owl to the Master

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

I want to talk to you. If you're interested meet me in the Great Hall.

- the Lone Centurion

It was a short letter for two reasons. One, Rory was not sure about the wisdom of setting up a meeting with the psychopathic alien who'd threatened to do unpleasant things to you with a cocktail stirrer. But he needed to know more than he did, to protect Amy and himself and the rest of the school and possibly even the Doctor because what the bloody hell had he got himself in to? And he had a bargaining chip, sort of.

Which was the other reason the letter was so short. He couldn't remember how to write anything more elaborate in Old Norman dialect. Still, that ought to get the Master's attention.

Comments

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

Attention it certainly got. The person who'd gone by lonecenturion had certainly used 21st century idiom.

He didn't bother with a return owl. It hadn't invited a response, it was an open attempt at provoking him. And that was intriguing.

He made his way to the Great Hall, smiling and shaking his head. Let's see what this 'Lone Centurion' wanted.

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Rory had chosen a spot at one of the tables, far enough from the crowd in the rest of the hall that they wouldn't be easily overheard there, not so far away that they couldn't be seen. Maybe not great protection, but the best he could do. And he had his wand, of course.

He stood up, seeing - it was still hard to think of him as 'the Master', seriously - seeing him approach. "Over here."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was that one. Interesting, he wouldn't have expected bluster from that one. He grinned widely, eager to see where this would lead.

"So the Lone Centurion is the friendly puppy? That's just delightful!"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"That's me." He knew better than to object to the 'puppy' remark, much as he'd like to. "And I'll know if you're trying to hypnotise me this time, or whatever it is you do." Probably. But he was expecting it now, and he'd spent a very long time learning to hold on to his own will and his own thoughts.

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"And you can make simple deductions as well. How very useful." It was, of course, easier to hypnotize an unwitting subject, and quite challenging to influence someone actively fighting. But right now he was intensely curious as to what this upstart human was up to.

"Was this little sidebar his suggestion?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Do not let him get to you. Rory shook his head. "It's got nothing to -" He paused. "No, actually it's got a lot to do with him, but it was my idea." Might as well be upfront about it. "I want to know what's going on."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"You're spunky," the Master said with a grin. "He usually prefers his little pets to be female. You must be special."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Rory tried very hard not to react to that one, and then realised that deliberate blankness was just as much of a reaction as if he'd asked what the hell that was supposed to mean. It didn't automatically lead to Amy, though, hopefully just looked like he was offended by the implication. ...or like it was true, but he'd deal with that if he had to.


"I'm really ordinary," he said, flatly. "Known for it."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Just an ordinary Lone Centurion?" he asked with a smirk. "Oh, you're not ordinary at all. If you've spent much time with him, you won't be ordinary at all. One way or another."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. You're right. I'm not any more." Rory sat down again, hands spreading open in front of him. "There's no use playing games with you, is there? Because that's what you do, play with people. Get inside their heads."

His voice was sharper there than he'd meant it to be.

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

The tone was understandable, but it was his words that really got his attention. This one was sharp, and in a more introspective fashion than most humans.

"I do, indeed. I get inside people's minds and break their will, use them as pawns, and discard them without a second. And you're asking me questions. What makes you think I won't leave you alone with the vilest truths I can feed you?"

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

...this was a bad idea, of course, always had been. Deep down, Rory knew he was acting out of anger and fear and not anything sensible. "Maybe you will. I wasn't actually thinking this was going to be a friendly chat, and we'd swap stories about being plastic and why you're stalking the Doctor or whatever it is. I didn't even think anything you said was likely to be true."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Plastic?" That was a strange turn of phrase. It certainly lacked the ring of a metaphor. "Now, that really doesn't sound ordinary. You're attracting my curiosity in your own right now. You should be flattered."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

...he hadn't mentioned the plastic thing before, had he? Not good. Very, very bad. Under the circumstances, all he could manage by way of comeback was "...should I?"

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Puts you in a different class than most of your species." He shrugged. "Generally your kind is only of occasional strategic importance."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I gathered that." He shook his head. "Still not convinced being interesting is actually any better, but here we are."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Ah, but you made a point of letting me know you were interesting," the Master countered, "without very much detail. Who doesn't love a puzzle? So I have the curious matter of you to bat around right now. Tell me, 'Lone Centurion', do you ever trick yourself into thinking you're ordinary? You seem to be floundering for arguments to support the theory."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"No, I know I'm not. Not any more." Rory sighed. "It was a choice between being interesting and being a beetle for you to pull the legs off, right? I went with the one that might get us actually talking."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"So, you mentioned Doctor-stalking and being plastic? Can't say as I've done the second, and the first, well, that's something of a relative concept." He looked pointedly at Rory's legs. "Be harder to pull off than a beetle's. I don't feel the need to do that sort of thing by hand, you know. Carnage, that sort of thing. I've always been happy to delegate."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"I didn't mean that literally," Rory pointed out, and tried not to think about the thing with the cocktail stirrer again. "So how do you mean, 'relative'?"

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Well. Stalking. That's a bit harsh. We've got a history. As you've implied you do with polymers."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry, when you talk about torturing someone's 'pets' -" He didn't stoop to doing the air quotes thing, but the tone was there. "- to get their attention, I think that's an appropriate word for it."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Oh, well." He shrugged and smiled, as if he honestly thought the mere warmth of his smile would be enough to thaw Rory's 'reserve'. "If you were judging by human standards, I suppose."

[thefuturemrpond.livejournal.com]

Rory looked distinctly unthawed. That smile was somehow the creepiest thing yet. "I don't have any others to judge by."

[theregothedrums.livejournal.com]

"Is there something in particular you want to know?" He peered closely into Rory's face."I mean, a word like 'stalking' makes me sound like some sort of unsavory ex."