Daemon Muses: Parting of the Ways
Rose wakes up with Dee flitting nervously around her head. She can hear his wings, and when she opens her eyes, for a second he's just an annoying yellow blur before her vision clears and he resolves to... well, an annoying yellow canary. She swats at him distractedly, and he settles down onto her shoulder, preening her hair protectively. Who needs a mum when she has a daemon?
She pushes her hair out of her face, nearly knocking Dee off her shoulder in the process. "What happened?"
Dee tumbles off her shoulder and lands on one of the railings around the console area. "What happened?" he repeats, before the Doctor can answer. "You were am-"
Loreana pounces with a soft, low warning growl, and Dee cuts himself off. Small birds tend to when cupped between a jaguar's paws. Loreana holds him long enough to be sure he'll stay silent, and then releases him.
The Doctor takes hardly any notice, and asks Rose, "What do you remember?"
She tells him, and he makes a joke about singing, which doesn't explain anything. She smiles anyway, because he's alive and they're safe, and reminds herself to ask Dee another time, when Loreana won't stop him. She can't help but notice, though, the way Loreana's pacing around the console, tail lashing nervously, utterly belying the Doctor's cheerfulness.
"Doctor?"
For a second, he doesn't move, just stares at the screen on the console, though the smile's slid right off his face. Finally, he looks up.
"Is there- What's wrong?"
The Doctor smiles at her sadly, and her heart drops a little. Dee returns to her shoulder, burrowing his small feathered body against her neck. The Doctor's smiling at her like he thinks he's going to lose her.
Loreana stops pacing, directly between Rose and the Doctor, and fixes the Doctor with an unreadable stare. "You have to tell her." Rose thinks she might see a ripple of gold light over Loreana's black coat, but maybe it's just the lights of the console, because she can't be glowing...
The Doctor stares at Loreana for a moment, and looks back up at Rose with a look in his eyes like something ending. "Alright. Rose, I need you to listen."
"I'm listening," she answers desperately.
"I'm dying."
"What?" She starts forward in a rush, and only stops when the alternative is running into Loreana, who's blocking her way and refuses to move. "You can't die, we just... Isn't there something you can do?"
The Doctor's smile looks pained now. A vague memory of immense power trickles from the back of Rose's mind, and it feels like she should be able to reach out and make the pain go away, make it all better. But she can't. With Loreana between the two of them, she can't even reach him.
"I'm doing it now. But it means I'm going to change."
"What do you mean, cha-" Rose breaks off with a yelp and jumps back automatically as the Doctor convulses and his entire body blazes with golden light.
Loreana turns to look at her, her eyes like flames, entire body glowing from the inside, through her black coat. "It's going to be alright," she says, and Rose isn't reassured, because Loreana doesn't speak to her unless there's something really wrong or the world's ending or they all might die. "He really did love you."
She flickers out like a candle flame, and Rose stares at the spot where she stood, Dee trembling against her neck. And then the Doctor's gone too, and there's a skinny man standing there wearing the Doctor's clothes, and a dingo daemon behind him with her tail wagging wildly.
Rose stares, and Dee's still shaking, and the man who's not the Doctor smiles at her, all the golden light faded to nothing.
"Who are you?"
His face falls. The daemon's tail stops wagging, and her ears droop. "I'm the Doctor. I changed, just now... right in front of you..."
Rose thinks she can feel golden light humming through her veins, and isn't sure why, wants it back and doesn't know the reason for that either. Trying to decide whether to laugh or cry, she ends up just shaking her head, and pretends not to notice that the daemon now plastered against the man's legs is wearing the most pathetic, saddest expression Rose has ever seen.
She pushes her hair out of her face, nearly knocking Dee off her shoulder in the process. "What happened?"
Dee tumbles off her shoulder and lands on one of the railings around the console area. "What happened?" he repeats, before the Doctor can answer. "You were am-"
Loreana pounces with a soft, low warning growl, and Dee cuts himself off. Small birds tend to when cupped between a jaguar's paws. Loreana holds him long enough to be sure he'll stay silent, and then releases him.
The Doctor takes hardly any notice, and asks Rose, "What do you remember?"
She tells him, and he makes a joke about singing, which doesn't explain anything. She smiles anyway, because he's alive and they're safe, and reminds herself to ask Dee another time, when Loreana won't stop him. She can't help but notice, though, the way Loreana's pacing around the console, tail lashing nervously, utterly belying the Doctor's cheerfulness.
"Doctor?"
For a second, he doesn't move, just stares at the screen on the console, though the smile's slid right off his face. Finally, he looks up.
"Is there- What's wrong?"
The Doctor smiles at her sadly, and her heart drops a little. Dee returns to her shoulder, burrowing his small feathered body against her neck. The Doctor's smiling at her like he thinks he's going to lose her.
Loreana stops pacing, directly between Rose and the Doctor, and fixes the Doctor with an unreadable stare. "You have to tell her." Rose thinks she might see a ripple of gold light over Loreana's black coat, but maybe it's just the lights of the console, because she can't be glowing...
The Doctor stares at Loreana for a moment, and looks back up at Rose with a look in his eyes like something ending. "Alright. Rose, I need you to listen."
"I'm listening," she answers desperately.
"I'm dying."
"What?" She starts forward in a rush, and only stops when the alternative is running into Loreana, who's blocking her way and refuses to move. "You can't die, we just... Isn't there something you can do?"
The Doctor's smile looks pained now. A vague memory of immense power trickles from the back of Rose's mind, and it feels like she should be able to reach out and make the pain go away, make it all better. But she can't. With Loreana between the two of them, she can't even reach him.
"I'm doing it now. But it means I'm going to change."
"What do you mean, cha-" Rose breaks off with a yelp and jumps back automatically as the Doctor convulses and his entire body blazes with golden light.
Loreana turns to look at her, her eyes like flames, entire body glowing from the inside, through her black coat. "It's going to be alright," she says, and Rose isn't reassured, because Loreana doesn't speak to her unless there's something really wrong or the world's ending or they all might die. "He really did love you."
She flickers out like a candle flame, and Rose stares at the spot where she stood, Dee trembling against her neck. And then the Doctor's gone too, and there's a skinny man standing there wearing the Doctor's clothes, and a dingo daemon behind him with her tail wagging wildly.
Rose stares, and Dee's still shaking, and the man who's not the Doctor smiles at her, all the golden light faded to nothing.
"Who are you?"
His face falls. The daemon's tail stops wagging, and her ears droop. "I'm the Doctor. I changed, just now... right in front of you..."
Rose thinks she can feel golden light humming through her veins, and isn't sure why, wants it back and doesn't know the reason for that either. Trying to decide whether to laugh or cry, she ends up just shaking her head, and pretends not to notice that the daemon now plastered against the man's legs is wearing the most pathetic, saddest expression Rose has ever seen.