned. "No. Well, not exactly. Sort of."
"What do you mean 'sort of,'" Amy growled.
"It's… complicated. The TARDIS emits a low-level telepathic field."
"And what? The two of you… combined forces?"
"I was under the influence of the pollen," the Doctor protested. "So was she."
"So what's the telepathic field for exactly?" pressed Amy. "Do you and the TARDIS… talk that way?"
"Not really." The Doctor's fidgeted a little. "She doesn't really… talk. She's not built that way."
"Then what's the point of the field?" The Doctor seemed to flinch a bit at the question and his fidgeting increasing. Rory and Amy continued to stare at him, waiting for his answer.
"It's… didn't you wonder how you were able to understand Venetians in 1580?" he asked finally.
"What does that…" Amy began, but Rory cut her off as understanding started to dawn.
"The TARDIS translated for us. But… how? We weren't near her." He almost snickered as he realized he was falling in to the Doctor's habit of referring to the TARDIS as a "she."
"It's a… gift, from the Time Lords," the Doctor explained. "The TARDIS sort of… gets into your head and provides a universal translator."
"It gets into our heads," Rory said flatly.
"Just to translate."
"And to share dreams," Amy added drily.
"That was the pollen," the Doctor insisted, his face anxious. "Ordinarily she would never…"
"Right," Rory said, cutting him off. "So, basically we're on a planet full of blue-skinned telepathic people who are not reading our minds because doing so would be impolite."
"They can't read our minds," the Doctor corrected quickly.
"Except for yours," Amy muttered.
"And they like us," he continued, ignoring her. "Don't forget that bit."
