InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Where are Sam and Dean?!"

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (shallnotlisten) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-11-19 14:55:00

Entry tags:

!closed, jeanne-antoinette poisson, the doctor (11)

WHO: Reinette Poisson and The (Eleventh) Doctor
WHAT: Reinette's arrival in Colligo and an unexpected reunion.
WHEN: Early afternoon; around 2PM.
WHERE: The Grand Library, to start.
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, who really did prefer to go by Reinette as her entire name was a positively ridiculous thing to constantly have to say, was confused.

The last thing she remembered, she had been picking out a star. Not just any star though. No she had been picking out a star so she could see it, up close and in what should have been an utterly impossible, yet was still happening, manner. So when she found herself in one moment in the familiar surroundings of Versailles, and the next she was waking in a library she'd never before laid eyes upon, she was understandably confused. She at first assumed the Doctor must have come for her as she slept. However a few calls of his name, and a few quick searchings of the nearby aisles, proved futile. The next thing she thought was that she'd been abducted. It was a bit of a stretch, really, as she wasn't the Queen. Yet it was still feasible.

But then, why would they put her in a room with mostly blank books? And with guards that weren't even real? A close examination of her surroundings told her that something else had to be going on. Yet before she could come up with what that might be, the guards that had seemed like nothing more than metal statues, were alive. They also refused to listen to reason and, much to Reinette's shock and anger, they wasted no time in gathering her up and hauling her out of the library. She objected - everything from 'unhand me' to threats upon their very existence that she knew she'd never be able to carry through with - but nothing seemed to work. Which is precisely how Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, mistress of King Louis XV, found herself deposited in a very strange city with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing and a very odd-looking device that she stubbornly refused to examine. Whatever it was, it had been given to her by her captors, so she felt no need for it.

She didn't toss it out, though. That didn't seem particularly wise. She instead held onto it with one hand and drew her skirts up a bit with her other. Head held high and expression a curious one, she then warily took a few steps down the stairs. Ignoring the strange things around her (there would be time to explore later, she hoped), Reinette tried her best to get her bearings and decide on the best course of action. The library hadn't offered very much in the ways of clues that she could see and she was loathe to try her luck with such terribly rude guards. However the city beyond seemed even more overwhelming. Uncertain on which way to continue, she simply stayed halfway down the stairs and watched, silent and all but transfixed, as a handful of people who were oddly dressed and seemingly unaware she was even standing there, made their way past.

(Post a new comment)

amadmanwithabox
2010-11-19 11:52 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't the first time the Doctor had been in the library. It wasn't even the first time he'd been locked up in the library, though he spent a greater number of his visits free than not, which he personally counted as a win. It was, however, the first time he'd heard a new arrival shouting for him while he was locked up. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, which he never actually used on screws no matter what the name might suggest, he popped the lock on the cell and ran toward the sound of his name.

When he reached the main area of the library, he saw someone being escorted out and took a moment to look over the books for any new names he recognised. Best to go into this with some knowledge, after all, in case it was one of the many people who did not like him or actively wanted him dead. Or River...since he might have unintentionally proposed marriage the last time they talked. Might be a bit awkward. Sirius Black. Complex wiggly sigil...what kind of name is that? He flipped it open. Oh! Crowley. Well, that was odd. Freya...oh I hope they don't mean the Norse one...nevermind, no j. G. Lestrade...they don't even put his full name on the book, but they'll do a complex wiggly sigil for Mr. Crowley. Odd, that. Jeanne-Antoi- he stopped and stared at the book. Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. Madame de Pompadour. Reinette.

Running out of the library, past the guards, he stopped as he spotted her. She looked just as she had the last time he'd seen her, and he felt a jolt of regret at the memory of how he had been too late to keep his promise to her. He stood there for a moment, uncertain, before he finally spoke. "Hello, Reinette," he said. Unlike many, she had seen inside him and she understood regenerations. Hopefully, she would accept him without too much trouble. "Were you looking for me?"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

shallnotlisten
2010-11-20 12:33 am UTC (link)

The voice was different but, even as she turned, she knew. One glance upward at where he stood and, although he looked to be a different man entirely, she still knew. The corners of her mouth quirked upward as she once more hitched up her skirts but this time began ascending the stairs.

Her eyes swept over him, drinking in everything about him. From the way he stood to what he wore - her smile growing a bit at the sight of the bowtie - until finally she paused with just a step left between them. He looked completely different... until she reached his eyes. There was something about them that was still wholly familiar; the pain, the sense of loneliness and loss, all of it shone brightly back out at her through intelligence that most couldn't even fathom. Reinette's smile softened.

"It would seem I'm the one who has been rude this time," she said lightly, her tone ringing with amusement and fondness. "As you're the one who has changed, Doctor."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

amadmanwithabox
2010-11-20 10:07 am UTC (link)

"Only a bit," the Doctor said with a small smile, in response to her comment about how he had changed. His tone was fond and a little shy, as if he wasn't sure what she would think of this incarnation and he desperately wanted to measure up. "And you are never rude. Not even a little."

Just looking at her, he could remember the way he had felt around her and he was filled with a nervous sort of anticipation. He wanted her to like him and he felt thrilled and confused and a little bit terrified just being near her. He knew there had been something before, but he wasn't sure how she felt about this self, or even how he felt about her. Attraction to anyone was something he was terribly uncomfortable with, and he wasn't sure how to act with her.

"It...it's very good to see you again, Reinette," he said. "You look...just like I remember. Exactly like."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

shallnotlisten
2010-11-20 10:21 am UTC (link)

The smile remained in place. Light, with just a touch of humour around the edges, it was an expression only those who truly knew the real Reinette were meant to see. Her public smile was much more poised and unreadable, often simply sitting upon her face while listening to some bore babbling on while she thought of other, far more interesting, subjects to occupy the time.

She laughed softly at his last comment, eyes sparkling with merriment as she closed the distance between them so they were standing on even footing rather than a stair apart. "I should think so, Doctor," she replied with bemusement, "as it has only been mere moments since I last spoke with you."

She knew, based on his reaction to her, that their paths were not going to cross again in her own time. Reason told her that she should be sad about that realization, and she knew in her own way she would. However she was hardly going to allow what would never come to be there, affect her ability to enjoy the opportunity presented here. And while propriety told her that it wasn't proper to embrace a man who was, by many accounts, a veritable stranger - particularly in a setting as public as this one - Reinette frankly couldn't find it within herself to care at the moment. Let those who might witness it whisper if they wished.

And with that thought in mind, she closed the remaining distance between them and all but pulled him into a soft hug. "Even so, I must admit I had already begun to miss your presence," she said quietly as she pulled back from the hug and once more smiled at him. "Your looks has changed as well," she commented next, idly reaching out and tweaking his bow-tie ever so slightly before pulling her hand away and meeting his gaze.

"If I may be so bold as to say, it suits you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

amadmanwithabox
2010-11-24 03:22 am UTC (link)

"For you maybe," the Doctor said with a sad smile. "For me it's been quite a bit longer, as you might have guessed." She'd been able to see him in a way not many could, and even if he hadn't regenerated, he was sure she would have recognised the age and added weariness in his eyes. He was old and he was tired

It made him a bit sad, more than a bit really, to see companions on the slow path when he moved so quickly. For her it had been moments, and for him it had been lifetimes. He was a very different man from what she remembered, and he wondered what she would make of the changes. He could only hope she would still think well of him.

He looked down. "I've changed," he said, "in more than just looks...a lot has happened and I'm not the same as I was when I left you." This was always so difficult. But something about her put him at ease and he returned the hug with no hesitation. "I went back for you," he said, "but you know how unpredictable those connections were. I was too late. Years had passed and you were gone." He felt a wave of sorrow just saying it. "I missed your presence too."

He smiled shyly. "You wouldn't be you," he said finally, "if you weren't bold. But...ah...I'm glad you think so."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

shallnotlisten
2010-11-24 04:07 am UTC (link)

The news that she wouldn't see him again in her own time wasn't shocking. As stated, she'd already deduced as much herself. However, it was a bit more real hearing it directly from him. Her smile remained but her eyes shone briefly with sorrow at the thought. She forced the feeling away, content to deal with it on her own time.

Laughing lightly at his shy smile, she tilted her head a bit as she studied him. "You have changed, haven't you?" she questioned, the smile fading into a thoughtful look. "Your eyes, however. They remain the same. So very old, so very tired, and always so lonely." Almost without thought, feeling as though she were somehow back in the relative privacy of Versailles rather than standing on a step in the center of a city she'd never before seen, Reinette raised one hand and gently cupped his cheek.

Then the device she held in her other hand vibrated and beeped. Startling a bit at the noise, Reinette drew her hand away as though burnt and immediately dropped her gaze to the PDA. "Doctor," she said with a slight frown of concentration, blue eyes darting from the screen to the man in front of her, "it would appear I have received a map."

She held it out for him to see, part of her wanting to ask him just how it worked and part of her wanting to wait and figure it out for herself.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

amadmanwithabox
2010-11-25 10:23 am UTC (link)

"I have," the Doctor said. "That's the way of regenerations. I can't stay the same, as much as I might want to. I have to change...I have to become something different or die." He paused. "I guess in some ways I do die, just a little. But I keep on going." It was a bit depressing when he thought about it. But he hadn't come here to be depressing, so he wouldn't. "I guess I don't think too much about how strange it must be to see the changes and not see...the change I guess." It just wasn't something that often happened. Even Sarah Jane had known about his regenerations before she'd met his tenth self.

"Not so lonely," he assured her, and it wasn't entirely untrue. He had Amy and Rory, but there was always something missing. "But certainly old. But that comes with age, doesn't it?" When she brought her hand up to his cheek, he couldn't help leaning into the touch and closing his eyes for just a moment. It felt nice, comfortable and exciting all at once. He wanted more of that feeling, even as it confused him.

Then the moment was broken by the sound of her PDA and the Doctor stared at her, wide-eyed and suddenly nervous. "Yes," he said quickly. "A map. It does that. It's called a PDA. Personal digital assistant. You can use it to communicate and it also shows you where you'll be staying. Things like that. It's not too difficult, and I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly, clever as you are."

(Reply to this) (Parent)