Curiouser and curiouser [open to multiple]

[theoldgirl]

The TARDIS doesn't sleep, and she certainly doesn't dream, except under very rare and usually adverse circumstances. But with the Doctor safely tucked away in one of her bedrooms, catching up on his sleep and comforting her by his presence alone, she does allow herself to relax enough to do something akin to dozing. Many of her systems power down to stand-by, she becomes less aware of her surroundings, and for a while she thinks nothing in particular.

To her surprise, she suddenly feels something tugging at her awareness, a telepathic current that, upon more conscious inspection, doesn't appear to be coming from anywhere. Curiosity piqued, she allows the current to draw her focus away, though not before making sure it can't affect her mind against her will. What is it going to show her?

Comments

[theoldgirl]

She raises an amused eyebrow right back at him. "It was 'demi-god' not long ago." If he can't even be bothered to keep his own designation straight, she isn't inclined to find it particularly trustworthy.

"And you didn't answer my first question." Yeah, she didn't mind leaving him his secrets about his universe, but his powers are a rather more immediate concern to her. Though if he wants to apply that definition to the word magic, she can certainly accept that; words matter so little to her anyway.

[has_a_horn]

He smiles at her amused expression. "Fine, demi-God. Can't blame me for trying to impress."

When she reminds him of her first question, he sighs. "The rift took a few of my powers. The whole creation thing? It's limited." He gives her a look, almost exasperated by the topic. "Which is a bitch, by the way."

[theoldgirl]

That's certainly good to know, but she just immediately sympathizes with him, nodding in commiseration. "This universe is limiting me too. I can't travel, and Time is almost completely obscured to me." Which is so upsetting, she can't help it bleeding slightly into their shared awareness. "I abhor being so confined."

[has_a_horn]

Feeling her distress is somewhat unexpected, and for a fraction of a second he pulls away from the feeling. It's been a while since he's shared mind space with anything that wasn't human and his instinct is to protect himself rather than commiserate.

After that initial reaction, though, he relaxes almost immediately and tries to project some calm back to her. "You and me both, babe." He takes a sip of his drink and hmms over a thought. "Whatever's containing everyone in Manhattan is doing it in all dimensions. I can't slip back through time, either."

[theoldgirl]

Sensing him pull away and then try to provide something like comfort is enough to distract her from her dark thoughts and she reins in her feelings, projecting a quick sense of both apology and thanks. It really is good to be communicating with another psychic being and it wouldn't do to sour that.

"My most severe limitations aren't due to the rift but the very nature of this universe. The rift is actually..." Keeping her alive, but that's a weakness she knows better than to share even with someone she likes. "-helpful, in some ways." But if he can't time travel, does that mean she couldn't either even if the Doctor manages to modify her for storing enough rift energy for a short hop? It's a worrying thought, and she frowns into her drink. "Though I had presumed my disconnect from Time itself was also due to this universe being... wrong, but I suppose interference from the rift could be exacerbating it." She sighs discontentedly.

[has_a_horn]

"Huh." He shakes a finger in her general direction as he gathers his thoughts. "No, no, you may have something there. I've been assuming the rift energy is what's causing my problems...and that's definitely part of it..."

He raises his eyebrows at her, his smile briefly widening. "You should have seen the mess when I tried to slide back through the rift. It did not like that. Bang, boom, and my unconscious ass back twenty feet from where I started." He huffs out a short laugh. "But you're right. It could be the universe too." He throws back the rest of his drink. By the time he sets it back on the table it's already been re-filled.

"The rules are different here, I can tell that much." There's no heaven to draw power from, for starters. He's like a glorified rechargeable battery here.

[theoldgirl]

As glad as she is to be sharing information like this, and with someone who actually understands what being trapped in this universe feels like, they're not really any closer to any definite answers. It could be the universe limiting him, it could be the rift confining her, she may or may not be able to travel in time at all... Only speculation.

At the mention of trying to return through the rift, she releases a humorless huff. "I fought the rift as soon as I arrived here. The Doctor - my pilot - spent the last two days repairing the damage that did me." She finishes her drink too, but the sweet taste is no comfort at all. "If I was here when you tried to leave, I must have felt the ripples. But there are fluctuations in the energy levels almost daily, I try not to pay too much attention to them." Even though it's like trying to live on a diet of nothing but chunky soup - frequently too thin to be properly nourished by it, and occasionally thick enough to choke on it.

[has_a_horn]

He laughs. "Wait, the Doctor is your pilot?" He's going to need confirmation on this one, because he's having some trouble picturing the two of them co-existing. To be fair, the Doctor did seem to have the technical know-how, but he wouldn't trust him with much of importance. At least not until he gets to know him better.

He flips a photo up out of thin air, holding it up to her for confirmation. On it is an image of the Doctor sitting in a Starbucks, seemingly both mid-conversation and shoving a cookie into his mouth. It's definitely not the most flattering image Gabriel could have conjured up. "This guy?"

[theoldgirl]

That certainly startles her out of her gloom and she stares at the picture, though naturally not finding it particularly strange or amusing. But Gabriel's disbelieving air feels a little too close to mocking, and it's making her somewhat defensive. "Yes, I see you've met him. Is that so surprising?"

[has_a_horn]

Okay, so he was mocking. Just a teensy bit. He turns the picture around to look at it himself. "Seems like a common face around here." he says, while still looking at the photo. The Doctor is good-looking, he decides, if a bit mad and excitable. So different from Peter, whom he knows a little better.

"I liked him." He's hoping to deflate that defensive posturing of hers, but it is the truth. He wouldn't mind seeing the two of them working through a theory or two, his mania bouncing off of her solid logic. It'd certainly be interesting to watch. For a moment, he wonders if it's taboo for a ship and its pilot to get romantic, but as said ship is still in his head-space, he doesn't dare carry that thought very far.

When he finally looks up, it's with a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. "Has he figured out why he's manifesting kittens yet?"

[theoldgirl]

What, does he want to watch them getting romantic? As though she would mind going on about her relationship with the Doctor at length. But as it is, she decides to believe Gabriel's placation and is visibly mollified. Just don't get any ideas about talking badly of him, at least until she's more comfortable with you.

At the mention of the kittens she can't help shaking her head in both amusement and uncertainty. "He wasn't even aware he was the source until I told him. It is a side effect of the rift, though a very odd one." She's just not at all comfortable with the rift changing people.

[has_a_horn]

He'd rather get involved, but sure, he's willing to make sacrifices.

Gabriel wasn't entirely sure that the Doctor had been the one behind the kitten appearances, but the TARDIS handily confirms it for him. His initial suspicion had been that someone had taken to creatively surveilling the Doctor, but with no one else being followed by rogue kittens, it was a long shot. "Seen any other interesting side effects?"

[theoldgirl]

"Only enhanced telepathy in humans, which is at least more in line with what rifts of this kind normally do." For someone who loves exploration and adventure, she can get pretty prissy about cosmic laws and phenomena not behaving the way they 'should'. It's unpredictable and incomprehensible, two things she does very badly with. But, she supposes reluctantly, possibly still worth learning more about. "The Doctor may have encountered others. Have you?"

[has_a_horn]

"Oh yeah. Telepathy, definitely. Spontaneous teleportation. Time reversal." He preempts what he knows is going to be a request for clarification. "The time reversal isn't impressive. Minutes."

He scratches the side of his face, considering. "Could be triggered by strong emotions. The teleportation too." Yeah, Gabriel has a tendency of eliciting strong emotions from people. Call it a gift.

[theoldgirl]

Her face darkens at the mention of time manipulation powers in the hands of someone probably completely inexperienced and irresponsible, but it is reassuring to hear it isn't significant. She thinks she may have felt something like it not long ago, but she hadn't realized what it was amongst all the other anomalies she's confronted with here, which means it must be negligible.

She considers Gabriel's suggestion of a trigger. "That could apply to the feline manifestations as well, I will have to ask the Doctor." They did appear when her and him had just reunited and were amplifying each other's happiness, but one occurrence is hardly enough data to support a theory. "Speaking of whom, he will be waking up soon, I should return my focus to him." She gives him a smile and a sincerely friendly brush against his mind. "I enjoyed speaking with you, Gabriel."

[has_a_horn]

He nods back to her, returning her psychic gesture more out of reflex than any real intent. It's the psychic equivalent of giving an awkward pat on the back to someone hugging you. The thing is, it's been so long since he's done any communication that way that it's become unusual for him. "Right back atcha," he adds, and smiles as she disappears from view.

He sits for a moment enjoying the Venetian light before stepping out of the dream himself.