Hmm. Not gonna lie, pretty much every time I’m alone in my dorm and something moves or falls over, I usually form a quick plan for what I’d do if it were caused by a borrower. Ideally, I’d want to befriend the little person, or at least talk to them, but if it seemed that they were just too scared of me I wouldn’t make them stay against their will.
Tag: giant/tiny
Zepheera-Vision — Cats (4/4)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
In the depths of the TARDIS, a black and white tuxedo cat lounged on a table. It had just woken up from a three-hour nap and thoroughly groomed itself when a small grey tabby kitten appeared in front of it, drawing its attention. The kitten mewed at the cat, crying for help as it was lifted even higher. The cat watched lazily as the man underneath the kitten slowly straightened and removed the kitten from his head, staring at the cat owlishly as he did so.
This room, as well as several others throughout the TARDIS, was crawling with cats of varying ages and breeds, the younger ones nipping at the Doctor’s ankles while the older ones kept a nonchalant eye on the Time Lord. Such had been the state of the TARDIS for about a week.
“Doctor!” a hushed voice rang out somewhere above his head. His eyes darted around looking for the source, ending the staring contest between him and the cat–which he rather resembled in his black suit and white button-down.
“Up here!” the voice hissed again, leading him to look up at the air vent high up in the wall above the table. Seeing who was calling him, the Doctor grinned without reaching his eyes.
“Zepheera!” exclaimed the Time Lord, shifting the kitten in his hands to a shoulder as he climbed up onto the table. This put him at perfect eye level with the vent.
“I haven’t seen you in days!” he remarked, seemingly emotionally unaffected by this fact. “How’ve you been? Are you eating well?” He stuck his fingers through the slats, as though trying to reach the very small woman inside the vent, but they were too big to make it past their second joints. But the borrower, all four and a half inches of her, would make quick work of the small space, he thought absently.
Zepheera scrambled back a few inches deeper into the vent at the approach of his digits. “Don’t do that!” she scolded, masking her fear.
The Doctor blinked slowly, a slight frown pinching just above glazed eyes. The fingers withdrew until their tips rested at the bottom of the vent’s opening, allowing him a place to rest his chin as he peered into the vent. “Zepheera, what’s the matter?”
She had to bite back a scoff at that. It should’ve been rather obvious to him why she was so wary, why she had spent the last few days hiding out in the depths of a ship she’d come to call home, sneaking food from the kitchens the few chances she got. If she were honest, a small part of her had missed living like this, like a proper borrower; but the illusion was broken by the need to hide from her best friend and the legion of cats he’d brought on board.
“I’ve contacted Torchwood,” she informed him rather than answering his question. “Captain Jack Harkness, you once told me he could be trusted. The TARDIS is set to pilot itself to their headquarters as soon as it receives their signal.”
“What’d you do that for?” asked the Doctor, more curious than concerned.
“Because I can’t very well fly this hunk of metal myself, can I?” Zepheera snapped, crossing her arms. “I’ve half a mind to make you teach me, once you’ve got half a mind.”
The Doctor tilted his head, clearly confused, and the little grey tabby mewed and crossed to his other shoulder.
“Look…You’re not yourself, Doctor,” she explained, placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t know if it’s the cats or the planet we were on or something else, but this isn’t you. And I just. Can’t. Handle this. Not on my own.”
For all her efforts to make him understand, she received a pair of big brown puppy-dog eyes in return. “No no, but the cats are friendly!” he insisted, breaking her heart a little more with each word. “I’m sure they’d be friends with you, too, if you’d just–”
He was cut off by the borrower suddenly lunging forward until her little fists slammed into the metal slats of the vent. The Doctor flinched back in surprise, blinking at her sudden outburst. Zepheera forced herself to slow her breathing, calm herself down, remind herself that it wasn’t the Doctor talking–not really.
“I would never befriend a cat!” she practically spat, venom coloring each word. “Not after what happened to Kernel…” Her voice trailed off at the mention of his name, and she squeezed her eyes shut to push back the memories and tears. He had only been ten years old…
“Your brother,” the Doctor replied at length.
Zepheera’s head snapped up. “Yes. You remember him, you remember me telling you about that!” Despite the grisly memories this situation had roused, Zepheera smiled for the first time in a week. “It’s still you.”
The Doctor didn’t respond; his brow was knit tightly together, as though he were trying to remember how exactly he knew what he’d said. Before he could even think about answering the borrower, the TARDIS rumbled and the familiar sound of the engines in flight rang throughout the beautiful machine.
“That’ll be Jack,” she remarked, backing away from the vent slowly. “I have to go. We’ll be there soon, and I’ve got to show them where you are.” Having warned him fairly, she turned to go.
“Wait!” the Doctor called after her. “Why won’t you come out? It’s all they want, and it’s all I want, so would you just…come out? Please? You don’t have to hide.”
Zepheera kept walking despite the chillingly familiar words, never once breaking her stride. “I’ll stop hiding once you understand why I have to.”
Asks and Prompts are open! | Submissions too!
okay, how bout 11?
In reference to this post.
11. “Stop manhandling me. I can get there on my own.”
It all happened so fast.
One minute, John Smith had been patiently scouring the internet for signs of danger–signs he would never have thought to look for if not for Zepheera, the four and a half inch tall woman who had turned his life on its head. The next, his apartment door exploded and heavily shrouded figures burst in.
John flew to the nearest window with a fire escape, narrowly dodging capture, and ran like he never had before. He didn’t stop until he’d put three blocks between himself and the building, collapsing against the wall of an alleyway, breathing heavily from the exertion and adrenaline.
A squirming against the right side of his chest elicited a surprised gasp from John. He knew exactly what, or rather who was struggling in the breast pocket of his shirt, but he barely remembered putting her there. He didn’t even think about it; the second he realized there was danger, his hand had been there to scoop up the borrower and ferry her to the pocket. Like some hidden instinct.
As he reached in delicately and lifted out her rumpled figure, he received a scathing glare from Zepheera’s intense, deep violet eyes. Before all the trouble, she had set strict ground rules for personal boundaries between her and John, detailing exactly how dangerous the human hand could be to someone like her, and how unpleasant it was to be grabbed by one.
He withered a little under her scrutiny.
“Sorry,” he muttered, sliding his back down the brick wall until he sat on the ground, letting the tiny woman off by his feet.
She nodded in acknowledgement of his apology once she was on solid ground, straightening her clothes and hair before regarding him again. “Did you get the watch?”
John heaved a disappointed sigh, running a hand down his face. The fob watch. Two days ago, it had been nothing more than an old relic he kept lying around, but now it seemed that the entire goddamn universe was after it. After him. And he’d gone and left it with the bad guys.
“Damn it, John…” Zepheera grumbled, massaging her pounding temples. “We can’t leave it. There’s every possibility they’ll find out where we hid it.”
John nodded, having finally caught his breath. “Alright, let’s go.” Without thinking he reached for her again, stopping only when she jumped out of the way.
“Stop manhandling me!” she scolded, and he drew his hand back like she’d burned it with her words. “I can get there on my own.”
John’s eyes widened. “What?”
“They could still be there! If they get a hold of that watch, that’s bad, but if they have the watch and you, that is the nightmare scenario. They want the Doctor, John, and that is the one thing we /cannot/ allow them to have.” Letting out a resigned breath, she looked up at him with a slightly softened expression. “You need to run. Go, find somewhere safe to hide. I’ve added a number to your mobile that’ll link you to the TARDIS, call it once you’re secure. I’ll find the watch. Alright?”
The human’s mouth was dry. He hated the idea of leaving Zepheera on her own with those things. She was so small and could be hurt so easily. Then again, he had no doubt she could use her size to her advantage.
“Alright.”
Zepheera-Vision — Cats (3/4)
“Come on, Zepheera, just say hello!”
The borrower in question stared up at the Doctor with affronted incredulity.
“This isn’t funny anymore, Doctor.” Her voice was so quiet and close to breaking that she finally elicited an emotional response from the Time Lord. He looked confused, but it was something, and she latched on to the chink in the armor she seemed to have found.
“I dunno if this is just you getting me to try new things or…or forget about my past, but this is just…” She heaved a deep breath to release some of the tension building up in her chest. “Doctor, you know exactly why I have a problem with cats, why a significant part of our friendship hinges on the fact–the fact–that you are not a cat person!”
“I’m not a cat person!” insisted the Doctor, his voice going a bit squeaky in the half-shout. The volume of his voice did nothing to faze Zepheera, who placed her hands on her hips and shot him a disbelieving look. The Doctor blinked, eyes trailing back to the kitten he was still holding and petting.
“Well…maybe I’m a kitten person.”
Zepheera groaned miserably.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Final part next Saturday!
Asks and Prompts are open! | Submissions, too!
Fanart
zepheera wormed her way into one of my oc sketch dumps a few days ago tada (ft. a terrified jason in lower right bc I could crop him out)
This was the best thing to wake up to! Yet another great drawing of Zepheera by @elitefourstevonnie!
Zepheera-Vision — Cats (2/4)
“Oh! Hello, little fella,” the Doctor softly greeted the dark, pink-ribboned kitten who’d managed to climb onto his shoulder. It mewed timidly as it looked down from its precarious perch. “Yeah, I bet it does look high,” replied the Time Lord, “but don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
“Doctor, what is a cat doing in my spot?” Zepheera demanded, tired of being continuously ignored.
This time, the Doctor actually spared her an exasperated glance. “Don’t exaggerate, he’s a kitten not a cat. And it’s my shoulder.”
“Where I sit! A lot!”
Another mewling cry escaped the kitten as its balance wavered; it was trying to crawl down the slope of the Doctor’s raised elbow with some difficulty. Its paw slipped and the Doctor’s free hand swung in to catch it before it fell. “Ooh! Careful. See, what’d I tell ya. I’ve got you…” Using both hands to support the small feline, he cradled it close and turned to look down at Zepheera, whose back was pressed firmly against a junk-filled box on the nearby table.
Oblivious of her skeptical scowl, he smiled and said, “Come on, Zepheera, just say hello!”
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Next Saturday!
Asks and Prompts are open! | Submissions too!
So…guess who’s been binge-watching Jessica Jones…
And guess whose brain has been popping out plot bunnies for hours, too.
minor JJ spoilers under the cut
- the Doctor and Zepheera landing in New York (probably to see a Broadway show or something nice and relaxing) but they run into Jessica or someone else who knows Kilgrave
- the Doctor being confused for Kilgrave in any way, and then he has to be a part of some plot to lure him out of hiding (kinda like that one time in Classic Who, with Two and Salamander)
- Jess whaling on the Doctor thinking he’s Kilgrave before realizing he’s not him and whisking him away, leaving Zepheera behind wherever Jess knocked the Doctor over
- just Jess and Zepheera interacting in general makes me giggle morbidly
Or worse…
- the Doctor needs to become human again for whatever reason, but something goes wrong while his biology is being rewritten, giving him mind control and a false history he believes shaped him into a psychotic sociopath
- the ‘Kilgrave’ version of the Doctor doing what Kilgrave does while Zepheera watches helplessly from a safe distance
- Zepheera following Kilgrave and Jessica and Reva as he makes Jessica dig up a strong box that contains a little yellow flash drive and an old fob watch
- Zepheera approaching him after the bus crash, trying to get to the pocket watch when in a daze Kilgrave declares that she’s not real and orders her to go away
- Zepheera finding Jessica after months of searching, only to become what Jess believes is an alcohol-induced hallucination
I need sleep…
JUS TTHE OTHER DAY I WAS THINKING “what would john smith do with zepheera how would this situation be handled” I CANT BELIEVE THIS IM PSYCHIC
One of us must be, that’s too funny!
I wrote that Zepheera-vision a few days ago and was just going to keep it in my drafts for a rainy day, but then I hit 20 followers and didn’t know how else to celebrate. I’m glad you liked it!
John Smith is a hidden gem, and one that I’d like to work with more now that I think about it. The fact that he is entirely separate from the Doctor leaves his personality wide open.
In a modern-day scenario like in the ZV, Zepheera would take on a normal role as a borrower just as John Smith would become an everyday man with an everyday job. Depending on how far John’s work was, she might follow him just to make sure whatever it is they’re hiding from doesn’t find him. But if that’s too risky of a journey, she might call in a favor from a borrower in the area.
The ZV also depicts a situation that is taking a turn for the worse. Maybe their pursuers are on their trail and she needs to convince him to leave or come back with her to the TARDIS, but either way she has no choice but to reveal herself. Clearly John doesn’t take it very well at first, but he can’t help warming up to this strange little woman who thinks he’s some kind of doctor.
Though she disapproves when he calls her cute, she can’t stop him from thinking it almost constantly.
Zepheera-Vision — Human Again
“Calm down, John.”
“What? Calm? I am calm. Calm and perfectly…sane. I mean, any normal bloke would just imagine a four inch tall woman telling him he’s actually an alien from outer space. And offering said tiny imaginary woman beans on toast is only polite, logical, and-and-and–” John Smith stammered as the more than slightly burnt toast jumped straight out of the toaster, throwing him off his already flustered rant. He tried to catch the flying bread in a knee-jerk reaction, succeeding only in hurting his fingers and swatting the food across the counter, thankfully away from Zepheera.
“This is crazy!” he snapped, throwing his hands in the air in utter exasperation. With a white-knuckled grip on the counter, he rounded on the self-proclaimed borrower. “More than that–it’s impossible! There’s no such thing as aliens, and I’m not even sure if you’re real! Tiny people just don’t exist. And even if they…if you are real, then…why me? Why did you have to come to me??” John squeezed his eyes shut as though it would make everything go away, anxiously rocking back and forth a little. This was all too much for him to handle at once.
But a light touch brushing against his knuckles made his eyes snap open and focus on Zepheera, who had laid her own tiny hand on his. His breath caught; she had looked small before, but now in direct comparison to his hand he felt so terribly large. He couldn’t help but stare in wonder at how she somehow found the nerve to approach a comparative giant who could hypothetically grab her at any time, one who had been shouting at her not a moment ago. For that, John thought she was an extraordinarily brave figment of his imagination.
“I’m real,” she promised. He watched as she leaned down and took hold of his first finger where it sat curled in a formerly tense fist. She lifted it, uncoiled it, and laid the very tip of it against her cheek, half-leaning against her shoulder. John could feel her soft, fine hair, her miniscule ear, the warmth of her skin, and he could no longer deny her existence. When she saw the recognition in his eyes, she shifted the finger against her shoulder–to sit more comfortably, John could assume.
“I know it doesn’t make sense, but you need to understand that it had to be you. You don’t know it yet, but we’re friends, you and I. I’m supposed to be watching out for you in case of trouble. And I’m afraid, John, that we really, really need to talk.”
Zepheera’s voice was so kind and sincere, and a small part of John could not resist that look in her teeny violet eyes. “Shall I get started on those beans then?”
She smiled, sending a bubble of warmth through John’s heart. He’d made her happy, and for whatever reason he was extremely proud of that. “Yeah, I think you better had. Gonna be a long chat.”
John waited for Zepheera to fully let his finger go before carefully lifting it away and walking to the cabinet by the stove.
“And that’s four and a half inches tall, thanks very much!”
Despite himself, John giggled at the correction.
Bonus post celebrating 20 followers! Thanks so much, you guys!
Asks and Prompts are open! | Submissions too!
Zepheera-Vision — Cats (1/4)
“NO.”
The Doctor’s attention snapped from the kitten in his hands to the borrower putting a safe distance between herself and him. “What! I didn’t say anything!” His wide grin belied his indignation.
“You KNOW how I feel about cats, Doctor!” Zepheera glared at the bundle of fur he held as it glanced around meekly. She wasn’t fazed, not even by the little pink bow around its neck. “I thought you hated cats.”
“Oh, don’t listen to ‘er, Jacks,” he cooed, lifting the kitten to his face. “She’s just being grumpy today.”
“No, don’t name it! You are NOT keeping them!”
Her protests went ignored as the Doctor looked fondly down at the other half-dozen kittens circling his feet, crying for his attention. The only solace Zepheera could find in the situation was that they were too young to jump onto the table she currently stood on; and even then, she kept as far from the edges as possible.
Beginning to feel desperate, Zepheera tried a different angle,
only slightly emboldened by the barrier of junk between them. “Doctor. If I wanted to bring a Dalek onto the TARDIS, let alone seven, you’d say no. Because the Daleks are predators and would be a threat to AT LEAST one of us!”
Still, the Doctor didn’t respond, lost in the fluffy cuteness that surrounded him.
Part 2 next Saturday!
Asks and Prompts here! | Submissions, too!
Borrowed Time and Space 