PRODIGALS
TEN
The being was tall, slender and had cornflower blue down with shimmering, silvery highlights covering its body. Its indigo eyes looked self-assuredly into his.
"Hello," it said in a lilting, musical voice, bowing its head slightly and briefly as it did so. "My name is Varna Aden Timmochan."
"Hello. My name is John Smith, but you can call me John."
"And you can call me Varna. I am pleased to meet you."
"Are you now? Well, likewise, I'm sure."
There was a long, comfortable silence as the two studied each other.
They then both chose to speak at the same time, tripping over each other's words. The attempt ended in mutual laughter.
"Please," John Smith smiled brilliantly and gestured gallantly with open arms as he bowed, "continue."
"I do not mean to intrude, but I observed you yesterday. In fact I heard you first, talking to yourself when you were walking in the hills."
Smith's face turned a little red as he blushed. "Yes, well, I do tend to blather on a bit whilst I ramble. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."
"Oh! Not in the least! I found it enchanting and thought to risk invading your privacy so as to meet you."
"Hmm. Well. You are forthright aren't you?"
Varna bowed her (John Smith had already decided it was a her; The Doctor of course knew better to assign a gender to this being but Smith couldn't endure calling such a lovely individual an 'it') head towards the ground again, only lower and for longer this time. Perhaps a Refugee expression of discomfort or embarrassment?
"I apologize; I see you do not wish to be disturbed. I should've listened to my better judgment and left you to yourself. Please forgive me for disturbing your solitude."
"Nonsense! I'll have none of that. I'm glad you're here," said Smith. "I was in fact starting to get a bit lonely and wondering how I might meet some new friends." There was a fragment of an untruth for The Doctor, but for John Smith… maybe not so much.
"And now that you're here, Varna, I insist. Please, would you care to accompany me while I take my morning constitutional? I've only been on Refuge for a short time, and perhaps as we walk you can tell me something about this beautiful planet of yours?" Again, a bit of a stretch for The Doctor, but we're now clearly watching a very companionable John Smith in action.
Varna's feathers quivered slightly and shimmered more brightly. Was that Refugee happiness? Very likely. The Doctor and John Smith were both suddenly quite pleased.