[ can't replace what's irreplaceable - he isn't simon, and nothing can fill that hole in her heart. but to have someone that cares about her well-being, let alone the doctor with his strange and unique way of looking at the world that seems to skip hand in hand with river's own madness, is a gift all on its own.

she listens to his rambles with a warm smile, head resting on her knees to look at him sideways. ]

Shouldn't start a story you don't want to finish, she'll listen forever.

[ a dangerous combination! ]

But codenames first. I like Astra. Latin, for "star."

[ one of her most favorite things, and perhaps the only place she's ever truly felt at peace.

river's eyes wander away for a second as she thinks of the latin word for doctor, then all the other languages stored in her memory. not there, so she tries again, considering a healer, a teacher, a traveller. one that looks for the fantastic and real and imaginary with no limitations. makes faces and carries the world on his shoulders. ]

Yūgen.

[ the word escapes her before she finally blinks back to the doctor. it's like it takes a second to return to the current moment, her focus adjusting before she finally smiles. ]

"A deep and mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe." Suits you. But you can scrunch your nose.