After a chance encounter with his oldest, dearest friend, the Doctor found himself somewhat out of sorts--he knew, logically, that no one could function solely independently, and yet he also preferred it over having to explain himself to others.

Besides, he was fully capable of investigating things on his own.

The TARDIS had brought him to an abandoned factory, empty conveyors and cracked walls, early twenty-first century Earth. His base, now.

He had climbed a catwalk above the main workroom in search of a better viewpoint--slinking through the dark, not stopping to look behind him, long limbs bumping into things as he went. Two long beeps in his ear and he breathed a curse.

"Oh, are you new?" Nothing about the stranger's appearance stood out. He didn't look like a worker, past or present. Luke's hands wrung themselves into a tight knot.

"You are not!"

She spoke without thinking-- but more thought hardly changed her opinion. He looked nothing like the Doctor!

... Who must be somewhere here, if this was the TARDIS. If this was the TARDIS, the home she only somewhat remembered, altered by time. Zoe stepped in further, coming to study the console. Some of the dials and gauges she still knew. Her hands gripped each other at her chest. Was it too early for hope?

Zoe Heriot. He knew that name! Of course, how could he forget? The Doctor hadn't touched his previous regeneration's memories in years. And yet at the sound of her name, it all comes flooding back. He's grinning now, awash with childlike glee. "Zoe Heriot. Ah, I knew I recognised your name!" Definitely not a tourist, all considered.

starter (still accepting) for @hopeturned (Luke)

"I thought we were a team." Petulance crept into his tone, making him sound younger than he was. "Why is it that when I want to help, I just get shunted to the side? I'm not a child anymore."

this is his first step towards creating art: a lightbright. from what he understands, it is supposed to be a toy, one he picked up from the store when he was out getting food for cat. currently, he is sitting with it on the floor, looking between patterns.