for oncoming storms prompt 54, rewrite a fairy tale
Once upon a time the Doctor had promised himself that he would visit the Forest of Cheem. Time, as it is wont to do, has slipped away from him. Two regenerations and almost a century have passed since that long ago day on Platform One when the courage of one woman saved them all. Saved him. Saved Rose. And was turned into a pile of ash for it.
Cheem is a small world, a solid land mass without any oceans but full of rivers and underground springs that nourish the occupants of the world. It's lush and green and so full of life that the Doctor simply stands outside the TARDIS and takes in deep breaths of the oxygen rich air until Sawyer gives a low growl of restlessness.
"Should have left you in the TARDIS," the Doctor mutters, but his feet find the path that will lead them into the forest. It is cooler here, as they walk away from the light of the suns. The trees tower over him, so old that they have rooted into the ground, no longer moving like the younger of the species. He can hear their breath as it moves about among the leaves, but that is the only sign that these trees are different then those on other planets. Until he hears the laughing. It is a soft sound, at first impossible to distinguish from the twittering of the birds until he has walked another dozen steps down the path. The laughter comes from his left, and he must leave the path and step into the dried fallen leaves to follow it. Sawyer races ahead of him, and doesn't turn when the Doctor calls for him to heel. For all that he acts like a domestic animal it is times like this that the Doctor is reminded that Sawyer was born in the wild.
"Go away, wolf." When the Doctor enters a clearing he finds a young girl swinging from the branch of a tree, liana stretching up in a way he'd once been told was not allowed in public. She's scowling at Sawyer and doesn't spare him a glance. "Make him go away."
"Pardon?" The Doctor takes a few steps closer. She's wearing a dress of gold and scarlet, the colours of royalty on Cheem, just as she will again the first time he meets her. Out of politeness the Doctor bows his head slightly in greeting.
"The wolf. He's not allowed here in the Forest of my grandmother. His kind were banished generations ago." Liana unwrap from around the branch of the tree and the girl falls, gracefully, to the forest floor. Her hands fold in front of her and only when she is perfectly composed does she turn to look at the Doctor. "You're trespassing."
"Am I?" He raises an eyebrow and looks at the girl. She's young, so very young and innocent. He wishes she could always live in a world where the greatest threat is a tamed animal.
"I could go find my Grandmother and she would send the both of you away."
"You could," the Doctor says calmly. He holds out his hand and Sawyer comes to him, looking up at him expectantly. The Doctor strokes his head and scratches behind one ear.
"I might go find her right now." She cocks her head to one side, but instead of looking for her grandmother she takes a step towards the Doctor. "What are you doing here?"
"We're simply travellers, resting here for a moment before leaving again. I'm the Doctor and this is Sawyer." He holds out a hand, and she looks at him curiously but reaches out to touch his skin.
"It's soft, like the petals of a flower. Doesn't it get damaged easily, being so fragile?"
"Sometimes, but then it heals." Usually.
"And his?" Her gaze is still wary when she looks to his companion.
"Even softer, but less vulnerable." As if he understands what is being said, Sawyer lowers his head and stands perfectly still in front of the girl. She reaches out, tentatively, and touches the fur.
"He seems different then the creature in the stories we are told."
"That is often the truth, as time passes. Men become demons, strangers become wizards, and wolves become mythical creatures. At the heart of the stories, though, one might find the truth."
"What is the truth?"
She's looking at him, eyes wide, and he doesn't know what to say. The truth is that the forest is safe, and so long as she stays here she's safe too. But she's just a child and she wouldn't understand, wouldn't listen. The future is already written anyway, and nothing he can say will change it. "That's something you'll have to discover for yourself. You'll find your own story,Jabe of the Forest, your own truth."
"Will it be a good story? Will other trees tell it to their children?"
"It will be a great story, told not just on Cheem but throughout the Galaxy." None of them are forgotten, not Jabe or Sara or Arthur or Donna or any of the rest. He carries their stories always.
"Really?"
"Really." They stand in the glade in silence as Jabe learns that wolves are nothing to fear and the Doctor lets himself remember the past. Only when it begins to grow dark does he turn back to the path. "You should return home,Jabe. Your grandmother might be looking for you."
"Will you be here again tomorrow?"
Slowly the Doctor shakes his head. "No. But we'll meet again."
"Promise?"
"I do."
Cheem is a small world, a solid land mass without any oceans but full of rivers and underground springs that nourish the occupants of the world. It's lush and green and so full of life that the Doctor simply stands outside the TARDIS and takes in deep breaths of the oxygen rich air until Sawyer gives a low growl of restlessness.
"Should have left you in the TARDIS," the Doctor mutters, but his feet find the path that will lead them into the forest. It is cooler here, as they walk away from the light of the suns. The trees tower over him, so old that they have rooted into the ground, no longer moving like the younger of the species. He can hear their breath as it moves about among the leaves, but that is the only sign that these trees are different then those on other planets. Until he hears the laughing. It is a soft sound, at first impossible to distinguish from the twittering of the birds until he has walked another dozen steps down the path. The laughter comes from his left, and he must leave the path and step into the dried fallen leaves to follow it. Sawyer races ahead of him, and doesn't turn when the Doctor calls for him to heel. For all that he acts like a domestic animal it is times like this that the Doctor is reminded that Sawyer was born in the wild.
"Go away, wolf." When the Doctor enters a clearing he finds a young girl swinging from the branch of a tree, liana stretching up in a way he'd once been told was not allowed in public. She's scowling at Sawyer and doesn't spare him a glance. "Make him go away."
"Pardon?" The Doctor takes a few steps closer. She's wearing a dress of gold and scarlet, the colours of royalty on Cheem, just as she will again the first time he meets her. Out of politeness the Doctor bows his head slightly in greeting.
"The wolf. He's not allowed here in the Forest of my grandmother. His kind were banished generations ago." Liana unwrap from around the branch of the tree and the girl falls, gracefully, to the forest floor. Her hands fold in front of her and only when she is perfectly composed does she turn to look at the Doctor. "You're trespassing."
"Am I?" He raises an eyebrow and looks at the girl. She's young, so very young and innocent. He wishes she could always live in a world where the greatest threat is a tamed animal.
"I could go find my Grandmother and she would send the both of you away."
"You could," the Doctor says calmly. He holds out his hand and Sawyer comes to him, looking up at him expectantly. The Doctor strokes his head and scratches behind one ear.
"I might go find her right now." She cocks her head to one side, but instead of looking for her grandmother she takes a step towards the Doctor. "What are you doing here?"
"We're simply travellers, resting here for a moment before leaving again. I'm the Doctor and this is Sawyer." He holds out a hand, and she looks at him curiously but reaches out to touch his skin.
"It's soft, like the petals of a flower. Doesn't it get damaged easily, being so fragile?"
"Sometimes, but then it heals." Usually.
"And his?" Her gaze is still wary when she looks to his companion.
"Even softer, but less vulnerable." As if he understands what is being said, Sawyer lowers his head and stands perfectly still in front of the girl. She reaches out, tentatively, and touches the fur.
"He seems different then the creature in the stories we are told."
"That is often the truth, as time passes. Men become demons, strangers become wizards, and wolves become mythical creatures. At the heart of the stories, though, one might find the truth."
"What is the truth?"
She's looking at him, eyes wide, and he doesn't know what to say. The truth is that the forest is safe, and so long as she stays here she's safe too. But she's just a child and she wouldn't understand, wouldn't listen. The future is already written anyway, and nothing he can say will change it. "That's something you'll have to discover for yourself. You'll find your own story,Jabe of the Forest, your own truth."
"Will it be a good story? Will other trees tell it to their children?"
"It will be a great story, told not just on Cheem but throughout the Galaxy." None of them are forgotten, not Jabe or Sara or Arthur or Donna or any of the rest. He carries their stories always.
"Really?"
"Really." They stand in the glade in silence as Jabe learns that wolves are nothing to fear and the Doctor lets himself remember the past. Only when it begins to grow dark does he turn back to the path. "You should return home,Jabe. Your grandmother might be looking for you."
"Will you be here again tomorrow?"
Slowly the Doctor shakes his head. "No. But we'll meet again."
"Promise?"
"I do."