[ Places to see, things to do, planets and people to help, busy, busy all the time. Dashing about across the stars, the madman with a box never stops, except when...he's suddenly and forcibly wrenched far away from said box, dropped in the middle of — well, it's not nowhere, is it, anywhere is somewhere even if he doesn't immediately know where. A madman with a box, suddenly without a box or any sense of what's going on except, 'You are the Interloper. You are not part of nature’s design.'

As welcomes go, it's not exactly up to the task. Needs reworking, obviously. He'll lodge official complaints later.

After he's addressed the fact that he's woken up outside in the middle of thick snow, which wouldn't be even close to the most unusual thing that's ever happened to him quite frankly except that he actually feels cold.

Funny thing, that. He's always been able to tolerate with minimal discomfort the sort of extreme temperatures that most humanoid species wouldn't be able to. So this is altogether strange, unsettling, not as it should be. ]

Right! Okay, not just another Tuesday. I thought I ordered the tourist package when I booked, you know, lovely amenities, chocolate on the pillow. Might have mentioned this bit in the brochure.

[ All said to himself as he stands and rubs his hands together rapidly for warmth. Not the sort to ever stay still for long even on a good and normal day, the Doctor is quick to follow the path ahead when he's caught sight of it. For at least a little while, it seems to be a solitary trek, but then he hears a sound like someone approaching and he calls out — ]

Hello! Option one: you're someone like me who's just arrived and needs a 'venturing in the forest' buddy. I'm good at that! Big fan of forests and getting out of them. Option two: you've been here a while but still want to get out of the forest — excellent, we already have something in common.

Option three: none of the above, you wouldn't be able to say otherwise if you were, and yes, yes, shutting up now.

[ The sensation of warmth after the protracted journey through the cold is something the Doctor won't be taking for granted anytime soon. He's had enough time to think, his normally frenetic mind making leaps and bounds and twists and turns as he considers where they are exactly, how his usual abilities could be gone, or at the very least, muted for the time being. The TARDIS simply being gone is perhaps the biggest point of concern on a long list of them. He would know if something had happened to her, he's not worried about that, but even if they were sabotaged and thrown off course, there would have been a trace of her, but now there's nothing at all.

He's not the type to feel fear in the usual way, not as many would, but deep down to his (annoying chilled) bones, the Doctor is deeply unsettled.

There's a roaring fire, though, there's food on offer, and there's a host who's kind when he doesn't need to be, for whom the Doctor will have endless questions sooner rather than later. For now, he finds himself happy to hunch close to the fire and warm his hands there while he takes in everything about their surroundings that he possibly can, cataloging it all like an encyclopedia in his mind. So far, there's — Chapter One: Oh That's Odd followed quickly by Chapter Two: If You're Worried This Might Get Boring Don't Worry It Only Gets Stranger From Here and Chapter Three: Bread! Lovely!

No detail goes unnoticed, down to the smallest and most subtle mannerisms of their host, and the others here.

Noticing someone nearby who appears to be lost in thought (at the very least), the Doctor softly asks — ]

You okay?

[ Well no, they wouldn't be, would they? But he finds it a helpful lead-in more often than not. Maybe... ]