The Missing Bird

[bowtimeandspace]

There was a newspaper held in mid air and on it, a picture of a painting. It was a painting that was on the front page of every newspaper that day, and had been for days before.

Because this painting had changed.

'An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump', it had written under the photograph of the painting. But there was no bird in the painting,

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[thenightstar]

All over the gallery, people were gazing at painting after painting. They stood and marvelled over brush strokes and use of colour, commenting quietly amongst themselves before they moved on to the next artwork. But for one visitor, there was something far more fascinating to watch

[thenightstar]

Remaining stood in the middle of the walkway, she studied him in silence, observing the way he behaved and spoke. After all these years, there was an undeniable curiosity she needed to sate.

Then, very slowly, she advanced closer, her eyes trained upon him.

"What is it?" she asked.

[bowtimeandspace]

"Nothing," the Doctor said dismissively, "it's nothing. Well, nothing and a little bit of everything. But mostly nothing."

He leaned back from the door and ran his fingertips over the wood before pulling his screwdriver out, flicking it over the space in front of him, and glancing at it.

[thenightstar]

She frowned to herself at his evasive answer, not sure how that was supposed to help the situation. And what a situation it was. But now she had him here, just as she had wanted. Somehow, it wasn't quite the reunion she had expected.

[bowtimeandspace]

"You're still here," the Doctor said then, glancing back once towards her and back to the door where he was examining it like it might give him answers.

"Why?" he asked, still looking on the door.

"Everyone else has left, you know."

[thenightstar]

Opening her mouth, she wasn't sure how to answer, turning to look at the way the human had left before back at the Doctor.

"Someone needs to be the last one out."

[bowtimeandspace]

Her words brought a slight smile to his face, and distracted him long enough to look back towards her.

"Aren't you scared?" he asked, even his expression seeming to say he knew the answer to that already. "They're all scared," he pointed out. "There's nothing wrong with scared."

[thenightstar]

"Never said there was," came her response, her eyes wandering to the closed door before back at him, her eyes passing over his face. Because she was scared, but she was scared in ways she couldn't allow him to know.

[bowtimeandspace]

He continued to look at her, that same expression on his face. Soft. Rather approving.

His one hand reached out and took hold of the door handle.

"Want to see what's behind?" he asked.

[thenightstar]

Her eyes quickly snapped to the handle when he took hold of it, feeling a pang of anxiety.

"I know what's behind there," she said, in a tone that suggested she'd seen quite enough of it while running away from it.

[bowtimeandspace]

"All right then," he said, suddenly dismissive, a little like a child saying he didn't want to play with that toy anyway so he doesn't care if you've taken it away.

With a pout, he opened the door and headed through.

On the other side, the cavalry was gone, but mud trailed along the floors, and horseshoe prints lined the parquet flooring.

[thenightstar]

When the door was opened, she readied herself to run, but when no horses came barrelling through, she allowed herself to relax. Intrigued, she slowly stepped forward after the Doctor, following him into the deserted gallery.

"Where did they go?" she asked aloud, staring at the dirtied floor.

[bowtimeandspace]

"Back in there," the Doctor said.

He was standing in front of a bland looking painting. The sort of painting that might have been the backdrop to something grand, all rolling hills behind wide plains.

His fingers reached out and touched the painting. The paint was wet, and it smudged against his fingertips. He again took out his sonic and waved it across the painting.

"They're gone for now," he said. "And that'll hold them for a while, but they'll be back."

With a turn, he moved around the room, towards a bench in the middle of it, looking beneath it and running his hand below a lip as if looking for something.

"I thought you weren't interested?" he said without looking back towards her.

[thenightstar]

She stepped closer to the painting in question, watching it closely. She squinted curiously at the image while he turned away from her, trying to work out what had happened.

"I wasn't interested in being trampled, no," she agreed, glancing at him over her shoulder with a slightly arched eyebrow. She then noticed he was searching for something and she watched curiously.

"What are you looking for?" she questioned warily.

[bowtimeandspace]

"A thing," the Doctor said.

"Might be a thing. Not quite sure if there's a thing. Way I see it is if you look for a thing and find a thing then you're probably right in thinking there was a thing in the first place."

Beat.

"Unless you don't."

He threw his sonic from one hand to the other, and opened his mouth to say something else, but his words were swallowed by an almighty cry, and this time it wasn't from a person. This cry wasn't human.

"What painting's through there?" he said.

[thenightstar]

At the animalistic cry, her eyes slowly slipped from the Doctor's face and looked over his shoulder instead. Normally, she might not have been able to answer him, but now, the answer was very clear indeed.

"St George and the Dragon," she then said in a small voice, because she was currently staring at the latter.