welcome

[River Song]

"It's always the running with you!"

River Song managed to gasp out her quip as she glanced over her shoulder. That's all she really needed to see that they were still being chased by a group of angry Draconians. Luckily, she was dressed in her good hiking boots and well worn clothes and was used to such situations on expeditions like these. Whenever she traveled with the Doctor, she made sure she was always wearing comfortable shoes.

And, as was mostly the case when an adventure went slightly south like this one had, the Doctor was in the lead. Wherever his brilliant mind was taking them to, she hoped that it involved a place with a good solid door with a lock on it. As of the moment the maze of a castle they were dashing through seemed like any one of the rooms they were passing would work for that end.

"It can't be this far to the TARDIS." Putting on a slight burst of speed, she attempted to catch up so that they were running side by side. It might not have been the brightest idea to ask the Doctor for something she'd never seen before, a place where any other archeologist could kill for a change to dig. He certainly had delivered, but somehow kill came across a bit too literally. It's true that most human archeologists had never had a chance to see a place like this - but that's because the Draconians would kill them. She insisted she had been up for the adventure and she certainly wasn't about to complain now. Truth be told, she was enjoying herself. "You're not lost, are you?"

Despite their life or death situation, River shot the Doctor a wry smile. It was like they were chatting at some sort of interstellar cafe if it weren't for the big intakes of breathes that chopped up her words. This sort of thing wasn't all that extraordinary on their forays into time and space. She was used to life or death situations when traveling with him. That's part of the reason she enjoyed it. What was the use of life without a little peril thrown in here and there?

[The Doctor]

Since that fateful meeting with Jack, the Doctor had felt the need for companionship. Without thinking, he set the TARDIS to land in a random time and place, but the old girl had decided to divert him to one Miss River Song. Again. Deciding this time not to fight her company, the Time Lord had gone in pretending to look at some artefact, instead managing to take River to Draconia to dig. Which, in retrospect, wasn’t the best idea. The relationship between Earth and Draconia had always been strained – at best – and they didn’t like humanity in the slightest. Now, the pair were running around a complex maze of rooms and passages inside an ancient Draconian monument. River dubbed it a ‘castle,’ which was the closest equivalent, and the Doctor didn’t correct her.

Running ahead, the Doctor grabbed a cornerstone to help him propel at an angle down another corridor. River forced herself on, and before he knew it, the woman was matching his pace perfectly. “Nothing wrong with running! Good for the heart!” As he turned his head to give River a quick grin, the Doctor then turned back to realise that they had missed a corridor offshoot. Instead, there was a dead end. Draconian shouts could be heard, curses and worse as they couldn’t move quite as fast as the human-looking intruders. River then teased about him being lost, and the Doctor was glad that the running covered his flush. “No – just… this way, come on!”

Yes, the Doctor was lost. Even with his massive intellect, these structures were still confusing. They were designed to be that way, and the Draconians weren’t a species known for their shoddy handiwork. At the end of the hallway, stone proudly told them that there was no way forward. Heaving a few breaths to gather his thoughts, the Doctor spied a door on the right hand side, previously hidden by hanging ancient Draconian weapons. Despite the situation – and his hatred of weapons in every shape and size – the Time Lord couldn’t help but be fascinated with how something so old could be kept in pristine condition without being worn away.

But that thought needed to be kept for another time.

Yanking out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor set off the small machine, the old lock vibrated into doing his bidding. A turn of the handle, and then the doorway was opened – right to a place that the pair had been only fifteen minutes before. Somehow, the Doctor had dragged them around in a large, convoluted circle. Stopping, he ran his hand down his face, quickly trying to think. “Right. Right. Okay. It’s alright, we’ll get back to the TARDIS. I just… made a miscalculation.” Now probably wasn’t the best time to pause and deduce anything – the Draconians were only three hundred yards away at best.

[River Song]

As a habit, River never questioned why the Doctor would appear or when he would. That may be considered spoilers. She was just grateful when he did - especially when she would call for him. This was one of those pleasant surprises that he seemed to live on. You never could really pin down a time traveler; it would always be a surprise with him. Which was all the same to River. She liked surprises.

Running alongside him, she gave him another grin. "I guess that's why it's always on the go with you. You've got two hearts you have to take care of." Running away from people who wanted to kill them, on another planet on another time - this was all part of the plan for her. She liked the peaceful times she spent with the Doctor, but there was an added sense of companionship when they were united against something.

As they turned the corner, River kept up with his long legs somehow - though it did make her a bit out of breath. "Honestly, it's normally not that hard to find a big blue box, but this place is like a maze. How does anyone get anywhere without finding themselves right where they started?"

The end of the hallway brought another fascination for River: old things. The weapons were in pristine condition and unlike much else she'd ever seen. While it was true they were being chased and under duress, this was what they had come here for - artifacts. The revelation was a short lived one, as the Doctor made quick work of the lock and dragged them through the door. They were back where they started.

"Well, shut the door, first!" River leaned out and saw their pursuers approaching as fast as their lizardy way. Unable to resist temptation, she snagged one of the large ancient weapons and then slammed the door behind them. "Lock it! It'll give us a chance to get our bearings."

[The Doctor]

As always, River managed to get her own witty banter back. It was rather refreshing. Even with Rose, the girl had often just rolled her eyes and let him get on with things. But River? No, this woman was definitely sure of herself. It didn’t seem to matter to her that he was a Time Lord. And, like always, she had absolutely no fear when it came to putting the Doctor in his place. He was busy worrying – with his fast-paced tongue, of course – and River jumped into action, heaving the door shut with the aid of a heavy weapon. “I’m on it,” he heaved, using the sonic device to vibrate the lock out of sync, stopping any keys from opening it. Brute force would be needed to smash through. Unfortunately, the Draconians were good at that.

Standing still for a moment, the Time Lord’s eyes never stopped moving, going through the corridors and rooms again in his mind. Closing them and rubbing his temple, he sighed. “Honestly. You’d have thought that they’d still be grateful. Stopped a plague killing them all a few centuries back.” Raising an eyebrow, the Doctor then made a noise, bending his neck slightly from side to side. “Weeeell… okay. I suppose I’m not the favourite visitor.” Although there was a portrait of his second incarnation in the large castle, the Draconians had also referred to him as ‘Karshtakavaar,’ or ‘The Oncoming Storm.’ It was apparently a title that quite a few races decided was accurate. Nothing ever went smoothly whenever the Doctor became involved.

“Anyway. TARDIS. I should really get the return function fixed.” Giving River a smile, he then heard the Draconian guards reach the door, trying to open it. It probably wouldn’t take too long for them to realise it would only take force to open – or just to go around another way. “So much for an archaeological trip for you, eh?” That sent a twinge down his spine. Despite having fun with the running and everything else, it was hard to remember everything that had gone on, knowing that he shouldn’t get close to anyone again. It would probably be a while before he deliberately went to travel with the woman again. The last thing that the Doctor needed was to become dependant on someone again, although he had to admit that he enjoyed her company.

Unknowingly taking a step back from her, the Doctor turned to the other door left to exit the room. Clearing his throat, he forced the grin back onto his features. “C’mon, then. Second time lucky, eh?” Moving towards the door, he gave one look back. “Sure you’re alright?”

[River Song]

Once the door was properly locked - or as locked as it was going to get via sonic screwdriver - River took a step backward. Still clinging to her Draconian weapon, she flipped it one way and the other, taking the moment to catch her breath and study her artifact. "Why do they keep calling you the Karshtakavaar?" She gave him a sidelong glance at the question. She didn't speak whatever language this race spoke, but the TARDIS took care of that for her. It didn't translate certain words, though. That was one of them, apparently.

"And if you stopped a plague, I don't see why they don't have a statue in your honor somewhere. I could be digging it up right now, waxing on about the brilliant Doctor and how they really managed to get his ears properly." The wry grin was back. "Oh, I love a good adventure. And, look, I got a big sort of sword out of it, so don't go apologizing. Only do that if we get caught."

However, she did notice his sudden change in mood for a moment. The change in his expression would have done it, though the step away from her cemented the hunch. It only served to remind her how hot and cold he could be toward her. One minute reveling in the chase, the next looking at her as if he didn't know how she got there. It sent a chill down her spine - possibly the same time as the Doctor's own chill. However, that wasn't about to get the better of her. She enjoyed traveling with him too much to allow mood swings to come into play. One day she would get to the bottom of it and they would all be the better for it. Until that day, she would just run with him and pick up whatever she could - whether it be a huge sword or the Mona Lisa.

When he smiled at her, though, she was quick to match it with a genuine one of her own. "Don't worry about me. I was born to run." Adjusting the sword in her hand so that she could run with it better, she followed after him to the sound of the Draconians attempting to break through.