The Lunar Skies (2)
Multicolored lanterns and throngs of blue alien beings dancing and chatting away met Dawn as she stepped onto the surface of the new planet. Instantly she plugged her ears with her fingers, turning sheepishly to the Doctor behind her. "It's a bit loud here."
The Doctor leaned down to hear her better, and nodded agreeably with her statement. He had to shout over the crescendoing noise surrounding them. "This is the Lunar Festival of Pentas: day three."
Dawn gazed out over the party. The people here were even stranger looking than the green man she had seen wandering London. First of all, their blue skin seemed to shimmer. Perhaps they were covered in glitter from the party, but Dawn felt it was something more natural than that. 'More unnatural, if I'm honest.'
mentally chastised herself for thinking in this close-minded manner. She was a travellers now. Her experiences didn't even begin to equate with those she'd meet out there. It was time to throw away past opinions. Even of shimmering skin.
The teenager's eyes fell on the Doctor, whose neck was craned up to the sky. Dawn followed his gaze and took in the vast size of the moon hanging above the party lanterns. It was absolutely enormous.
The eclispe was nearing completion. Only a sliver of the orange moon remained in darkness. An unconscious smile etched across Dawn's face. She couldn't remember what her own moon looked like. Was it even half the size of this one?
The Doctor turns to his companion, whose big eyes were even wider now. A soft smile crooked his lips. "A night on Pentas lasts up to four days. That's why they celebrate the moon so much. The sun is an ant compared to this Goliath."
As he spoke, the eclipse stretched across the edges of the giant sphere before them, covering the empty darkness with vivid orange color. A hush fell over the crowd as everyone slowly noticed the total eclipse. Then, the citizens of Pentas took each other's hands and ceremoniously sat on the grass below them. Every face was turned upwards in reverence.
Dawn lowered herself to the ground, just as everyone else had. The Doctor glanced over to his companion with a puzzled eyebrow. Her only response was patting the damp grass beside her; a smirk dancing on her lips. The Timelord had no choice but to crouch down beside her.
They looked out at the sight before them in awe. The crowd had gone so silent, only the occasional shuffle or stirring in the grass entered their ears. The lanterns danced in the night, their bright colors contrasting with the darkness of space behind them. The moon glowed in the sky above them.
An odd, implacable feeling brushed through the air around Dawn. Something was different here. Something beside the aliens and gigantic moon.
Nobody had their phones out. No one was taking pictures of the event, or live blogging it, or snaochatting it. They were all just sitting there, in total stupefication. The realization hit her like a 21st century train.
It was such a small thing, but it changed her entire outlook on the whole night. The whole traveling thing. The bigger in the inside box and blue people were strange, yes, and fantastic. But this sent her over the edge. Home was far away. Home and friends and mum and mum's boyfriend and Twitter and all those stupid pudding brains. They were so far away and she was here; on an alien planet, looking at an alien moon.
The Doctor's owlish eyes appeared directly in front of her. "You okay?"
Dawn instantly snapped back into reality, feeling the familiar frog choking her throat, wetness stinging her eyes. She focused her gaze slowly into the Doctor. Though his face was nearly stoic, she could tell there was care in his eyes.
Somehow, all of the conflicted thoughts and homesickness abandoned her, leaving a sweet tranquility in its wake. The smile returned to Dawn's face and her eyes became dry as the desert. Oh the magic one look can bring.
"Fine."
And for the first time in a long time, Dawn truly meant it.
But trouble was on the horizon. Well, to be exact, it was in the giant sphere above the horizon. Because while Dawn was busy thinking about the people in front of her and the Doctor was busy taking care of his companion, neither of them could notice how long the eclipse was lasting. Or how disastrous the effects of it would be.
