No More Tears, I Promise.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:40 pm

Turning his gaze back to Mal's face, the Doctor studied her for a moment before breaking out into another smile and lead her over to the noddle shop, ordering two bowls of their special before settling himself into one of the stools set up at the counter. "Sit down, take a break." He said idly, waving a hand at the seat next to him before spinning the stool back around to look out at the crowds again, feeling completely at ease as he watched them scurry by amid excited chatter and laughter.

"And what makes you think I have any money by the way?" He suddenly asked, tilting his head to the side, flashing Mal another one of his smiles, elbows leaned back against the counter as he swing the seat from side to side gently. "Honestly, when have you ever known me to have any money?"

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:39 pm

Mal sat in the stool and began spinning in it slowly, people stopped to stare at her but she was oblivious to their judgement. Her head flopped back as she watched the ceiling spin, focussing on that one focal point before reaching for the counter to stop herself. What she'd done made her feel childish but she could only smirk at the thought. Mal glanced over at the Doctor, staring at him curiously as he leaned back. This one seemed so calm compared to the others. The tenth was always moving about dramatically, thinking, thinking, thinking. The eleventh... well that should be description enough. Thirteen was a wack job and she decided not to think about any of those Doctor's farther.

"Well, sometimes you do. I guess not this you, but the other you's. That sounds ridiculous. What are we going to do then? I haven't had a job in two months, money isn't exactly in my pocket. Unless you're going to whip out your psychic paper and declare we're the health inspectors. Or just run. Though I don't think the latter would be very relaxing."

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:15 pm

Eying Mal for a moment, the Doctor finally let out a low sigh and pulled out a small bag of coins, dumping them on the table so he could sort through them. "A little hint, always carry a little bit of everything with you." He said idly, pushing several coins off to the side then shoving the rest of the pile back into the bag and dropping it back into the pocket of his leather jacket. Once their bowls arrived, he slid over a couple of the coins and picked his bowl up, looking at the chopsticks a little dubiously. "Twigs, they expect me to eat with twigs?"

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:52 pm

Mal snatched up one of the coins and held it up so she could expect it. The gold was discoloured from, what she assumed, age. "Little bit of everything, eh? Is your pockets bigger on the inside , then? That would be both handy and a tad messy. Hard to find anything in it with just fishing around with your hand." As the Doctor was returning the coins she dropped the one she took back into the pouch and let her eyes wonder around.

The bowls came and Mal smiled at it, taking the chopsticks and preparing to dive in until the Doctor made his comment. She started to giggle at him, covering her mouth and setting down her own set. Mal reached over and took his chopsticks in one hand, held out his other hand with another. She set the sticks into place and assisted him with clamping it a few times. Pulling away she took her own and bit her cheek to hide the smile. "They're utensils, man. I thought you were culturally aware." The teasing was light, not meant to be insulting.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:56 pm

"Forks were made for a reason. Used universally, I would like to add." The Doctor sulked, staring at the chopsticks in his hand in irritation, fumbling with them for a moment until finally managing to pick up a single noodle and bring it to his lips. "Blimey, why would anyone look at a pair of twigs and think 'I think I'll start eating with these'?" He mumbled under his breath, scowling down at his bowl of noodles before attempting once more to pick up another noodle only to have it drop back into the bowl several times.

Fed up with culture, to slapped the chopsticks on the table and picked the bowl up, drinking his noodles down before putting it back down and wiping his mouth with the cloth set aside for him. "There, much easier." He stated simply, flashing Mal a wide grin, his blue eyes dancing with self-pride at how he overcame the twigs he had been told to eat with.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:18 pm

Mal snorted at him while she continued to use her chopsticks. Ordering take out at Chinese restaurants for the majority of her childhood served to make her a master at using chopsticks. "Well, not sure I can answer that question but I know the chopsticks are use to prevent overeating. It forces the person to eat slower which gives your brain more time to realize you're full before you've hit over the top. Also, I think using chopsticks is the only art form I can do." She grinned and shook her head. Where did that random bit of knowledge come from? No one knew.

She watched with amusement as the Doctor slurped down his food, attracting offended looks from people around. "Oh, beautiful. Aren't you clever. Maybe you'd like a gold star for your efforts?"

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:26 pm

"Why would I want a gold star?" The Doctor asked curiously, giving her an honestly confused look at her question before shrugging his shoulders, shooting a quick glance at the owners and grinning brightly with a little wave at them. "And yes, I am rather clever. I do fly my own spaceship, regularly get people out of trouble then find ways to cheer up certain people on a daily basis. So... I am clever, yes." He added suddenly, turning to Mal with his usually bright smile flashing across his lips as he watched her eat with the sticks curiously.

"Eating with twigs is a art form? I never thought of it that way, though I suppose it could be seen that way. Considering some works of art that hang in museums. Did you know that some of those splatter paintings were either accidents or just an artist testing the colors before using them? Yet so many people think it's art and hang it up for everyone to look at and pretend to think they understand this person's pain and emotion while making it." Shaking his head in amusement, the Doctor looked across the street, watching a group of children gather around a street actor as he began spinning plates for them.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:16 pm

Mal shook her head at the Doctor and continued to eat. Man, she had been starving and filling up her stomach just brought forth that fact. After taking a few more mouthfuls and chewing thoughtfully she pointed the end of her chopsticks at him accusingly, "You lack modesty I hope you know." He wasn't really listening and went off on a rant about human artwork and museums and basically outlined one of the many reasons the apes of Earth were foolish creatures.

"I'm not much of an art person anyway. Abstract art is just confusing and I don't see what's so impressive about flopping your paint brush around on a canvas. Real art should be a picture and demonstrate realistic shading and all that. I would go to see a realistic painting of, say, the Eiffel Tower, not some red and yellow splotch on a page." Mal finished up her food and pushed the bowl aside, mumbling a thanks as she placed a hang over her stomach and spun around on the stool to face the street. It had gotten impressively darker since the Doctor and her first arrived for the food. How long had they been here? Didn't much matter did it?

"Hm... so what is this Judo Era? When is it and all that?" Her mind was trying to poke her in a bad direction so she struck up the second thing that came to mind in order to divert herself from the foreboding topic in her mind. This was suppose to be a break from it all, so she wished her brain would cooperate and make it a bloody break.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:12 pm

"Hm? Oh, the Judo Era takes place about five hundred years before the Japanese reach the pinnacle of their social culture and grow together as a race rather than separate factions of the same people." The Doctor said in a distracted tone, his eyes still trained on the plate juggler as he spun one on his forehead, his eyes alight with curiosity at how he managed to do such a think without causing a mess in the street. Shaking his head, he cast Mal a smile before getting to his feet and holding a hand out to her, the other stuffed in his pocket as he looked back down the crowded walkway, debating on where they should go next. "They have games here. I'm fantastic at games, the ones where you throw little balls into cups? Win every time, I could get you a fish, imagine that, a fish in the TARDIS." He rambled suddenly, sensing her vague distress and trying to think of something that would distract her completely from it. What better way to distract someone than to ramble on about nonsense?

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sat Sep 07, 2013 12:05 pm

"Whatever that means." Mal said in response to the Doctor's answer. He rose suddenly from his chair and she was left to look at him curiously. When the word 'games' was thrown out there she grumbled a little. "Games? Oh, I suck at games. And what would I do with a fish? It would probably die on me within a few days. Hell, within a few hours. I'm hardly qualified for... never mind. Let's go play games then. But you don't get to make fun of me when I brutally fail. Remember when I tried tossing my cup in the garbage can when we met up with Sonya and that Interfect dude? Yeah, that about sums up my whole skills in a nice, little, sad bundle. So no mocking or I'll find an interesting place to stick the fish you're gonna win me."

With a mischievous little grin she removed herself from the stool and snatched his hand. She replaced the frown on her face with a tiny grin, looking at him devilishly as she thought about what he'd look like with a fish tail hanging out of his mouth.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:59 pm

"Me? Mocking? Never." The Doctor protested with feigned innocence, a glimmer of a smile hovering around the edges of his lips before Mal grabbed his hand with a evil grin of her own. "Off we go then. Let's go see if we can find any fish to win." He proclaimed brightly, pulling her along beside him as he walked along the path, his eyes searching each of the stalls they passed before finally alighting on one that held several bowls of brightly colored fish. "There we are, come on."

Tugging her over to the booth, he looked over the set up before turning to the owner and smiling brightly at the man's own smile. "Toss a ball, win a fish for your lovely woman." He said coyly, holding out a small, hollow clay ball to the Doctor. Without bothering to correct him, the Doctor plunked one of the coins in the owner's hand and picked up the small marble-sized ball, aiming carefully at the bowls before tossing it into one with a blue fish. "Ah! I told you, I am so impressive with games. Who could do better than me?" He boasted happily, nodding at the man in thanks as he brought over the clay bowl with his fish in it.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:21 pm

Mal's eyes flickered from stall to stall as they walked down the path. There were some interesting things to see: odd games she'd never encountered before, food booths, merchandise that caught her attention but she was forced to keep along with the Doctor, and stalls with curtains around it so she could only guess what was inside. They finally came across the game that was previously discussed and she stopped in front of it, rocking back and forth on her feet as she stared expectantly up at the Time Lord. "Alright, impress me- whoa wait did he just say....?" But the Doctor seemed unconcerned with the comment so she just let it slide. This time. Well, there probably wouldn't be a next time after this. No, wait, there would be, that's what he wanted, he wanted to see her again. Oh, shut up. Just shut it, Mal.

Without blinking Mal watched as the Doctor carefully tossed the ball and even gaped when it plunked right in the bowl. Oh, yeah right. Talk about an ego booster. She scowled and prodded him forcefully in his ribs. "Oh shush before you draw attention to yourself. All those big, testosterone filled manly men will come around trying to butt heads with you and prove superiority. Don't matter where you're from, pretty sure that's a male thing. And I don't want to fall witness to it. So pick up your damn fish and let's move on." To lighten the blow of her seemingly harsh outburst, Mal grinned at him and offered an awkward little pat on his head. With that she turned and started to weave her way through the crowd, wondering what sort of things the previous merchants had to sell.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:27 pm

Casting a grin over at the owner, the Doctor turned to follow Mal through the crowds, one hand carefully holding the bowl in front of him, the other covering the top of it carefully to be sure nothing would slosh the water out from inside. A wide grin settled onto his face as he kept his eyes on Mal's form ahead of him, obviously proud of his achievement. Granted he wouldn't have the fish for long, he'd end up letting someone else have it before leaving more like.

Finally drawing level with her, the Doctor flashed a winning smile over in her direction before something flashed a reflection out of the corner of his eyes, causing his head to spin towards the direction, his mouth popping open slightly as he reached out with one hand and wrapped his cool fingers around her wrist, gently tugging her in the direction of the stall loaded down with what looked to be wrist bands. The metal didn't catch his attention, what the owner held in his hands did. A sonic disruptor being turned around in them as the owner looked it over curiously. "Where did you get that?"

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:48 am

Mal was headed toward a booth that had intriguing jade statues but was soon snagged by the wrist and redirected to a different location thanks to the Doctor. She was going to complain about it until she saw the reason he had dragged her along. What was that thing? It looked interesting enough. Also looked like it really didn't belong here and especially not in the hands of some merchant at a festival. "Uhm... this is slightly unnerving. Oh, screw the slightly..."

The merchant fiddled with the device and offered the Doctor a small glance, smiling, "You like it? For the right price it could be all yours. How much have you got?" He was avoiding the question and now turned fully to face the two of them, a charming smile on his face as he tried to snare them into the trap that was known as marketing. It would make him a small fortune to sell this little device since people would give up quite a lot in order to get there grubby hands on something so admirable.

Mal cast the Doctor a sideways glance and shivered. She'd just let him deal with this. Whatever this was.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:55 am

Without taking his eyes off of the device in the owner's hands, the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a large oval, golden coin covered in Japanese writing, holding it up for the owner to see before plunking it down on the table. "I'll take that off of your hands." He muttered softly, a hand reaching out and waiting, palm up for the owner to place the disruptor into it. "More than enough for a bit of junk like that. You just happen to be lucky that I collect useless junk. In fact, I have an entire room devoted to rubbish I've found while traveling." He said suddenly, seeming to snap out of his intense staring match with the gun and flicking his eyes up to the owners with a wide smile appearing on his face as the owner slowly reached out and dropped the gun into the Doctor's waiting hand.

Without bothering to thank the owner, the Doctor turned and began striding away, already tucking the disruptor into one of his pockets, a small frown replacing the large smile that had been there only moments ago. Walking quickly, he lead Mal out of the crowds and into a small side-street that happened to be empty. Turning to face her, he stared silently down at her face, thinking to himself quietly. "Mal, there's someone here trying to get my attention. I don't know what they want it for. Most likely to lure me out and attempt to kill me." He said bluntly, not bothering to mince words with her as he slid a hand into his pocket and pulled the disruptor out for her to see. "It doesn't work, in fact, half of it's parts are missing. But face it, a single battery could change the course of history if used right. My point is this, you can stay with me in a potentially dangerous situation..." His eyes flicked down to her belly then back up to her face meaningfully before continuing on. "Or I could take you somewhere safer and come back to deal with this on my own."

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sun Sep 08, 2013 1:09 am

Mal struggled to keep up with his long strides, blinking several times in confusion as they broke away from the crowd and stopped in a nice, quiet street. Whatever that thing was the Doctor had bought, it didn't belong here. The look on the Time Lord's face made that assumption fact in her eyes. When he began to talk her eyes widened considerably larger. "Wh-what? K-kill you? Why? What...? Doctor!" She quivered in fear, biting her lip anxiously as her eyes darted around the shadows to try and spot anyone who might be waiting there, anticipating their chance to spring and murder. Who would want that? Hopefully it wasn't because of her. But it wouldn't be, no, the Doctor himself had gotten himself into a lot of trouble that would draw unwanted attention such as this. But still, she couldn't help the paranoid thoughts that stated how this was all her fault.

Mal felt self-conscious and very nervous, wrapping both arms securely around her waist. "I-I can't. I can't be apart of this. I'm sorry... it's just.. I'm no good here. I can't. But you'll be safe, right? You won't let them... of course you won't but I have to say it anyway, makes me feel better." She kicked at the ground rather angrily and refused to look back up. This was it. She'd vanish now and deal with everything again. The games were over. This was reality once again.

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sun Sep 08, 2013 1:13 am

Reaching out, the Doctor gently pulled Mal into a hug, not caring one bit if she wanted it or not. "Mal, I'm always fine. Have you ever met anyone that could kill me? No, exactly my point. I told you, I am fantastic." He murmured into her hair, simply holding her against his chest as he tried to commit her to memory. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this would be the last time they met, and it caused an uncomfortable twinge of pain to lash at his hearts.

"I don't blame you. I wouldn't forgive myself if I let you put yourself into danger while in this condition. No. The safest bet is for you to go home, sit down and wait for this little thing to pop out of you." He said with false cheer, finally pulling away from Mal and holding her out at arm's length, training his eyes on her face with a forced grin. "Come on, back to the TARDIS with you."

Subject: Re: No More Tears, I Promise. Sun Sep 08, 2013 1:25 am

Mal was stiff in his hold for a moment but soon relaxed and brought her own arms around him tightly. It made her feel sick with grief but she hoped she didn't show him that. She tucked it away to deal with it on her own, away from the friendly face and to prevent him from feeling bad in any way. Well, he would probably feel bad anyway considering he was the Doctor...

She was pushed back but still kept in his grip. Mal looked at his face but saw through his smile like glass. Hesitantly, she brought her hand up and placed it on his cheek, murmuring sadly, "Good bye." She couldn't even tell him she didn't need to crawl into the TARDIS, that he could just stay here and deal with the situation without escorting her to her destination. So instead she figured he'd see it soon enough.

Mal tugged up the sleeve to her hoodie to reveal her vortex manipulator. The etched word "Run" was ugly in her eyes, mocked her as she grimaced and plugged in, what she hoped was, the proper coordinates. When that was done her hand hovered over the button. She looked up at the Doctor one final time, giving him a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes before pushing down on the button and leaving all of this behind in a flash of white light.