Flynn's tautness from worries about leaving the book somewhere visibly drains with the Doctor's disarming demeanor as he explains he'll pay the sextant due attention. Given what she'd seen and the shape of this place felt he at least stood a good chance to get himself out of as much trouble as he got into with the sextant. This Tardis shared much of the same sort of inner space as her book though this was a complicated thing that took groups of competent Twitch to arrange.
Flynn nodded, "Thank you, Doctor. I don't want to get an entire family of engineers mad at me for losing one of the few we have. I'll go get a mask."
View attachment 211952The library had a number of masks there though many seemed too ostentatious for her or bright colors that drew notice. A reacher was not that sort. One removed in a quick selection and examination was burnished steel with faint curved plant markings that ought to break up her profile. Lips were bound by straps that might help avoid the locals trying to talk, and her sight was constrained, but Flynn could only look forward anyway. Dark eyeholes would help to hide her own eyes' changes when switching to see the light. Straps went over her head as a felt lining caressed her face to test the fit. Cold metal on the flesh is uncomfortable for one used to feathers, so she was glad she didn't have to put up with it.
Realizing she ought to have a more fitting name for the humans flipped back to color vision to glanced over the books and picked a name off of one of the spines stuck out a bit that seemed to fit what little she knew of the human era. Flynn Alfred Prufrock. The name repeating in her head to get used to the words so she'd learn to respond when she heard it.
Though as she walked barefoot across the tardis floor stopped to the closet to pick a set of long cloth boots without the strange daggers on the back of the foot and a palmless leather glove that reminded her of the arms the Far and Deep used for training. The nature of her race's ruling body cared for elegance though they obsessed over functionality just as much. An inedible reacher just had to look useful and appealing according to their station, and that was enough for them. The vampires of the Sanguinary were otherwise unforgiving.
The Tardis is left behind as the Doctor shooed them out to carefully slide out of the door to stand to one side of Thea while holding one wrist with her hand. A look to Thea to see if she was interacted with then eyed the distance of a gleaming city lying behind the nobles. A faint glimmer quickly vanished from Flynn's eye as she changed back over to hunter's sight again. Color vision lacked for distance As much as she appreciated the art of the terribly bright and colorful city.
The ancient man with the young face simply smiled at Flynn's expression of appreciation and nodded once. When she returned with a mask, though, he gave her an approving beam and two emphatic thumbs up.
Thankfully, the wardrobe was every bit as accommodating with apparel and she found all she could make use of.
Once outside, the bustle and energy of the vibrant human city seemed very much a contrast to the time ship's cooler interior. While the Tardis was rarely quiet, it lacked the omnipresent murmur of thousands going about their lives. And the garish costuming of these humans...
Shirou was clearly amused at that idea of the Doctor being able to brazenly appear just about anywhere with people ignoring the strangeness of the TARDIS...though underneath that, he also felt a pang of sadness, as he knew how hard it could be for ordinary people to truly care about things beyond the scope of their personal lives, or beyond their immediate social sphere.
It was another difficult aspect of choosing the path of heroism. His care for others' wellbeing and happiness went far beyond the norm for most people, and he knew that. He accepted that most people simply wanted to live their lives in peace, and not get roped into the trouble of trying to resolve issues beyond their perceived means or responsibility. But even so....it often felt like a lonely path. There were so many things he couldn't possibly solve on his own, and he sometimes wished more people shared his drive for helping others.
The young man shook his head to clear his thoughts. This wasn't a good time to get stuck ruminating. "Well then, I guess we should get out there and start exploring. Thanks for the upgrade on my phone, I appreciate it," Shirou said with a smile, giving the Doctor a nod before following the others out the door of the TARDIS. His mind raced a bit at the idea that he might be able to call someone in his home reality now, but he set that aside for now. The team needed to get it's bearing first, figure out what was happening here.
Shirou stepped out of the TARDIS behind Thea, looking around the courtyard. The city was quite impressive, built with high-quality stonework and plenty of intricate decoration, and adorned with a variety of vibrant colors and greenery. Columns, domes, and arches were present everywhere, and it definitely reminded the young man of some of the old buildings he had seen while in London.
For now, Shirou decided to let Thea talk with the nobles, and turned back to the others in the group. "I think we should start by simply taking a walk around the city and observing. That way we can get familiar with the area and maybe see if we can spot anything out of the ordinary," he suggested.
"
Don't mention it," the Doctor said to Shirou, with a charmingly disarming smile that turned into a slightly pained expression when he added. "
And I mean that. An old friend of mine, Zoe, managed to lose hers in the 23rd century and the lot that got hold of it put up a webpage, commissioned a trio of orbiting satellites to scan for the mobile signal and even launched a space station out into space to go look for me. Three thousand years later, I caught up with one of their colony worlds. All because they wanted free calls!"
Visibly shuddering at the memory, the Timelord brightened once more at Shirou's friendly departure and he patted the young man on the back. "
Right, off you get. You know where I'll be. ....Well, you know when I'll be. .......Well, just ring if you need a lift."
"Why would there be a problem? A work like this, as it is, adds an ineffable quality to this lovely courtyard we're standing in, don't you think?"
"Yes, it does add an ineffable quality to this courtyard." Thea agrees with the pair. Her analysis of their conversation, clothing and mannerisms equates to individuals who will not question when their conclusions are agreed up by others. The impracticality of their attire, the tone and cadence of their speech, register on her human psychology algorithms as 'Prideful and self-absorbed'.
"Has there been anything that does not go well with the bouquet of the city?" Theas asks to begin their investigation, mimicking their cadence. "Offensive, maybe?"
The pair using the Tardis as a prop for their self-admiration pause that for a moment to listen to Thea's inquiry before the man shrugs it off. The woman, however, gives a gay little laugh.
"
Besides the elves and the Fereldens?" She appeared to think the question over before answering with, "
I suppose there's that little war to the south but I've no doubt they'll settle it soon enough. The Chevaliers du Ciel have always proven up to the task, or so their Lord Picard claims. Lord indeed." Even underneath her mask, the grimace is palpable. "
His name's Orlesian enough, though I've never heard of a Jean Luc Picard among the Picards of Chateau Claose, but an Admiral needs a fleet and he has none. Just a motley collection of..."
She at last seemed to notice the rest of Thea's party departing the Tardis. And her sentence trailed right off as a result.
David Ludlow
David watched as Thea took the initiative as the Doctor ushered them out, having to bow his head as he walked through the door. One of the downsides to being tall was the fact some doors were hazards to him.
"Be right behind ya, kid." David responded to Shirou as he looked at the surroundings. Now David wasn't too great with beautiful architecture as he was a simple man who preferred the simplicity of things in everything. But even he had to whistle at the sights, place was nice to the eye. Old fashioned, and simple to a degree.
Walking along, David looked at the rooftops, windows and for any alleyways, places where one could use for recon or future advantages.
David was in fact who immediately drew the woman's attention, and even her male companion for a moment. Clearly, no one in the immediate area (or even the distant crowds) appeared to rival the man's height. And while they studied him, he had a chance to study his surroundings. Done in an ancient style, but seemingly well maintained and even newly wrought in many places. Stone stairwells allowed ascent and descent through three different levels of this...marketplace? Condominiums? This part of the city had a curious mix of residential and commercial property, with a lot less of either given the scale of the city and the seize of these crowds. Plainly, most of the traffic was on their way through to somewhere else.
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At which point, the doors to the Tardis swung shut with a creak and a curious thudding sound that reverberated through the air, the ground and even one's bones. Moments later, a rising groan came from the box as the light on top began to flash.
"
You see there?" the well-dressed man asked, pointing emphatically (and pointlessly) towards the Tardis in hopes of catching his female companion's attention. "
To me, one of the most curious things about this piece is its wonderful afunctionalism."
"
Yes, I see what you mean," she replied, relieved at his diversion so she didn't have to try to figure out how this party fit into the society she understood. "
Divorced from its function and seen purely as a piece of art, its structure of line and color is curiously counterpointed by the redundant vestiges of its function."
"
And since it has no call to be here, the art lies in the fact that it is here."
Just then, the blue box began to drag itself out of existence, a sense of lingering resistance only overcome through fits and bursts of effort. And yet the vessel's disappearance soon became absolute, leaving only a fading cry akin to a steel blade being rasped over the cords of piano wire. The whole effect took perhaps half a minute, leaving the Tardis crew still on the ground in the midst of an immaculately cared for medieval courtyard overlooking a bustling street of commerce.
"
Exquisite," the woman murmured absently.
"
Absolutely exquisite," the man said agreeably.
Bored now, the pair promptly walked away without a second glance at those the blue box left behind.
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With David leading the way, the party can find a multitude of rooftops, windows and alleyways that could be used for recon or future advantages. They also find a thoroughly medieval culture, albeit one closer to the Renaissance for those who knew their history. The opulence and wealth on display likely claim from the exploitation of the poor, unwashed masses but the labor of the underclass was mostly invisible, concealed by the passage of wealthy nobility, well positioned attendants, and the merchants and servants that tended to them.
It was a gorgeous, bright, sunny day. The air was remarkably clear, although the discerning nose could scent not just wood smoke but the distant fumes of factories from somewhere. And the ears were positively filled with the sounds of people, not machines. Wagons and horses, birdsong and laughter, and the lilting tune from a nearby tavern of some kind.
...and just perceptible now, the faint thrum of engines. Jet engines? Airplanes?
What was that in the sky?
It
was airplanes. Impossible airplanes, given the obvious gap in technology. And in their midst a giant dirigible. The great behemoth must have spanned at least 300 meters. Despite the theoretically much greater velocity of the curiously antiquated airplanes flanking it, the giant blimp was somehow matching their speed. Perhaps owing to what resembled a...tornado?
A sideways tornado, emanating from a curious slash in the sky affixed within something only binoculars could tell is a doorway wrought of hewn tree branches bound together with leather straps, the doorway itself positioned on a wooden platform that trailed the blimp yet remained attached through a series of steel tethers. ...Somehow, that open doorway was emitting a colossal windstorm that the dirigible was deliberately using as a means of faster propulsion.
Only a few people on the street seemed to have noticed much of anything. But those of you familiar with the sound of engines, with the keen senses to take in the sight above, see one last signature bit of relevant information.
The dull gray canopy of the blimp is struck through with a white circle on a field of red, a certain crooked black swastika brandished so that even those on the ground could see the ominous symbol. And even as the party has had a minute to begin reacting to the blimp with its accompanying flight of scores of airplanes, hatches begin to open and parachutes deploy...
"