~revised~
Chapter II
Mira
Suddenly his face softened.
"No. Giving up has never done any good. But maybe you should reconsider your plan. After a good nights sleep, a shower and something to eat," he said in a voice as gentle and soft as she had hardly ever heard before.
"Shower?" She turned her head to her shoulder and sniffed. Did she smell? Not really. Not that bad at least, maybe a bit of scorched insulation, but...
"There is still blood in your hair," he said with a lop-sided grin.
He was right, she knew it herself. Her plan was so crazy it shouldn't even be called a plan. The problems were piling up around her up to right above her head. Burying her. She had no illusions even though she had been lost before. Countless times. She had been all on her own before. And yes, she had been in completely and utterly hopeless situations before. But not ever had it all come together like this before. Especially when taking into account that she was in a parallel universe now. When that had happened before she had either been not alone or it had been more or less clear from the beginning that she could make it back. It hadn't been easy, but there had always been at least a hint of what to do next. Not to mention that most of the times she had known exactly who was behind it and that it had all been for a reason. But this time...
She had no doubts that she could get her hands on a ship sooner or later. It would only be a matter of time. And if there was anything she had a lot of it was time. But what then?
Suddenly she realised she was still starring into his big, warm and dark eyes.
"There is one more thing...," she said absent-mindedly, mainly to pull her out of the beginning despair and not to get completely lost in the deep gaze of the strange alien in front of her.
"Hmm?"
"Well," she started, still trying to work out how to bring it up. But she just had to know. "Thing is, I don't know if it's you or someone else on your ship. But... well, there is some sort of telepathic or empathic contact. Basically, I don't mind that. But it would have been nice to be asked beforehand." Actually, she did mind in that case. She was used to being able to shut out any – or almost any – telepathic attempts to read her mind. If it was him he should have noticed her attempts to shut him out. She just wondered why he hadn't brought it up yet. She tried one last time to shut the strange presence out of her mind, unsuccessful as before. Besides this time it seemed that the lights dimmed for the fracture of a second.
He looked at her bewildered for a moment before a wide grin formed on his face. "Oh. Oh Mira, that's brilliant. Low level psychic abilities, I forgot. But even then it's astonishing that you're aware of it with this tiny little human brain of yours." He looked at her as if he wanted to hug her any moment.
"So it is you? And by the way, no need for insults," she said whilst observing him carefully and taking a step back. Just a precaution. He was still grinning manically at her.
"No it's not me. And when did I insult you?"
She took a deep breath. Aliens. All right. Probably he really didn't mean it. Or her brain was tiny compared to his, not in a literal sense obviously as his head was just the same size – unless his brain was somewhere else in his body – but by way of mental capacity. He wasn't stupid, that much she had figured out, but just how intelligent was he?
"So who is it then?" she asked, dropping the topic of comparing brain sizes.
"The TARDIS," he said as if that would explain everything.
"Who?" He really could be a bit unnerving.
"My ship. She's called the TARDIS..."
"Wait. Your ship is a she. And she is able to make telepathic contact. Well," she shook her head. It wouldn't be the first time someone referred to their ship as being female, but she got the feeling there was more behind it this time. "I'm sorry. I'm still processing the implications of what you've just said with my tiny little human brain" Ouch. Epic fail in Inter-Species-Communications and diplomacy. Sometimes her sarcasm got the better of her, she just couldn't help it. "Whoever there is in my mind feels like a living being. I clearly got an emotional response. So... " She looked at his face and suddenly knew what he was about to say.
"Well, she is alive. A sentient being. And she creates a telepathic field. Translates stuff and such...Normally you're not supposed to be aware of it, that's why I didn't thought about mentioning it. It's not a bad thing, really," he replied innocently.
She looked around her. Now it all made sense. The constant presence as if it was surrounding her. Which basically was the case. She even had encountered living spaceships before, although under way less friendly circumstances.
"All right. I'm sorry. I really am. It just was a bit of a misunderstanding," she said into the console room as the ship getting into her mind really hadn't been some sort of attack. It- She just did what she was supposed to do.
"Sorry? What for?" he asked.
"I tried to shut her out. I think it upset her a bit."
He starred at her, his brows raised and an almost hurt expression on his face.
"Hey, I said I'm sorry."
"So... you're a telepath then?" he asked now seemingly interested.
"What? No..." Oh for god's sake, not that discussion again, she thought. Not now. "Look, it's a bit complicated. Basically, I'm an empath. I can't read any thoughts. At least as long as the other one isn't a telepath himself. I somehow..."
"I know what an empath is," he stopped her.
She looked at him and the expression on his face. She had never been good at reading faces, relying on her empathic abilities, but even for her it was clear to see that he fully understood the implications of being confronted with every feeling and emotion around her all the time. And in a way that she didn't just read them like a telepath could read thoughts, but felt them as if they were her own.
If he was merely understanding it in an abstract way or if he knew it out of his own experience, she just couldn't tell.
"I somehow can interact with psychic abilities, so if someone is actually reading my mind I can get into his at the same time...," she continued. "So that's why I sensed your ship and could try to block her." If he would just stop starring at her like that. "But don't worry, from you I hardly get anything," she hurried to assure him, knowing how uncomfortable her presence could make others feel. "Happens rarely, but happens. Maybe it's due to your brain structure or you're blocking me out or something like that...," her voice trailed off.
"Why would I worry?" Again this soft and gentle tone, sending chills down her spine.
Get yourself together, she thought. You have been around for a thousand years now (at least - in fact she wasn't quite sure for how long exactly), and have faced way weirder situations like that.
"Well, most people do. Even if they pretend they don't, deep down inside they are afraid. Maybe because you can learn to hide your thoughts, control your face, but your emotions? Seems to be pretty hard. Funny thing is, people tend to lie more to themselves than to others. But that's one of the things they worry about the most. That I catch them lying to me or someone else."
"Must be quiet lonely then, mustn't it?"
"Hm," she shrugged. "You get used to it. Actually, I'm not that lonely. Rather the opposite. It's hard to find a place where I really am on my own. Living next door to someone can be a bit hard. But I have learned to sort it out over time. What's me and what's someone else," she said with a smile, that just quite didn't reach her eyes. Why was she talking to him like that? She had just met him. And now they were having a chat about a rather intimate topic? "Oh, well, there is one thing: No one wants to play poker with me. Never liked it anyway."
And yet, she was avoiding answering his actual question. Yes, she was lonely because keeping up a relationship or even a close friendship with someone who knows everything about your feelings and to whom you can't cheat or lie in any way was something most people just couldn't stomach. But that would have gone way to far for now.
On the other hand, she never had been the kind of person for relationships. She could get along quite well on her own. Besides that, she had a few close friends, mostly the other mutants, her father and his old friends who were also immortal, and that had been more than enough for her. She just hoped she would see them ever again.
"So, if you hardly get anything, there must be something? At least enough to instantly tell that I'm not human. What else do you see?"
She looked surprised by the turn of events as she focused her eyes back on him. She had just been completely lost in thoughts. Great, here we go. He is worried after all, she thought.
"Let's not go there," she replied.
"Just for the sake of my curiosity. Give it a go," he continued almost playfully.
"You really want to know? It's not much anyway, as said..."
"I wouldn't have asked otherwise, would I?"
"Fine." She sighed and closed her eyes whilst concentrating. She could clearly feel his presence, now that she was focusing her mind fully on him. Focusing on the five-dimensional energy that every living being was emanating which she was able to see and understand.
He himself was psychic in some way, she could clearly sense that now, so she tried not to interfere with his powers nor with this weird telepathic field. Otherwise she could have easily ended up in his mind and that was really nothing she wanted right now. Although she couldn't deny that it was somehow tempting.
"Well, you're clearly not human, for humans feel different. More familiar, but we already established that." The hint of timelessness from earlier on struck her again. "There is something... old about you. No, old is the wrong word. It's more like... Timeless? Eternal?" She was clearly struggling for the right words. Involuntarily a picture of the universe came into her mind. Not any universe, this particular universe. His whole essence, his whole existence seemed to be interwoven with it. "Something that stays forever, unique, unchanged, a hint of the universe itself. Something deep... But there is also something... new, younger. Parts that haven't been there for too long. Something you yourself haven't quite come to terms with yet. Not completely, at least."
She opened her eyes again as if waking from a dream, pure amazement on her face, and also a bit surprised. She knew that she could see people for what they really were, despite of how they looked or behaved. But this time it had caught her off guard. Especially since at first she hadn't gotten much from him. Had he helped somehow? Lowered his shields as well? Safe to say that she had never met someone like him. She essentially wasn't any wiser than before. She just knew that he was probably one of the most incredible beings she had ever met.
She awkwardly brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her forehead, carefully avoiding his gaze. That was why she normally didn't force things like that unless it was necessary. One could never know what one was about to see. Although she could deal with that, at least most of the times, some people just didn't like what they've been told.
Doctor
He looked at her in mere and utter surprise. How could this be possible? That was way beyond everything he had ever seen when it came to psychic abilities in humans. Then again he knew nothing about the universe she came from and the humans there. But she definitely was as human as anyone could be as he had scanned her. Besides the obvious changes in her brain structure being responsible for her psychic talents there was nothing out of the ordinary.
She really had seen him. Without knowing anything about him, without even getting into his mind, she had just recognised who, or better, what he was. Of course, it had all been just skin-deep. She couldn't have seen any of the things so carefully locked away in his mind. But the things she had said were right. Spot on. It was true that his last regeneration wasn't that long ago, and although he had quite settled into his new self by now, it was just that: quite. Maybe 99.7%. He was almost certain that she had seen more than what she had said, but he also knew that words were quite inadequate when it came to describing things like this.
Who was she?
"You asked for it," she finally said quietly and somehow apologetic, pulling him back into reality. She was studying the floor as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.
"Yes, I guess I did," he replied and she finally looked up and into his eyes. The expression he saw there confirmed that she had seen more than she had been able to express with words. "And it's fine. No harm done," he said with a soft smile.
A sudden urge to get into her mind, to join his consciousness with hers rushed over him. To see what was really going on in there, to see who she really was. He fought it back as quickly as it had come over him. He didn't dare thinking about it, let alone asking her.
Although she seemed to be quite open-minded when it came to these things, she was a human after all. And humans simply weren't a telepathic species and as for that seldom overly enthusiastic about anything remotely connected to mind-reading. Besides, it would mean showing her even more of himself. Not an option.
Anyway, he would find out sooner or later by merely observing her what was going on behind these incredible steel-grey eyes, with every hint of insecurity gone from them. Actually he could even see a kind of calmness and composure there now which he had hardly ever seen before in someone's eyes, and certainly not in human eyes.
"So...," he started after clearing his throat, "Well, you took quite a blow to the head earlier on, maybe you want to lay down for a while?" She was still looking at him, now with a highly irritating, Mona-Lisa like expression. "Or wash your hair. I think there is a room for you somewhere. I was wondering anyway what she was doing down there... She definitely was rearranging things... And later on we can talk about these plans of yours..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. At least get myself a bit more civilised again," she answered, whilst ruffling her already messy hair with a self-ironic grin.
"Come on then," he said, walking out of the control room, hands in his pockets, Mira following him.
