132nd page

[ladybirdshit]

The kind Loch Ness Monster (?) drops you off once the swamp comes to an end. The ground is dry and stable again, but the eerie fog lingers still. The old trees around you are covered in heavy moss, but you can tell you'll be soon out of the forest since the weak wind carries a smell of fresh air. One last push and you'll be out of here!

[ mission: don't get lost in the forest. ]

Comments

[armedarchaeologist]

Well, it's definitely very rarely boring.

[oh no that's part of the companion deal.]

What do you do when you're not stranded on an alien planet?

[recurred]

Same thing, explore the universe. Nanny in the spare time.

[thinks]

Like a really cool Mary Poppins.

[its not cool]

[armedarchaeologist]

Nanny? I thought.

Oh.

[that's probably a facial expression clara has seen a lot lately: "oh oops that was the other one."]

Right. Well. I. I imagine babysitting aliens is maybe only a little less stressful than making treaties with them.

[recurred]

No, they're human. Family friends actually.

[like hell id babysit aliens]

[armedarchaeologist]

Oh, right. At home.

[oh, quick thinking, daniel. at least it was a less awkward wrong assumption than the previous one?]

So the exploring the universe thing is like a hobby or like a part-time job?

[recurred]

A new thing. New opportunity, actually, then I landed here and lost the ship.

[scrunches nose]

I don't think it likes me.

[armedarchaeologist]

Your... Your ship doesn't?

[blinks. blinks again.]

Do you think it's still here?

[recurred]

No. No pilot either. He's kind of strange so maybe he ran off with it...

[frowns]

Didn't seem the type.

[armedarchaeologist]

Oh. Well, he sounds like a jerk?

[pats clara's arm consolingly. never have i ever been ditched on an alien planet because my ride left in our spaceship. mostly because daniel's method of space travel isn't easily moved.]

Sorry you're stuck with us, then.

[recurred]

[issues]

[sighs and half smiles]

Second time's the charm, right?

[armedarchaeologist]

Uh—

[not sure if clara means being stranded with a second group of intergalactic travelers, or the whole second-clara thing, and god knows how uncomfortable he got whenever one of his copies turned up, to it just seemed best to... not...]

[basically just freezes for a few seconds.]

Right.

[recurred]

[yeah you all can snuff it but at least fran's characters were straight up with her. no point in lying about what's happened]

[tucks book back into her bag and shuffles onto her feet]

Have a good night, yeah?

[armedarchaeologist]

[yeah he's seen that look before on copies of jack and sam and everyone, and he just doesn't know clara well enough to know what to say when it's her face wearing it.]

[sorry.]

Yeah. Good night.