entrancelogs | in the morning light [OPEN]

Entry tags:

in the morning light [OPEN]

Who: Martha Jones and OPEN.
Where: The grounds, near the gardens. (Also the clinic!)
When: 4/14 - 4/18
Rating: PG
Summary: Martha's determined to stay fit and be more prepared for any future dangers. The answer to that? T'ai chi.
The Story:
It's not that Martha's meant to slack off on her morning exercises. It's just that sometimes she has to work and ends up too lazy to get out of bed early enough to exercise before her shift. Either that, or there's an event that comes around and completely distracts her and throws her off of her routine.

Since February there haven't been any serious dangers that have hit the mansion, but that only makes her more convinced that something's coming, and soon. She's already given up one death out of five now, and she doesn't intend to let her life slip away from her again.

T'ai chi is more of a defensive form of martial arts, but it's a place to start, at least -- and with help from Blake, she's gotten decent at it. So each morning on this particular week, Martha forces herself out into the dewy mornings to train her body. She usually picks a spot out on the fields, not too far away from the gardens. It's also a way of clearing her mind, a meditation of sorts, and she finds that it puts her in a good place for the rest of the day.

Does she need to learn some actual offensive methods too? Most likely. But she hasn't quite worked herself up to ask around for that yet.

Later on in the day, Martha can be found in the clinic, as usual. She's just gone out of her way to make her shifts the afternoon ones, at least for this week, so that she can become more serious about her own training. Wonderland offers plenty of free time and she would rather make the most of it.

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"Doing well, thank you," Martha said, and she meant that. She was still trapped in this place and had been for a year, but it had been a few months since the Weeping Angels and since her own death, so she was getting back to normal.

It helped to focus on things like exercise and work, definitely.

When Minato offered to help out, Martha's face broke into a smile. "We always need more help! Well, more specifically when there's a really dangerous event on, but I'm always happy to add people to the roster."

Minato was awfully young, though, and Martha had to question what he was capable of. "What kind of experience do you have?" She felt some guilt about letting some of the younger people here work for various reasons, but he was also offering.

Normal was always good. Normal for here was hard enough to come by as it was, and they only got some minor reprieve between events, though even that was hard, what with the current crop of residents too.

Minato felt some relief, although he wouldn't have minded either if she had declined. He was just happy enough as it was to have the chance to help other people. When she posed her question, he thought it was understandable that he would be asked about what he could do.

"I can heal." He wasn't sure if that would really trump actual medical science. He hadn't tested his healing abilities on everyone yet, and didn't know how people from different words would react physically or mentally to it. "I can show you, if that'll help."

Minato paused for a moment, considering before speaking again. "At home, I did want to study medicine at the university." Become a doctor and all that. That is, if he ever got the chance to graduate high school first.

More healing? Well, that was definitely a plus. Martha knew there were a few people around who could do that, but there was only one who she was certain she could rely on. Until now, that is.

"So like Souji, then..." And Aerith, though it had been months now since her disappearance. Still, Martha remembered when the hellhounds had torn her open and Aerith had been there to put her back together with that glowing warm light.

"Don't worry, I'll take your word for it. If you don't mind, then, I might call you in when we're overwhelmed here. Your skills could be the difference between someone living and dying." So even if Martha wasn't used to magic, how could she say no to that?

"And if you're interested in medicine too, you can come by any time and I'll teach you a few things." She found it admirable that he wanted to learn the traditional way of doing things even though he had so much power at his disposal.

Minato smiled a bit. "Mn, like Souji." He wasn't sure if he needed to explain more than that since their power was similar, save for how they summoned their Personas. "You know him well?"

Since she was offering something back to him, Minato felt even more grateful and gave her a slight bow of his head. She really didn't have to since she was probably already so busy here and she had herself to look after too.

"Thank you. If it's of no trouble to you." He was actually really looking forward to learning from her, even if visibly on the outside in his expression he might not have fully shown that enthusiasm. "I'll help however I can. If I can ask, what kind of doctor are you?"

He didn't mind at all at what her specialty was, but he was just curious. She set up the clinic at all to assist with anyone who might need it; that in itself was all the qualification Minato would need, not to mention she was so nice and patient with him too.

"We're friends, yes." Though from that response, Martha got the feeling that Minato knew Souji too. They could both heal, they were both from Japan judging by their names -- was it possible they even knew each other from home? "How about you?"

At this point, any trouble that might come along with training someone was far outweighed by the help that person then provided in the clinic. Besides, Martha had discovered that it was kind of fun to teach people, so long as that person wanted to learn. Everyone here seemed to.

The question about her specialty caused her to falter for a moment. "It's kind of complicated -- I got certified in a rather unorthodox way, but I don't have a real specialty. You could consider me a general practitioner."

That made it sound far more boring than she liked, though. "I have a lot of experience with combat wounds, and I've also treated a few alien species. Suppose I'm a jack of all trades."

"I met him here. But he's from my future." Minato liked knowing that his friends knew each other. He felt more connected to them, though it wasn't to discredit any relationship he had with them on an individual basis too.

Minato hadn't questioned her on her actual credentials or qualifications as he was only curious if she had a specialty at all. He trusted in her abilities, and just had to remember though that people came from so many different universes. The term "doctor" could mean so many things and encompass just as many.

"Alien species... Have you run into those a lot at home?" Never mind the combat wounds either. But if she knew about those, then she should have plenty of experience to back up any treatments she could administer here.

Now that Martha's hearing it, she seems to recall Minato mentioning someone from his future during their first conversation. So that had been Souji? In that case, she'll have to ask Souji about what he thinks of Minato the next time that they speak. Both of them have been nothing but kind to her, so she can only imagine they're close to each other as well.

Though they're both a little quiet and reserved, she's also noticed.

At that question, Martha can't quite suppress a smirk. "You could say that. I've spent some time traveling through the universe, so I've met my fair share of aliens. All kinds, really. Things got dangerous from time to time, so there were injuries, and it just so happened I was the only doctor around. I sort of had to figure things out as I went along, but that was half the fun."

She probably shouldn't sound so giddy about treating injuries, but this is her profession and she's passionate about it.

Minato liked it though that she was so enthusiastic about it. It meant that she really did have her heart in it, and if he was going to be trained by someone, then he would want to be trained by her. Plus it helped that she knew a lot, way more than someone else who only treated humans, anyway. So that was a bonus.

"What else was it like though, traveling the universe?"

That wasn't exactly impossible given that in any other world, anything could happen. Minato just happened to come from a place where the most of the universe was still a big unknown, so it made him curious about someone else's adventures through one.

Oh, Minato, you have just opened a huge door by asking that. Martha's bursting with stories and no matter how many times she's asked, she never grows tired of talking about her travels.

"It was amazing! I saw so many brilliant things. It really opened my eyes and I learned so much. Not just about being a doctor, either, but about everything." And sometimes it had been hard, and sometimes she'd been frightened for her life, but she isn't going to mention that just yet. Better to talk about the good bits than focus on the unpleasant parts.

Granted, for someone like Martha who's attracted to danger, one tends to lead into the other. She and the Doctor hadn't been able to go most places without ending up in some sort of trouble.

"One time we went on a grand search for the best chocolate in the universe," she adds. That had been one of their more lighthearted trips.

Minato let all those words sink in, and he liked that she was so open to all of his questions.

"How did you travel everywhere? You had to have some kind of... vehicle?" Minato wasn't quite sure what word to use since he was so unfamiliar with the levels of technology in other worlds. All he had to go on was his imagination and movies and the like.

"... And did you find it?" Anything with food too always interested Minato because food is awesome.

So long as Minato has questions, Martha will answer them. This is one of her favorite subjects, and she could go on for ages if someone lets her.

"Of course we did! Well, I can't say for certain, I suppose, since I haven't tried every single kind of chocolate out there, but it earned my approval." Oh, if only she could get a lifetime supply of that chocolate. Would the closets here give it to her? Most likely not, but it's worth a shot.

As for how she got around, well, that's an easy answer. "Anyway, we used a spaceship called the TARDIS. It looks like a police box on the outside, but when you walk in it's impossibly huge!" She's used to that by now, but if she thinks too hard on it, it still blows her mind a bit.

"Where did you find it?" Minato wanted to know. Other worlds out there had chocolate, though he shouldn't have been surprised. Of all the worlds out there, there had to be some similarities among all the differences.

And TARDIS. A police box? Minato figured it must be something like a kouban, because that was the only thing he could think of.

"But doesn't anyone notice that you're going inside that police box?" Or did anyone else try to use it? But a spaceship of that caliber had to have some sort of security measure to prevent break-ins or unsuspecting people who would want to open it up.

"It was on this planet that was entirely taken up by a huge carnival," Martha said with a wide smile. "They had all kinds of strange foods there, along with the best chocolate milkshake I've ever had." So what if they'd gotten themselves into all kinds of trouble before finding it? It was still a fond memory.

That was a common question when it came to the TARDIS, but Martha had an easy answer. "Oh, it cloaks itself! And we normally land it in some tucked away place so we can hop back in when no one is watching."

Or, if they encountered people who weren't trying to kill them, then they would just enter it in plain sight. It wasn't like the existence of the TARDIS was much of a secret, since the Doctor was known all across the universe.

Minato could imagine that Martha did have her share of fun, but also a lot of danger involved with traversing to different planets. Maybe some alien species weren't all that fond of people dropping in for a visit? But to think that other planets out there had something like a carnival or chocolate? If only every planet was that pleasant.

And how convenient! The police box could hide. Minato smiled when he heard that since he wished he could see it for himself someday.

"Do you ever miss home when you're traveling like that?"

If he could ask that question regarding home. He did use "home" as in her home world and everything in it, but he wasn't sure whenever he asked anyone if they did have a place they called their own, or "home" in this case with the second definition.

It was an innocent enough question, but given how long Martha had been here in Wonderland, homesickness was a common feeling.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "Mainly I missed my family, rather than London itself, if that makes sense." Home was really more about the people that inhabited it rather than the place itself, though now that so much time had passed, she was even missing the common landmarks of London.

"I don't travel much anymore, though. Mainly I work from home, so I can spend more time with them." And to keep them safe, though she didn't want to get into that right now. Minato would probably realize that was part of it, anyway.

"How about you? What do you do back home?"

Minato nodded since that did make sense to him. He missed his friends, and it wouldn't have exactly mattered where they were as long as he was with them. But at least too she was home now. Maybe there was the chance to travel the universe again at some point.

He thought he should have expected that question back to him. Minato had debated for a moment or two, the shortest of moments, of how he should answer that.

"Besides guarding doors? Something like sleeping, actually."

The answer Minato gave her was a confusing one, and she got the feeling that he was pulling her leg. She blinked and tilted her head at him, uncertain.

"Guarding doors? You make it sound like you're some kind of bouncer at a club. Shouldn't you be at school?"

Plenty of people slept through classes, on the other hand. But he was going to need to give her a little more information than that.

"I was. It's sort of a long story."

That was probably even more confusing. Minato's smiled turned apologetic as he tried to think of a better way to go about this.

"But that door is the only thing holding back the destruction of all human life on earth, so I had to use my soul to seal it."

Minato had made it sound so ordinary at first, so when he started talking about the end of the world and selling his soul, Martha thought she might fall over.

Instead she stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly ajar and her whole face colored with concern.

"So what does that mean? You're doomed to guard it forever?" That sounded terribly lonely.

Minato shook his head. He was used to be lonely, except for his last year on earth when he was reminded again what it was like not to be lonely.

"Not forever, only until feelings of despair, hopelessness, and longing for death disappear."

So that did seem like forever. Minato found himself wondering sometimes if he would've felt those feelings more strongly had things been different. But then he smiled a bit and thought he should offer another solution.

"... Or until Souji saves me."

"Are those your feelings? Or someone else's?" Maybe it was the feelings that were hidden behind that door that were threatening mankind. It sounded a bit strange to her, that feelings alone could cause so much danger, but she'd heard stranger things.

She glanced over at the mention of Souji, mirroring Minato's smile. "Right, you said that he's from your future. Maybe he can find you."

Not that they had figured out a way to preserve memories, but it was still something to keep in mind on the off chance that they did eventually crack that mystery.

"A long time ago, I did." Minato was honest about that, and it was actually the first time he had admitted something like that out loud. "But everyone has or had them at some point."

And then when everyone had them all collectively and so intensely, that's when the world would seemingly collapse in on itself. But Minato didn't have to worry about that kind of thing here. Most everyone here was determined to go home and live their normal lives as they should rightfully so.

"It'd be nice." But it was okay if Souji didn't either. "Do you have someone from your future here too?"

It was true, everyone had low points in their life, times when things felt like they were never going to get better. Martha had always been a rather happy person, but even she'd struggled with depression a time or two, usually brought on by stress.

At that question, Martha smiled and shook her head. "No, not at the moment. There was a time when there were people here from my future, but they've left."

Amy, Clara, and the regenerated version of the Doctor had all been from Martha's future, and while she'd heard bits and pieces of what that future held, she hadn't wanted to overdo it. Spoilers and all that. "There is someone from my past here, though," she added.

"Oh, can I ask who that is?" Minato might've had a guess as to who it was, but he didn't want to outright assume. Lots of people had more than one person arrive from the same home world.

"And have you ever gone home this time around, only to come back?"

Minato wondered what else it would be like to have people from the future come and tell someone from the past about what they will experience or what will happen. Wouldn't that sometimes make someone want to stay here?

"He goes by the Doctor! He's very excitable and rather hard to miss, so you may have come across him already." Martha couldn't even keep track of everything that he got up to, but she could only imagine he was making loads of friends. That was his way. If it were up to him, he'd probably take half of Wonderland on adventures with him in the TARDIS.

Which, to be fair, sounded like quite a bit of fun, especially when compared to this place.

"And no, I've never gone home period." Sometimes she wondered if that would make this place a little easier to bear, if she had some sort of break. On the other hand, it might only make it more frustrating, to know that home was so easy to return to and yet she could never make it there herself.

in the morning light [OPEN]

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Did you want to handwave / fade to black from here?

Sure! That works for me, thanks!