Hippie Space Child

“Lips are sealed, cupcake. As long as you have some blood after. I’m such a good step-mom, aren’t I?” she teased, running the tip of her finger over the edge of the glass. Her other hand reached below to the winefridge and set a bottle of blood wine on the counter, intending for them to split it.

“You’re not doing half bad---and you make mum happy,” they downed their drink before slamming their glass down on the table. “Tha’s good. She’s been having a rough go of it, for the past twenty-plus years, and sometimes.......” they took up the bottle of blood wine, popped it open, and poured a generous serving into their glass before taking a sip.

“Cape sounds better, never been a face paint kinda person, you know?” Aneki hadn’t really been one for pride parades - mostly because, as a human, they were terrified of being photographed with their ex. But now, none of that mattered.

“Do you have a Pan one?”

“Yea! Tess’ grandmum loves knitting, and she made a bunch of flags for us to give out,” Kaleb set the can of paint down before crouching to dig through their backpack. “Tess ‘n’ I are probably going to wear matching rainbow ones, with the black and brown stripes.” 

“Not gonna even have any blood? I mean, I’m the first who shouldn’t be criticizin’ - but…”

Harley shrugged, and poured herself a tall glass of strawberry-flavored vodka.

She stayed hidden, breathed in the cool, moist air, felt like pressing her face into the pine needles to be one with the soil. But of course she couldn’t, so she had to settle for leaning a little bit against the nearest tree.

“I don’t know if it’s the same for your father- but I- I saw the first moments of my life in this universe, and more.”

Theta struggled for the next words, because saying them made them true. But what was the point to deny it?

“I was a child. I came through a rift in the fabric of the universe from another. A Gallifreyan - human-like in biology - pretended to be my mother. Experimented on me for immortality. I’m the origin of the Time Lords and they didn’t want me to remember. But I know now.”

“Oh, fuck,” Kaleb breathed, having spoken in one of the tongues of Gallifrey, their Scottish lilt perhaps a bit exaggerated from the shock (they sometimes tried to affect what might be considered a more “posh” accent, a trait which they had picked up from another Time Lord), and fell quiet for several long moments as Theta’s words sank in.

Experimented on --- they were exploited. Rage formed in their hearts, against the unknown Gallifreyan, against those she had worked with, against the universe itself for allowing such a thing to happen.

“He never talks unless it’s to say, ‘this is how you stab someone’ or ‘that brother of yours could do with some “straightening out”.’ I think he still has nightmares sometimes---but I don’t care to know what they’re about.”

When the touch from Kal vanished, Theta suddenly snapped back into her head, felt a splitting migraine make its way from her temples to the base of her neck, but at least she felt alive. The green was striking to her eyes, and she dropped to her knees as she covered her face with her hands. The ground cracked as she split twigs, and for some reason it felt even more real than herself.

“I’m a stranger to myself, Kal.”

They sank heavily to the forest floor, breathing in the scent of earth and foreign metals, and watched her carefully. Were it anyone else, they likely would have said ‘mood’ or ‘same’ or anything else to show they understood and could relate, but this was Theta, ancient, ever-changing Theta, and they gently placed one hand on her shoulder.

“That shouldn’t happen. I’m sorry that happened,” she murmured, lost in a gaze that wasn’t fixed. Were they outside? She couldn’t remember. She had more and more trouble remembering things the longer she thought about her life.

Had she told Kal about her real past?

She couldn’t remember that either.

“‘M sorry I didn’t- save you.”

“Wasn’t your job to,” Kaleb responded, placing their hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes people are sick, sometimes they’re downright cruel, and it simply is nae possible to try and understand them.”

They were standing in the middle of a forest, green-leafed trees towering over them, obscuring the otherwise clear blue sky: a clearing perfect for screaming in.

Originally posted by evocatiio

“It was the first time I saw someone die. A human die. I’ve been to so many wars, witnessed countless attrocities. But that first soldier, I saw him get shot down. Like he was nothing. Like life was nothing. And suddenly, I felt older than the universe itself. Like I didn’t deserve the time I had on my hands.

“I didn’t even know his name.”

Has anything happened? How would they even answer such a question without seeming crazy? But, Kal did seem to have knowledge of what the glasses were - and the screwdriver… It was the best just to be honest, Aneki thought.

“Yeah. I’ve got this pendant…” They motioned to the one around their neck. “It’s always been with me. An’ it opened and I… heard voices. Then the changes. An’ my name… it wasn’t Aneki before.”

Kaleb listened even as Lucy tugged at them, asking about her mum---she wanted her mum, and she was being ignored, and started to cry until Kaleb returned the glasses and scooped the girl into their arms, whispering in a foreign language and smoothing her curls with one hand.

They stood, balancing the little girl on their hip, and quirked a brow. “No? That.... well,” they bounced Lucy for a moment as they mulled it over. “Could you tell me a bit more about the changes? Maybe---and this might sound a bit out there, but---two hearts?”