open | every life is a pile of good things and bad things;

[thedreamer]

Who: The Doctor & you
What: Catch-all for the month!
When: Through August / early September
Where: Lakeside & Milton + all points in between

Content Warnings: Potential warnings for tea time (memory sharing, loss of inhibitions, etc. depending!) Will update accordingly if needed.



[ ooc: no preference with brackets or prose, happy to write either! ]

Comments

[thedreamer]

Splendid. [ Food enjoyed with company is always just that touch better, in his mind. So he takes a seat promptly, settling his spoon down beside his bowl. ]

And now we aren't strangers!

[ The Doctor is quick to accept her offered hand, following that with a friendly nod while they shake. His own expression is warm, an easy smile on his face as he gets comfortable. There's food to enjoy, of course, and he absolutely will; never taking it for granted that they have this at all right now.

But when he meets someone new, that tends to take over his focus for a bit while he gets to know them. ]

Very glad to meet you, Snow. I'm the Doctor! Have you been okay recently, particularly with all this — quaking business?

[ Of course, there'd been so much prior to that, and it's only recently started. The Darkwalker turning people on each other, then the Aurora and the strange dreams. He likes to check in on people, even those he's just met. ]

[powersuited]

Now we aren't strangers.

[ Snow's response is a little more measured, but sincere nonetheless; she may not be as effusive as he is, or even some of the younger members of their group — the Interlopers, as they've been called in the past, even though she doesn't particularly care for that descriptor — but that doesn't mean she isn't endeared by the presence of someone who doesn't have any trouble at all filling the silence. ]

"Okay" feels a bit complicated, doesn't it?

[ She offers that in a more commiserating tone, not out of an effort to bemoan her circumstances, even swaying in his direction with the conspiratorial arch of one eyebrow before properly shifting back into her own seat. Even then, however, she stirs the contents of her own bowl with her spoon without really lifting any of it to her lips. Besides, in that moment, it feels important to clarify something: ]

Doctor? Doctor what?

super sorry for this delay!

[thedreamer]

[ Doctor what, she says, and he can't quite help himself — ] Oh yes, if you like! Just Doctor suits me well enough, though.

[ To her point before, he gives it seemingly a moment of deep consideration. "Deep" for him means longer than his usual two seconds before he's jumping into the next thought immediately like a whirlwind. Seemingly giving her his full attention for now, though, he briefly overlooks his food, folding his hands together and focusing. ]

It is, it is complicated and multi-layered and working ourselves into the answer isn't terribly immediate, is it? It's no quick thing. What with everything that's happened lately, that's happening now. It's an interesting word itself, too, isn't it — okay. To describe how you're feeling, to give approval, to offer it by way of accepting an apology.

[ He stops short of launching into explaining the full origin of the word okay, at least. For now. ] Perhaps the better question is — what do you make of it all and, if you could be eating anything but this right now, what would it be? Favorite meal. Technically two questions, both important!

no worries at all!

[powersuited]

[ In fairness, it's not the strangest request Snow's ever heard, and this is coming from someone who lives in a town surrounded by people named things like Mr. Toad and the Tweedles. There's a reason for that, given their origins, but by comparison, simply referring to the man across from her as the Doctor isn't a big leap to make.

Less easy, however, is following his train of thought — and while Snow knows her fair share of chatty Fables, many of whom would readily talk her ear off if they had the opportunity to corner her and give her a piece of their mind, she's not sure she's really met anyone who's exactly like the Doctor. ]

Well... some days, I still feel like I'm in over my head, when it comes to this place. It makes sense. This isn't my world, not really. But taking it one day at a time seems to be about all I can do, at least for now. [ There's a brief pause, as she considers his other question. ] You know what I could go for right now? A mug of hot apple cider... and a donut.

[thedreamer]

[ He's genuinely thoughtful about this for a long moment. On the surface, it's not as though he could easily produce what she's most craving. He certainly wishes he could, but that wasn't the point in asking, at least for him. He likes to know people, as much as he can, as much as they're willing to share, and knowing she would want apple cider and a donut is something meaningful to him.

He smiles softly, briefly folding his hands together, leaning in just a little, just enough to show that he's giving her his full and undivided attention. ]

So on a better day, under the right circumstances, we could be sitting across from each other having warm cider and donuts instead — oh, I'm really mad about those myself, absolutely love a donut. And there wouldn't be all this — this. [ He waves a hand briefly in the air. Everything around them. ] The Darkwalker, the Forest Talkers...none of that. Just good food and drink, and chatter about books and films and the ordinary and extraordinary bits and bobs of life. Maybe we can't have all of that, but we can make a bit of good here, can't we? Just talking like this, it's a respite from the other madness.

And — no promises, of course, but I'll try my hand at some donuts for you.

[powersuited]

[ It's not the first hint Snow's gotten that this man — the Doctor — is a rather talkative fellow, and for a moment, she spares an amused thought to wondering how Bigby would react to making conversation with someone like him. But the longer he goes, painting an effective picture for her about what it could be like if they were having a regular chat, in a coffee shop that wouldn't be out of place in a regular town, instead of having to content themselves with a version of the same stew Methuselah tends to make for newcomers.

She's drawn in, though, by what a nice sentiment the Doctor leaves her with — so much so that it's almost too easy to hope that things could be different here. No Darkwalker, like he says, no Forest Talkers. They might all be far from their own homes, but when he mentions an ability to make their own good, Snow smiles, the broadest she has since the beginning of their meeting. ]

I'd like that. Or we could always get together again, even without the donuts. [ In the same breath, though, something occurs to her, and she looks at him with an inquisitive tilt of her head. ] What's your world like? Is it closer to this, or...?

[thedreamer]

Well, I have to bring something when we see each other again!

[ His own returning smile is just as broad, slightly playful. Of course, he doesn't have to, he knows. The only expectations would be what he makes or puts on himself. He's never really been the traditional sort of gift-giver, either, but if he's meeting someone again — specifically arranging a time and a place to be with them — well, he won't come empty-handed. ]

Don't you worry, though, I'll come up with something grand. [ Well, as grand as this place really has to offer. She asks a question, though, and by most or any standards, it would be a normal question to answer. Considering how many here come from different places and times, it's reasonable to inquire. It's only that any mention of his world is something he tends to side-step, at least at first. ]

Oh — no, far from it. [ He offers little more in the way of explanation, rather diverting in the way he so often does. ] And anyway, this world, your world, so many worlds are far more interesting. I know it's rather hard to fathom, probably, considering we're incredibly stationary at the moment, but all that's out there — [ He looks up briefly, towards the ceiling, smirking to himself. ] — well, not there, there, though the ceiling is lovely. But far above, far beyond. Worlds where the seas sleep and the rivers dream. It's all so beautiful. Can you imagine it?

and then I took a hiatus! but sliding back to this

[powersuited]

If you're bringing the donuts, then, I'll see what I can do about rustling up some coffee. Unless you're more of a tea kind of person?

[ While Snow wouldn't consider herself a seasoned interrogator — there's a reason Fabletown didn't vote her in as a sheriff, after all — she thinks she's spent enough time around Bigby, occasionally teaming up on investigations, to be able to look for signs of someone avoiding the subject.

Unlike their investigations, though, there's nothing here that makes knowing the answer so important that she'd press for it — not if it's a topic the Doctor would rather not linger on. For Snow's part, talking about Fabletown is easy; getting into the true details about the Adversary, and what led to them being driven out of their original home, isn't exactly the kind of thing meant for casual conversation. ]

You say that, but my world doesn't have anything nearly that exciting. By all accounts, it's just a small town where very little happens. [ Except for that string of murders recently, and the corruption plot that had been exposed going all the way up to Mayor Crane himself. ] "Where rivers dream..." you ever been anywhere like that?

welcome back! with a gift of a tag :3

[thedreamer]

Both are lovely, though I am a bit partial to tea. And company!

[ Despite his accent, he couldn't technically say it has anything at all to do with being English, either, but time spent so long on Earth and in that area in particular has certainly influenced his tastes in that regard. ]

Now, I don't for a moment believe all the ills and troubles of the universe suddenly disappear over a cup of tea, but that lovely drink does have a way of lessening the sharp edges of life for a little while, doesn't it?

[ He's just about to say he has an idea for a good brew, something he's been testing here with a combination of a few different dried berries and important things like pine needles (for vitamins). But every once in a while, he's aware that he can sometimes steamroll over others' lovely intentions without meaning to. He'd enjoy trying any cup she makes, his can wait to be sampled. ]

As for worlds where the rivers dream — I have been, yes, and as you might imagine, it's a rather peaceful place. Sometimes they dream quietly, sometimes they'll share aloud and it's always a treat. What do you think rivers dream of, Snow?

[ It's not a question with any particular answer, really, it's more just for him and because he likes to hear how the minds of others work. She could come up with anything at all and it would be interesting to him. Now, there are fantastical worlds out there where the rivers really do dream and he can tell her all about that, but he's more interested in what she'll say next. ]

[powersuited]

Sometimes, that's all you need.

[ While this doesn't feel like the right conversation to bring up all Snow's been through these last several months — in many ways, this is the conversation that puts her more at ease than she's been in months, at least outside of the comfort she's found with Bigby and Connor — she has the strong impression she doesn't need to go into detail, that the Doctor understands the meaning behind her words without it.

And there's something else, something in his words, that directly calls her back to her memories of the Homelands, the Fable Realms, where ideas like a dreaming river wouldn't be so far out of the realm of possibility, not when princes and witches and big bad wolves already exist. It leads her to wonder where the Doctor has been, in his travels, and how many more stories he could tell as consequence.

But she's drawn out of her brief reverie by the question that's directed to her, lifting her head with a growing smile. ]

Maybe... they dream of a flow that's neverending. Trickling down mountains and over streams, never emptying into a lake or an ocean. Just continuing on forever, without end.