Whew. This took a while to write. I'm kind of proud of it, and also kind of unsure about it, because I tried a new thing and I can't tell if it worked or not:/ Let me know what you think!
Reviews and prompts are greatly appreciated! And by the way, thanks SO MUCH for almost 30 reviews! That's way more than I ever expected.
On with the story.
Prompt from TheFezWearer15: "PUPPY"
"Truth or dare?" Clara asked.
The TARDIS's engines were shut off, allowing her to float through deep space without course or direction. There were no stars nearby, no nebulae, no galaxies - just an infinite cloak of blackness that completely destroyed any concept of gravity or distance and seemed to press down upon the TARDIS like a shroud. Clara, the Doctor, and the TARDIS were three vibrant sparks of life at the center of a vast area of dusky space that expanded for millions of lightyears before succumbing to fields of stars and galaxies.
Actually, the idea was rather terrifying.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor sighed and threw his hands up in the air. "Do we really have to play this stupid game? It's so - so - pudding-brained!"
"Yes!" Clara giggled, her chocolatey eyes gleaming with mirth. "And you say that about everything. Come on, Doctor. Just this once."
He sighed and stared at his petite companion. She was perched on top of the railing that surrounded the console, enthusiastically swinging her legs against it like a child. The dimple in her cheek caved inwards as she grinned at him, and he irritably realized that she knew perfectly well what effect her smile was having on him.
"Fine," he grunted, spinning away and crossing his arms. "Truth."
She perked up instantly, and then frowned again. "You always choose truth. So boring. You have to choose dare next time."
She chose to interpret his silence as consent. "Okay. Um, let me think... got it. Have you ever been drunk?"
The Doctor stared at her incredulously. "Really? Are you mad? Of course I've been drunk. I'm over two thousand years old."
"Well, you don't seem like the sort to get drunk," she countered. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I had a mild headache, that's all." Noting her expression of jealousy, he smugly added,"Time Lords have much greater tolerance than humans. For everything."
"Show-off," Clara muttered, crossing out her tongue. "Alright, my turn. I choose truth."
He was immensely proud of himself; he'd had the foresight to come up with a question beforehand. "Why have you got so many stuffed animals in your bedroom here?"
Clara flushed. "Oh. You saw them? What were you doing in my bedroom anyway?"
Naturally, the Doctor evaded the second question. "Yes, I saw them. They were in plain sight."
She crossed her legs, which were clad in black tights, and ruffled her green skirt. Evidently, she was embarrassed. "Just... something to remind me of home. I used to love soft toys when I was a kid. Still do. I can't sleep without them." A dull flush still colored her cheeks. "But that's a story for later. Truth or dare?"
"Truth," he answered without hesitation.
Clara scowled at him, her thin eyebrows drawing together beneath her smooth bangs. "Oi! You said you'd choose dare!"
"I said nothing of the kind," he replied, drawing himself up with dignity and turning to face her, his velvety coattails flying behind him. "In fact, I said nothing at all. And if I had, then just remember rule number one: the Doctor lies."
Sadly, Clara could find no flaw in his logic, even though she was particularly good at ripping apart logic and replacing it with illogical statements that were so illogical, they were almost logical. It was a cunning trick she'd learned from the Doctor. She sighed and racked her brains for a truth. "Okay, what's your most embarrassing memory? And don't give me any rubbish about being too old to remember everything; your memory is just fine and I know it," she added dangerously, a glint in her eye.
The Doctor tilted his head, mentally sending his consciousness back through two millennia's worth of memory until he chanced upon one that was so embarrassing he shuddered even thinking about it. "Well, there was one time where I almost destroyed the universe with a milk carton and a dirty diaper..." He proceeded to relate the story to Clara, who listened intently with amusement shining all over her face. (At this point, the author broke the fourth wall to mention that she may eventually write a fanfiction about this particular incident, if her readers want her to. Fortunately neither the Doctor nor Clara heard her.)
"Wow, that is embarrassing," Clara commented when he had finished. "l'm almost sorry I asked."
The Doctor gingerly settled on the railing next to her, hunching his shoulders. "Well, forget I told you. Truth or dare?"
"...Dare," Clara replied, after a moment's hesitation.
The Doctor groaned. He wasn't particularly adept at thinking of dares. After a few minutes, unable to come up with anything else, he finally answered,"Erm, sing me a song."
She cheerfully launched into Phantom of the Opera, but the Doctor cut her off. "No, not that one. I know it's a duet, and you're trying to get me to sing with you. Well, it's not happening."
Glaring at him, annoyed that he had picked up on her clever plan, Clara started to sing Hungry Like the Wolf (she'd been obsessed with that song as a kid, Lord knows why.)
Her last few notes trailed away a few minutes later. The Doctor made an exaggerated show of taking his fingers out of his ears. "Oh, is it over?" he inquired with mock relief. "Whew. Not sure I'd have lasted another few seconds."
She swatted his arm. "Oh, shut up. You're just jealous because I've got looks and talent."
Actually, the Doctor wasn't jealous at all, although he'd readily admit that she had both looks and talent. The song had really been quite good. She had a low but powerful voice that sort of blended in with the air and made the ground feel like it was humming beneath you. He didn't know how else to describe it.
"I said, truth or dare?" Clara's impatient Blackpool accent floated obnoxiously into his thoughts, clearing them away.
He blinked. "What? Erm - dare."
Clara's lips curled in a smile. "Finally."
The Doctor realized that the wrong thing had slipped out of his mouth. "Wait. Wait, I meant truth," he pleaded in his thick Scottish burr. "Let me take it back."
She shook her head adamantly. "Nope."
He knew from experience that Clara wouldn't be swayed. "Get it over with then," he sighed loudly.
"Alright. Take me to the craziest planet you can think of right now."
He almost laughed out loud. His entire life consisted of going to crazy planets. She couldn't have given him an easier dare. Rubbing his hands together, he slid off the railing and strode over to the console. Clara followed him and placed her hand on top of his, smiling in eager anticipation. His eyes met hers, intense blue against fierce brown. "Planet of the pet shops, here we come!" he shouted. Together, they pulled the lever that set the TARDIS in motion. Clara shrieked with glee as the TARDIS's engines roared to life and the time machine tilted sideways.
They landed with a bang a few seconds later. The Doctor, expecting the jolt that usually preceded a safe landing, hooked his arms into the console and was therefore unaffected. Clara, however, was thrown backwards into the railing.
The Doctor finished 'parking' the TARDIS and gave it a loving pat. When he glanced up, he found that Clara was eagerly bouncing on the balls of her feet, her gaze darting between him and the door. "Can I go out?"
He scoffed. "What are you asking me for? Get out there and see where we are!"
Without further hesitation, she pulled the door open and peered outside. The Doctor flipped his sonic screwdriver in the air and then stuck it firmly in his pocket before following her.
Clara's eyes couldn't take in the surroundings fast enough. The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a bustling bazaar filled with jostling crowds and vivid stalls. Above them, the sky was a deep purple and sported neither a sun nor a moon, but oddly enough, it seemed to give off a dusky light of its own that illuminated the proceedings as brightly as sunshine would have. In addition to this, little floating candles hung in the air as if suspended on strings, contributing a rather mystical air. The buildings were dark and cramped, but the streets were spacious, and the first floor of every structure seemed to be occupied by a shop of sorts.
Something that the Doctor had said resonated in Clara's mind. "Planet of the pet shops, you said." She turned to face him. "Are all these stores pet shops? Is this whole planet a giant pet shop?"
The look of incredulity on her face almost made the Doctor laugh out loud. "No, it's just called that. The inhabitants of this planet just love animals, that's all. There are lots of pet shops here. But a whole planet of them? Now that would be pudding-brained."
Clara giggled. And there it was again, the Doctor noticed. That shy, slightly mischievous smile; that alluring dent carved into her cheek. He hastily cleared his throat. "Right. Let's go explore."
Hand in hand, they strolled out of the TARDIS. The Doctor kept his mouth shut; he knew from previous experience that Clara liked to experience new places without listening to an annoying commentary from him.
There were animals everywhere. Clara recognized countless animals from Earth: birds, rabbits, fish, even platypuses. All types of creatures from Earth were represented here. One shop was even selling skeletal black horses with wings that she could have sworn were Thestrals. Animals crowded the stalls and shops, cawing, squeaking, chirping, barking and growling in an oddly euphonious cacophony. Occasionally she noticed an animal that looked unfamiliar, and categorized them as being from various other planets. The weirdest of these was a foot-long snake with five legs, a huge dorsal fin, and a frog's tongue that repeated in a nasal tone everything it heard passerby say.
Suddenly the oddest being she had ever seen (and she'd seen plenty of odd beings; she even traveled with one) walked by her. She stared after it, nonplussed. "Okay, that was weird."
It suddenly struck her that everyone else looked equally strange. The planet's inhabitants were all humanoid, but they all bore certain aspects of animals. One alien, for example, had the head of a horse, the tail of a pig, and the hindquarters of a lion. Another looked like it was more fish than person. One even appeared to be part Judoon - in fact, Clara couldn't identify many of the animals that were represented. There was one alien with multicolored eyes that were bigger than dinner plates and a mane of thick, reddish fur that reached to its knees. Alien animals, she supposed. Although she and the Doctor were the only normal looking people in the fray, no one seemed to be casting them any odd glances.
She opened her mouth to ask a question, but the Doctor shot her a warning stare. "Shush. The people here love animals so much that they often choose to adopt the characteristics of some of them. You don't want to offend them by mentioning it - they get easily angered and I don't want to have to clean up any of your messes, because you're quite good at making people angry."
"What messes?" she snapped indignantly. "I never make messes."
He laughed incredulously. "Rubbish. I should know. I'm the one always cleaning them up!"
Clara's eyes flashed murderously. It probably would have escalated into a full-scale argument, but just then she noticed something that made her annoyance die out. "Oh my stars, that is the cutest thing I've ever seen," she declared in one breath, tearing free of the Doctor's grasp and rushing over to inspect an animal that was curled up in the window display of one of the shops. The translation matrix allowed her to see that the store's name was 'The Mammal, Insect, and Reptile House'. What an original name, her subconsciousness, always prepared with several witty and/or saucy comments, thought sarcastically. Not.
The creature resembled a cross between a fox, a wolf, and a bear. It had a layer of soft reddish fur that looked to be at least an inch thick. It had a pointed face and snout and curved ears like a bear's. The animal, which was only about a foot and a half long, was curled up in a ball with its bushy tail wrapped around it, evidently fast asleep.
"Juridian fox," the Doctor commented, peering at it over Clara's shoulder (which he was able to do with no difficulty at all, as her shoulder only came up to his chest). "They never get bigger than this size. They live in the forests of Juridia, but it's really easy to tame them, and they don't eat meat. Also, their eyes are multicolored. And supposedly they can run faster than cheetahs."
Clara tenderly pressed her hand to the window glass. "It's so tiny and adorable..."
Like you, the Doctor wanted to say. Instead he stepped forwards and opened the door to the shop. "Come on, let's go poke around in here."
With a final glance at the sleeping fox, Clara followed him inside. The store was dim but not gloomy, and soft purrs, chirps, and other animal noises resounded from every corner. Silver cages were everywhere: swinging from the ceiling, piled on the floor, perched precariously on counters. Their inhabitants varied from rats to lion cubs to iguanas.
As the Doctor and Clara entered, the animals ceased their chatter and simultaneously swung around to face them. A creature that resembled a bobcat prowling inside a cage on the floor let loose a short, deep growl. The Doctor stared at it with a look of surprise etched into the lines of his face. After a short pause he bent his head in greeting, which seemed to please the creature.
"What did it say?" Clara asked curiously.
The Doctor hesitated before answering. "He said,'Welcome, travelers, and walk amongst us freely.'"
"That was a lot for a tiny growl."
"That's not all." The Doctor furrowed his brow. "After that he said,'May you be forever free, Time Lord and Lady.'"
Silence reigned in the room as the import of his words struck her. "Time Lady... I'm not a Time Lady!"
The Doctor scrutinized the animal carefully. "You travel with me, Clara. You live in the TARDIS. To most creatures in the universe, you have the same standing as a Time Lady; the same power. You are a Time Lady in every sense of the word, except by blood."
Clara stared into his eyes, overwhelmed. The thoughts running through her head were too complicated for her to give voice to them, so she turned to another question instead. "And... they knew who we are how, exactly?"
"Animals are smarter than humans, Clara. They know many things you don't." The Doctor was about to continue, but was instead forestalled by the arrival of the shopkeeper.
The most normal-looking being Clara had encountered on this planet so far scurried out of a small doorway that presumably led to a back room. He (or she; the creature bore no identifying marks) had a smooth, angular face, with a nose that was just a little too small for it, rather like a snake's. The person had a humanoid body with green-tinged skin, webbed hands, and large, slitted eyes. "Welcome, welcome," it cried, its deep voice indicating that it was male. "Please, look around as much as you like."
Clara was tempted to reply,"We are, thanks," but decided to flash him a smile instead, albeit a slightly smirky one. "Very kind of you."
The shopkeeper retreated back into the other room, and the Doctor and Clara were left with the animals, who had not lost any of their interest in the visitors. Clara realized that most of the animals were from Earth. "How'd they all get here?" she asked.
"Someone put them in," the Doctor answered distractedly. "How else?"
Clara sighed. "No. I meant how did they get here. On this planet. Most of these animals are from Earth."
"Various breeding programs," he murmured, crossing his hands behind his back and beginning to pace the shop. "Animals from earth are brought here, bred, end then returned. Simple as that. Of course, they're treated very well, since the people here absolutely revere them. Even while kept in cages, they're probably given choice food, exercise privileges, and free wifi."
Clara mouthed the words 'free wifi' to herself before hurrying to join him. They walked in silence for a while, inspecting the various animals, until Clara noticed something so hilarious that she couldn't resist letting out a small giggle. She tapped the Doctor on the shoulder to get his attention. "Doctor, look at that lizard over there."
He glanced up. "What?"
She pointed at a cage. "That one."
He eyed it for a few seconds, then returned his gaze to his companion. "So?"
She grinned broadly. "It looks just like you. Look at it! The resemblance is creepy!"
The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "Clara Oswald, you did not just tell me I look like a lizard."
"I didn't. I said the lizard looked like you. Look!" She grabbed his cheeks and swung his face around in the direction of the lizard. "It's a little Doctor-lizard."
The resemblance was, indeed, uncanny. The lizard was a pale green, with soft orange scales dotted here and there (in that respect, fortunately, it did not resemble the Doctor). But its eyes were the exact same shade of blue and possessed the same intensity that the Doctor's did. They were overshadowed by craggy knobs that jutted out from the lizard's forehead, and which resembled the Doctor's bushy eyebrows. Also, the scales of its face protruded in what could almost be called a nose. It had the same structure as the Doctor's nose. Lastly, its mouth was downturned and completely unamused - just like the Doctor's.
He was annoyed, partially at Clara for making the comparison in the first place, but mostly at the lizard for actually looking like him. He had to admit he saw a strong resemblance to himself in the lines of the lizard's face.
But he would rather eat one of Clara's burned soufflés than tell her she was right, so he crossed his arms and haughtily looked away. "Rubbish." At the same time, he allowed his eyes to dart around the room, searching for a comparison that he could make in revenge. Finally, his eyes settled upon the perfect animal.
"Clara," he breathed, tapping her shoulder several times.
She looked up in annoyance. "What? Stop tapping me."
"Hypocrite. I only picked up that habit from you."
She eyed him dryly. "Sure. Okay. What is it?"
"Come and look at this," he called, walking over to the animal he had chosen.
She didn't bother to follow. "It's a bear. So?"
Time to deliver the punchline. "So, it bears an uncanny resemblance to you." His Scottish accent was sharp and pronounced.
She grinned, seeming to think it was a compliment. "Aww, thanks."
The Doctor regarded her in bewilderment. His plan was going awry. "No, no. It's a sun bear."
"Erm... safe difference," she replied, laughing. "Still a bear. Still cute. Actually, I suppose I am sort of cute." She casually tossed her hair.
On cue, the bear opened its mouth and yawned widely. A foot-long tongue suddenly shot out of its mouth and dangled on its chest.
Clara shrieked and recoiled. "Oh my stars."
"Told you it was a sun bear," the Doctor smirked.
She tentatively stepped closer and realized that the bear was not as cute as it had first seemed. Its fur coat was thin and wrinkly, and its paws ended in giant, curled claws. Its eyes were tiny and peering.
And of course, there was the tongue.
Clara suddenly remembered that the Doctor had actually dared to compare this creature to her. "Doctor," she sang in a light voice.
He glanced at her, unaware of the danger he was in.
"When we get out of here, you and I are going to have a talk," she continued in the same tone.
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really."
"Yes, because this beautiful face -" she pointed to herself -"will not tolerate those kinds of comments."
"Well, don't talk to me about it, talk to Bob."
She was momentarily taken aback. "Who?"
"The sun bear. His name is Bob. And he says your face is so wide you could probably stuff ten fish side by side in your mouth. I think that's a bigger insult, don't you?"
Clara stuck her tongue out at the bear. "Oi, watch it. Both of you," she added dangerously, including the Doctor in her warning.
He raised his hands in surrender and continued through the store. Clara trailed behind him, admiring the various animals. No more comparisons were made (except once, when Clara pointed out a stick insect and said that if it traded places with the Doctor she wouldn't be able to tell the difference).
Finally, just as they were about to leave, she noticed a small cage shoved into a corner. The animal inside it was mostly concealed by shadows. Curious, she strode over to the cage and crouched next to it.
A soft bark reached her ears, and a Labrador puppy bounded out of the shadows and leaped onto the bars of the cage. It had soft fur - the same color as Clara's hair - and twinkling blue eyes. Its tail wagged incessantly as it attempted to lick Clara's face.
"Awwww, you're so cute," she crooned, striking his nose.
The Doctor had to agree. He saw Clara in the puppy's eyes - their eyes shared the same joy and vitality. Instead of voicing his thoughts, he snarkily commented,"Oh look; you've got the same ginormous eyes."
Engrossed as Clara was in admiring the puppy, she didn't hear him. "What's his name?" she asked.
The puppy yapped cheerfully, and the Doctor translated. "He says he's waiting for someone to name him."
"Can I buy him?" Clara suddenly queried, struck by a sudden reckless impulse. "Please? Look at him; he's so cute. He's the cutest thing I've ever seen."
"I thought that was the fox outside."
She waved her hand airily. "Beautiful minds are fickle. So can I buy him?"
The Doctor gaped. "What? No, of course not. I won't have a puppy running around the TARDIS. I'll have to feed it, and clean its spillages, and play fetch with it. Not happening."
"Oh, come on; I'll take care of him,"she protested. "I could call him Doctor. Doctor Two. You know, like a second -"
"Yes, I get it," he interrupted wryly,"but even if I said yes, I haven't got anything to pay with."
Clara's shoulders slumped. "Drat." Sighing, she ruffled the puppy's ears one last time before getting to her feet. "Then I guess I'll go explore outside for a bit." She cast the Lab a longing glance before walking towards the door.
"Meet me in front of the store in fifteen minutes," the Doctor called. "And don't wander off. Or push any big red buttons."
"We'll see," she answered, grinning as she left the shop and closed the door behind her.
The Doctor watched her small frame recede into the distance and then spun around on his heels, one corner of his mouth curled in a small grin.
Rule number one: the Doctor lies.
"Shopkeeper dude," he called out, making use of the 'cool' Earth language Clara had tried to teach him. "I need you."
The snake-man poked his head out. "Yes?"
"How much does this puppy cost?"
"A thousand gold asters," he replied indifferently.
"That's insane!" he protested.
"Business is business."
The Doctor desperately attempted to change tactics. "Don't I get a discount? I've saved this planet twice!"
"Sorry, no discounts apply." He didn't sound apologetic in the slightest.
The Doctor growled under his breath. He didn't have that much money. "Would you accept this for the puppy instead?" He held up his golden pocket watch, allowing it to shine alluringly as it slowly revolved in the air. He was reluctant to part with the watch; it had been a gift from someone he'd loved dearly... someone he could no longer see.
But he would part with it if he knew it would make his Clara happy.
The shopkeeper's eyes almost popped out of his head (literally. It wasn't a pretty picture). "A Gallifreyan watch," he breathed reverently. "Yes, yes, of course. I will accept this."
The Doctor tossed him the watch. "I want the puppy shipped to Earth by premium transportation. How long will it take?"
"Approximately 355 Earth days."
So the puppy would get to Earth on Christmas Day. He imagined how Clara would react when she opened his present and found the puppy inside, and felt a warm wave of delight roll through him. "And how much does shipping cost?" he asked, in an almost cheerful tone.
"Well, it costs 10,000 asters to ship to such a distance...
His grin faded instantly. "What?"
Seeing the look of thunder on the Doctor's face, the storekeeper hastily added,"But the price is included in the watch you gave me! So don't worry!" He nervously procured an address form, and the Doctor scrawled Clara's address on it in untidy, spidery handwriting.
The shopkeeper bowed deeply and scuttled away. "Thank you for your business."
Lost in thought, the Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and exited the store. An image flashed in his mind of Clara's delighted smile, and his eyes softened as his thoughts turned to his petite companion.
Speaking of Clara, where was she? Where'd she got to? That girl was so tiny that some of the larger people here (namely the ones who had some of the features of elephants) might accidentally step on her.
The probability of that happening was tiny, but he couldn't stop himself worrying. He was immensely relieved when he caught sight of her small figure grinning and waving at him.
"You were sixteen minutes and eight point two seconds," he told her brusquely. "Late again, Clara Oswald." He knew she was still brooding about the puppy, although she would never admit it, so he tried to do his best to distract her.
She nudged him with her elbow. "Oh, shut up."
They ambled back to the TARDIS, surrounded by vendors attempting to pawn off various animals on them. The Doctor shoved his way through the crowd, making a path for Clara, and patted the TARDIS as he approached it. "Hey, Old Girl," he murmured.
Clara did not deign to greet the TARDIS kindly (she was still annoyed at the trick it had played on her yesterday. She'd had to sleep on the floor all night because the TARDIS kept changing the molecular structure of her bed... namely, turning solid molecules to air molecules. In other words, creating a great big bloody hole right in the middle of the bed, so that Clara kept falling through it just as she was drifting off to sleep).
The Doctor opened the door and stepped inside his time machine, which greeted him with a gentle him. Clara stepped through after him, casting a final glance at the world outside. Her dark hair was curled around her shoulders, ruffled by the mild wind outside. "So I've been wondering something, Doctor," she announced, hopping onto the railing again. "Even though we were totally the only normal people on that planet, no one looked at us weird. How come?"
"Ah, yes. I have a theory about that." The Doctor tapped a button on the console, and a panel on the far wall shimmered and vanished, revealing a rectangular mirror. "Go look at yourself."
Never one to pass up an opportunity to admire herself, Clara did as he asked, beaming. But when she finally approached the mirror, she could do little more than gasp and stare dumbly at her reflection.
The Doctor stood at her shoulder. "Yes, I thought so," he declared with some satisfaction. "The TARDIS gave us mirror disguises. You can only see... well, you, in a mirror. We look like us to ourselves, but everyone else sees... that." He pointed at his reflection.
Clara stared at herself in horror. She had the head of a giant rat, complete with yellow, crooked teeth, and the limbs of a donkey. The Doctor had the snout of a dolphin, grayish skin, and a fox's tail. "That's something I read about in the manual," he continued in surprise. "I didn't know the TARDIS could actually do it. Mind you, this might've been useful in plenty of certain other situations," he added reproachfully. "In fact, the disguises could have been useful in any other situation but this one."
"Just you watch, she'll never do it again," Clara hissed acidly, her voice full of wrath. "She's given us disguises when we really didn't need them, and now she won't do it again when we do need them. Bloody snogbox," she murmured again.
"I think she probably will do it again, but just to you, to spite you," the Doctor told her unhelpfully. "You know, the funny thing is that Mirror disguises are supposed to reflect the wearer's personality. So..." His voice trailed away. "Oh."
Clara stared at her rat head and donkey limbs again. "I hate you!" she shouted to the TARDIS, shaking her fist at it. Then, turning to the Doctor, she demanded, "Well, take it off! Bring me back!"
The Doctor cringed. "Erm... I don't know how... I threw the manual in a supernova before I could finish reading about Mirror illusions." Catching sight of Clara's murderous glare, he feebly protested,"I got bored! It was boring!"
She clapped a hand to her eyes. "You are so hopeless."
Neglecting to answer (he knew she was more angry at the TARDIS than at him) the Doctor smoothed out his coat and crossed over to the console. "Come on, let's go for chips or something. I'm sure the illusion will wear off... eventually."
"I have a better idea." Clara smiled. "Ice cream at my place. I've got four cartons."
"Sounds like a deal, Miss Oswald." The Doctor winked at her and began flying around the console, pulling levers and slamming buttons as his coattails whirled behind him. As the TARDIS shimmered into nothingness and entered the vortexes that crisscrossed through time and space, Clara wrapped her arms around the Doctor from behind and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.
He didn't say a word, but she knew that they were both thinking the same thing.
So just some notes about the chapter, if you're interested:
Well, firstly, sorry to those of you who like sun bears. They just creep me out.
Secondly: You may have noticed that Clara talked a bit differently in this chapter. That was the new 'thing' I tried. I wanted to explore the childish side of her personality in this chapter. Not sure if I succeeded... let me know.
Thirdly: I've always been interested in the companions' importance. Like, how does everyone else see the Doctor's companions? How does everyone else treat them? Do they have a rank or a standing? I've always had a theory that the companions are just treated like Time Lords themselves, since they basically are. Hence Clara being referred to as a Time Lady:3
Again, prompts and reviews are appreciated. Thanks so much for reading.
Also, I have an idea! I think if I can get 50 + reviews by the end of April, I will give you guys a special Whoufflé story I've been planning for a while (it'll still be part of this story though. I've worked it all out)! What do you think? Do you guys like Whoufflé? Would you rather have a special Whouffaldi story? What do you want to see for 50 + reviews? I want to hear your opinion! Let me know in the comments what you think.