[011].

[weepiperlad]

[There's a young boy hunting in the forest, cautiously creeping along from tree to tree while he tracks his prey. He's dressed in clothes which are far too large for him, and happen to look suspiciously like Jamie's kilt and a mock-neck pullover. The lad has taken the time to re-belt the kilt and adjust the pullover so things aren't in the way or falling off altogether, but he still looks a wee bit ridiculous.

The creature he's stalking may also be suspiciously familiar looking - at least to a few people. It's a cinnamon-colored ferret, who is bounding through the forest with a complete lack of concern over the lad following him. It, or, well, he, is wearing a collar with a name tag that reads 'Trouble'. He actually seems quite pleased with himself, since he's getting to roam around and play unsupervised.

The lad, though, appears to be very serious about this hunting. So much so that he seems remarkably blase about the place he finds himself in. Of course, it could just be possible he hasn't really noticed it yet...]

[In true wibbly wobbly timey-wimey fashion, Jamie's experiment has started. Feel free to assume the ferret wanders off somewhere if you don't want to deal with it.]

Comments

[waterfield]

( she even winces just slightly as he falls to his rear, but is far too shocked to be as amused as she might have been should he be his proper age and she'd caused that to happen. maybe she was dreaming... that had to be it, yes. so, moving a hand to her arm she pinched it and again found herself wincing with a soft gasp this time. oh heavens no, awake and with a child form of Jamie? what the hey... )

How did you get so... So little?! ( hadn't he just been older than herself?! well, even more older?! )

[weepiperlad]

I am not little!! [He folds his arms over his chest and scowls, mouth pulling off to one side. Some things never change. Well. Maybe those ears did, as they look like they're sticking out a wee bit more than they used to. Or maybe that's just the slightly different hair style.]

I'll have ye know that I'm taller now than I was last summer. I'll be as tall as Uncle Duncan. You'll see.

[He peers, though. Maybe that's where's she's from, although he'd not have expected it of Uncle Duncan. Jamie'd not thought he'd have an English friend.] Hey, are ye a friend of his? I don't think I've seen ye before.

[waterfield]

( briefly forgetting the conundrum, Victoria rolls her eyes and wavers her hand at him slightly. if even she is taller than he is, then yes, he most certainly is little. ) Of course you're little, look at you.

( she blinks, though. Duncan? she'd never met any Duncan and how could Jamie just forget her like that? small child or not; just what was going on here? some sort of distortion to change both his age and his memories? maybe she should look for the Doctor... )

Um, Duncan? I don't believe I know any Duncan's ...

[weepiperlad]

[He doesn't look at all pleased about still being called little, but even he knows he's still small for his age. So he lets that go for now. Besides, he's still trying to place her. There's something about her...but what?]

Ye don't? [He brings a finger to his mouth, chewing on his finger thoughtfully.] You're not new to the village, are ye? I mean, you're dressed a bit funny for it, but you're English. You'd not know any better.

[waterfield]

Excuse me, Jamie. A difference in size does not mean there should be a difference in manners. That is extremely offensive a thing to say, just because I'm English.

( wait, is she honestly scolding a tiny Jamie McCrimmon? of all the weird... )

[weepiperlad]

Hey? [He looks up at her in confusion - he didn't mean to be offensive, honestly. But they don't get many English people in his village - at all - and there's those who would take offense of their own if they knew. And dressed the way she is, it'd be hard to keep a low profile.]

N-no, that's not what I meant. It's just there's those that still remember the Fifteen that'd not like ye very much if they found out you're a Sassenach. And the way ye look...they'd notice. But if you'd not been there before, you'd not know.

[waterfield]

( it's her turn to be confused. narrowing her eyes, she tries to put together what he's just said but just finds herself shaking her head. clearly she should have paid more mind to her history lessons. )

I— What?

( she tilts her head to the young boy. ) What are you on about?

[weepiperlad]

Ye mean you've not heard of it? Aye, well. It was over twenty years ago, and you're not quite so old as that. [He peers at her again.] I don't think, anyway. So ye may not have.

[Although she does look pretty old to him. Fifteen, at least. But he's fairly sure that's still less than twenty or twenty four or however many years it's been.]

Granda says that it's when the Clans went to take back Scotland for King James, but they weren't successful. Someday, though, they'll rise up again, and I'll be big enough to help this time. Then'll we'll see what happens.

[waterfield]

Old—!? ( if she hadn't been offended before, she certainly was now. of all the nerve! ) I am far from old, young man!

( blankly, she stares at him. King James? but that was ages ago, the rule was under Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as far as she could recall, at least in her own time. )

King James—? ( she lifts her hand and slides a palm along her face, exasperated. this is becoming a rather ridiculous prank — which of course it has to be, perhaps it's a trick of the Plane — and sighs. ) Jamie, this isn't a very funny joke. Can you please just go back to normal now?

[weepiperlad]

[He frowns at that gesture, although he doesn't comment on her reaction to King James. After all, she's English, so she's obviously not going to agree with him there.]

What do ye mean 'go back to normal'? I've not changed any. Well, except for these clothes, but I don't know where mine went.

[As far as he's concerned, he just woke up with these.]

You've not seen anyone with them, have ye?

[waterfield]

Clothes—? ( she scrunches her nose, shocked at how he can think his only change has been clothes. lifting her hands, she rubs her face with her palms and let's a groan in exasperation pass her lips. )

Why would I have clothes of yours! Jamie, honestly... ( she frowns. )

[weepiperlad]

[Well, that makes two of them, in this case.] I'd not asked if ye had them. I asked if you'd seen anyone who had them...och, never mind. I'll find them myself.

[Without warning, he turns around, meaning to head back the way he came. Only this time, he winds up exiting the forest and in the Plane proper. As he finds himself surrounded by stars, he stops dead in his tracks and stares, mouth agape.]

[waterfield]

Wait, where are you going? We're not through discussing—

Get back here, young man! ( when did she turn into her nanny?

huffily, Victoria chased after the small boy and like him stumbles onto the Plane, albeit a tad more gracefully than he. arching a thin brow at this shock, Victoria turns her head to look straight in front of themselves like he is, tilting her head and shrugging her shoulders gently. there isn't anything there that shouldn't be there. what's he looking so bothered about? )

What's wrong with you? ( she glances to the child, apart from the obvious age decrease, that is. ) Jamie, are you alright Do you see something coming?

[weepiperlad]

[To adult Jamie, everything would be fine. To a ten-year old who hasn't really been outside his home village, let alone remembers coming to a place like this, it's more than a bit of a shock. He starts to look bewildered...and maybe a touch scared, too, although he's trying to hide that.]

W-where are we?

[waterfield]

( she raises her brows at his reaction. he looks so surprised and even somewhat frightened. dropping her arms from being folded over her chest she looks from him to the Plane itself and taken aback at his confusion, becomes confused herself. )

It—
The Plane, Jamie, you know that...

( didn't he? what was going on... )

[weepiperlad]

[Unfortunately, that doesn't help matters any, and he turns towards her, his expression showing that he has no idea what she's talking about.]

W-what? What's a plane? I don't like this place. I want to go home.

[Unlike when she said it, though, he completely fails to actually do so. Instead, he stays right where he is, lower lip starting to quiver a little despite his best efforts not to show anything.]

[waterfield]

( of all the difficult things to ask, what's a plane. )

Um, well, it's... ( unfortunately, Victoria doesn't really know herself. glancing to him as he tells her that he wants to go home, she raises her brows and is shocked when he remains on the Plane. it's when he looks as though he's about to break down into tears that Victoria immediately moves to kneel before him and true to most any young girl's form, slides her arms around his shoulders and pulls him into her chest to hug him warmly, comfortingly.

this isn't Jamie. or rather, it's not the Jamie that she knows. )

Shh, there there now, it's okay. It's... just that we're both lost right now, you and I... ( she figures she might as well pretend that she doesn't get it either, not that it's all that hard to do. ) But I'm in the company of a perfectly brave, young Scottish lad and I am not scared at all because of it. You aren't frightened, are you?

( ego stroking attempt, anyone? )

[weepiperlad]

[Hey! He is not about to break down into tears. He's just...upset, that's all. Mind you, he's not complaining about the hug, because it's something he really could use right at the moment. And, strangely, it feels almost right somehow. Like it's something that's supposed to be, although he can't fathom how.]

N-no. [He takes a deep breath, and his voice steadies.] No. I'm not frightened of any stars. Don't worry, miss. I'll make sure ye stay safe here.

[Yup, that worked.]

Look, we'd best get inside somewhere, though. [Juuuust in case. He looks around for a moment like he's trying to figure out the best place to go, then points.] This way, I think.

[waterfield]

( even as a little boy, Jamie's so ridiculously chivalrous. it brings a smile to her lips though she tries to hide how terribly amused she is at how well stroking his little ego worked on him. she does give a light laugh though. )

Good, I don't feel scared at all with you here, Jamie. ( glancing off in the distance at the direction he points out, she gives a soft nod. on the bright side, the pub is that way, so if anything they can stop in there for a time. ) ... I'm Victoria, by the way.

( briefly she frowns at having to reintroduce herself to him, but shakes it off. ).

[weepiperlad]

[It's not terribly difficult for to manage that with him as an adult. Him being ten just makes things that much easier. And he puffs up a little with pride when she says she's not scared with him there. He's doing well!]

Victoria? [It's a pretty name, and, well, it suits her, because she's pretty too.]

Aye, well, I'm Jamie, but ye seem to know that already. If you're lost, though, how'd you know who I was?

[waterfield]

Um, well... ( crap. she's not so good with lying so it's going to get increasingly difficult to play pretend with the younger version of him if he keeps asking her things such as that. )

You remind me of this boy I know, who's also named Jamie, is all. ( a faint blush touches her cheeks, it's not a lie in the end and it's the best thing she can come up with. )

[weepiperlad]

Oh. [Jamie mulls that over for a minute or so, considering it. And, as it turns out, that accepting nature of his helps her out a lot in this case. He nods in a rather serious sort of way.]

All right, then. Here, I'll go first.

[And he does, although he doesn't seem to be heading toward the bar. Instead, his steps seem to be going towards those things called 'batting cages' he'd pointed out to her on when she'd first arrived.]

Hey, I wonder what these are?

[waterfield]

( relieved that he buys her story, considering it's hardly believable at all, Victoria nods to him as he offers to take the lead and shrugging off the fact that he doesn't move toward the bar she does her best to keep up with his pace. )

Ah, well, I'm not really... Certain.

( she honestly didn't know what they were, at least not confident enough to explain them to him. )

They seem important to you?

[weepiperlad]

[Well, luckily his pace is rather easier to keep up with currently - a benefit of being rather shorter than normal. That's an odd question, though, and gets her an odd look.] No. Should they?

[Really, they're not even registering as anything other on the level of 'hey, what's that'? And he wants to go find out.]

I'm going to go take a look. Are ye coming?

[waterfield]

I, ah—

( and with that, she just shrugs her shoulders a bit dumbfounded, shaking her head with the shrug. she nods and motions toward the cages. )

Certainly, ah... Lead the way.