The Cold Shoulder

[Thirteenth Doctor]

Her eyes flicked to Vastra the moment the woman spoke. By the end of what she had to say though, it made The Doctor bite at her lower lip a bit and tilt her head the other way, away from her leaning post of a closed fisted hand. She let that hand fall to the arm rest before a few seconds later reaching to take the drink. She drew the warm substance to herself like she was hoarding a treasure and then took a deep long sip of the liquid. It was like a bliss of exotic in a cup. It made her sigh deep, but more out of relaxing a bit rather than frustration or anything like that. Of course she was frustrated, tired, confused, etc; but that was now dulled a bit by the tea. Once she was done she looked down into the cups contents as if she were to find an answer down there somewhere. Sadly she didn't.

"Yes," she stated almost quietly, not the same strong confident bluster that Doctors of the past normally would have. "Fear."

Dissatisfied with the lack of answers coming from her tea, she put the cup down with some difficulty as if the tea was to be still some sort of life line to sanity. The Doctor then looked back at Vastra, her green eyes staring at the reptilian woman with almost a source of deadness in them, as if the vibrant color had been washed away leaving only a pale substitute.

"Things...have happened, since we last met." she began. "A lot of things. For one of course as you can see, I changed faces again. But before that I spent quite a bit of time in Bristol at St. Lukes University watching a vault. Nardole was not quite what I call a fun companion, but he kept me true to my word none the less. I'm glad he did, but I had to watch it because of a promise I made. Needless to say that promise did eventually mold into somethin' else and now the responsibility is over, but it didn' help me in being able to go anywhere without it as a reminder. Though...now that I think about it, I wonder if what I had done had been best after all."

She took another drink, "Anyway, so I had gained a new companion at the time, Bill. Great gal, miss her greatly. Always so curious about everythin', little to no fear. Alas, I failed her. As I often do with companions it seems."

She looked down a bit trying not to remember the scenario on the ship with the black hole. She sighed, "Needless to say, it was cybermen. Damn things, they're about as much a menace as Daleks, every time. It's how I ended up with this face. I stayed so the rest could live and try and make it off the ship. I stood my ground against those tin men. Of course I lost track of my other charge, the one from the vault. The one I should have made sure was dead, but I didn' because I was dying myself. That's where the real danger began."

She took another deep drink of tea, "I should have known. I should have seen it. I had got so lost in my regeneration and new set of companions that I got reckless. It didn' help that from the very beginning of this face I was being led down a path. My gut was telling me somethin' was wrong, but I for some reason wasn' listin' to it. which is not like me. I..."

Could she do this? Could she say what had to be said. She didn't know. just thinking even about it made her feel so hollow inside it seemed. She'd not even said anything to her current companions.

"I haven' been even able to tell them, my companions. Ryan...Graham...Yaz...; their all back home right now because I just can'. Ohhh, why didn't I just check before! I knew she'd have a way out, she always did, even when she wasn' a she. I really messed up this time Vastra."

The Doctor put down her tea and leaned forward and put her hands to her face, rubbing it slightly in a tired frustration, letting her elbows rest on the upper part of her knees. She hadn't been clear about the person in the vault being Missy. She wasn't even sure she'd ever talked about The Master before to Vastra. However a part of her felt that right now if she even uttered The Masters name, he'd somehow pop up somehow, somewhere. Not something she was quite keen on right now in this state.

[Madame Vastra]

Vastra frowned, she had gone to pick up her drink while The Doctor was speaking but when she had done talking, the Silurian had set the drink down again and moved to sit herself next to the woman. She would make a quick attempt to wrap a comforting arm around The Doctor but should she show any signs of discomfort or anything of the sort, she would've instantly retracted this arm. With a tilt of her head in her usual curious fashion, she would speak up once more.

"You are not a failure, nor did you mess up as much as you think you did. Could you have done things better? Perhaps, but this is not for me to give a definite answer on, it is all down to perspective. Does it make you any less of a person? No, of course not. You are and always will be The Doctor. Nobody can take this from you. And what does The Doctor always manage to do? Find a really smart way to get himself...uhh, herself, my apologies, out of tricky situations. This is no different, my friend. As for your companions, you have always known how to pick them. Incredibly well. If you tell them, I am certain they will understand, there is nothing to fear. If you need, I will even come with you to act as support but you would need to get the words out, yourself. Now, come on Doctor...chin up, shoulders back. A frown has never suited any of your faces.......alright, perhaps your last one. But certainly not this one."

She had smirked, chuckling softly. In one final push to get The Doctor back to her cheery self, she had figured the Time Lady needed a laugh. And if she still managed to maintain the arm around the woman, this gave Madame Vastra the perfect chance to do exactly that. She'd start rapidly poking her side. Did she know if this incarnation was ticklish? No. Did she know if any of them were? Not really. But since she was planning on playing this act off as an accident to start off with, this didn't matter to her much. All that mattered was trying to get a smile on The Doctor's face. And most should know that while Vastra has a way with words, she is also incredibly cheeky when she wishes to be so.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

The Doctor wasn't still sure if hugs were a thing for this face, but she wasn't half against it as her last face had been. For some reason that face was just adamant against them. She let Vastra put an arm around her as she listened to the woman talk. Her voice was gentle but reassuring. Vastra was right though, she normally was. A voice of reason in the dark. A part of her cursed inside, this meant that the TARDIS did it again, did what she always did and took her where she needed to go. The Doctor really didn't want to have to go back to her ship and say "ok you were right", that was pride damaging, but alas she was going to have to eventually.

She was going to get out a sigh of giving in to what Vastra said, but before she could, and before she could even say that Vastra was even right, the reptilian female had poked her in the side. What was that for? Then she felt it again, was that actually her own body reacting? Was she actually the one weakness she never thought she could be ever? Was she actually...ticklish? Nooooo...that couldn't be, that would mean she had a weakness that was exploitable by friends around her!

Her eyes went wide and she nearly jumped out of her skin as the tickling was almost like her side touched a hot wire, just not anywhere near as dangerous.

"Oi!" she cried out in surprise. She then put on her most mischievously serious face. "You know my thoughts on tickling!"

No Vastra didn't because The Doctor never told her but, still...try and lie and see how the woman would react anyway. After a few seconds of trying to look so serious, The Doctor finally cracked a smile as she attacked Vastra back, "Those are fightin' fingers! Start a tickle war, you best be ready to finish it!"

[Madame Vastra]

Vastra smiled softly upon seeing the expression on The Doctor's face change. She didn't need to hear any speech in order to know that she had done her job at least partly well. After all, she could read anyone like a book and there was so much that she could gather from her friends face at this stage. It was enough to write a novel! No, a trilogy, even! There was a lot she could take from this. Her smile only widened when she saw how the Time Lady reacted. Seeing her react to the poking was one thing but catching sight of the 'serious' expression that she knew all too well was playful and the complete opposite of what it appeared to be, this made her heart warm up. She was glad she had been able to cheer her up, but now came the part of keeping her happy.

"My my, Doctor. I never knew you were ticklish. Here I was, moving my hand slightly and then this happens! I must say, it is rather adorable. I have used this tactic successfully many times on Jenny, never did I think I'd see the day I could attempt it on you. Let alone it would actually work. This is certainly some....somethihihi....something...."

Her words were cut off by a quiet giggle. In truth, she knew she, herself, was ticklish but she had always been able to expect when most of these attacks came as the majority came from her wife when they were alone and she had learned to expect it, but she didn't see this coming and it had caught her off guard, sending her into a fit of giggles. Once they started, they were just pouring out of her reptilian lips. A constant streamed that dared not show any signs of ceasing.

"Nohoho! I dohohon't! You never...ehehe....told me anything like that!"

Madame Vastra managed to get out through her fit of giggles. She was enjoying this but she knew she had to get back at The Doctor and she had been thinking of a plan the whole time. See, she had been looking into the weak points of apes and since the Time Lords were vastly similar, she had took a wild guess in that their weak spots were the same. One of the most common weaknesses were the soles of a persons feet. The angling here would make that difficult for most but not Vastra. She was nimble, so in one quick movement, she'd attempt to trap The Doctor's left leg between her own. If this was achieved, the Time Lady would find a hard time escaping, due to Vastra's long time spent fighting, she had built up a lot of leg muscle. If she had her leg trapped, she'd quickly remove The Doctor's shoe, and then her sock. She would then strike by wiggling her scaly fingers all over the woman's sole. She was no amateur either, she tickled with such expertise, it would be clear she had been doing this for a long time.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

The match of women looked like a WWE sport of tickles. It was quite amusing and if Jenny and Strax (most especially Strax) would have found the occasion quite entertaining to say the least. Strax would have gotten a bucket of popcorn if it had been available in the time period. He'd have been sitting there with his potato head and potato body, shoveling in bits of popped corn kernels like a muppet on holiday. Luckily for the two, they weren't there to mock them or give them a hard time for their going ons. Yet all the same they looked a bit like those cartoons with the animals flopping and flailing about like a dog cat fight with dust flying in the air. Eventually The Doctor tried to get free, but alas her leg had become captured in certain grasp and she was unable to release it from the hold it was in. Not good. Not good at all. Worst of all Vastra had been too keen and took quick and had managed too well to remove both shoe and sock to let the time lady get out of her grasp. The Doctor squeaked out with shock trying desperately to get away. This is unbecoming of a time lord or lady such as herself and to be The Doctor and so vulnerable was so highly unthinkable. Oh if her other selves saw her. They'd be highly embarrassed to know she allowed herself to become this way.

Finally after enough wriggling and wiggling after being loosed to the floor from where she'd been sitting, she was able to pull away, "Ooo ...you fiend."

She tilted her head in a way of saying "Oh you'll pay for that.". She then got a mischievous smirk on her face. She was going to try and drag Vastra down with her. It was un ladylike for the 1800's, but they were alone. There was no one watching them so who cared if the two were on the floor like a pair of children playing.

[Madame Vastra]

Vastra merely laughed when she fell down with The Doctor. In truth, she didn't even think about the possibility of Strax or Jenny seeing them. They weren't likely to due to being busy but even if they did manage to find the two doing this, Strax would likely just be a confused potato, somewhat wondering what it was but probably not asking since the actions might have him scared of getting an answer he wouldn't quite want to hear. And Jenny might have just found this cute, if anything. Jenny knew that Vastra was her wife and that nothing would get in the way of that so she'd likely see this as a similar thing to what Vastra was feeling it as. Because in truth, Vastra did feel like she was just playing around with a child. She had made a mistake in even thinking about this however, since she was now thinking about how much she did desperately want to be a mother but she was too scared to speak with Jenny about it, especially since the two were unable to have a child of their own. But Vastra was going out on a tangent in her thoughts, she had to focus on what was going on.

"Oof! Well that was just both rude and silly, Doctor. Hmm...I think we should do a little exploring, don't you? In fact...I happen to keep something in my pocket all the time. I never know when Jenny will show up and decide to be cheeky, you see. So I always have it. It has proven to be highly effective on both her and myself....especially my foot, eugh. One of the few places the scales are soft and highly sensitive . But....let's see if Humans and Time Lords share a weakness, shall we? I do wish to hear you laugh and the Earth knows that you really need one right now, don't you?"

Vastra chuckled, what she didn't realise was her mistake in just blurting out the sheer fact about her foot, since it was right next to The Doctor's hand and even worse for Vastra, likely even better for The Doctor, it was bare. She couldn't be more vulnerable. So even though Vastra still had The Doctor's leg trapped, they could still both get at each other at the same time. What she took from her dress however, she took in a way that The Doctor wouldn't be able to see it. Vastra heard that if they didn't know what was coming, it would take them by surprise and have a higher chance of making them drown in their own laughter. Without warning, she'd suddenly start dragging the object up and down The Doctor's foot, brushing away like an artist. The object, would be easily identifiable as a feather, one of what Vastra had thought to be the most deadly tickling tool known to man. At least, that's what Jenny had told her and it worked a treat from her experience so it only made sense that it might be the tool that would finally make The Doctor crack and start giggling like a child.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

Oh gods, not the cursed feather! That was the one thing most of the universe couldn't avoid if they had any form of exposed area and good nerves to receive information with. Any being could be tortured by the feather. Even The Doctor. She could try her damnedest to hold back the giggles and laughing, but there was no chance ever for her to be able to hold it in forever. No she'd turn into a school girl very quickly with a feather that was for sure. If Vastra had tried this on any of her incarnations past, they wouldn't have had it, at least most of them. Some she was sure would have maybe caved in after a while, but some incarns had just been down right prudes. Her last incarnation sure wouldn't have had it that was for certain. He was too much a grumpy pants, but ask the two previous incarnations before that and sure they probably would have. It's uncertain if her incarn just after the time war would have or not, but there maybe might have been a small margin of chance, maybe but not strongly likely.

This Doctor, however, was going to cave like a stacked house of cards that just barely got touched. Yet she was not going to go down without a strong fight at all. She herself would try and get at some exposed part of Vastra as retribution. Be it feet, hands, or even those softer spots on Vastra's neck that she knew would possibly make Vastra hiss with giggles and make her try and squirm away, at least that was the hope. However, it was proving difficult with the feather in the equation, she had to get that feather.

All in all though, The Doctor did break out in fits of strong giggles and some cries out of laughter. "You will not win! Hahaha!"

[Madame Vastra]

Vastra laughed to herself, finding it amusing that The Doctor wasn't attempting to strike back yet. She realised a bit too late, that she gave herself away but she didn't care. Right now, she had the Time Lady at her mercy and she was taking full advantage of this. The feather swiping away methodically, almost as if Madame Vastra was painting a picture. She did always have an artistic side to her but whether or not The Doctor knew this about her, she couldn't quite remember since a lot of their encounters were brief and more often than not, they were always taken up by a busy situation. Such as killer snowmen or robot people killing dinosaurs. Either way, they were busy so she had forgotten what personal details The Doctor had about her.

"Is that so? You might be older than me, Doctor but think very carefully about this question. Which one of us has spent years tickling other people? You forget, I have a wife. This is a regular thing for myself with her."

She giggled quietly, thinking she had her with that one, though she decided to tease a little more with just one quick question. Her voice was dripping with that mischevious tone of hers. The tone that even on its own, stated 'run for your life.' as it wasn't one she often graced that lizard like tongue with.

"Though I doubt thinking is easy for you right now, is it?"

[Thirteenth Doctor]

"And you...Madame Vastra..." The Doctor tried to breathe between fits of laughing. "Forget that I once was a parent!"

She wriggled and moved and was able to finally get free enough to turn the tides on the Silurian. Now she was able to go kamikaze on the reptilian woman and completely and utterly spazz out on her in the form of tickles herself. Striking a bit like a cobra in her mannerisms until she could get her hands on some weak point of Vastra's.

"I know the element of patience." she said in mischievous darkness. And The Doctor did have a family once, she wasn't lying about That. What she was probably exaggerating was the memory depth on it. However, sometimes natural instincts kicked it even if they'd been so long forgotten. Probably to act as a protective mechanism.

As was she wasn't completely free of Vastra yet, the woman could attack back with that damn feather. What was worse was The Doctor, kamikaze tickle attacks or not, was still not able to retrieve that thing from her. However, in the midst of all the wrestling about and tickles, The Doctor did end up to alleviate herself of the weight of the thoughts she'd had prior. They were still serious, still very much dangerous, but for the second she was not as burdened. Yet sooner or later such things would have to be face head on. Yet as always The Doctor had a hard time facing those things head on until she absolutely had too. Then she'd do it when she was backed into the corner and had to act on the spot. Maybe that was why she was trying so hard to nip it in the butt sooner this time. Since many times in the past she'd get herself into more trouble than she could bargain for.

But for now she was going to either die or at least potentially pass out from laughing eventually. However, she wasn't going to give up until she was the reigning champion. They were not going to come out of this both successful. One or the other would eventually have to cave, and it was not going to be her, no way.

[Madame Vastra]

Madame Vastra would let out a quiet, playful hiss as soon as she felt those devilish fingers make contact once again. This hiss did not last long however as she delved back into her giggling fit that she had started prior. It was true that only one of them was coming out of this as the victor but they both had the same thought. Vastra was not about to let herself be beaten by someone that looked like one of the primitive apes that now walk the planet of which her people stood proudly upon, a long, long time ago. But Vastra had advantages. Two of them but she didn't think to tell The Doctor just yet. Her first one was yes, she was ticklish, very much so. But, and she didn't know if The Doctor did or did not, she personally enjoyed being on the receiving end of it. Until it got painful to laugh, she didn't want it to stop. Her other advantage was experience. Yes, the Gallifreyan basically admitted to dishing it out to her own youth but something told the Silurian that she wasn't exactly used to being tickled and thought that those new to the feeling would cave easier. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realise the words coming out of her own mouth.

"Eeeee!!! Hehehe!! You might have been one, Doctor! But by the.....ahahaha!!! Earth below us, you are certainly making me feel like....pffft gah, no no, not there! ...making me feel like I am one, currently!"

She continued laughing, she couldn't even stop the words from leaving her mouth. They just sort of escaped it, as if the words had their own mind to obey instead of Vastra's own. She was not giving up just yet though. She had beaten Jenny too many times to count, she could beat The Doctor at this silly game. She didn't want to risk leaning her arm back in order to get at The Doctor's side because she knew she'd be risking the Time Lady grabbing the feather. Instead, she sought to immobilise her other leg so she could get at that foot as well. While she was doing this however, she was still furiously feathering the foot that was already under her control. She didn't want The Doctor to regain any of her strength because Vastra gave her a little break. She was very good at multitasking.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

"Wha' a child or a parent." she said laughing. "Or both."

This was getting quite ridiculous to say the least. They both looked a bit like frumpy messes. However, it was a mess that The Doctor wasn't regretting right then. Yet this charade wasn't going to go on forever she knew. One of them was going to have to give eventually. What was worse was the tea she'd abandoned she knew was now starting to cool and would become cold before she got back to it. Oh how her mind flitted to the thought of taking another sip of the sweet liquid. But finishing a tickle war first was of priority.

In the midst of their waring though, The Doctor was almost now nearly to tears of laughing in her attempts to thwart Vastra. This was not going well it seemed. She was going to try and use the oldest trick in the book though to try and get an upper hand on the other woman. The good old divert attention trick.

"Oh look is that Jenny and Strax I just heard?" she tried to fane. They weren't really there, but she had to try anyway.

[Madame Vastra]

This was a trick that the Silurian had not been expecting. Sure, Madame Vastra had her wars with Jenny but when they did, the two knew that Strax was busy with his own things. They were very particular about their times and making sure that Strax wasn't around to see. This meant that neither of them had even thought of the 'Hey is that him?' trick before since they both knew full well that it wasn't going to work. But this time was different, Vastra looked over.

"Huh? Where? I can't see them anywhere...but uh, definitely both!"

She didn't know where her accomplices were or when they'd come back so she thought The Doctor was serious. Madame Vastra was very serious about her part to play in this tickle war however, proven by the fact that she still kept The Doctor's ankle trapped tightly in one of her arms, her other hand furiously waving that soft feather over her sole. She even got a mischievous idea and moved it somewhere she knew to be weaker on most people. The toes. And she wasn't going to go easy, she began sawing the feather between two of them at a rapid pace. However, The Doctor did now have a chance. While Vastra didn't let up on her own tactics, she had moved to get a better view out the window. This meant that her own, bare and scaly foot was right next to The Doctor's hand, the Time Lady could easily reach it at this point. And with what Vastra had let slip earlier, this could have been a perfect chance to get some payback.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

The Doctor knew that reptilians of any sort had softer under parts of most things, which included certain parts of the neck, belly, palms, and feet. Everything else was a bit tougher. She took the advantage and grabbed ahold of Vastra's foot and attacked it vigorously like a cat attacking a play toy, but more in the tickling fashion than not. She loved the old divert attention tactic. She wasn't going to let go and if she got the upper hand, she get to that scaly skinned woman's neck just because she was certain that that would make her squirm like a school girl. Heck even catching the woman's sides and abdomine would do it too. But for now she'd take solace with the foot.

"Hah! Works every time!" The Doctor cried out with a sense of slight victory. "Never under estimate a time lor-er Lady!"

She was definitely feeling better, and she was sure her tea was getting very cold by now, but she didn't care. Her worries were still there, but they were definitely fading to the back of the mid for the time being. All the weight she'd come to own was sort of lifted and shared at this point. She knew if she was in need of vastra's assistance with anything, she'd get it.

[Madame Vastra]

Vastra didn't really bother to think about the tea going cold but when that came up, she knew she could just brew up some more for the two of them. She had plenty of it so making some more wasn't exactly going to be an issue. Due to hearing her 'opponent' laughing beforehand, Vastra had thought she had the upper hand with the feather and The Doctor's foot in her hands, she was so sure that was going to be the cause for her victory, but what she didn't expect was for the Time Lady to be able to reach herfoot in return. She was too focused on the offensive tactic that she completely disregarded the defensive and that almost cost her the battle. She bursts out laughing as her sole is attacked. Her body moves position, she seemed to get closer to The Doctor, making it easier for the alien to get various other spots if she wished so but she was now able to pin down both ankles with one arm, an advantage that she took instantly, knowing it would be helpful to her in the long run.

"Don't count me out just yehehet!Ohh earth mother below! When did you get so good at this?! That is what I would like to know...either way, it does not matter! I am not quite down just yet, you forget what is still in my possession...you are going down now, Doctor!"

Despite it being absolutely swarmed with her own laughter, Vastra's tone was completely audibly playful and having The Doctor's ankles pinned under one arm certainly gave the Silurian the advantage she needed. This was it, no more misses nice lizard. While she continued to saw the feather inbetween the womans toes, often alternating between various sets of two, merely to keep herself unpredictable so the doctor wouldn't be able to see it coming and prepare any mental defences, she also started ruthlessly scribbling her scaly fingers along her other sole without any warning at all. She had hoped to gain the element of surprise with this method of tickling.

[Thirteenth Doctor]

This hitting a climax, she could feel it Sooner or later one of them was going to win, and now more than ever, The Doctor was resolved to make that her. After all if she could best a Silurian that was quite an accomplishment. However, if the Silurian won at this point, it would have been seen as a good fighting attempt. Losing was a hard thing for Silurian's to swallow because they were reptilian and it was a part of the genetic makeup of their kind. Silurian's were a pride filled bunch...a bit like Klingons, so on a normal occasion winning against one would be seen as a fatal error, especially if they were of the warrior sect. However, in the case of Vastra, The Doctor was in a sure state that she would take losing with a good nature. Mostly because of how she'd turned out being with the rest of her gang, they gave her a bit of humanity, and that in and of itself was something The Doctor was proud of for her.

It was definitely getting hard to hold back the laughter. Try as she might have to defeat Vastra so far had been so fruitless. However, she'd definitely got Vastra to laugh and that was priceless. Yet like a dam her own pressure of laughter finally had to hit a breaking point. She was laughing so hard, so strongly, so loudly, that it was at the point of nearly uncontrolled. She was practically losing context of her own tickling as she just let it all out in a stream of tears and an almost witch like cackle that was pretty much unbecoming of The Doctor and one she never thought she'd ever be able to do. Her face was red and her chest hurt like hell. Her hearts beated so fast right then that it was almost unthinkable what the rhythm was at this point.

If she hadn't been red already, she would have been now from embarrassment. She was gleeful though that getting the reptilians foot worked. What else could she get to make the woman squirm. Maybe even let The Doctor go. She had to be quick though.

"I.." she breathes heavily. "Don't think...so."

If anyone was going to KO anyone, it was going to be her KOing Vastra. Getting her sides didn't do it, getting her feet didn't do it, so what was left to try. It took her a moment to think, and a moment longer than she would have liked, but still at least still only a moment. It was then that she wondered and devised a plan to see if the reptilians exposed neck would be the Archives heel to tickling. She was going to go for it with a free hand, while trying to keep another at Vastra's foot. If the neck worked, she'd full on attack it and get Vastra to submit to a loss. Then they could just lay there panting and still laugh even if they're not tickling each other anymore.