Doctor Who | Lightning Strikes Twice
Mar. 3rd, 2008 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eponymous_roseTitle: Lightning Strikes Twice
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eponymous_rose
Word Count: 520
Rating: G
Characters: Fourth Doctor, Leela
Author's Note: Putting fic up in place of the fic that's in place of the other fic. I think. I have no idea why my mind went here.
"Well," the Doctor said, "I might have known it would be too complicated for you."
Leela bristled despite herself. "I could just- just throw this ridiculous ball, couldn't I?"
The Doctor grinned in the way that made him look considerably less friendly than he probably thought it did. "Oh, they frown on that sort of thing. Property damage, you know. Besides, if you throw it like that, I'll win by default."
"Ah," said Leela. "So I just-"
"Just roll the ball," the Doctor said.
"Just roll the ball," she echoed, and did so. It rumbled down the alley with a roar that put her in mind of the some of the more terrible storms she'd witnessed, with light pouring from the sky along with the rain. The Doctor had since tried to explain that light to her - science called it electricity, and it had to do with very small things becoming very large, or possibly the other way around.
The more he taught her about science, the more she realised it was just another way of looking at things, naming them, putting them all together in some vast tribal knowledge. She didn't see what all the fuss was about, really, but it was easier to humour the Doctor than to protest - sometimes there was a lingering fear in her, a worry that if she didn't listen to him he might take her back, leave her somewhere strange and new, disappear again. He needed her to protect him, after all - she'd never met such a clever man with such a terrible sense of survival.
She jolted from her thoughts - there was a louder clatter as the pins smashed to the ground, and this time the swell of noise felt more like the roar of victory after a successful hunting expedition. She grinned, because in most Earth games it seemed as though making the loudest sounds brought the biggest rewards.
"How was that?" she said.
"Well," the Doctor said, and scowled. "Not bad." He scribbled something on a bit of paper, stared down at it for a long moment, and sighed. "I think we should go," he said.
"Oh," said Leela. "Why?"
"Never you mind why," he said, in the voice that made him sound considerably less impressive than he probably thought it did. "We're leaving."
Leela grinned. "I'm winning, aren't I? I slew the pins-"
He winced. "Knocked them down, Leela. Don't let's be dramatic."
"I knocked the pins down," Leela amended, "better than you did."
The Doctor sniffed, ushered her into the chamber where the TARDIS had materalised, and opened the door. "It's a complicated system and a very complex game," he said. "I was weighing the vast array of mathematical probabilities based on your skill level and mine, and it just seemed like rather too much work for the quick holiday it's supposed to be."
She smiled, leaning against the console, and he glanced back at her. After a long moment, he cleared his throat, brushed past to start fumbling with buttons and switches and levers, and said: "Bowling's a stupid game, anyway."
Author:
eponymous_roseWord Count: 520
Rating: G
Characters: Fourth Doctor, Leela
Author's Note: Putting fic up in place of the fic that's in place of the other fic. I think. I have no idea why my mind went here.
"Well," the Doctor said, "I might have known it would be too complicated for you."
Leela bristled despite herself. "I could just- just throw this ridiculous ball, couldn't I?"
The Doctor grinned in the way that made him look considerably less friendly than he probably thought it did. "Oh, they frown on that sort of thing. Property damage, you know. Besides, if you throw it like that, I'll win by default."
"Ah," said Leela. "So I just-"
"Just roll the ball," the Doctor said.
"Just roll the ball," she echoed, and did so. It rumbled down the alley with a roar that put her in mind of the some of the more terrible storms she'd witnessed, with light pouring from the sky along with the rain. The Doctor had since tried to explain that light to her - science called it electricity, and it had to do with very small things becoming very large, or possibly the other way around.
The more he taught her about science, the more she realised it was just another way of looking at things, naming them, putting them all together in some vast tribal knowledge. She didn't see what all the fuss was about, really, but it was easier to humour the Doctor than to protest - sometimes there was a lingering fear in her, a worry that if she didn't listen to him he might take her back, leave her somewhere strange and new, disappear again. He needed her to protect him, after all - she'd never met such a clever man with such a terrible sense of survival.
She jolted from her thoughts - there was a louder clatter as the pins smashed to the ground, and this time the swell of noise felt more like the roar of victory after a successful hunting expedition. She grinned, because in most Earth games it seemed as though making the loudest sounds brought the biggest rewards.
"How was that?" she said.
"Well," the Doctor said, and scowled. "Not bad." He scribbled something on a bit of paper, stared down at it for a long moment, and sighed. "I think we should go," he said.
"Oh," said Leela. "Why?"
"Never you mind why," he said, in the voice that made him sound considerably less impressive than he probably thought it did. "We're leaving."
Leela grinned. "I'm winning, aren't I? I slew the pins-"
He winced. "Knocked them down, Leela. Don't let's be dramatic."
"I knocked the pins down," Leela amended, "better than you did."
The Doctor sniffed, ushered her into the chamber where the TARDIS had materalised, and opened the door. "It's a complicated system and a very complex game," he said. "I was weighing the vast array of mathematical probabilities based on your skill level and mine, and it just seemed like rather too much work for the quick holiday it's supposed to be."
She smiled, leaning against the console, and he glanced back at her. After a long moment, he cleared his throat, brushed past to start fumbling with buttons and switches and levers, and said: "Bowling's a stupid game, anyway."
