Life Less Ordinary, Chapter 2
Chapter Title: Fields of Gold
Author: stormwolf10
Summary: Rose and the Doctor arrive at their destination and take in the beauty around them.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Doctor Who canon characters.
After traveling with the Doctor for a couple years, Rose knew better than to have anything less than a death grip on the console as the Doctor made his usual failed attempt at a smooth landing. So, as the TARDIS lurched to a sudden halt, she gritted her teeth and held on tight, peering curiously at the Doctor, slightly distorted through the cylindrical time rotor. He sported a large grin as he lifted his head to look back up at her with a relief she hadn't seen from him in months.
"So, where are we then?" she asked as the TARDIS' systems quieted down.
The Doctor sauntered around the console, kissed her softly, then gently turned her around and gave her a nudge. "Go and find out," he said.
Rose smiled over her shoulder at him, then bounded down the ramp to the doors and flung them open, squinting a bit at the burst of sunlight that greeted her. They were up on a hill, overlooking a stretch of land in dappled gold and green from horizon to horizon. Far in the distance to her left, she could see the outline of mountains jutting up into the sky, and to her right, the sun had just finished slipping into the wispy clouds.
The Doctor rested his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "Welcome to some of the most beautiful land in all of North America. Well, before it became overrun with people traveling west, that is."
"It's is beautiful," she breathed.
"We are in what will be known as South Dakota, and off to your left are the Black Hills. Considered a very holy place by the native people here. And the date is the twelfth of November, 1833. The morning before the first great Leonid meteor shower observed by astronomers, seen far and wide across the North American continent. They say that hundreds of thousands of meteors could be seen streaking across the sky. They even made a song about it. I'd sing it, but I'd only embarrass myself."
"And an earthquake as well?"
The Doctor leaned over and raised an eyebrow at her. "No...and that's a funny way to respond. What about, 'Blimey, that's a lot of meteors,' or 'No, Doctor, I don't think you'd embarrass yourself if you tried to sing.' Just...wait. Earthquake?" He lifted his head and looked around, feeling the rumbling of the earth that Rose was speaking of. Then, with a loud hoot of excitement, he pointed off in the distance to their right at a cloud of dust that was rising into the air where the sound was coming from. "Look, Rose! Here they come!"
"What, the meteors?" Rose said with a skeptical look.
He pointed again with increasing excitement. "No! Buffalo!"
The Doctor was right. Soon, the plains in front of them became filled with a veritable river of the giant hairy beasts, far too many to be counted. Rose laughed in amazement as the herd swarmed across the landscape, flowing over hills with a grace she wouldn't have thought possible for such large creatures. "This is amazing!" she shouted to the Doctor over the roar of hoofbeats.
"Yes it is. Oh, yes it is..." he beamed back at her, then spoke more somberly as the last of the herd had gone out of sight, "They're almost all gone by your time, except for a few protected groups. The native people revered them as bringers of life, in a way. Their meat for food, hides to keep them warm and sheltered...every part of them that could be used was used for some purpose or another. Then the strangers came and slaughtered them thousands at a time simply for their hides and tongues, leaving the rest to rot. It was a great tragedy for the native people. Their way of life was centered around these animals, and they were hunted to near extinction."
"Still, this is before it was all gone, right?" Rose asked hopefully.
The Doctor nodded and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "Yeah," he said with a half-smile, "The white men had started coming around, but the really bad times won't start for another few decades." He then pointed off to the distance ahead of them, near a winding river. "There's a village just over there. Care to visit?"
She looked skeptically at him. "We won't be causing a problem or anything? I mean, we both have white skin."
"Never stopped us before, did it?" he grinned, "Still, just be respectful and everything should be fine. If we are where I think we are, that's a band of Lakota, who are a very kind and generous people. Besides, the TARDIS translation circuits give us an advantage that the white settlers didn't have; the ability to communicate freely with them. I promise, as long as we don't start trouble, everything will be fine. C'mon!"
"'Everything will be fine'...that's what you always say,'" Rose muttered with a smirk as she followed him across the field.
Author: stormwolf10
Summary: Rose and the Doctor arrive at their destination and take in the beauty around them.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Doctor Who canon characters.
After traveling with the Doctor for a couple years, Rose knew better than to have anything less than a death grip on the console as the Doctor made his usual failed attempt at a smooth landing. So, as the TARDIS lurched to a sudden halt, she gritted her teeth and held on tight, peering curiously at the Doctor, slightly distorted through the cylindrical time rotor. He sported a large grin as he lifted his head to look back up at her with a relief she hadn't seen from him in months.
"So, where are we then?" she asked as the TARDIS' systems quieted down.
The Doctor sauntered around the console, kissed her softly, then gently turned her around and gave her a nudge. "Go and find out," he said.
Rose smiled over her shoulder at him, then bounded down the ramp to the doors and flung them open, squinting a bit at the burst of sunlight that greeted her. They were up on a hill, overlooking a stretch of land in dappled gold and green from horizon to horizon. Far in the distance to her left, she could see the outline of mountains jutting up into the sky, and to her right, the sun had just finished slipping into the wispy clouds.
The Doctor rested his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "Welcome to some of the most beautiful land in all of North America. Well, before it became overrun with people traveling west, that is."
"It's is beautiful," she breathed.
"We are in what will be known as South Dakota, and off to your left are the Black Hills. Considered a very holy place by the native people here. And the date is the twelfth of November, 1833. The morning before the first great Leonid meteor shower observed by astronomers, seen far and wide across the North American continent. They say that hundreds of thousands of meteors could be seen streaking across the sky. They even made a song about it. I'd sing it, but I'd only embarrass myself."
"And an earthquake as well?"
The Doctor leaned over and raised an eyebrow at her. "No...and that's a funny way to respond. What about, 'Blimey, that's a lot of meteors,' or 'No, Doctor, I don't think you'd embarrass yourself if you tried to sing.' Just...wait. Earthquake?" He lifted his head and looked around, feeling the rumbling of the earth that Rose was speaking of. Then, with a loud hoot of excitement, he pointed off in the distance to their right at a cloud of dust that was rising into the air where the sound was coming from. "Look, Rose! Here they come!"
"What, the meteors?" Rose said with a skeptical look.
He pointed again with increasing excitement. "No! Buffalo!"
The Doctor was right. Soon, the plains in front of them became filled with a veritable river of the giant hairy beasts, far too many to be counted. Rose laughed in amazement as the herd swarmed across the landscape, flowing over hills with a grace she wouldn't have thought possible for such large creatures. "This is amazing!" she shouted to the Doctor over the roar of hoofbeats.
"Yes it is. Oh, yes it is..." he beamed back at her, then spoke more somberly as the last of the herd had gone out of sight, "They're almost all gone by your time, except for a few protected groups. The native people revered them as bringers of life, in a way. Their meat for food, hides to keep them warm and sheltered...every part of them that could be used was used for some purpose or another. Then the strangers came and slaughtered them thousands at a time simply for their hides and tongues, leaving the rest to rot. It was a great tragedy for the native people. Their way of life was centered around these animals, and they were hunted to near extinction."
"Still, this is before it was all gone, right?" Rose asked hopefully.
The Doctor nodded and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. "Yeah," he said with a half-smile, "The white men had started coming around, but the really bad times won't start for another few decades." He then pointed off to the distance ahead of them, near a winding river. "There's a village just over there. Care to visit?"
She looked skeptically at him. "We won't be causing a problem or anything? I mean, we both have white skin."
"Never stopped us before, did it?" he grinned, "Still, just be respectful and everything should be fine. If we are where I think we are, that's a band of Lakota, who are a very kind and generous people. Besides, the TARDIS translation circuits give us an advantage that the white settlers didn't have; the ability to communicate freely with them. I promise, as long as we don't start trouble, everything will be fine. C'mon!"
"'Everything will be fine'...that's what you always say,'" Rose muttered with a smirk as she followed him across the field.