A Thousand Words (open)

[jaxie]

Jax did his best to ignore the other shifter. He brought a hand up to his throat and laid it on there, feeling his adam’s apple buzz with the low growl whine he kept emitting. Jax sighed and frowned almost angrily at himself. This was not the time to get letting go of his emotions. He focused instead on the strange man in the long brown trench-coat sort of garments and the under suit. He focused on the shock of hair and was mildly surprised to think that this strange man and his Ally would get along with each other should they ever meet. He stood by quietly as he could while the blonde who addressed herself as ‘elizabeth’ and then ask the strange man a question about his own title. Name? Jax as confused now. Last time he’d checked the name “doctor” wasn’t a true name. Instantly he paid more attention to the man with something special to hide.

Addressed suddenly he blinked and answered, “Jaxom Holder,” he said, blinking suspiciously at the Doctor and then unwillingly looked over at Seth. He whimpered and edge to the other side of Liz to get away from the shifter male. He blinked as the Doctor fired off rapid questions. Jax looked at Liz in case she had any sort of clue what this bizarre man was talking about. His green gaze flicked up towards Seth, was he addressing that thing?

[[ gahhhh... shortness.... ]]

[strix]

Seth studied the Doctor for a long moment as he chatted with Elizabeth. He had a hard time what the man--well, Gallifreyan--was after. He seemed friendly enough and only interested in meeting them, but that couldn't be his only motive. The fact that Seth couldn't find anything else that fit only worried him more. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. Had never liked doctors. Seth chose not to reply to the comment about Canada, only giving him a level look. It was only natural the Doctor assumed he was lying. Let him think that.

The Doctor's comment on humans provoked a quiet snort out of Seth. They might have short attention spans, but they always tended to pop up at the wrong moments. He had a few scars to prove how good humans were at noticing strange things, and how panicky they could get. Besides, he had lost control for just a second and still had two notice him. Although, Seth considered, they were possibly the best two people in Cardiff to find him. He had to be the luckiest damn lizard in the system. Not that there were many here. Hell, he could count them on one hand. Except...he still wasn't sure what the other shifter was. Possibly a crossbreed--it was rare for Xiodanar to interbreed with any other species, but they could. Shape shifting had its advantages. And drawbacks, as the offspring tended to be shunned. Not that Seth was much better, considering his upbringing.

Seth had expected the Doctor's next question, but it was still a bit uncomfortable. Old habits and all that. "Xiodan. Call me Seth," he replied to both questions. After a moment's pause, he reluctantly added, "...or Strixatan, if you prefer."

He felt eyes upon him, and glanced back to Jaxom. The crossbreed was still tense, though he had stopped growling and whining for the moment. Good. His reaction was...unsettling, to say the least. He had no quarrel with him, and was honestly curious. Wouldn't get much in the way of answers until he calmed down. Seth met the other's gaze levelly, and then looked down. He figured that at least part of Jaxom would understand the sign of submission. He didn't like having that sort of hold over others. Sure, he could use intimidation with the best of them, but this was different. Almost felt dirty.

[The Doctor]

Working out puzzles, it’s what he liked best. The Doctor mused to himself for sometime before opening his mouth. “So your one of Jack’s people then? Never really fancied that organization.” She then went on to speak of the down under. The Doctor nodded and looked slightly surprised at her words. He found it utterly obvious that she was from Australia. Her accent was strong in his mind. How could anyone not guess she was Australian? Perhaps Humans were growing stupider and stupider these days. Blame the environment on that one, global warming was all over the post. “Thank you, I am quite the linguistic, I speak over five billion languages including Bocthy.” The last bit was a joke as everyone knew Bochty didn’t really exist as it was made up dialect from Star Wars. "Of course Bocthy doesn't really exist."

“Nice to meet you Mister Jaxom Holder.” The Doctor smiled over at him. The blond haired lad remained him a bit of someone he once knew. Maybe it was Ian Chesterton no it had to be Harry Sullivan. Defiantly Harry, good chap Harry was. Oh well, old times the past was prologue as a great man once composed. That was William Shakespeare, the universe’s greatest playwright. Actually to be honest the Doctor met the famed bard. It was back with Martha Jones. The Doctor did a lot of things in his life time, and he was only middle aged. Shifting in his seat he leaned upon his arm in a relaxed way. Something about the odd mix of alien and human made him utterly amused.

The Doctor didn’t have a motive. He never had a motive; he simply was not that sort of Time Lord. Koschei—the Master was, the Rani or Uhlas was. The Doctor never was like that. He was a man who simply was curious and liked getting himself emerged into trouble and danger. It was his life, it was all he knew for the better or the worse the Doctor was on call, he was in. Cardiff drew him along with his type 44 tt of a TARDIS to her for one reason or another and he was determined to find out why that was. “Nice to meet you Seth of Xiodan. I believe that term is modernized if I recall the history correctly. When I went it wasn’t that pretty of a planet, then again it was before the famed comet season. Too bad I missed it. Maybe some other time then.”

Then he stood up. "Well I promised Rose I would meet her sooo I am off. I presume we shall meet again." He waved to them and began to head out. "Oh one more thing, If you need me, I'll be in the little blue box on the plass." Then he poped out of the libary as he had indeed made plans with Rose.

((Doctor out, and Jade we can figure those plans out later... hehe))

[jaxie]

Jax looked over at Seth as the Doctor and Liz conversed with each other. The other just felt so weird. It was like a constant tickling of his skin. Jax itched his arm slightly as if to prove some sort of point and sighed. As Seth started to talk Jax felt himself calm even further. For reasons unknown to him, were they of some sort of blood relation…? Maybe genetic? Well… whatever it was that Jaxie felt, he really didn’t like it much. Jaxom froze as Seth met his eyes directly and then looked away. Something broke in Jaxie’s mind. He was back in control now and not on the verge of changing. He blinked several times and looked at Seth curiously. Jax returned his attention to the Doctor when the man said his name.

The Alaskan blinked his eyes a few times and then nodded his head. Simple. He kinda felt like the odd-man-out. Here Liz and Seth had something to talk to this Doctor guy about and Jax was just the “oh hey, you’re still here?” sorta guy. Confused and a little hurt Jax watched as the Doctor excused himself and left the Library. The shifter looked back and forth between Seth and Liz. There was an awkward sort of silence in the Doctor’s wake. What was he supposed to say…?

“Uhh…” he fumbled for words and sighed. “Been in Cardiff long?” he asked Liz and Seth.

[Elizabeth Wright]

Liz watched the Doctor go with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow. He was certainly as odd as they said. It was hard to keep up with him, confusing, but suprisingly fun. It had to be his general enthusiasm - it was contagious! She could see why Jack liked him so much, though not why Ianto disliked him. Maybe it was jealously. The thought made her smile.

She brought her focus back to the two people still in the library.

Been in Cardiff long?
"Not ages." Answered Liz. "Probably a month or so. Jst long enough to start to settle down. Yourself?"

[strix]

Seth could only watch, faintly bemused, as the Doctor switched between topics. Humans had a condition like that called ADHD. Not that he'd ever say such to the Time Lord's face, oh no. That probably wouldn't be a wise idea. Seth also would avoid mentioning that, secretly, he agreed with the Doctor's assessment of his home planet. He'd only been there a handful of times, granted, but Earth was much prettier. More trees. Still, he nodded in acknowledgement, silently hoping it would get him to stop talking. And then, amazingly enough, he did. Just as suddenly as the Doctor arrived, he was off again, leaving everything silent and upturned in his wake. Seth stared after him for a second. Not so much a man as a force of nature. Maybe a tornado--no, more benevolent--thunderstorm?

Seth's attempt at metaphor was cut off by Jax. He glanced back to him, and was relieved to see that the poor hybrid had settled down. Better. Seth was generally thick-skinned, yes, but he didn't like having people growl at him. In any context. He had stopped smelling like bear, too. Or Seth's senses were going back to their dull human state, and he couldn't smell anything. Either way, it was good. Between the Doctor's departure and Jax's settling, Seth was beginning to feel a good deal more comfortable. He still wasn't a fan of the prying, but he could deal. Except there was still that buzz in the back of his mind...

"This will be my third day," he replied after a second, contemplating Liz. She was young, Australian, and...studied aliens. Well, not like he was one to judge. Her job, however, was a little worrying. Seth was aware there were a few groups preventing extraterrestrial contact, but two within distance of Cardiff? All the more reason to leave quickly. "If you don't mind me asking, where do you work?" he asked politely. "I'm afraid I'm not as...knowledgeable...as the Doctor." Yes, that was the word. Or clever, or personable, or--oh hell, anything.

[jaxie]

Jaxie turned and looked at Liz as she responded to him. He smiled, he hadn't been in town much longer than she had. That was interesting. Three newbies meeting together. And somehow... Jax was certain that he was going to see a bit more of Liz later on. "Only a few months longer than yourself." He grinned at her and then looked over at Seth. Interesting... just because he knew that Seth was an alien... three days made it seem so... unusual.

He nodded his head slightly as he sorta faded into the backcrowd. He wasn't going to leave them just yet -- he wanted to find more about Seth. But he just hung back and listened to them conversing.

[Elizabeth Wright]

If you don't mind me asking, where do you work?

Liz bit her lip, hesitating mainly from habit. but continuing on after a moment regardless. "I suppose there's not any harm in telling you anyway, being what you are and all. I'm with Torchwood. We deal in, well, your general area." she explained, being deliberatley vauge. She was almost certain that telling Seth was fine, but she wasn't so sure aboutthe other one, Jax. There was something different about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it yet. "Though if you keep shifting like that in public, I'm afraid you might see us all under less pleasant circumstances." she warned light-heartedly.

Only a few months longer than yourself.

Liz grinned. "That's weird. We're all new in town. Though I have to admit, not the weirdest thing that's happened to me. I think it's just this town that does it."

[strix]

Seth listened to Liz's answer mutely, only nodding to show his acknowledgement. His interest, however, was anything but vague. The alien had heard the name Torchwood before, in fleeting, and not all that was said had been complimentary. Although he thought the one he'd heard about had been in London. Perhaps there was more than one. Besides, Liz seemed nice enough. Perhaps they weren't just monster killers. He'd have to hope so, if they had members in Cardiff. Like he needed another reason to leave this city. Only another day or so, he promised himself. Then he'd be able to leave all this behind.

Although LIz's warning was lighthearted, Seth's response was anything such. "It...shouldn't be a problem," he promised her, voice quiet but surprisingly intense. And, in truth, it shouldn't be--the last time he had accidently shifted had been when he was twelve, and even then it had been a point of embarrassment. Things like this didn't happen. It only made him worry more. Something was very, very wrong, and he didn't know what it was. If it was some illness, it was an obscure one that he didn't know of. If it was mental...well, he didn't want to go there yet. Perhaps he should get off planet, and not just out of Cardiff. That way, at least, he could be sure there wouldn't be any bystanders.

His attention flickered back over to Jax, and he gave an inward smile. The man had used the trick Seth was ever so fond of, fading into the background. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Jax was a bit of an enigma, and Seth had always been too curious for his own good. He frowned, almost imperceptivity, watching the man. What he really wanted to know was the shifter's heritage, but asking such would be awkward, at best. Then again, this whole situation was. "Who are your parents?" he queried suddenly. "As far as I know, there haven't been any other Xiodanar on planet for a while." Not since early explorers, and that was at least a hundred years ago. it was possible someone had come out here since that time, but why?