'Nother Claire Owl

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

Claire,

I heard you were back. Are you well? We didn't get much of a chance to speak last time, before you left, so I was hoping we might continue said discussion sometime soon. That is, if you're not, say, flooded with owls from your 'friends' being suspicious about your departure. Makes me wonder, too. Please return with some word as soon as you can, and perhaps we can set up a time and place that's suitable for the both of us to meet up. Does that sound good to you? I'd very much urgently like to chat again.

-The Doctor

Comments

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

Doctor

We need to set up a place to talk, I can't say anything on owl. All I know is that I'm frightened and need help. Without my friends trusting me, well I don't know who to turn to. Something is very strange here. I just fell like dangers about for me.

Claire

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

Claire,

There are a lot of empty classrooms about this castle. Perhaps one of those, tonight, if you're so worried?

-The Doctor

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

Doctor

Please, as soon as possible. You'll understand when you see me.

Claire

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

Soon after this letter, the Doctor makes plans. If they wanted a little privacy, then sending an unwarded owl back wouldn't be the best way. He'd have to learn how to do that one of these days. Instead, upon the board in the Gryffindor common room, he left a note.
'The empty classroom just beyond the enchanted singing suit of armour on the fifth floor is off limits.'
It wasn't very official-looking (in his handwriting, even), but at least it got the point across, and hopefully Claire would see it and get the hint. He hated it when Humans didn't get those very obvious hints.

Said room is exactly where he ended up, sitting upon an old, dusty desk, waiting. If it was as urgent as Claire made it out to be, he would wait all night if he had to.

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

Claire waited for a response from the Doctor, but when she didn't get one she headed back to bed; keeping her head down in case she ran into Jack in the common room. Luckily, it was empty. Empty apart from a note on the bored, which she recognized from his letters to be the Doctor's hand writing. She quickly rushed to the fifth floor to see if she was write. And there he was, sitting on a desk. Cautiously, she knocked the door. Her flat stomach would be the first thing he would notice, even though it took her a while when she regained consciousness to notice.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

He gave her a wide grin which quickly shrank. "Close the door," quietly ordered the Doctor.

The desk creaked as he leaned forward. "Good to see you again; you're looking--"

It was obvious what had caught his attention now. His smile faltered, eyebrows raised in surprise. "--flat? What happened to the baby? I thought you wanted to keep it."

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She had to hold back the fake tears. 'That's why I wanted to see you Doctor. I can't remember the last week, and when I came round... he was gone.' She burst out crying. 'Why does everyone want to be against me.'

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Well, come here, sit down." He motioned to another desk. "Start from the beginning. What's the last thing you remember?"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She sniffed hopelessly and cautiously came to sat down. 'I was on my way to the great hall...' she blubbered. 'When... when... when something attacked me from behind and then I woke up and I was back here again and... and my baby was gone. SOMEONES TOOK IT AND NOBODY EVEN BELIEVES OR CARES!' she screamed. Tears streamed down her face. God, this is all so easy, she thought.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

That had to be the most unbelievable and cliched thing he'd ever heard. What did she take him for, some kind of fool? She wasn't the only one that could be tricky around here. "D'you have any scars? Pain anywhere? Where were you hit from behind? Any witnesses? It'll be all right, try and calm down a little; we'll find out what happened." Oh, he'd find out, all right, if he was clever, and he was more than clever, he was brilliant. Well, if anyone asked him, anyway.

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

'This is exactly what happened on the island. I got kidnapped and blacked out... and I woke up here.' She didn't have any scars, but she had fell whilst running through the forest anyway, so she had a relatively large cut on her stomach. She realised it could be pulled off as inflicted by another. She showed him her stomach, he could judge for himself.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

That certainly wasn't a surgical scar, so she probably gained it during a fall of some kind. Being attacked from behind wouldn't cause a cut on the front of her body unless it happened while she was knocked out. "Have you been to the hospital wing, by any chance? You could get checked out, see what happened."

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She blushed, 'I don't want to cause a fuss...' All of a sudden the room was filled with whispers. A blank expression crossed her face. She genuinely didn't expect it. The real shock showed in her face; fear overcame. Why where they here...

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

He cocked his head and listened for a moment before hopping off the desk. Nothing. Nobody was there. He whirled about. Still nothing. She could hear it, too, he was sure... "What's that?" What were they saying? He turned to Claire. "Who are they? Where are those voices coming from?"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

'They're back Doctor...' Her face was blank and chalk white. Why were they here? What did they want? She was doing her job. 'LEAVE ME ALONE,' she screamed, then fell to her knees in tears.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Who's back? Who are they?" He dropped along with her, grabbing ahold of her shoulders. "Claire, tell me what's going on. I want you to tell me the truth. Tell me so I can help you!"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She cried, 'Doctor, they'll take you if I say. I can't say...' The first time the genuine feelings had taken over her. She put her hands over her ears and screamed. She had to get rid of the voices. 'Can you hear it Doctor... it's real. CAN YOU HEAR IT TOO?'

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Yes, Claire, I hear it." Just didn't know what it was, and that was the problem. "What'll happen if they 'take' me? If you can't tell me anything, then I can't help you." There was obviously more to this than he had previously anticipated. What were they saying? He needed to know what was going on, what was it? She was oh so frightened--perhaps she wasn't exactly who she said she was, but he had to help her in any way possible. "That's all I want to do, help. What will happen? Who are they?"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

'If you go you won't come back. It's dangerous! They're not here for you; but they won't be afraid to take you if they need to,' she cried. They couldn't take the Doctor. Yes, he was a good soul but it just wasn't his time. 'By telling you, it won't help you and it won't help me. Why can't I even understand them.' Her face was expressionless, only the tears streaming down her cheeks gave her colour. She couldn't understand what they wanted. She didn't know what she was doing wrong.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

It was enough to drive a person mad, the constant hiss of words echoing around the room. "I'm used to dangerous. I'm not afraid of a few little voices--just let 'em try!"

But the truth was, without understanding more, it was a highly unwise idea to provoke said voices, and with Claire in her hysterical state, he probably wouldn't do any good being taken, even if he was skeptical about never coming back (though this was an intriguing thought...quickly put out of his head). He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of here, quick as we can."

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She clung to him. 'Please don't go with them. Don't let them take you. I can't believe they're back. I can't believe it!' She walked as fast as she could. 'They'll follow us Doctor. They will.' She whispered to him, 'Don't lead them to the Lostaways. We never should have left that island. They're back.' She was going against what she was supposed to do, but it was too early; she didn't even have their trust yet.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Then where can we go?" he asked in a hushed voice. "Why are they here? What is it that they want?" So many questions, so few answers. "What do the others have to do with them and the island?"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

Her breathing was heavy, 'Doctor, we can't talk; not yet anyway. Stay indoors, just... get out of here. FAST!' She didn't know what to do, no one was supposed to get hurt. The voices were threatening; yet she couldn't make them out. This was all going wrong. 'The islanders are in danger. We should never have left.' she repeated.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

Deserted halls were navigated with haste, the whispering, intense as always, following. "How are they in danger? What do they want?" He glanced about again--the sound had to be coming from somewhere, didn't it? "Can't keep running, especially if it's non-corporeal..."

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She couldn't tell him much, only as much as she knew. For some reason, she trusted him; even if he had no trust in her. 'All I know is they should never have left. They'll punish me for telling you, they will. But...' She couldn't control her tears any longer. 'I don't know what to do. They've hurt me so many times. I can't keep doing this. They can hear me... I know they can.' The whispers were following her heels; wrapping round her head; crushing the bones in her hand. She screamed out in agony.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

This was going nowhere. They were going nowhere, now that he thought about it. She wasn't going to be able to go on like this. He maneuvered her up against a wall and for a few moments stood in front of her protectively, shouting at the hall. "Leave her alone! I won't let you do this, I won't! I'll--!"

He'll what? Nothing much he could do at the moment. Maybe if he still had the TARDIS, but so much for that. He turned back to her, shaking her a little by the shoulers. "You've got to block it out, Claire! You've got to try!" Something had to work; what could he do? Oh...well, there was one thing, and he rather didn't want to try, but it might help. Anything could help.

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She felt her throat swell up and began to cough. She fumbled about in her pocket and took a big drink of what looked like plain water, finishing the bottle. She needed the hydration, but not as much as the potion. She fell to the ground and curled her knees up to her chest. 'Go away, go away, go away,' she repeated. Looking up at the Doctor with awe, but with fear. He was so brave, she didn't want to hurt him; not hurt him physically, that's not why she was here. But if he found out the lies, she could never forgive herself.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"That's right, that's a good girl; whatever it is, you can stop it, I know you can." Right? None of this situation was making any sense, and that, perhaps, was the most frightening bit about it. He kneeled down beside her, resting a hand on her arm. "I don't want to hurt you, but there's one thing I could try. Knocking you out for a bit, would that work? Wouldn't have to hear the voices anymore, just have to deal with me." Didn't want to hurt her and didn't want to have her unconscious for hours when what he needed was the truth about everything. Though was that even fair, doing anything for the truth when it was clearly hurting her?

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

'The voices aren't coming from me. They aren't even for me.' she cried. 'Please don't hurt me.' She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his arms. The voices began to grow distant, before eventually deceasing.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Shh, all right, I'm not gonna hurt you," he cooed, holding onto her as tightly as he would if it was Rose. "And neither will they, apparently. Listen." A moment later, a wide grin spread across his face. "Nothing. They're gone. Fantastic!"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She looked up and quickly dried her eyes. 'They're not gone Doctor, they're always there.' She stood up and took his hand to bring him to his feet. 'You'll be safe, though. Some of them won't.'

They had called her away for a week to make new potion, and to replace her. The original had been seen, so now she had taken his place as Claire. She was sure it would be easier than this; that they wouldn't follow her here. But here she was, a quivering wreck at the voices of her own people. She couldn't even understand them.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"They've stopped being a bother to you for the moment, though, is my point. You all right?" His brow furrowed in thought. "And who won't be safe? The others from the island?"

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

Claire nodded; answering both of his questions. She didn't know what to say, but she was scared. She never thought she was this weak.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"All right...maybe we should warn them." Right, that'll make him sound sane--'you'll want to watch out for those random whispering voices, Jack', yes, that would sound brilliant. "Now that they're gone for the moment, maybe it's about time we actually talk instead of run for our lives." But he couldn't help but feel pity for her state, even if she wasn't exactly who she said she was. "Or if you need to rest, we could always continue this another day, get you back to Gryffindor tower, let you rest..."

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

'No!' she said, almost a little too enthusiastically. 'If they hear the voices they'll know what they mean, no point in warning them. Plus...' She looked around to make sure no one was there. '...If you tell them they'll kill me.' She couldn't give herself away, but she couldn't risk them killing her either. She awkwardly played with her hair. 'I think I'm exhausted Doctor.' She was still clearly upset and frightened. 'But I'm scared to go to sleep.'

((reposted for my awful spelling of enthusiastically *blushes*))

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

"Understandable. Come on," he continued, putting an arm around her shoulders as if to hold her together should she fall apart. "Let's get back to the common room, fix you up a nice cup of tea. I suppose that's enough for today. Listen...I wouldn't want to put you or anyone else into danger. And you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to--" although that was exactly what he wanted, her to tell him everything "--but just know that all I want to do is help you, any way I can." Help as long as she's not a spy or has some mission to carry out that'll hurt people or any number of possibilities. At the moment, she just looked like a frightened woman that needed all the help she could get.

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

((Do you have AIM?))

She couldn't believe how nice he was being; he had been from the start. She leaned on him with not only her body, but with her trust. She had came her to get people to trust her; not to trust others. She caught a glimps of herself in a suit of armour. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair a mess. She wasn't going for the vulnerable look, but maybe they would believe her fear was put on if they seen her again.

[ninth-doctor.livejournal.com]

(Yeah. My sn: BEWD CEO
And apologies for the on/off-ness of me lately. Bit of an erratic schedule with my tests. XD But hey, RPing instead of studying (a lot) is fun. *shifty eyes*)

[xohso-scenex.livejournal.com]

She looked into his eyes with her fear. 'Take me to my room.' She said quietly. Her voice was still shakey and she still felt weak.