Quiet is Never an Option [Open]

[futuredoctor]

The girl was quite something to have been able to use her gifts very well. It was either psychometry or selective telepathy. Either way, the Doctor knew that the woman in front of him was a certified psychic. Although she didn't manage to find his answer 'neatly,' the Doctor just smiled at her inquiries, "Well young madam. If I were to tell you the answers, you wouldn't believe me."

The Doctor prepared to take Mickey away with him, when the Doctor felt a soft feminine hand brush into his. The Doctor's face suddenly became serious and he simply stood passively as he saw Castalia throw a bit of a fit. The Doctor then walked towards the fallen shelf and pushed it back up. The Doctor then spoke to Castalia as he tpicked up the fallen books and placed them on the shelf, "Ever wonder why you can't read anything from my mind? I was blocking it in fear that this might happen. It hurts doesn't it. You should've seen my old friend. She basically had my mind inside her. I had to wipe her memories in order for her to live. Because if I didn't, her mind would be overwhelmed by the pain and she would die."

The Doctor looked at Mickey with a rather solemn face and he said, "Rose is probably by the Bay Side where you had your little date. If she's not there, chances are she's in the TARDIS of my good idiotic self. If you find a TARDIS inside an alley near a pub, that's mine and don't you dare get inside it. If you find another blue box somewhere, I bet that's where she is. See you around Mickey"

The Doctor sighed and he followed Castalia to the back room. He took out a water jug from the pocket of his coat and he said, "Well to save you from the trouble, fancy a cup of coffee? There's enough for about...four servings in this thing. Plus it's hot."

[castalia]

Her head was reeling, but everything seemed to bit light and airy. Castalia, frankly didn't feel like herself. She felt a bit odd. Well, Cas was always odd, but even more than the usual odd. Does that make sense? No? Good. Anyhoo, She really didn't mean to piss off Mickey. He seemed like a pretty intelligent guy, someone she could get along with. But apparently she just messed that up by using her Psychic powers. Her bloody powers always got a mess of things. Sometimes she just wished that Cas could actually be normal. But then again, she really liked her oddness, and thought against it. Beside, who wanted to be normal now a days? Being ordinary was so over-rated.

She fidgeted a bit, staring blankly at the desk in front of her when he pushed up the shelf and replaced the books. A part of her wished that none of the books were damaged. After all, it was an antique bookshop. You wouldn't find any pristine books here. It was nice of him to at least help her out, seeing as she couldn't really push the shelves back up herself. Organizing the books would have to wait. Maybe like a week or so, when she could finally brush this feeling off of her.

Castalia partially frowned when he talked, wincing a bit. In a way he was right, but in a way he was incorrect also. "I didn't mean to. I cannot really control it. Psychic powers don't really come with a switch or a manual.." She put her glasses down, and pulled back her hair to one side. It was as though she was having a staring contest with a piece of notebook paper that was on said desk. That damn piece of paper keeps winning.

"It is not the pain that I was concerned about, nor about your past." She mumbled, not really wanting to go into details. She wanted to push that from the furthest part in her mind. In essence, touching him made part of the nightmare make sense, at least the part involving that particular person. However, she didn't understand it, nor was it very pleasant, so she would rather change the subject.

Thus where the tea came in. Tea was alway so calming. The problem was, she couldn't find the teapot. The Doctor apparently had read her mind, pun intended and pulled out a jug from his coat pocket. "Coffee sounds a bit lovely. I could use the caffeine." She answered, fiddling with the gold necklace around her neck. "You are not really human are you?" The question sprang out of no where. Cas didn't really mean for it to be rude, but she was trying to sort things out in her mind, and well, she was always the type that would speak from her mind.

[futuredoctor]

"It sure looks like you need it," the Doctor joked as he took two mugs from the corner and poured coffee into them. He handed one cup to Castalia and looked at her with scrutiny. He gently placed his right palm on her forehead for a second to check her temperature, while carefully blocking out his mind in the process, and concern was literally written on his face, "Seems you haven't been sleeping recently. Something bothering you?"

He took a sip and enjoyed himself as he waited for her to reply. Upon hearing her question, the Doctor accidentally drank too much of the hot coffee and he felt as it his throat was being burned off. The Doctor panicked a bit and ran towards the sink. He then began to drink the cold faucet water and after doing such, he wiped his chin off with the water and burped. The ancient Time Lord laughed at this and sat on a chair nearby. He then took off his hat and placed it on a table, "Sorry about that. Where were we?"

"Ah yes my 'origins', the Time Lord said calmly. To be honest, he was tired. Tired of repeating and repeating introducing himself to everyone he met throughout his life. If he could just hand them a copy of A Journal of Impossible Things, then it would solve that particular problem of his, but it would be rude of him if he did just that. Sometimes living too long can be quite a bother and for a man with such a fast-paced life, the Doctor certainly wanted everything to be instant. Hence, the occasional over-the-top dependence on his sonic screwdriver.

"Although I consider Earth as my second home and I became human for some time in the past, I certainly am not human. If I were, then I probably died two thousand six hundred years ago, which isn't really a good time to live in. No parties, no coffee makers, no lovely hats much like mine. If I were born in the sixties or seventies, then that would be lovely. Technicolor, disco balls and coppers arresting the wrong people, I would be in heaven," the Doctor ranted on with a smile on his face. Knowing that she probably had more questions, the Doctor looked at her with a smile, "What about you Castalia? You're from Earth right?"

[castalia]

Castalia knew by the tone that he had been joking, but her head slightly tilted when he pointed out that it looked like she needed coffee. She thought when she had gotten dressed that morning, she looked fine. Sure, her hair was a little bit on the uncontrollable side, but it usually was. Her outfit seemed to be in perfect order, aside that she wasn’t wearing her glasses at that moment. The only indication that she might not have been getting enough sleep was the lines under her eyes, but most people didn’t get enough sleep now a days. Stressing about this or that. Except for Castalia, it was painful nightmares that knocked her every night. Causing her to wake up screaming as her head felt like it was going to explode. The thing was the nightmares were always incoherent images, never really making any sense.

She looked at him slightly as he placed his hand on her forehead, slightly wincing if he might do what he had done previously, but no images shot into her mind. He was simply checking her temperature. When he asked if something was bothering her a small frown formed on her face as she suddenly set the cup of coffee down and pretended to be engulfed in the paperwork lying on one of the desks. “No, I am fine, I do not know what you mean.” She said rather abruptly. Closing her eyes, she drew in a small sigh, knowing he would pick up on her lying. After all, the only time she was good at lying was when she was telling fortunes.

She was about to tell him how she truly felt until he made quite a scene. Apparently the coffee was too hot for the man, causing him to run to her back sink to drink the cold water there to soothe the possible burns in his mouth. When he burped, she couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, still standing even though the Time Lord sat. Castalia briefly pushed the pressing matters from her mind when he spoke about where he came from. It was obvious he wasn’t human, and he wasn’t from here, and it made her curious. After all, she was most curious about things beyond the stars. It was her dream, to find out what was beyond her coffeeshop. Yet, she was to remain here, she had to. After all, who would attend to the books?

It was also obvious that he rather disliked having to tell the story. She wasn’t asking for an elaborate explanation, just a simple answer to her question. The thing was, she partially knew the answer already, but Cas remained quiet while he explained anyway. “I apologize.” Cas replied at first, setting the papers down and bringing her coffee to the table, sipping it occasionally. “You do not like to explain yourself to people, it doesn’t take a Psychic to know that.” She added, smiling when he asked about her. No one really did ask about her, then again, who wanted to know the life of a psychic? “In truth, I hope so. I do not remember my parents, they perished some years ago. Was brought up in a catholic orphanage until they saw I was psychic, thought I was a witch and casted me out!” She said. Normally, with a story like that, people were depressed, but she was estatic. “Which is how I ended up here, with the Earth’s most precious books. Although most people today do not appreciate Literature, thus why the whole fortune thing came about.” Castalia explained.

It was with that explanation she remembered what she had been bothered by before. The smile slowly faded, her finger toying the rim of the coffee cup. “To answer your previous question, no I have not been sleeping well. I’ve been getting these nightmares ever since I moved to Cardiff, ones that keep me up at night. They do not make any sense, until I had accidently brushed your arm a few moments ago. Doctor, a lot of those images were about you. Thus why I had such a strange reaction to your appearance in my shop.”

[futuredoctor]

"It's alright. It comes with the job description," the Doctor said with a smile. Hearing her life story wasn't all too pleasant at all. Maybe he should go back in time to give her a red little bicycle? But what would be too Rose-ish of him to do. Smiling at her, the Doctor took a book from his pocket, "Well it's an honorable profession. If only you were born one hundred years into the future, then you'd be a millionaire. Books like these are worth a fortune. You'd have riches that would put Bill Gates to shame by selling about...five to ten books."

Then he heard it. Nightmares and the sort. It must've been keeping her all night by the looks of it. But what scared him and worried him the most was the fact that it was all about him. All color drained from his face by hearing that. He was so surprised that he fell out of his chair as vivid memories came back to him. Last time someone dreamed about him, the Final Sanction of Time was almost done. But why him? Maybe it was about his Tenth incarnation. Yes, that might be it. But what if it was him? What if he was going to die? Recomposing himself for quite some time, the Doctor inquired of her in such a sorrowful manner, "What...what did you see? Is it a man with a brown cloak? Hear four beats? What?"

(OOC: Sorry for the short post)

[castalia]

Castalia slightly tilted her head a bit when he spoke about having to explain himself as a job description. Her eyes, wild with curiosity focused on the man called The Doctor. “Well you shouldn’t have to. Being what you are shouldn’t be considered a job. But then again, maybe it is different for you.. Time Lord.” She said a small smile playing on her lips as she took a small sip of the coffee, liking how the heat traveled down her esophagus. Cas was more partial to tea, but coffee would do just fine. As long as it had caffeine. Yet, it tasted good just the same. As far as coffee went anyways.

She watched him slowly take out a book from his pocket. It’s like his pockets were magical, pulling out things such as the coffee and the book where it looked like a normal pocket. Cas reminded herself to ask him about that at another time, or rather later. Would she see this interesting person again? She had no idea. Her life was never good enough for adventures, even though she had dreamed of them. “Yes, well others do not seem to appreciate them. Or the wrong kinds. I mean I had this one gal come in and asked for that vampire book. What was it called? Oh,Twilight. I am sorry but I cannot read a book where the vampires sparkle.” She said, a small laugh emitting from her lips.

When she spoke about the nightmares being about him, Cas noticed that he turned pallid, and looked a bit on the queasy side. Had this happened to him before? Someone having dreams about him. He seemed to be this important man, even though besides the nightmares, she had never heard of him. That didn’t mean that she was curious though. Castalia had a whole bunch of questions for him, but she didn’t want to seem rude. After all, he didn’t seem very pleased with explaining what he was, so he probably wasn’t up to anything else. Especially since she had upset him about speaking of the nightmares.

He composed himself and questioned her, causing her to squirm a bit in the chair. She put her hands on her head and frowned a bit. “I don’t know!” She growled in frustration, drawing in a sigh. That’s when Castalia looked at him, truly looked at him and the sorrow that filled his eyes. A quick breath and she shut her eyes, concentrating. She concentrated on the nights she had been trouble sleeping. She concentrated on the accidental touch of his arm a brief moment ago. And then it hit her.

“I see it Doctor. The nightmares.. the horrible horrid nightmares. They keep me awake at night, so much pain.. Something is coming. You have a terrible terrible decision to be made. Doctor, they are coming. He is coming. Discord is upon us. The fire and ash, and oh the burning. It hurts.. too much pain. Once she comes to you, it ends.” She spoke all at once, seemingly in a trance until she jerked forward. “ENOUGH” She shouted, throwing things over and backing up into the wall, tears stinging her eyes. “That’s enough.. no more.”

[futuredoctor]

Discord, fire, ash, and burning kept on playing inside his head upon hearing them. He is coming? Does that mean his old friend has been resurrected prematurely? Something? Surely it cannot be Gallifrey? But it's all happening too fast. Too fast for his hearts to cope with. Not to mention the fact that Castalia said it was about him. His end, his finale, and his final moments. So much questions plagued his torrent mind. So much questions that he wanted answers. After living for almost two thousand years in this body, he very well knew much that he won't make that same mistake again and he surely will not die until he sets things right.

The nightmares and the prophecies seemed to come back to haunt him from long ago. They always ruined his style in his opinion. Spoilers and that kind of stuff, but they always seem to come when the going gets tough. Now that the universe is in danger more than ever, a prophecy of his demise is something he didn't need.

Standing up from the chair he sat on, the Doctor's face hardened as he fixed his outfit and put on his hat. He looked at Castalia and considered trying to comfort her. Help her ease the pain, but she dabbled to much. He was partially to blame though, but sometimes being human-ish is just a pain in the arse. The Doctor walked straight to the door and opened it. He looked at where Castalia once more and he said, "Thank you for the chat and the coffee. It was a pleasure meeting you Castalia."

Then, he ran. He ran straight to that alley. That alley where the most sophisticated device throughout time and space sat, Humbling its appearance as an old fashioned police box, but the TARDIS always had more to it than meets the eye. Upon snapping his fingers, the doors of the vessel opened and the Time Lord disappeared into the depths of the ship without remembering that he left the door opened.

(OOC:Write up a finishing post here and then, pop in the continuation thread inside the 12th's TARDIS thread)

[castalia]

You know the peak of a migraine where your head felt multiple pains at once? it felt pressure, like a concrete wall was being pushed against it. It felt sharpening pain, as if tiny knives were dissecting it for further examination. It felt hot, as if being branded like some kind of bovine. Castalia felt that pain but ten times worse. The images that flowed through her mind of the vision, were as if she were experiencing it first hand. Simply put, it sucked. So forgive her if she acted completely, well human, as he put it. species were not accustomed to pain that is outside the norm; so yes, she did act out of line. Cas was not the kind of female that drew tears, she wasn't the kind of female that gave up so easily. Castalia had a lapse in judgment, and yet the stranger's reaction was the very least she had expected as well.

Now she had never observed or empirically studied any species outside her own planet, so she did no understand the emotions or object of humanity within his. She could understand his predicament. After all, Cas basically foretold the classical horror movie fortune.. Your end is near. However, he looked more confused rather than shocked. Could Time Lords even perish? Castalia had no idea. perhaps he had encountered it before. After all, she couldn't be the only real psychic in the universe. However, what got to her was his sheer disregard for her pain.

Now Castalia wasn't looking for a hug and for The Doctor to tell her it was okay and everything will be alright. No she was grown up, she could handle it. However, he simply thanked her for her time and then left. And he didn't even walk, he ran. No, that wasn't fair. here she was, opening up to tell him about her nightmares, and he blows her off, probably never to be seen again.

"Oh no you don't." She whispered, running out the door after him. After all, it's not everyday you get to meet what humans would call an alien...

[END THREAD]