All the Time in the World

It was good that Asa possessed the ability to read minute expressions from others. Pythia had differences from her people, as would nearly any specimen of any species. For her, such small gestures had become rote, and most thought her expressionless entirely, or worse, emotionless.

A Tardis was a complicated thing. For most species, it was enough that it was a ship capable of traveling through space and time. Asa, however, seemed bent on learning as much as she could, and was not overlooking details. Good. My people have a gender at any given time, but that gender does not always stay the same. Our ships, she gestured to the Tardis at large around them, Are free to choose whichever gender they prefer. We would not force such a decision on them. That would hardly be kind. Earth had many odd habits, interesting, but odd. They enforced gender roles, and they dictated which gender a person or thing had to be.

The Tardis was a deeply intelligent thing. Not entirely living, not entirely mechanical, grown and carved but aware nonetheless. This Tardis loved her occupant, did indeed consider itself female, and while she shared her history, her travels with Pythia, she held back the overwhelming amount of sheer knowledge she possessed so not to overwhelm Asa, choosing instead to present what she felt was relevant for now a little at a time, a constant flow of information without the deluge it could be. It was still, however, quite a lot to take in and process.

She’s mostly telepathic, more than most of my people are. Imagine. Our ships having this more than we do. Most, but Pythia was connected to the vortex in a far more complex and complete way than the vast majority of her people.

When Asa offered her hand to shake, Pythia contemplated the gesture for only a moment before she accepted Asa’s hand. She did not shake it, she simply gripped it firmly with another tiny smile. Good. Pythia looked up at the column, would you like to take a ride? See the city from above, perhaps? It was a small offer considering what she could do, but this, it seemed, was only the first of many such trips.

@alex

Asa grinned with a bit of a laugh, letting herself roll backwards until she was hanging upside down but looking Pythia in the eyes. "Humans are so absurd, aren't they?" She gestured with a hand, vaguely outlining shapes. "They have these weird expectations of what a person is supposed to wear- Did you know that they expect only men to wear pants and women to wear skirts? Using washrooms designed by humans is so very confusing." She flailed slightly, not really knowing how to explain how she felt the first time she had been redirected from a washroom because of her sexual characteristics.

The images were things that Asa would have to take a while to look at in detail later, after she had started sorting them in her mind. She'd likely meditate on the topic at length once she had finished amassing new information for the day. It did mean that at least for the moment, Asa was rather more in tune with the Tardis than she was with the occupant of the vehicle.

She patted the wall with a certain fondness that came from sharing minds with another- learning much about the structure of their intelligence. (It occurred to her with a bit of a laugh that she could perhaps have a child with a machine as well.)

"My people were influenced, 50,000 years ago, another species attempted to cultivate us into their perfect specimens. We are- in a way- their creations, and yet we are much more powerful in mass effect manipulation than they are. Our mapping of an individual with our minds is unbelievably more complex. They can be in tune with another without having them fully present, can detect traces of emotion- and yet my kind can read down to the dna of anyone living. We use it, incorporate the best of their traits into our own offspring, can share strategies or discoveries with only a momentary meld and then we all understand it at the same fundamental level." She rambled, still fascinated by the ship. Shaking her head to clear it, she smiled at Pythia. "So yes, I can imagine."

The final question- accompanied with a grip of the hand, if not a shake- was met with a brilliant smile. Not only was she rather content to be holding hands with a beautiful woman, even if that was a less than accurate statement, but this woman was willing to show her around and also take her for a flight! It was hardly Asa's first experience in travel through space, but this vehicle had no obvious means of propulsion- and yes, she was fascinated.

She blinked as she realized she had spaced for a second. "I would love that, if you both would be willing." Asa offered finally, loosing her grip on the other woman's hand, such that she could drop it if she desired.

Pythia's lips turned up award, the expression still faint but for the brilliance in her eyes. 'They all at that. The last I knew of Earth, they had evolved slightly. Women often now wear pants as well as men. Men, however, are still required to wear only pants. Or at least in most places. It's absurd.' It was strange, her laugh, silent and small, but it danced in her eyes, odd as they were, sending silver and gold shimmering through copper and black. 'You will find no such restrictions within this ship..'

Being in tune with the Tardis was much the same as being in tune with Pythia; Time Lord and Tardis were connected, possessed of a strange sort of bond that may have come from being alone for far too long.

'At the beginning of what most people would view as a linear structure called time, there was a... An open wound, of sorts, in the time stream. This occurred on my planet, called Gallifrey.' The pen could do so much more than simply write, which it now did. Pythia, via her pen, showed a picture for Asa,. A red and gold planet from afar, filled with strange fields and vistas... Gallifrey. 'The Untempered Schism, that is what we called it. And still do. Our evolution was effected by the Schism, as was our society. Every young would-be Time Lord is taken to that place, where we gaze into Time itself, and where Time gazes back into us. Some of us go mad, others run, never to stop. There are those who gaze into the schism and understand. All are changed by the experience.'

The Time Lord never bothered to drop Asa's hand. Instead, she lead her new companion around to the center console again, whispering to the ship voicelessly, lips barely moving, though the Tardis still translated her words even unspoken, "You know what to do," she fiddled with a knob, pulled a lever, and then they were falling.

Space engulfed the ship and them with it though it barely felt as though they were moving. A moment latter, Pythia moved to the doorway, sliding it open where the Tardis rested, hovering far above the city.

@moon

Asa shook her head with amusement, running her hand along her scales the way a human might with their hair. Smiling, she replied. "I'd say that in my universe we're enough in the future to expect changes- but then, you are a master of time, so I'm certain you understand. It is strange with humans. Some of their progress is so swift, due to their short lifespans- and then other things that other species disregard almost instantly are sticking points that the humans seem hard pressed to move past. Did you know that they still have issues with same sex relationships? Despite the fact that my entire species is the same sex?" She nearly bounced around the Tardis as she spoke, giving a grand shrug in sum of her point. "It is always fascinating to envy them and not wish to be them. My species precedes at a glacial pace when it comes to advancement- but the humans are still so far behind I would not wish to be them." She added before her mind was distracted again.

Asa was not unlike a hummingbird- too much stimulus and not enough time to process it such that she was flitting from one thing to another. It was quite important that she melded with the tardis as with the sclera of her eyes turning black, her mind slowed. Matched beat for beat with the incredible being that the Tardis was. Asa could have sat there for years, communing with the lovely mechanical lady. A pleasant side effect was that by the time she returned to herself, Asa spoke Gallifreyan without pause.

She did feel she understood Pythia a bit better now. The Tardis focused so much on her occupant- that it gave Asa a true grasp of exactly how old Pythia was. Many many times older than even Asa's lifespan.

Listening carefully to the explanation, Asa made notes in her omnitool- shorthand ones that she had learned from the past, meant absolutely nothing to others. "We have no such proving grounds among my people. Though a great number of us do spend a few decades as strippers upon reaching adulthood. Mercenaries too." Pausing, Asa winked at the timelord "Those were fun years." She added with a smirk.

Her teasing tone was fully lost in complete fascination at the movement of the ship. Certainly it had done something- but it hadn't taken off in any traditional way. Which didn't change the view Asa now had. "Is it... Like my warping? Not propulsion so much as breaching the fabric of space and coming out the other side?" She asked with wonderment, going to stand at the doorway and watch.

After a moment, she turned back to Pythia with a wild smile. "Have you ever stood above a city? Without anything in the way?" Taking a step backwards into the open air, she offered her hand to the beautiful timelord. "I promise I won't drop you."

@eve

The smile Pythia gave her companion may have been little more than the tiniest quirk of her lips, but the Time Lord (Lady) communicated with entirety of her being; her eyes shifted to be lighter in color, her stance relaxed. Amusement ran from head to toe, echoing in her mind and into that of her ship. 'I do believe I may understand. Humans are a fascinating specie, but no. I also have no desire to be one of them. They are primitive, unenlightened, though I know that eventually they will grow to become a part of the universe's community.' Of course, that level of growth would take an era to reach, even for the quickly growing humans. 'my society advances in fits and spurts. When we discover something new, all of us turn our focus to make our understanding of it complete.'

The Tardis they currently occupied was even more ancient than her mistress. There was, however, a loyalty from, as well as to, the ship that was evident in its memories; moments when Pythia had chosen the wellbeing of her ship over another, or even over herself. Still, the Time Lady was old, she had no longer been considered young when she had inherited the Tardis from her mentor, even amongst her people she had become a peer by then, never to be a student again. The oldest memories the Tardis had of her mistress were of Pythia as a woman, but in between those oldest memories and the more recent, where Pythia looked as she did now (there was no mistaking the Time Lady and her odd, ever shifting eyes), she had been male repeatedly throughout her existence.

‘It is less a proving ground and more a life-changing experience. We spend our time being whatever it is that we wish to be. For now, I am considered an adventurer and researcher, but in time I might become a teacher, teaching what I have learned. I was a student, and then I was what many cultures might consider a vagabond. I travelled, and I lived, and I learned.’

Pythia tipped her head to the side as she considered what Asa was asking about how the ship travelled. ‘It is not unlike a wormhole, if you could travel through one without actually moving. We rip no holes in time or space, we simply jump from place to place and time to time.’ It was difficult to explain to someone who had enough knowledge to understand the basics of the concept, but weren’t educated in the subject.

There was no hesitation when Pythia accepted the proffered hand. No fear of falling or being dropped, no sense that she might be in any danger; her Tardis would catch either or both of them should they fall; the Time Lady was well aware of the fact. ‘I know you will not. Let us stand above this city.’

@moon

Asa gave a rare soft smile in reply to Pythia's shared sentiment. Rare only for the more fragile emotions she allowed into it. It was lonely- being the last of her species. She had nearly wished for that very thing- Asa was certain that if she hadn't been able to have daughters, she would have been far more willing to throw away her nature in order to not die alone.

She hummed, a low and quiet noise. "They are part of the universe's community in my time. They have excelled in so many things, proving themselves worthy of a seat on the Galactic Council within one hundred years of their inclusion into the embassies aboard the Citadel. Yet- they still struggle so much. I said it was relevant to their lifespan- but the specifics have little to do with that in my world, amusingly enough, as one of the main three council races until then has a life span dwarfed by that of the humans." She offered, projecting an image of a Salarian for reference.

Regarding Pythia's gender and appearance- Asa could not care less. Certainly she found the time lady elegant, fascinating, delightful, and beautiful- but there was nothing about one's form that attracted her inherently. She seemed dangerous, to Asa. Not in a deadly way, though Asa was certain that she could be formidable if she chose- rather that the Gallifreyan could capture all that the Asari was without trying. And Asanyahi would have no escape, too ensnared by desire.

She hummed again at the explanation. "We have no life changing existence. Not in so many words. Our life has always been a gradual sort. Maiden, Matron, followed by Matriarch. The life stages of an Asari. I have been a scientist, a researcher, a healer, a commando, a spectre, a mercenary, a lover, an artist, a teacher, and a leader. And I am still a Maiden. Though I am nearing my transition- at which point one's instincts turn to the propagation of our species. I expect I will be a teacher again at that time. When I become a Matriarch, I will be a politician, a source of wisdom." She mused, saddened by the knowledge that she may be the only one left to do so at that time. That all of her people may be descendants of her. The second Eve of her species.

She nodded at Pythia's lesson on the movement. "That makes sense." She offered simply.

She squeezed her hand, understanding that her trust may be largely placed in her own ability to catch herself if she falls. Still, the blue glow that had kept Asa's feet from touching the ground extended around Pythia, though it would feel little more than air on her skin. She supported her entirely, though the emphasis was on her feet so that Pythia would still feel like she was standing. "This is one of my favourite ways to see a planet. My sisters and I used to race each other across the sky on our home planet."

@eve