sixthiterationlogs | A New Life...Again

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A New Life...Again

WHO: Rory Williams
WHERE: Fountain
WHEN: Dec 22 -- Various Times
OPEN TO: ALL
WARNINGS: TBD
STATUS: CLOSED

A. Door to Door
You may have been curling up to a good book you had just received from the Mysterious Gift Deliveries or maybe you were getting ready to go hunting, knife and snares ready to go. Whatever the case may be there is a knock at your door. It doesn't sound very urgent, though it is firm and insistent. Maybe you ignore it. Who could possibly need to see you right this second anyway? It's a village and they can just see you at the inn later. If you do ignore it, another knock will come, this time a little more insistent, urgent and loud. This time you may decide to actually get up and open the door.

Rory stands outside on the porch of a random house. He has no clue where, when, or why he's here. He's wearing unfamiliar navy blue scrubs and is soaking wet -- which probably tells the person answering the door exactly where he came from. He's shaking violently, but he doesn't look scared so much as exasperated by his current predicament. As soon as the door opens he gives a friendly wave, "Hello. I'm Rory. Sorry to bother you, but I seem to have taken an unexpected swim in your local fountain. Do you think you could spare a towel or...I dunno maybe let me in for a minute? It's really cold out here."

The water drips off of him onto the porch or steps of the house. He really hopes he picked a good person to talk to or otherwise this is going to be even more unpleasant than his initial arrival.

---

B. Later -- The Inn
Rory has the basics, or so he thinks, of his new predicament. He's not in New York City. He's not in the 1930s. He's still without his wife. One of these things is a problem, but not one he thinks he can solve. To be fair, he'd been without his wife for nearly a week by this point -- but still, it didn't feel right and he hadn't accepted it. Now he was arguably even more out of her reach than before.

Either way, it wasn't a problem he could solve. He needed to find something more productive to focus on. Keep himself busy so he didn't dwell on that fact. The inn, as he had been told, had a lot to offer in terms of interaction and information so he had elected to visit. He was actually grateful he had because there was food available -- hot, warm, fight-against-the-cold kind of food. He was extremely happy about that and was also happy to find that there was indeed people. More importantly though there was information. Rory needed that right now so he could try to figure out what all of this was.

So, if you weren't one of the lucky few who's door he banged down to get warm. Perhaps you would come across a young man staring at the various lists, maps, and charts on the walls of the inn. He might need to be reminded that his soup was getting cold...

---

C. Waiting at the Fountain
He was dry the second time he visited the fountain and now wearing proper winter clothes. Or, at the very least, the wool socks, coat, and layers provided in the bag he'd arrived with on his back. He stood a few feet away from the fountain, near one of the benches like he might be thinking of sitting but hadn't quite committed himself to it yet. He'd had warm food and good company, but there was still someone missing. Rory didn't have faith in a lot of things -- religion or the Doctor -- but there was one thing he felt he could rely on after all this time. He felt that he could rely on the fact that Amy would make her way to him.

Sure, it'd been over a week since that time in the graveyard when she'd vanished in front of his eyes in the blink of an eye. A week since he'd found himself, once again, in a past version of New York after having just seen a gravestone with his name on it. It hadn't taken long for him to put the pieces together or what had probably had happened and what that gravestone had meant. But still, that didn't mean he'd given up. He'd wait 2000 years once for Amy and she, in turn, had come back to him every single time. They'd done the impossible for each other over and over.

In his gut, Rory was of the belief that Amy would come for him here as well. Just because she hadn't shown up in 1930s New York City didn't mean she hadn't been trying. It wasn't like she could have gone up to the Angels and say "Send me to my husband right this instant."

Actually, no, he took that back, that was exactly something Amy would have done. Or something like it.

So despite the snow, the cold, and the impossible chances. Rory had decided to come back to the fountain and see what happened. He stared off into the distance and might not hear anyone else coming as he had a far away look on his face. It was a look that was equal parts sad and weary.

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As they change course and head for the inn, Rory has to seriously consider his answer now. "Okay...give me a minute," Rory requested. He actually hadn't properly sorted out the weirdness that was his life. This was definitely going to be a bit of an eye opener. As they walked, sometimes he'd shake his head and start over, but just as they were getting to the inn he felt like he had it.

"Right. Least weird or number one would be encountering aliens on a regular basis. From there it's a Police Phone box that travels in time and space, time-travel in general, finding out your wife's imaginary friend is actually real and an alien, being trapped in a doll house with living dolls that can turn you into one of them." As he mentions each one he holds up a finger to make sure he's keeping the correct count, he realizes he's blasting past a lot of story but if he slowed down to explain each one they'd be here all day.

He looks down at his hands to confirm he's on the right number in his list, "Okay we're on six which was the shape-shifting robot piloted by people that had been miniaturized, next is surviving multiple paradoxes, then the existence of River Song, and finally the whole debacle that was the Pandorica and an alternate time line where I was a Roman auton." He wiggles his fingers, counting a spectrum of ten. He lowers them as they are now at the inn and he gets the door, "And if those all sound crazy to you I completely understand. I'm not sure I'd believe them either if I hadn't been there." And, yes, mentioning the Pandorica debacle included being erased from history -- or maybe that fell under his list of paradoxes, he wasn't sure at this point.

"Mate, you're insane," Ravi informs him, because around the third point, he'd had to concede that his life is practically normalized dandelions and joy and wonder compared to what's being described to him. It also sounds intensely familiar, but not in a way that Ravi can place, so maybe he's heard some insane asylum inmate describing these things or Liv on the wrong type of brain. He's glad when they get to the inn because he's able to make a beeline straight to the alcohol, giving a pleased noise when there's some wine left in a bottle.

"This, we need," he says, very seriously, handing Rory a full glass of wine, potentially a little higher than it ought to be. "How on earth are you still sane?"

Rory doesn't seem too offended by the accusation. As he'd already said, he'd think he was crazy too. It sounded like the ravings of a mad man, he was sure. He is glad he didn't actually go into more details, because if he'd started talking about that he might really never convince anyone to believe him.

Rory accepts the wine, it's a welcome change and distraction, "Thanks." He takes a sip, "Mostly it's a matter of trying not to think about it too much. You sort of...build a tolerance. Or maybe your assessment of 'normal' readjusts after that...I'm not sure really." Which was true, sometimes Rory wonders how he isn't a patient babbling in an insane ward. Actually, there is no evidence to suggest he hasn't gone completely bonkers. But if he started acting like this was all one mass hallucination then where would it end? How would he ever know if he was back in "reality" or not.

"What about you?" He asks, and then realizes that might not be clear so he adds, "How weird has all of this been for you?"

"Honestly, the longer you spend here, the more you start to wonder if you're actually insane. Any past experience I had definitely hasn't prepared me for this," he promises, eyes wide seeing as it's sort of the kind of strange that Ravi is still coming to grips with. "Gifts and healing and things appearing and murders and creatures that look suspiciously like they could grace the cover of the Enquirer without blinking."

"And honestly? Every once in a while, it's strangely kind, like the feast this wine came from," he says, lifting his glass. "I feel a little like I'm being punished and rewarded, all the time."

Rory just takes a sip of his wine, unsure if he should confirm that they could very well be insane right now or try to reassure Ravi that it will be okay. "That does sound like a lot to come to terms with," he paused, going over the list and then decided to go ahead and ask now because otherwise it would bug him, "And I'm sorry did you say someone was murdered?"

That wasn't going to sit well with him. His track record with death wasn't exactly stellar. Rory took another sip of the wine, it was surprisingly good for being in a place that was apparently going to kill them.

"Yes," Ravi agrees, trying not to let his mind flash back to the scene of the crime and how vividly awful it had been, even for someone who saw death in his everyday life, given his experience in the morgue. "We found the creature that did it and yes, I said creature," he clarifies, in case Rory thinks he's misheard. "It was some sort of wendigo Sasquatch beast hybrid and before you ask to see it, it evaporated in the snow," he shares with wide eyes.

"See? Honestly, my life is far stranger now than ever before," he informs him. "And not in a fun way."

See, now that was getting more into the level of weird that Rory was used to dealing with. He might have to rethink his ranking of his place if things like that were happening. "I see. Are you sure it...evaporated?" He was pretty sure bodies didn't work that way, but then again there were any number of aliens out there --- maybe it was something strange like that or maybe it had disappeared another way. "I mean...did you anyone actually see it evaporate in the snow," he decided to clarify.

Rory shrugged, "More than likely you're already getting used to it. Strange things happen."

"No sign of dragging, remnants that would speak to the body having been taken, or anything of the like," he shares. "One day here, the next, poof," he says, mimicking a disappearing wendigo Sasquatch cryptid beast vanishing with a flash of fingers. "No one saw it go, but I investigated the area after and I've seen hundreds of crime scenes in my life. I can promise you that if there had been foul play or something took it or burnt it or destroyed it, we would have seen something."

"There was nothing," he guarantees. "So, if your life was strange before and this place intends to amplify it, well then, mate, I might not want to hang out with you," he jokes. Sort of. Because if that is what happens, it could get dicey.

That definitely sounded like a disappearing body. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that it melted per say. Rory wondered if he should point it out, but he supposed how the body disappeared didn't really matter much. However, he does add, "We are stuck in an unknown location and brought here by unknown means. Whoever is doing this could have probably taken a body without us noticing -- after all they took us here without us having any memory of it happening."

He was pretty sure under normal circumstances SOMEONE would have remembered being abducted, forced out of all of their belongings, put into a pair of scrubs, and then dropped into a bloody fountain.

Rory frowned, "To be fair. Everything weird that happened to me only happened when I was spending time with the Doctor." Which probably wasn't fair, given that SOME things had happened when the Doctor wasn't around, but he was fairly certain that even then those things could still SOMEHOW be tied back to the Time Lord. Besides, he may have been waiting for Amy and he may not have been as social as his wife but that didn't exactly mean he wanted to be left completely alone. That last thing he wanted was for people to actively avoid him because of his previous experiences.

"Sort of a weird magnet? I had one of those," he shares, even though he feels like that name is so familiar and he ought to know it, it's not ringing any bells. Maybe he's losing his mind here, because he swears this has been happening all the time to him. There's something that he ought to know just in the corner of his mind, but then he can't get at it. "The whole bit where we can't remember the moment between home and here is what gets me. We must have been drugged, but there are no signs of it. We should have had puncture marks or some sort of disorientation."

Suddenly, he's got his medical professional face on as he studies Rory. "Are you feeling confused? Dizzy? Disoriented? What is the last thing you remember?" he prods, seeing as this could be his chance to get some answers.

That sounds right, but at the same time Rory can't help but wonder if perhaps with technology that can bring people across time and space -- how can you assume there isn't also technology to knock people out and erase their memories. He finally decides to speak his mind and said, "Maybe. But we don't really know what sort of other technology we could be dealing with, right?"

Rory blinked at the sudden change in topic. He should be used to that, but this place is still too new. "N-no," he considered how best to answer the fourth question, "I was walking towards Central Park, going about my usual routine." He decided not to add that 1. it was historical New York and 2. that his "routine" was going to the park to find Amy before visiting the site of the graveyard where he might also find his wife -- depending on when she ever arrived. He'd been doing that about a week now.

Ravi's eyes are already searching for any visible puncture wounds, frowning when nothing starts screaming to him by being overtly present. He lifts up his hand in order to start going through Rory's hair, but he sits back and waits for permission. It's not really in good taste to just start wiggling around a man's hair without at least a nod.

"What's the usual routine?" he asks to fill the time as he waits, still doing his medical appraisal.

Rory raised an eyebrow at him, leaning away a little. It wasn't that he was necessarily opposed to it, but weren't they supposed to be enjoying this glass of wine? "You really want to conduct this exam here? Right now?"

"Well, I was still new to the," he paused, about to say 'time' but he figured he'd already bombarded Ravi with enough of that, "area and so mostly it's doing odd jobs until I can get some work as a nurse at one of the local hospitals. I like to go for walks in the park and around the city so I can be more familiar with it, since it was likely I was going to be there awhile."

Ravi shrugs and gives Rory a look that asks what else he's doing right this moment. Besides, the longer they get away from the moment of arrival, whatever drugs or effects that might be quantifiable might be evaporating right before his eyes. "You're a nurse?" he echoes, suddenly very interested. "Did you have a specialty? Or more general practice?"

Rory is surprisingly good at reading looks. He stares back at Ravi for a moment before just relenting, "Fine. Continue."

He considers how best to answer that question. "When I started it was at a small local hospital -- I mainly worked in the Emergency Unit but honestly it was where-ever they could use me. So I guess I'd be more classified as general practice."

Ravi lights up as he leans forward to start getting his hands on his man -- so to speak, because officially Rory isn't his patient and it's not like he can just barge in and claim him, but still, he's going to and no one's going to stop him, so there. Whoever he's 'so there'ing against. "Well, I was a medical examiner before here, so the whole live people thing is getting back to old times," he admits.

Luckily, he does still have experience, so it's not like he's completely out of his depths. "Any headache?" he asks, staring at his pupils. "Auditory events? Hallucinations? Feelings of soreness?"

Well that's...not exactly reassuring. Rory tries not to squirm, but he can imagine a place stuck in the past like this was going to take what it could get. Medical expertise was still medical expertise. It isn't like he's a doctor of philosophy or some such.

"No, no, no, and no," Rory replies curtly. It is probably true what they say about nurses making the worst patients.

He gives a hum, knowing that if there's any sort of drug in his system, Ravi would be searching for a needle in a haystack, given that he has no idea how to actually find them. "Do you have a fuzzy memory between what happened last? Can you recall anyone approaching you with a needle or some other sort of drug?"

Kidnapping is still high on his list of potential explanations, but it would have to be one hell of a potent drug to get them all here and that doesn't explain the whole space and time aspect. He moves down to start checking Rory's reflexes, as if he might find something awry there, knowing that he's quickly running out of potential causes to test for.

Rory wants to reply back with more sarcasm, but decides that isn't exactly the best way to respond to someone only trying to help. Instead, Rory gives the question some thought. "It's more like a gap. One minute I'm walking through Central Park and then I'm in a fountain. It isn't fuzzy and I don't recall anyone approaching me at all during my walk."

He then decides to try asking his own question, "Is that common for people who arrive?"

"No one really can provide any kind of recollection between the last moment at home and any explanation for how they've arrived here," Ravi offers sympathetically, since he himself can't place what happened or even make a good estimation. It's all a vague mystery, sadly, and it's just something he's learned to live with.

It's stupidly, incredibly frustrating, but he's living with it. Against his will. "There's no physical evidence of foul play," he says, disappointed. He'd really been hoping to find something.

"That's strange. I wonder why," Rory muses, though he knows there won't be an answer. At least not an answer from the man he's currently speaking with and Rory is used to not always getting answers right away.

He gives Ravi a look though when he detects the disappointment in his voice, "You know, usually that's a good thing."

"There's no sign of anything," Ravi complains, which means that everything that's happening is happening for no good reason, without evidence, and it's left him perplexed, befuddled, and beginning to get frustrated and angry. "If you're here randomly, if we're all here randomly and kidnapped, then how? Why? Things happen for a reason, even if those reasons are awful and terrible," he complains.

Except, that hasn't been the case here. Here? It's the Wild West.

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A New Life...Again

this ranking took forever XDb

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