See end of chapter for notes...
Chapter 8 – Feeling Good
Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River runnin' free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
And I'm feelin' good
- Feeling Good – Nina Simone –
Their plan had always been to swiftly escape the pandemonium that was to be expected after the withdrawal from their positions at the Proclamation. They didn't want to answer questions and receive pointless well-wishes from people that they had only seen once in their lives.
They returned to the Al Maha and walked into the kitchen. Shadow put the kettle on, River got two mugs out for tea.
The first words they spoke were after they had sat down at the table together and started sipping their tea.
"What now?" River asked.
Shadow shrugged. "I don't really know."
"Okay. When do we start with that?" River chuckled.
"Tomorrow? Maybe?" Shadow grimaced. "We really should've thought more about that, huh?"
"Probably. But in our defense, we were quite busy with stuff."
"True. So…" Shadow drew out.
River narrowed her eyes at her. That sounded like Shadow had a very interesting idea.
"I think we deserve some downtime after all those years of hard work. What do you think we look for an amusement park planet or something like that?" Shadow grinned maniacally.
"I think you really have the right idea at the right moment. I could go for some fun." River drank the rest of her tea. "But for today I just want to lounge about on the sofa and let the world be whatever it wants to be."
Shadow smiled and nodded. "I think you got the good ideas between us."
Several hours later and they were still lying on the sofa completely relaxed and dozing. They had slipped into old oversized t-shirts and some comfortable pants. Shadow laid on top of River and had slipped her hands underneath River's shirt.
Shadow hummed contently. "How come you only have one heart and I have two?" Shadow quietly asked River.
"Hm?" River had been dozing off again.
"You only have one heart. Why?"
"I guess, it has to do with my parents and that they both were humans. I do have a bit of a respiratory bypass system though. Not fully functional or anything but it's enough that I can sustain low oxygen levels for longer than regular humans."
"I know. I just always wondered. After all, you had regenerated and not gotten a second heart and everything. You basically stayed human with extras."
"Well, you can talk. You might have the body of a Time Lord, but you still have a few human traits, like sleep for example. You definitely need more than the average Time Lord." River put out.
Shadow looked confusedly at River.
"I read your Time Lord Physiology book." River supplied.
"Oh." Shadow laid her head down again, to only whip it up in the same moment. "I still don't know why you couldn't read Gallifreyan. After all you can pilot the TARDIS."
"I basically fly her blind. And in the few instances where I actually needed to read something the TARDIS helpfully translated it for me. You have to remember, she taught me how to fly her."
Shadow laid her head back down. "Right." And they fell silent for a while again.
"I wasn't freak out about regenerating again because of the Wolf." River whispered.
Shadow's eyes popped open. "What?"
"Yeah, shortly after my regeneration, the Wolf came into my head and told me what you two did. By the way, how do you cope with that in your head? I was afraid to think anything."
"I got used to it. And anyway, it usually roams in the back of my mind and I don't even notice its presence."
"But…"
"Ssshhh… I'm trying to relax here." Shadow cuddled a bit closer to River.
River looked affronted for a moment and then laid her arms around Shadow and nuzzled into her hair, smiling at the thought of them now having the chance to enjoy each other for the rest of their lives without having to keep secrets.
River had just closed her eyes when she felt an insistent tingling above her heart. Opening her eyes, she only saw a golden light swirling around them. Focusing on Shadow, she saw that the other woman was equally confused as to what was happening. When their eyes locked, they knew what was happening. They had experienced this once before.
The Wolf was marking River as a member of the pack.
As soon as the glowing light had vanished, Shadow asked "Where?"
River just lifted her shirt and above her heart was a wolf's pawprint. Shadow put her hand next to it and it was almost as big. Underneath was the same infinity symbol and Greek letter combination as Shadow had, only the letters had switched places. In the left circle was a small and capital beta and in the right circle was a small alpha and a capital beta.
Shadow gasped in amazement. "You know what this means?"
River dropped her shirt again.
Shadow continued without waiting for an answer. "It means that we are truly free. It means, if we meet the Doctor, we are free to tell him everything." Shadow grinned absentmindedly.
River didn't know how to react. It was all a little overwhelming. She had just been marked. This was it now. The Wolf had completely set her free. She was free.
"I'm free…" River muttered.
Shadow looked at her with concern in her eyes. "Yes, you are."
"No. I am finally free. Free from everything. I don't have to keep secrets anymore. I could just… I don't know. It's all a bit much, you know?" She was still struggling with the concept.
"I can only imagine." Shadow smiled empathetically. "But we'll deal with it in the way we should always deal with things. Together."
River gazed at Shadow for long moments. "You're right."
And they settled down again.
The next day, they had decided to go to The Zoo. It was a place that kept endangered and extinct animals from all of Earth history.
They looked at wooly mammoths and Macrauchenia, the classical triceratops and the star of the primeval show a pachyrhinosaurus female named Jorge, though the staff didn't know that. Then they went into the newer times and looked at rhinos, tigers, lions and especially wolfs, for obvious reasons.
They had fun in the aviary where birds were allowed to fly freely, the petting zoo was another highlight. They stood with lots of children around and petted goats and sheep and ponies. But they didn't care that they stood out, they were happy to be with each other. They had ice cream and candy cotton, and lots of other food. They laughed together and marveled at all the different creatures on display.
They had a great time there and at the end they walked aimlessly around in search for a gift shop.
Naturally, they got lost and wandered into the back area, where they were definitely not permitted. As soon as they spotted someone, they ducked into the next door that opened not caring where they landed.
River felt it first. Then Shadow felt it. There was a definite telepathic pressure on their minds. They looked at each other and then around.
They found themselves in a cavernous room with a console in the middle on which a huge crystal rested. Around that, were six finger-like coral-crystal things in a hexagonal shape that extended upward.
They looked at each other again.
"TARDIS?" Shadow asked.
"TARDIS." River confirmed.
The walked forward and around the console, inspecting it.
"Which Doctor's?" Shadow inquired.
"Don't know. Must be a new one."
"Could you fly her?"
"Possibly." River looked concerned. "But we probably shouldn't be in here."
Shadow was about to say something which was interrupted by the door opening and four people rushing in.
The blonde woman in the back pushed to the front and stopped rooted to the spot.
Shadow and River looked around the console on the left and right side.
"Who are you? And how did you get in here?" The blonde woman demanded.
"Ah." Shadow nodded slowly. "Now it gets complicated."
And the cloister bell sounded.
A/N: I'm terribly sorry for this cliffhanger. And saying that the end of this act had always been planned to be a cliffy won't make it better, I know. All I can say is that I really think that the next part shouldn't be soo far off like the last part has been.
All I know is that Jodie Whittakers Doctor sparked some new life into the story. And to all that say she's a bad Doctor and it's bad writing and stuff... yes, I recognize that the writing isn't up to what it was before Moffat, but I also know that we'll probably not get Russell T. Davies-era writing again. And Jodie Whittaker isn't a bad Doctor, she's actually brilliant as the Doctor. You just have to recognize that the Doctor isn't about action and stuff, and this new Doctor emphasizes it brilliantly. The Doctor has always been about love, hope and kindness, and the wonders of the universe and science. And how I see it we just went back to Classic!Who values, the "Do I have the right?" question thing. The "Always go forward in your believes and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine" values.
Sorry for the rant. I'll stop now. Maybe I'll see you in the next act.
Leave a comment or something, if you like.