[023]

[oliverplus]

[Oliver arrives on the Plane in the middle of the night, floating slightly in the air. it seems he didn't want to bring whatever he was sitting on with him--possibly for good reason. there is, for an instant, the vestige of a golden glint in his eyes. perhaps it's the reflection of the sudden fire in his room that caused him to flee here, or perhaps it's something else entirely]

[still in a sitting position, Oliver sustains a short, but jarring, drop to the starry ground. his eyes are wide, his expression a mixture of startled, confused, and frightened. he's dressed in only plaid boxer shorts, for the first time revealing openly to the Plane the scars on his chest and back. and, from head to toe, he is completely and utterly drenched with water. it's running all over the floor of the Plane]

What...what just... [Oliver blinks around him in bleary-eyed confusion, too stunned to even wipe wet strands of hair out of his face]

Comments

[oliverplus]

What!? No!

[pauses, hesitant, but he needs to know the truth] I could try to do it again...

[bit_impossible]

[misunderstands] Try to die again?! Have you gone completely barmy?

[oliverplus]

[blinks] Huh? No! Of course not! [he already thinks he's going to, after all]

I meant... [sighs] Well, if we went to the Plane, I could try to set a fire, and it wouldn't have anywhere to spread.

[bit_impossible]

[pats him on the shoulder] Good to know. I'm rather fond of keeping you alive no matter where we are.

But! I think testing your sudden pyrokinetic abilities is definitely what we should do--especially before the next time you have to go to bed.

[oliverplus]

[quietly] I like being alive...

[nods] Yeah, okay. Uh...should we use the book? Or something else?

[bit_impossible]

[mutters under his breath] Sometimes I wonder if the Plane doesn't...

Well yeah, we can use the book, but don't you want to know how it ends? You've still got a decent forty-three percent of the book to go!

[oliverplus]

[shakes his head, not sure what he's talking about] No, I already finished it.

So...should we go back to the Plane, then?

[bit_impossible]

Oh yes! Grab the book and I'll set up some chairs for us on the Plane.

[and he drops from the Plane, immediately heading for a spot where he knows there are a pair of armchairs just sitting around. he grabs them and starts to drag them back to where he appeared]

[oliverplus]

Okay. [he blinks when the Doctor disappears, but he quickly recovers. he walks over to his bureau and picks up the book where the Doctor left it. for a moment, he pauses, frowning down at it. then he shakes his head to snap himself out of his thoughts and returns to the Plane after the Doctor]

Doctor?

[bit_impossible]

[calls, still dragging the chairs] Over here! [stops and sets the chairs up to face each other]

[oliverplus]

[sees him and jogs over] ...what are you doing?

[bit_impossible]

About to go look for a matching coffee table set and telly. [not really] Have a seat! [motions to one of the chairs while sitting down in the other]

[oliverplus]

[uncertainly] Okay... [sits in the seat across from him, nervously running his fingers along the burnt texture of the book cover]

[bit_impossible]

Now. [leans forward] Get comfortable, put the book on the ground, and don't force yourself. Probably best you didn't. I mean really don't. I really don't want to see what might happen if you do.

[oliverplus]

Uh...yeah, okay... [sets the book on the ground, rather closer to his own chair than to the Doctor's. he doesn't want to cause any more accidents if he can help it. he shifts his position in the chair, but he's still sitting really quite straight and stiffly, too nervous to relax. he twiddles his thumbs, staring down at the book]

Um...

[glances at the Doctor, not sure where to start. if you can set things on fire, how do you do it? he glances back at the book. he has one idea, though it's not one he particularly likes, but since the book doesn't seem likely to light itself on fire, he sighs. then he closes his eyes, trying to remember his dream]

[it only takes seconds before the book bursts back into lively, bright flames]

[bit_impossible]

[his eyebrows shoot skyhigh] Ohhhh, look at you! [immediately slides out of his seat to crouch down near the burning book, but he glances right back at Oliver before he inspects the book again] What were you thinking of?

[oliverplus]

[Oliver opens his eyes the moment the book catches fire. the Doctor may catch, for an instant, that they are glowing gold]

Oh, god... I...just, the dream.

[the dream--and dying. because the feeling of being lost in the darkness of the dream was the same feeling as the spell Robespierre used to kill him, but he doesn't want to tell the Doctor that]

Wow, I...I did do it... [stares at the book for a moment. then, a thought striking him:] ...how are we gonna put it out?

[bit_impossible]

[he did catch it this time and is already in the process of pulling out his glasses to inspect the book--and then finally scrambles over to Oliver, grabbing his face to look really close at his eyes. thankfully, his mental shields are firmly in place]

It'll burn itself out. No need to worry! [continues to inspect Oliver's eyes]

[oliverplus]

I--hey! What-!? What are you doing!? [tries to pull away from him]

[bit_impossible]

[isn't fazed by this at all and keeps hold] Inspecting your eyes, hold still!

[oliverplus]

What!? What for? [he does at least stop struggling, though]

[bit_impossible]

[blinks] You didn't know? Your eyes glowed an interesting gold colour around the time you did that. [pulls the sonic screwdriver out now, shining it in Oliver's eyes]

[oliverplus]

...what!? No, I didn't know! [eyes the sonic nervously, though he blinks a little at the light] ...they aren't doing it now, are they?

[bit_impossible]

Well, they're a bit blue at the mo' but that's not any of your doing. [puts the sonic screwdriver away] Your eyes are just normal. Nothing but normal... Bit boring, really.

[oliverplus]

How can they be normal when they were glowing!? I just set a book on fire! With my mind! [flails slightly. this is a bit too much at once for him]