Clara Oswald is going the long way round (alwaysbeenthere) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-04-01 07:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, clara oswald, william laurence |
Who: Clara and Laurence
What: Two friends running into one another
When: Early March
Where: Clara’s Diner/TARDIS
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
Laurence hadn’t meant to be nearly an hour early for his meeting with the Admiral, but traffic had been much lighter than he had expected, and so he had arrived at the meeting spot on which they had agreed far too early.
Once he had parked, he looked at his watch, a frown tugging down at the corner of his lips, not quite sure how he would spend the next hour. After a couple of moments, he stepped out of his car, thinking that he could pass the time by taking a nice, light walk.
The diner wasn’t the kind of establishment that Laurence would normally patronize. When he ate out, he generally prefered places that were a little more high end. But there was a newspaper rack nearby, and stopping for a cup of coffee and perhaps a sandwich while reading the paper seemed like a much more effective way of passing the time than walking for an hour. Newspaper in hand, he entered the diner and took a seat on one of the stools that lined the counter.
After her excursion to the stars, Clara had been a bit bored. Well no, she’d been doing plenty of things as she was always busy. Which included randomly running the Diner to see who might come in. Sometimes it was just former students, or people with interesting conversations to be had. Other times people needed her help. Basically, the TARDIS seemed to know when being a Diner was the right course of action.
And so she was in her TARDIS blue waitress outfit and reading behind the counter when she heard the bell announce a customer. Marking her spot, she was about to do a generic greeting when she realized that she knew who it was.
“Laurence! I didn’t know you were back in town!”
Well this was a pleasant surprise. He smiled at Clara and folded his paper - it seemed as though he wouldn’t get the chance to read it after all, though he could hardly complain. Meeting up with an old friend was much preferable to reading the news. “Miss Oswald,” he said warmly. “A pleasure seeing you here. I’ve only just returned a couple weeks ago. I had no idea that you were working here, or I would have stopped in earlier. Have you been well?”
“Always so formal.” Grinning, Clara rested her arms on the counter. Still, that made sense. She had been a bit...distracted by the stars a few weeks ago. Then there was her ever changing schedule, it was hard to keep track of the comings and goings of those in the area. Hell, she had apparently missed out on Ahsoka getting engaged months ago because of said insanity that was her life.
“It’s a part time thing. Mostly when I feel like it, it is my diner after all.” And a far cry from the high school teacher she had been before. “Seems I chose a good day to be open then.”
Laurence gave a bit of a sheepish smile. He'd been told he was too formal by half on a number of occasions, but it was better to be a touch formal than it was to be too familiar, especially when he was a captain to a crew.
“This is your diner?” Laurence asked, and immediately realized that she may take his surprise as a statement on whether or not he thought she was capable of running a diner. “Congratulations. How long have you had it?”
“It showed up about two years ago? Though it took about a year before I decided to open it up.” After all, Laurence was at least somewhat familiar with Orange County. At least she recalled him being on the network before - around the time she had started the transition from teacher to P.I. and diner owner. So at least saying it just showed up shouldn’t be too peculiar.
“So, are you hoping to stick around longer this time?” After all, she knew it had to do with his postings thanks to the Royal Navy. Still, it was a valid question.
“It showed up?” Laurence asked. He was indeed familiar with how the Orange County worked, though he had never heard of anything appearing from the dreams that was any larger than the naval uniform that he had worn in his first couple of dreams.
“I couldn’t say,” Laurence said honestly. “But my posting should be a long one. Provided they don’t send me away again, I foresee myself being here for some time.”
Clara gave a small nod, “Yeah. I mean it didn’t show up all at once, took some time for all the pieces to be together. But after a few months? I had it in its entirety.” Because it was more than just a diner, but a TARDIS as well. Though that wasn’t something she typically advertised. Still, it came in use when doing her PI thing.
“Fair enough.” After all, it was the nature of the business. She understood that. “Hopefully it will be a longer stay this time around.”
“From the dreams?” Laurence asked, just to confirm. He was no scientist and he wouldn't trouble himself with the physics of it, but even still, he had enough trouble wrapping his mind around his uniforms coming through from the dreams, let alone an entire building. The building in which he currently sat. He couldn't help but look around anew, taking it all in.
Laurence had never quite felt entirely comfortable on land. Half his life he had spent at sea in the real world, and two thirds of it in the dream world. Even while there was a portion of him that had longed to return to California while he'd been out on his most recent mission, he could hardly claim to share Clara’s sentiments. “I do hope that however long I stay, we will have more chances to speak,” he answered, because that at least was true. “If you don't mind my asking, what is it that you dream of?”
“From the Dreams.” Clara verified. She knew how it could appear and she knew that sometimes it took things showing up for the reality of the Dreams to truly set in. Even then, a ship? Or as Laurence currently saw it - a diner. But it was hardly the first ship to show up though he’d need to be on the network a bit longer to see it mentioned. No matter though. But if he thought it impressive now… well, she might decide to take him to space one day. Just because she could.
Clara herself had always had a bit of wanderlust to her. Life had kept her in place but that didn’t mean she hadn’t dreamt of travelling the world over. Now she could, and not just places and so that sense wasn’t so strong anymore as she could simply go on a whim. Or mostly. With Bucky dealing with everything and Orange County and its general pull, she wasn’t so free to just drop everything even if she could simply return to the same point in time that she left.
“Haven’t had any new dreams in two years actually…” Christmas 2015 to be exact. The day she had ‘died’ and her dad used regeneration energy to bring her to that point between one heartbeat and the last. But that wasn’t something she really broadcasted. “Anyway. Travelling through space and time with a man who calls himself the Doctor as a promise, who happens to look like my dad in his current regeneration. Adventures, saving the world, that sort of thing.”
Laurence had never watched much TV, but he was British, and therefore quite familiar with Doctor Who. For a moment, he stared at Clara, wondering if she was having him on, but she looked quite serious. It couldn’t be possible that she traveled through space and time with the Doctor Who though. After all, that was nothing but a fantasy. Perhaps one based on someone who had similar dreams over forty years ago. The idea couldn’t be that preposterous. And so, he decided to focus his attention on something else that had caught his attention.
“You haven’t?” Laurence asked, a little surprised. “So they do end then?” Laurence knew his own dreams had hardly started. Assuming he and Temeraire survived until the end, there were at least ten years to go before the Napoleonic Wars ended. Though he wondered if the timeline would be the same, given the dragons.
Somehow, Clara had never put it together. It was as if there were some sort of block that kept her from learning about her Dreams being a television show. (One she REALLY should know given she was British but it was as if that knowledge was just a blur now) Even so, it was true, she did travel with the Doctor. Who now wore the face of her father. Because that wasn’t awkward at all. No matter though.
“They do eventually end. It’s sort of hard to explain. There’s just this...feeling that you know they’re actually done and not just waiting for the next one. I still get repeats, but in terms of anything new? Nothing.”
Which was probably for the best. Even if she missed the adventure, but she could go on her own adventures now, so it all worked out.
That made a certain amount of sense, and Laurence nodded in understanding. “I’ve had no dreams this last year, but I never have truly felt as though they were done with me.” But then, how could he? The last he’d heard in his dreams, Napoleon was planning his invasion of Britain. While in this world, the invasion had never come to fruition due to Napoleon’s poor grasp of naval warfare, he had, in the last year, learned that Napoleon had once considered the idea of an invasion by air, even in this world. It was impractical to rely on the winds to carry his balloons across the Channel, but in Laurence’s dreams, Napoleon had dragons, and that could certainly turn the tides.
“So, Miss Oswald, what would you say your favourite adventure through space and time was? Surely you must have seen some magnificent sights.”
It was strange. Some people seemed to have periodic dreams even if they weren’t in the area. But that seemed more rare than anything. And Laurence had been out at sea for an undetermined amount of time versus a week or so vacation. So all someone could do was figure out if there felt like there was any sort of definitive end or not.
“That is a really good question.” One that took a great deal of thought. “I got to meet Robin Hood. Robots were attacking Sherwood Forest.” And Clara always did love Robin Hood. “Also probably my first proper adventure. Went to the rings of an alien planet called Ahkaten for the Festival of Offerings. Met a little girl, Merry Galel who was the Queen of Years who has to sing to the sun god to keep him asleep. Things went wrong as they usually do, but it all worked out. Saved the girl, saved the planet even and everyone joined in with the singing at the end.”
She’d lost a few important things - namely the leaf that had led to her parents meeting, all the stories left untold to feed an angry parasite. But it had still been an amazing experience.
A smile tugged at Laurence’s lips. The idea of robots attacking Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men (and Clara, of course) fighting them off was a far too amusing one. “All of that sounds truly fascinating,” Laurence said. “And here I thought that the dragons in my dreams had made them fantastical.”
Then of course there had been the ‘sword’ fight between her dad (well the Doctor) who was armed with a spoon and Robin Hood. But that was beside the point. There were just so many adventures she’d managed to go on in the Dreams before they had finished and while she did have repeats, there were those that just stuck out in her mind more than others. And at least those ones weren’t for the traumatising reasons some others did. “It is. And dragons are nothing to sniff at. I might have dealt with robots and aliens, but I can’t say I ever dealt with dragons.”
“They’re truly fascinating,” Laurence said. “I had been wary when I first met them in my dreams, but Temeraire, my partner, is one of the best conversationalists I’ve met in either that world or this, and he has been out of the egg for hardly six months. They’re really not at all what I expected them to be.”
Given her own lack of experience with dragons, Clara quirked a brow, “Temeraire is a dragon then? What are they like? I mean you just said they’re not at all what you expected.” Because this was a whole different type of adventure and Clara’s interest was piqued. She make not get to see any here, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hear about them.
“I myself had never given much thought to dragons at all. But in my dreams, I knew them capable of speech, but I had not realized how intelligent they would be. The aviators have always had a rather wild reputation; the nature of their job requires that they don’t have much chance to spend with polite society, and I suppose I had always just thought of dragons as animals, albeit intelligent ones capable of speech. But I’ve come to realize that they’re quite intelligent in their own right. Temeraire, for instance, is perhaps the best conversation I’ve had among humans and dragons alike.”
He realized, rather embarrassed, that he had been speaking of Temeraire in the same proud tones that he had heard father’s speak of their children’s accomplishments, and he changed course. “In fact, the training master is a dragon himself. It makes sense though, to have a dragon training the flight formations.”
Laurence wasn’t the only one who was picking up on the way he was describing the dragons. But while he was embarrassed by it, Clara thought it was cute. Which probably was the last thing he wanted so she didn’t say anything about that. But it was filed away for future reference.
“I can see that.”
Mostly. Then again given her dreams, it took a lot to truly startle or surprise Clara these days. So dragons training other dragons in flight formation? Sure. Why not.
“I am lucky that I have encountered so many people who have also experienced, and understand to some extent, these dreams. I would think I was going quite mad if I hadn’t found the Network,” he said. Talking about fighting in the Napoleonic Wars was unbelievable enough, let alone from the back of a dragon. “Especially ones who are as pleasant to speak with as you.”
“It is on of the benefits of the Network. Everyone understands the strangeness of dreams eventually, even if at first it all seems completely mental.” Clara certainly had felt it was mental when she first joined. Then again, she wasn’t big on the whole...social media or technology initially. Thanks to Dreams and the like she was better at understanding it. But still. She did smile though, “You do flatter me though, Laurence. Still, I’m glad to lend an ear. Always have been.”
Laurence smiled. “And I as well, if you’re ever in need of one. If you have a pen and paper, I would be more than happy to give you my new phone number,” he said. He glanced briefly at his watch, and the corners of his lips twitched downward slightly. “Though, I’m afraid I really must be going. I have a meeting to attend. It was truly a pleasure to see you again, Clara.”
Did she have paper and pen? Of course she did. Clara may no longer be teaching but she still kept such supplies nearby. Though it also was because if someone came into the diner who needed her to investigate things, she needed it for notes. So she was about to hand it to Laurence when he said that he had to go for his meeting. Well that was disappointing even if it was perfectly reasonable. So she instead handed him her card.
“Here’s my information. It was definitely good to see you again as well.”
“Thank you,” Laurence said, glancing over the card before slipping it into his wallet. “You have yourself a lovely day, Miss Oswald,” he said fondly, and turned to leave.
“One of these days I’ll get you to call me Clara.” Her voice was teasing but she was still pretty determined on that fact now, “You have a good day as well.” Once Laurence left, Clara picked up the book she’d been reading, “Now, where was I?”