torchwoodteaboy | el nysa inbox;

( she chuckles, partly at the comment and partly at how close he is to getting a real answer. he'll have to be more specific than that to get the good details even if she does like him )

52nd century. Travelling through space is very common.

( time is just for those in the know )

[He can't help but raise his eyebrows at that.]

Huh. 52nd? That's... A bit further out than I was, I'm afraid. We hadn't quite gotten in the habit just yet.

[Sticking his hands in his pockets, he continues:] I had always thought it would be exciting. To get to travel like that. Out among the stars, on an adventure. Now that I find myself living on a foreign planet though, I only find myself missing home. Maybe I wasn't ever really cut out for it from the start.

Or you haven't had the right adventure.

( river knew that not everyone was cut out for it, there were some that she'd adventured with that would gladly stay home, but if he'd considered it before he may still enjoy it )

You didn't exactly choose this one. I find that helps.

[He offers her the flick of a smile.]

No, I suppose you could say I didn't choose it, really. If I had, I don't know that I would have chosen quite these circumstances...

Though I can't say that everything has worked out so bad, in the end.

What have you enjoyed about it?

( she casually links her arm with his, letting him direct them to the bar as they talk )

[Ianto smiles at her again, leading her down the street as they walk. The place that he's chosen isn't too far, but it's a good enough walk for a conversation.]

The company.

[He flicks his smile wider before glancing back ahead of them at the street ahead. It isn't a lie, after all. He's enjoyed meeting all the people he has. Getting to know them and the worlds they've come from. Growing close to maybe a specific someone...

Even if that situation is up in flames, at the moment. His smile falters slightly, but he does his best to act naturally and pretend otherwise.]

I'd be lying if I didn't say it wasn't exciting as well. To get to know this place, explore it, learn about its people, its traditions, its history.

( river notices the range of emotions in his expression but with how little she knows him she doesn't ask, not pressing too much. she would like to know him better though, to know what puts that smile on him )

I could help you with that. ( she was very good at being able to find out those things. it was what she'd trained to do even without the exploration of alien planets and times. that just made her skills even better ) I do still need a guide and I'm very good at figuring places out.

[He glances back at her at the offer, raising his eyebrows slightly at the emphasis on the 'very'.]

You are, are you? From all the traveling you've done, then? A hobby of yours, is it?

( a very good guess, ianto, and whilst it helps the answer is much simpler than that )

I'm an archaeologist.

( history, other cultures, people. all her speciality. maybe not the people )

An archaeologist? Really?

[Ianto raises his eyebrows further at that.]

From the 52nd century, that must be... A pretty wild field of study by that point, certainly.

Exactly how I like it.

( never mind that she was also a time travelling archaeologist. such adventures, such stories. and she'd even tell him some )

Every planet has its own story -- many of them, in fact.

[He nods in response to this. He can believe it. If every different planet is as varied as this world they've wound up on here, he can certainly believe it himself.]

Forgive me for the obvious, perhaps boring question, but. Done any work on Earth?

[He flicks her the hint of a smile.]

Your history being my present day, after all. Must be pretty odd, all things considered.

I've done a lot of work on Earth.

( though in years that would be his history. it also wasn't archaeological so much as it was investigatory. she'd spent a good few months as a p.i. after all )

My last time there vaguely expedition-wise was-- Rome.

( and she hadn't gone digging for archaeology either )

Rome, huh? I suppose that would be an archaeologist's dream, working there. Certainly more than Wales, at any rate.

[He flicks her another smile, before turning to look forward again at the road ahead.]

I did a bit of work with artifacts too, if you can believe it. Not as an archaeologist, though. [He tilts his head towards her.] Once upon a time, I used to be an archivist.

I wouldn't be able to do my job well without a good archivist.

( which is probably why river did all of her research herself and ignored them. she didn't trust the ones she'd encountered to be good )

Though I wouldn't count Wales out. Everything has a history.

( and the wales she knows has an interesting one )

[He smiles in response to her comment about archivists.]

Well. I try my best. Though you're right about that much. Everything has a history. And Wales is more exciting than a lot of people give it the credit for.

[Especially when you work to collect alien artifacts, and the city has a habit of spitting them out at you at that.]

Exciting? That's starting to sound like somewhere I'd enjoy.

( and that's without knowing the best bits )

Just what makes it so thrilling?

[Ianto taps the side of his nose and leads her off down a side street and into an unassuming building nearby. It could be anything from a shop to a restaurant, but as promised Ianto has brought her to one of his more favorite places to catch a drink. It's a bit as though a saloon were to have crossed itself with a pub, if that pub were also to have been on an alien planet of course. Rather similar to the feel of the coffee shop that he works in across town. Maybe that helps him enjoy it all the more.]

Here we are then.

[He leads her to a spot at the bar, allowing her to get herself situated before he answers her question at last.]

I suppose you could say it was the city itself. Cardiff, that is. As odd as that might sound. And my job. The organization I worked for, and the people who worked there with me.

( ooh, you cheeky thing, ianto. but she appreciates the challenge, already thinking of other ways that she might have to use to get that information from him.

she lets it fall quiet for a moment to just take a look around as they walk through the 'saloon'. she takes note of how many people are there, where the exits are and perhaps even catching sight of the more expensive drinks. for another day )

Your job as an archivist?

( few would go so far as to say their work was thrilling but perhaps he really loved his work -- and river could appreciate that )

[Ianto slips his backpack off, setting it down at his feet and offering her the flick of a smile. He knows how it must sound, especially to someone who knows exactly how exciting archives can be at times. (In other words, not very exciting at all.)

Still, he can't say that he's lying. Even when he'd worked in the historical museum in Wales, he'd enjoyed what he'd done. But the things he worked with, the job he had had most recently...]

Yeah. I suppose you could say that Torchwood kept even the most boring positions on their toes.

( river had been halfway through ordering a drink when it had come up. it made her freeze, recognition flickering in her expression, with her taking a few seconds before finishing the order, slowly turning back to him.

she'd been careful to never run into them after hearing, and reading, of their past exploits, and though it seemed that their 'more recent' (in his perspective) endeavours were not so cruel there was still some bias. her husband's interactions with them in the past were all she knew and she trusted his judgement )

Torchwood?

( in cardiff. with the rift. oh, this certainly was an unexpected development )

Well, unless it's a large coincidence, I believe your Earth is the one I know.

[Ianto catches that look that River flashes at him, and tilts his head at her, raising an eyebrow of his own. He raises a hand to the bartender and orders a drink himself before he turns to ask:]

A coincidence? How do you mean?

[What's he said that's sparked that glimmer of recognition in her eyes?]

Torchwood Three is situated in Cardiff.

( was by her time but from his point of view, it's still currently there so that's the tense she chooses.

river waits, letting him confirm or deny that he's also talking about the same torchwood, that it isn't coincidentally something else with the same name, almost ignoring her drink when it arrives )

[He watches her for a long moment. She knows about Torchwood Three? From the future? He has to wonder what sort of an impact they leave, that she should have heard about them living in the 52nd century, but he supposes that it's not him specifically she's heard about. He tries hard not to think about what exactly he might have left in the record books at all. Torchwood employees don't exactly live to draw their pensions, and it's not like that timeline is possible now, having been stolen to this place, anyway.]

That's right. 2007 -- we're the last active Torchwood base. Centered on the Cardiff Rift. And I'm their archivist.

[He pauses a beat, before continuing:] I expect I don't have to explain to you what that means, then.

No, you don't.

( there's a pause, river turning her head to take her drink, a rather sizeable mouthful being swallowed from it )

It explains why being on another planet may not be the most surprising thing. The planet perhaps but not the alien nature of it.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject