ladyoftime | (no subject)

Lucy had seen plenty of police boxes, in London and elsewhere, (she'd even talked Edmund out of using one to make a prank fire alarm) but something about this one felt different, even before she saw the inside. But inside, she was astonished, and delighted, turning around and around, drinking in the strangeness with an open-eyed expression.

"It's... beautiful," she said at last, though she had never seen anything like it, in Narnia or anywhere else. Something about this strange ship felt good to her, though she was not quite sure she felt safe. Well, she didn't think the Doctor would take her anywhere dangerous. "Tell me about it," she added, moving cautiously around to see it better.

The Doctor had on that proud grin she always got when she was showing off her TARDIS to new people. (At least Lucy didn't go through 'it's bigger on the inside'.)

"Isn't she?" she agreed, fondly running a hand over one of the supports. The old girl never ceased to amaze. "TARDISes were grown and cultivated by my people. They're capable of traveling through the Time Vortex. She's sentient, and a bit pyschic. She'll translate other languages for you, makes it easier for me. Learning every language in the universe would be a bit boring."

"...why does she look like a police box?" Lucy asked after a moment. The idea of a living thing that had been grown but looked like another thing didn't bother her; she was thinking of dryads, now, imagining the TARDIS as some kind of tree. That could travel through the Time Vortex. However that worked. "You would never know she's so..." Well, the sentient ship had let her on board, so Lucy thought a bit of flatter would be appropriate. "...breathtaking."

"Her chamelion circuit- that hides her, makes her blend in with her surroundings so people don't notice her- broke a long time ago. She's had the police box shape since, and I've grown quite fond of it." (Which was completely the reason the Doctor never got around to fixing the circuit, and not because she'd tried and failed. Right.) "Outward appearance can be decieving," the Doctor agreed. From the look on her face, one would think Lucy was flattering the Doctor directly.

"I think it's charming," Lucy decided. She decided she liked the TARDIS. She had already decided she liked the Doctor. "You said she can translate, does that mean she speaks?" Which was really a veiled question of 'if I say hello TARDIS, will I get a hello back?'.

"Not in the traditional manner. I usually know what sort of mood she's in, but there's a bond between a Time Lord and their TARDIS that helps communication. I suppose someone with psychic ability would be capable of... tuning in, but she doesn't actually talk."

Lucy considered this a moment. "So it's like how Dryads understand trees and meremaids understand fish but I'm at a total loss," she decided at last. Very well. "Will you, er, tell TARDIS hello for me? And that I am very happy she has allowed me to come aboard and look around." Well, it never hurt, Lucy figured. Like thanking a talking horse, right? Right, Lucy. Just like that. (Only not.)

She laughed, just a bit. Not at Lucy, of course, but she couldn't help a little laughter. "Don't worry. It's difficult to understand if you don't have first-hand experience. She's very pleased to have you on board." And so was the Doctor.

Lucy laughed too, relieved that nobody seemed to be offended. "...just how big is she?" she asked at last, when she had relaxed a little. All these concepts were a little hard to keep up with, to be sure. But she liked the Doctor, and the TARDIS, and she hadn't had so much fun since the last time she was in Narnia.

"Even I get lost in her sometimes, she's that big," the Doctor answered. "So I wouldn't go wandering off for exploring without a way to get back." Her tone grew thoughtful. "She used to be even bigger than she is now. I had to jetison one fourth of her rooms." She had a time and a half of it then.
"Big, anyway. Bigger than some planets."

"...that's very big," Lucy said, in a tone that was most certainly awed. "I don't know much about how big planets are, but I know a lot about the size of countries..." She looked around her with new appreciation of the TARDIS. "...and of course a planet is even bigger." It would have been hard to imagine, a little police box, containing a whole world of sorts, if Lucy hadn't believed that magic could explain quite a lot of unlikely things. "It sounds to me like you and her have had had some adventures," she added, after a moment.

"Yes, yes, it is. Quite a lot bigger, usually, unless the planet is controlled by one government." She patted the support again. "More than you could imagine. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't do 'boring' well."

"I don't do boring very well either," Lucy said, her bright expression fading somewhat, to an almost glum tone. "And school is very boring." It was hard to explain to her classmates she'd rather be outside, walking through a wood, or running around with Edmund (far away at another school all year long), or swimming or having long conversations or... well, doing anything, other than sitting in class. "In Narnia I had a tutor, and that wasn't so bad. We weren't forced to learn silly things; we were told about history and the other countries we had to make alliances with, and their monarchs and their histories, and their social customs... and not a single arithmetic problem." She looked at the doctor a long moment. "...were you ever in school?"