[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

They walked in silence for a while, dodging and avoiding things with each others’ help. Mickey could have sworn he’d heard wolves in the distance and hoped they wouldn’t come anywhere near the two of them. How do you make yourself smell less appetizing to carnivorous animals? Mickey thought. He wasn’t sure, but he sure wished he was. He didn’t know how to explain it, but even just having Rex walking behind him, a silent pillar of strength, made it much easier to press on without completely freaking out. Maybe it was in Rex’s serious nature, the way he asserted how things were going to go. Maybe it was just having another person, someone from Torchwood, on his side. 

Finally, they reached – a mirror. Interesting, Mickey thought. It shined brightly, like diamonds, and Mickey was confused why because there didn’t seem to be any sun shining on it. Mickey didn’t want to go anywhere near it, lingering back while Rex, ever the braver one, approached it. “Whoa!” he exclaimed when the mirror rippled as Rex touched it. “What the proper fuck?” Mickey didn’t curse that often but this was a situation that called for it. Mickey searched the ground for something, anything, and finally found a pebble. Picking it up, he approached the mirror, watching very closely as he tossed the pebble at it - it disappeared, going right through it. “Do you think–?” he began to ask, but he knew the answer to his question already. This was the way out. Instead, he began to head toward the entrance. “I’ve got to go find Clara.” 

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex didn’t often always on impulse. He’d lost too much by doing so. But as he stared at the mirror and watched the realization dawn on Mickey’s face through the rippled reflection, he just knew what he had to do.   

Blinking when Mickey turned around, he shook his head and grabbed hold of Mickey’s arm. “You’re not going back out there. You go back out there into that forest and you’re sure to get yourself killed.” Rex snapped, tugging him back toward the mirror, and then as if to accentuate his point, a pack of howling wolves sounded near by. 

That’s when instinct took over and he shoved Mickey into the mirror, watching as he disappeared through it and with one look behind him and seeing a pair of glowing eyes staring back at him, he jumped through himself and hoped for the best. 

---- 

Jumping through the mirror was a strange sensation. Almost like he’d been drenched in water, however when he’d hit the ground he was just as dry as he had been before.  

“Mickey!?” He grumbled, pushing himself off the ground before he realized that he had landed on solid ground -- he was no longer outside. He pushed himself off the ground and looked at his surroundings and it took about an entire minute to realize he recognized where he was. It had been over a year since he’d been there, but it looked exactly the same as it had when he left it.  

His apartment bedroom.  

The billboard leaning on the wall above his his dresser still had his notes and possible ideas on the location of Gwen and Jack.  

His stomach did a strange sort of leap and turn as the realization that he was back home sunk in and furthermore that he was alone. Just as he had been before he showed up in that Pocket.  Really, he knew he should have been relieved that he had made it home-- if he really was home -- but instead he just felt... defeated.  

In an unexpected fit of anger, he grabbed hold of that stupid bulletin board full of misleads and through it at the mirror attached to his closet, frowning when instead of going right through it, the glass shattered and fell to the ground before slumping down onto his bed.  

Well. All he could do now was set back to work in trying to find them. Actually being there might give him some help in trying to figure out what happened. Or better yet, maybe since he’d made it home, everyone else had too. 

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

“Did you miss the giant branch swinging at your face!?” Mickey exclaimed in return. He struggled to get up, but after a few moments he was standing relatively tall. With a grunt, Mickey moved his shoulder, which popped loudly. “That’s a good sign,” he muttered sarcastically, reaching out his other hand to help Rex up. “Are you okay, though?” Rex had helped him, despite their feud and despite having the option to leave him alone. Mickey had decided they were in this together now. They were both going to get through the woods and back to their homes, together.

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex stared at Mickey a moment longer as he brushed off the dirt from his top before rolling his eyes. “No, I didn’t.” He admitted finally, scratching the back of his head as he squinted ahead of them. He kind of blew off Mickey’s question and nodded without really giving a self assessment to check that he was alright. He had a headache, but he could still walk. That was all that mattered. 

“Fine, fine. C’mon. We need to get moving again before something else comes after us.” He told him, grabbing a hold of his arm and leading him over some thick branches in fear that he wasn’t going to make it if he just went ahead of him. He wanted to get to that light. He had a good feeling about it, and that was saying something. Rex never had a good feeling about anything.  

They finally reached the clearing and the light was .... a mirror.  

Great. 

He stopped and exchanged a look with mirror before walking over to it, frowning at the reflection before poking his finger at the glass that seemed to shine brighter than what was possible considering the darkness of the forest surrounding them. When he poked it, something happened that made him instantly jerk his hand back. Instead of hitting hard glass, his finger found a soft surface and the action caused a ripple across the mirror, distorting his and Mickey’s reflection temporarily. 

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

Mickey thought about his gift from the Pocket. It had been a magic lamp and Mickey cursed himself for not bringing it with him. Great thinking, asshole, he chastised himself. Finally making the connection between himself and Aladdin, Mickey said, “Ohhhh!” without explaining himself further. Rex probably wouldn’t care about his observations and, honestly, it would probably waste time as they tried to get back to their homes.

“Yeah, I think so,” he answered, taking a test step forward. It was shaky, but it was definitely a step forward. He spun around, looking in all directions but not seeing the town in any direction. “Er… are you sure we’re headed back toward town?” he asked, turning to face Rex. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tree branch swing down and toward the both of them. In a split second decision, Mickey lunged forward, tackling Rex to the ground. It was painful, but it was much better than having his head taken off by a tree branch. “Oi…” he groaned. “Sorry about that,” he muttered, rolling away from Rex again. That wasn’t good for his head or his body.

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex raised an eyebrow at Mickey’s unexplained sudden realization, but didn’t otherwise question it. If it were important then he hoped the younger guy would have at least said so. Right now, he didn’t have a whole lot of time to worry about it. Especially when just walking through these woods made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.  

He watched Mickey carefully when he tried walking on his own, holding out a hand to catch him in case he faceplanted. “Nope. We’re not --” But he never got to explain where he was actually trying to take Mickey, because the next thing he new, he was face planting into the dirt, his arms barely having enough time to reach out in front of him to catch his fall. “What the Hell was that.” He groaned, pushing himself back up and looking over at Mickey as if he’d just grown another head. 

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

Mickey froze when Rex shook him by the shoulders, mostly from lack of strength than anything else. Rex didn’t seem to be hurting him, though, and the look on his face told Mickey that he was telling the truth. For all of their issues over the past few weeks, they were on the same side again. Mickey nodded, understanding. He heard the sound of – was that a tree? – behind him, whipping his head to look at it, but seeing nothing. He was still listening to Rex as he spoke. “Do you have any weapons on you? Anything that might be useful?” he asked Rex, reaching into his own pockets in search of something. A cell phone from 2006, gum wrappers and a wallet which he never used anymore. Brilliant. 

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex let out a breath of relief when Mickey relaxed, finally letting go of him and looking around when Mickey did. At the other guy’s question, Rex nodded and patted the sword at his side. “Recent gift of the Pocket. Won’t do as good as my gun that’s sitting back in my office, but it’ll do.” Then, as if to prove his point, he pulled it from it’s sheath and held it in front of them. 

“C’mon. We’ve got to get moving. Can you walk yourself?” He asked, remembering that Mickey had just knocked himself not that long ago. More than likely he wasn’t feeling up to his normal strengths. With just a sword between the two of them, and Mickey possibly not up to par, this wasn’t going to be the easiest trek he’d ever made. He just hoped that light wasn’t that far away. He wasn’t even sure that light was safety. For all he knew it was a trap. But he was going to have to try. 

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

Passing out was the weirdest sensation. One moment he was running, the next moment, he felt himself being dragged along the ground. Dragged…? That was weird. He couldn’t even remember where he’d been for several seconds, not until he finally got his eyes open. He saw the sky, prindly tree branches sticking out, looking like long, thin fingers above him. “Is this… heaven…?” Mickey had asked before the trees came into sharper focus. With a jolt, Mickey finally looked above him, seeing Rex, who had been dragging him. Oh my god… he’s bringing me to jail. Or worse–! He’s gonna bury me alive. Unfortunately, Mickey couldn’t play it cool, instead he yelled, shaking and struggling with all his might, but his head was pounding and he didn’t have much mobility. Mickey groaned from pain; he wasn’t above pleading. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me.” 

[ciarexmatheson]

For the first time in two weeks, Rex really wished he had his gun. It would make this whole trek into the woods full of god knows what a Hell of a lot easier. But no, instead all he had on him was a sword and an extra body to drag. “This would be a lot easier if you would just wa--” he started, gritting through his teeth, until he heard a yell, followed by the guy struggling to get away from him. 

Rex shook Mickey by the shoulders, in a haste attempt to get the guy to calm down before they ended up trapped. The trees seemed to be closing in on them, and already the way the came in was completely blocked. “I’m not going to hurt you. Now, relax. We’re not going to get anywhere good by you struggling with me. I’m not letting you get hurt now, we’ve got too far. Now there’s a light ahead this way. I think that’s our best shot at this point.” 

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

[mickeywho]

Mickey turned his head sharply to look at Rex when he heard him shout. Mickey’s first assumption was that Rex was coming for him - after all, he’d been looking for him for days, even going to the trouble of putting up wanted posters. Mickey wasted no time in turning and sprinting away in the direction of the forest. What was he doing? That was the worst place to go – except… it would be very easy to lose Rex. In a split second decision, Mickey darted into the woods, navigating around trees as quickly and gracefully as he could muster. Unfortunately, Mickey wasn’t the most graceful person ever, but he was doing his best and he thought he’d even managed to lose Rex. Turning his head to make sure, Mickey had his eyes off of his course for just a moment too long, smacking straight into a tree.

The world went black.

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists when Mickey took off running toward the forest, exactly where Rex was trying to get the thief to not go. And he wasn’t even trying to apprehend the guy this time. With a sigh, Rex kicked ran after him, immediately getting immersed in the overwhelming darkness of the forest. He was oddly reminded of the lower decks of the ship they used to all live on, with the way it seemed to feel like an entirely different world than the village. 

“Mickey? Where the Hell --” But before he could even finish, he saw a flash of movement and saw just the person he was looking for run into a tree and fall over. After rubbing his hand down his face exasperatedly, he changed direction and ran over to Mickey, frowning when he realized that the guy wasn’t moving.  

“Great.” He muttered when he reached him, kneeling down and violently shaking the boy to get him to wake up. “Yo, Mickey. Wake up. We don’t have time for this. Get. Up.” He stopped at the sound of twigs breaking behind him and whipped his head around to find nothing there. “Jack, I swear if that is you...” He grumbled, then realized that the path he’d taken into the forest didn’t seem to be there anymore ... Great.  “Mickey, C’mon. Get up. We need to move.”  

But when Mickey didn’t immediately snap awake, Rex made a snap judgment to drag him. He couldn’t, in good consience, leave the guy behind. Even if he was a thief.  

[mickeywho]

into the woods » open starter

Mickey needed to get out of his hiding place. It was driving him crazy, being cooped up with little to no interaction that was face to face. It wasn’t that he’d done anything horrible but he was trying to be careful. Besides, it was kind of fun to see how long he could dodge Rex for. Perhaps it was a bit daring of him to venture out of the Funporium and roam around the town, stretching his legs, giving himself fresh air and checking out all the changes that had recently come. He’d been able to see a little bit, like the castle in the distance, but he hadn’t been able to gather all the details of the buildings before he had to head back to the Funporium.

He actually liked staying there, a bit. Aside from the lack of human interaction, he could bowl, play games, and watch movies as much as he liked. For some reason, not a lot of people showed up, and if someone did, he’d just duck into one of the tunnels behind where the employees would go if there were any. Besides the Doctor. Speaking of the Doctor, he found Mickey pretty quickly and that was when Mickey discovered that the Doctor has a portal straight to it from the TARDIS. Mickey’s first question? “Oh, so it can do that but it can’t fly? Brilliant.” But the Doctor promised to keep Mickey’s secret despite the rudeness toward the TARDIS.

Now, Mickey strolled, kicking loose stones and happily breathing in the fresh air. He’d taken it for granted before. And not a spider in sight. It was then that Mickey saw the forest lingering in the distance, something inside him calling him to move toward it. Slowly, he took a shaky step forward before stopping himself. That was odd…

[ciarexmatheson]

Ever since the town took on a whole new makeover, Rex had been torn between his normal pull to want to make sure everyone was safe and ready to get out and his new instinct to stop all of the thieves in town and upholding the honor of someone... someone he couldn’t even put his finger on. But he knew it was important to him. At least, now it was. It had never been that important to him before.  

People had started to venture off into the woods, which initially he thought was the dumbest idea anyone in the Pocket ever had-- and that was saying a lot. Even from town he could see the changes in the forest-- the way the trees seemed to be watching his every move made his skin crawl and if he walked close enough to it, he could see the different things But it wasn’t long until he started to feel the pull himself. There was something in there they were supposed to find. An exit maybe? Or possibly a trap? 

“Hey!” He shouted, pulling himself from his thoughts when he spotted one of the subjects of his WANTED posters, standing not twenty feet from him. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, in a way that could be interpretted as accusatory or even concern depending on how Mickey decided to take it. 

[torchwoodshead]

Men in Tights ↯ Torchwood Of Nottingham - Event 8

TAGGING: @torchwoodshead, @callmedoctorzombie, @toshkosato, and @ciarexmatheson

TIME FRAME: January 9th, 2015 - Day, noon.

LOCATION: The Torchwood Hub / Town Hall / Forest

GENERAL NOTES: Jack, as Robin Hood, plots to save Toshiko, the fair Maid Marian, from Rex, the vile Sherif of Nottingham, with the help of his aid Owen, Little John. Banter, wit, humour, charm, as well as sword fights, Disney Puns, and Mel Brooks throw-ins ensue.

Keep reading

[moremetathanmeta]

What law? Ooh, are you the embodiment of the law now, Rex? 

Well, here’s news for you, gotta catch me first!

[ciarexmatheson]

Someone’s gotta do it, and Sherlock and Lucifer aren’t doing a good enough job at it. And Jack’s too busy being a thief, so yeah, that leaves me.  

There’s only so many places you can run. 

[anincredibleliar]

BONJOUR! [ CLARA + ___ ] EVENT 8

[anincredibleliar]

She hadn’t thought of the possible repercussions of her actions. The daily workings of the pocket had simply become so mundane and repetitive – every day the same thing, she got up she went to the diner, she chatted up her customers, closed shop, and went home to start the whole boring routine all over again. It hadn’t even occurred to her there might be possible danger lurking in the shadows. 

“Oh my yes – far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!! – “ she paused, long enough to catch her breath, finally remembering her manners. Taking a moment to note her page number she finally closed her book, for the first time actually noticing her surroundings. “Has… this forest always been here?” She scratched her neck, looking around in surprise. With her head always in the clouds these days, she was prone to missing out on the things right in front of her. 

As per his request she took a moment to inspect the poster. Jack’s face with the word WANTED written in all caps underneath. Her brows furrowed as she turned back to him with questioning eyes. “Jack?”

She scanned the posted again quickly before turning to him once more. “Is that a reward?” Truth be told she didn’t exactly know Jack that well but she hadn’t thought him to be a criminal. Perhaps things in their little town were finally about to get interesting. 

“I haven’t, no. Not recently anyway,” she paused, chewing her lip thoughtfully before asking, “ That’s quite a bounty… what’s he done anyway?”

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex’s eyebrows raised, half amused- half skeptical about her enthusiasm over the book she’d been reading and he couldn’t help the deep chuckle as he thought about how silly it was to get that caught up in a book. He never really saw the point in reading. Actually... that wasn’t true, and the thought made him draw pause in consideration of how odd it was that he suddenly thought things like reading were silly and pointless. 

Of course, it could have something to do with his sudden issue with words in general...  

“Why would the prince be in disguise?” He mused, wrinkling his nose. “Sounds shady. He’s probably actually some criminal. I’m so tired of all these criminals being made out to be princes,” he grumbled.   

His eyebrows raised again and he looked around at the forest. “No... It’s new. The Pocket decided to change things up on us again. If you go by the bar, it’s more like Greece. Kinda hard to keep my signs up over there. Did you seriously not notice at all?” 

Okay, the book reading was definitely dangerous. He had half a mind to confiscate it right then and there.  

But then she was asking about Jack and actually seemed interest, so he was momentarily distracted. “He what take dared to his not is!” He exclaimed, nailing and extra nail into the tree with just a little too much effort for extra emphasis then let out a frustrated breath when he realized his words came out wrong again. That was really getting annoying. “He dared to take what is not his...” He repeated a lot slower this time. “And then had the nerve to give it away.” 

[ciarexmatheson]

Text Message | Clara Oswald

Clara: No! My! I would never be so forward!

Clara: Besides, I haven't got time for dating. There's so much out there to see, to do, to read... I have no interest in settling down and becoming some oaf's foot masseuse.

Clara: I just thought you might like to talk about it -- whatever this thing is that bugging you that you're pretending not to care about. The food was just meant to help you open up. Good food and hospitality make even the darkest situations seem better.

Rex: Some oaf's foot masseuse???

Rex: I should tell you anyway that I've got my eyes set on a fair maidan as it is.

Rex: What makes you think there's something to tell?

[moremetathanmeta]

Do you know what’s the problem with this place?

There’s absolutely nothing to steal.

How’s a chap supposed to save up enough to get his own personal island, eh?

[ciarexmatheson]

You’re just as bad as Jack. Stealing is punishable by law. 

[anincredibleliar]

BONJOUR! [ CLARA + ___ ] EVENT 8

She was running late. She knew, objectively, the diner could probably run itself without her, but she liked to keep up appearances. Besides, she liked the social aspect – she liked to keep busy – idol hand and all that. Or At least she thought she had. Before. Before…

Well, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. 

But between the curious unnamed kitten (whom she’d recently taken to calling Maurice, though she couldn’t exactly peg why) making scratch posts out of her curtains and her second least favourite boots and her suddenly enthralling (and frankly too small) book collection – finding the motivation to actually leave her house had been exceedingly difficult. 

The Maurice situation had been an easy one to solve when she’d ingeniously rigged a laser pointer to a slow moving fan blade. But the books – the stores – they had posed another problem. She simply couldn’t put them down. 

That’s how she found herself walking (at a snails pace) through the town’s centre, nose so deep in a book she didn’t even notice the change of scenery around her. And she was actually doing a decent job of dodging all obstacles – weaving this way and that. She was almost there, she was sure, just a few more – 

“Oph,” Clara mumbled as she smacked into something – or someone – unexpectedly. “Sorry! I’m sorry I was just….” she ripped her eyes away from the book long enough to look up at her victim  sheepishly, gesturing to the book. “It’s erm… brilliant.”

[ciarexmatheson]

Rex had always thought there was a lot of people in town that were trouble, but normally he didn’t let it bother him too much. Everyone kept to themselves for the most part and weren’t hurting anyone, so why should he care? But lately he was increasingly obsessed with stopping the rule breakers and even more so obsessed with his petty competition with Jack. 

Of course Jack would also be interested in the girl he just knew he was destined to marry.  

He was a thief and he knew that he was taking things from his office. To make matters worse, Jack wasn’t the only thief in town and the whole town needed to be warned. Which is how he ended up walking through the new town with a pile of wanted pictures made up himself of Jack, Mickey, and Doc -- all people of Torchwood... of course. 

He was in the middle of pinning one of Jack to a tree when someone ran into him, and instantly he jumped back, his hand going to his sword assuming it was one of the new pickpockets in town trying to take something else from him. 

His hand dropped back to his side as soon as he realized that it wasn’t one of the three men, but instead Clara- the one he’d given the cat too not long before everything in town changed.  

“It’s that good that you’d risk running into someone? Or worse some thing. You never know what you might run into out here. You could have been hurt.” He huffed, turning back around to finish pinning the ‘Wanted’ poster on the tree. “I’d ask if you’ve seen him, but I think I know my answer.” 

[lndeterminate]

[ciarexmatheson]

Text Message | Clara Oswald

Clara: Rex, you like tea? Or chips -- got loads of chips.

[ a beat ]

Clara: Rootbeer floats?

Rex: I don't know, depends on the chips. And not much of a tea drinker.

Rex: Wait, you're British. You don't mean the chips I'm thinking of. Yeah, those are good. I'm American. Anything fried is good.

- a pause -

Rex: Wait, are you asking me on a date??

[ciarexmatheson]

Text Message | Clara Oswald

Clara: Sorry? What's Jack got to do with it?

Clara: And I know. That was a joke. I make them sometimes. Usually don't have to explain them, but I suppose there's a first time for everything.

Rex: Nevermind. Ignore that.

Rex: Oh. Yeah, of course it was.

Rex: Hahahahaahaahha

[ciarexmatheson]

Text Message | Clara Oswald

Clara: Why not? I've got excellent lung capacity. ;)

Clara: Hmmm. What about Claire?

Rex: ... I've been spending too much time around Jack.

Rex: Really, I'm fine. I didn't wish for a dog, expecting something in return.

Rex: Oh no.

Rex: That's worse.