realityshifted | (no subject)

[The Doctor appears on the Plane, a mixture of utterly confused, and mildly annoyed] Oi! Bit more of an explanation would be nice! What sort of machine... [and he trails off when he notices the stars and galaxies, his expression turning to one of manic delight]

Fantastic! [walks around a bit, relieved to find that he is not falling through space, before noticing something] ...Hang on, this is all a bit wrong. Like some idiot cut up the universe and pasted it back together, but they’ve got no idea where anything goes. [digs through his pockets and eventually pulls out a red sharpie and a pad of paper, drawing out some proper star charts, and sticking them onto the “floor” of the Plane with duct tape. Because it holds the universe together.]

See? Not terribly complicated, is it? I’m sure you lot could fix it up this “machine” of yours with a bit of jiggery-pokery in no time. [crosses his arms] I’d fix it myself, but I’ve sort of got things to do, places to see, etc. So if someone wouldn’t mind showing me the way out, I’d appreciate it, thanks. [ waits for some kind of response] ...Ah. Maybe a bit of bribery? I’ve got...erm...[digs around in his pockets again, and pulls out a banana] ...a banana? Good source of potassium, bananas. [another pause] That’s never going to work, is it?

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[she just blinks at him for a minute, and then her face slowly spreads into an absolutely delighted smile]

Well, in that case, I'd love to! Oh, it's so nice to see you're not all hopeless.

[...that was just teasing. probably.]

Oi, I wouldn't say any of us were hopeless. [pauses] Well, most of us. ....No, you're right, I'm the only one that isn't. [smug look is smug, yes. thank you for that unintentional ego stroking.]

Wonderful! Well, we'll have to start you off slow, with something easy. Hm...

[thinks for a second, then snaps her fingers and.... drops off the plane. She returns almost immediately with what looks like a small treasure chest, that she kneels down and digs around in. It appears to be bigger on the inside.]

I think I've got just the thing... aHA!

[she pulls out a little folded-paper packet with something inside-- exactly what is unclear]

Here. Hold out your hand, I'll show you.

[is startled to see that the chest is bigger on the inside, but holds out his hand for the packet] Where did you get that chest, Dorothy?

Glinda. She gave it to me to keep my magic stuff in. Pay attention, now, or don't you want your first lesson?

[after fiddling with the packet a moment, she opens it and pours a tiny pile of what appears to be a very fine sparkling green sand into his palm]

Emerald Dust. Now, you've never been to Oz, I know, but the capital city there is called the Emerald City. Everything there is green, even the people! Well, it didn't use to be that way, used to be everybody just had to wear glasses with green lenses when they went in, but now it's really green. Anyway, emeralds. They're everywhere. I'd say they practically grow on trees, if it wasn't literally true.

[she's sort of rambling a little, but forgive her for being excited-- this is stuff she doesn't get to talk about very much, on the plane OR off.]

Emeralds more'n anything tend to soak up a lotta ambient magic from 'round 'em when they're growing, so emerald dust is used in most potions and a good number of beginner spells. You follow?

[...stares, because she is obviously THE Dorothy Gale, and he doesn't quite know what to do with that information, so he is going to tactfully focus on the shiny green stuff, which he really wants to experiment with] Could the potions and...spells be done without the emerald dust?

Well, sure, depending on what you want them to do. But it's a good place to start, for folks who don't have any magic in 'em naturally.

[meaning you, hot shot. She pours herself a tiny amount of dust into the palm of her own hand and, without warning, blows it gently at him. The only obvious result: now he's mildly sparkly!]

There. That oughta do it.

[what precisely that ought to do is... relatively unclear.]

[is sparkly, yay! he looks rather delighted by the fact] Alright, what happens now?

[in response, she digs in her pocket and picks out a rather ordinary looking pencil, which she holds out, and then... drops on the ground.]

Pick it up. Only one rule: you're not allowed to touch it.

[he blinks, before digging around in his pockets, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, a pair of binoculars, some string, and various other odds and ends before pulling out a rather ordinary looking handkerchief, and plucking the pencil up with it, grinning. SEE? HE'S NOT TECHNICALLY TOUCHING IT.] Now what?

[FROWN. Dorothy is disappointed in you, sir! She snatches the pencil away and, giving him a look, drops it on the floor again.]

Nice try. This time, try using a wish.

[hmph. He thought it was clever, at least. He frowns a bit himself, though...in his experience, wishes rarely come true. But he supposes it can't hurt to try, so he concentrates, wishing for the pencil to lift up off the ground]

Edited 2009-07-25 19:19 (UTC)

The first thing you gotta remember about magic, Doctor, is that at its base, magic is life. What's a bigger miracle than life itself, after all? Once you understand that, the rest comes easy.

[the pencil isn't moving yet, so she moves next to him and places a hand on his back]

Keep it in your wish. Reach out with your mind, and put the pencil in your hand. It's that simple. Touch it. You know you can.

[he's startled by the touch, suddenly awkwardly quiet. He follows her instructions, though, reaching out with his mind, and focusing on that bit about /life/. Because he can understand that, even if he doesn't quite grasp the idea of magic yet]

[There's no change, until suddenly there's a bit of a pop, like a small amount of air being sucked away somewhere, and then the pencil is gone. Until of course, it appears in his hand. Dorothy grins and applauds.]

Oh, bravo! Well done! You're a quick learner.

[looks utterly pleased with himself, twirling the pencil in his fingers] 'Course I am! Thanks, Dorothy. [and look, he's even restraining himself from going on about transmat beams]