Soul's Shadow (Doctor Who - SI)

Part XVII (IX)

It was a surprise that the Doctor didn't push the subject any further. He had made his point clear, that he wasn't happy about the stolen ship and all. And yet, he was perfectly fine with using the situation to our advantage. He quickly found enough ropes and sails and devices to play with, hampering our speed once in a while. But we weren't in a hurry anyways.

Donna found some sunbeds on deck and promptly stripped down to her bathing suit. "You know, I thought we might go for a swim anyway, so I came prepared."

Meanwhile I found the rear of the ship and a hatch that could be opened to allow larger cargo to be transported inside. Something like a car stood further behind, although I wasn't entirely sure how anyone might drive it. Kira flew over to the hatch and sat on top of it, trying to bite the splashes of water that sometimes shot up. I realised he had never actually seen that much water before so I searched for the switch and opened the hatch.

Kira came back to me, sitting on my shoulder and staring at the waves that were now slapping against the insides. I had seen those hatches a few times already and knew the water wouldn't come inside. At least not enough of it to do any damage. Right now we weren't even driving that fast and everything was quiet.

It turned out that the little dragon didn't like water. At all. Kira jumped from my shoulder and hopped around at the border, hissing and squeaking at the splashes. A small wave caught him then, leaving him wet and sneezing and definitely not happy. I couldn't help the laugh, it was just too funny.

"Alright. No swimming lessons for you then, I guess."

Even though Kira had no actual facial expressions he still managed to give me the most indignant look I had ever received from him. And when I closed the hatch again he simply flew away, without as much as a look at me. I giggled and returned upstairs. The little one would stop sulking eventually. He always did.

I saw him play in the wind when I returned to the deck, flying loops around the masts. The wind out here was more his element.

A door opened. Quickly I ducked away, evading getting hit by the wood. Someone stepped outside and it took me a good few seconds to realise it was the Master. He looked rather... different. Where, usually, he made sure to be dressed well, he was now wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and an open button down with a blue flower pattern. And sandals... of all things.

He spotted me instantly and a wide grin lit up his face when he saw my bewildered expression. "Like what you see?" he teased and then eyed me up and down. "You could need something lighter too."

I blinked and looked down at myself. I wasn't clad in anything too warm for the weather. Just some jeans, a T-shirt and above a chequered shirt. "What's wrong with that?"

The Master shrugged and nodded at the door. "The quarters have stuff that's more suited for seafaring."

"Yeah, well, why not. Though, I won't look as good in those."

He chuckled and waved me into the room. It was filled with lockers and metal wardrobes. Some clothes lay strewn around on the floor, indicating that someone had already searched them.

"I was actually looking for something more... pipirate-y," said the Master. "But we're in the wrong time for that."

Okay, that maybe wasn't so bad. Him, dressed as a proper pirate would have certainly fried any halfway functioning cell in my brain. The mental image alone already did some pretty nasty things to me. Although, to be fair, his current state of partial undress wasn't helping me either. I giggled and glanced at his attire. And his body. My look wandered further down, but the shorts were wide enough to conceal anything interesting.