HOWLING HALLOW
Chapter Eight They ran inside the tent and looked around. To their relief, no one was around except for the child. She looked up at them fearfully as the Doctor went over the barrier and withdrew his sonic screwdriver. "Don't be afraid," he said to the girl while he opened the door. "We're friends. We're here to rescue you and take you away from these bad people." The girl cowered against the back of the cage. The Doctor reached towards her and then had a thought. "Um...if a lycan bites me when they're in human form, will I still become a lycan?" he asked everyone. "I don't think so," John said. "I've never heard of it happening." Everyone agreed with him and the Doctor shrugged and came closer to the little girl. "I won't hurt you. I just want to get you out of here. You don't belong in a cage, will you trust me?" The girl nodded. The Doctor asked Rose to give him her cloak and he wrapped it around the girl when Rose handed it to him. Once she was wrapped up, he picked her up and went back over the barrier and everyone ran as fast as they could back to the TARDIS. "Just hold on," the Doctor said. "Hopefully in the confusion, no one will notice you're gone." They ran as fast as their legs would carry them and after being able to change into a werewolf, the Doctor found himself wishing he could do it at will since four legs would get them to the TARDIS faster than two. Luckily, they made it there without incident and Rose opened the box for the Doctor before all of them ran inside. Rose slammed the door and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The Doctor looked down at the child in his arms. She was staring up at him with deep brown eyes that he found beautiful. He smiled reassurance at her and the child clasped his lapel. Everyone else gathered around him. "Do you think she's really a lycan?" Rachel asked him. "Well, one way to find out," the Doctor said. He told the TARDIS to move the entrance to the park room to the back door. He warned everyone what he was doing as he walked towards it and everyone removed their medallions and capes and laid them on the jump seat before they followed him. By the time everyone got inside the room, the Doctor was already there, comforting the child as she went through the change. "She's changing into something," the Doctor said while the others followed her and changed into their lycan form. They watched and waited until the change ended and the child got up on all fours. She was about the size of a medium sized dog. She froze and cowered back towards the Doctor when she saw the other werewolves. "It's alright," he said to the child as he rubbed her side. "They're friends…well, siblings, to be exact. Blimey, you can feel every rib. Good job we got her away from those bastards." Rose came close and froze, letting the child venture over and sniff her. The child yipped after she sniffed her and the other women came up beside Rose and sniffed the child. The men stayed nearby in case the child was a bit skittish around men. Max came up beside the Doctor and the Doctor smiled warmly at him while he watched the women groom the child. They said you can change with that pelt, Max thought. Can you? "You want to see me change?" the Doctor said to him. Max nodded and the Doctor got up slowly so the child wouldn't be scared and walked away. He went several feet from Max and got the pelt out. Max glanced at the child who was enjoying the grooming and walked over to the Doctor who now had the pelt on and was down on his knees, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out while he changed. Max waited until he finished and then walked around him, looking him over while the Doctor got to his feet. It does work, Max thought, impressed. Yup, the Doctor said, shaking his body for a few seconds. How do you take it off then? The Doctor stood up and showed the belt buckle and belt part sticking through the fur. Take it off and hey presto, I'm myself again. Look, I'm sorry for being an arse lately, I do like you but it's hard to trust people sometimes, especially someone with a lot of presence like you, he thought to the Doctor. I am sorry, though, for the way I've treated you. Will you still be my friend? Only if you'll be mine, the Doctor thought to him. Max nodded and butted his side gently. The Doctor smiled at that and reached up his hand to pat him on the back. They walked over to the child who was now playing with Rachel while she yipped happily. Does anyone know her name? the Doctor thought to them. We haven't gotten that far yet, Rose thought. We're just trying to get her to calm down and trust us. The Doctor tentatively walked to Rose's side and watched the child while she played with Britney and Rachel, batting at them with her paws. He moved past Rose and put his face near the child. The child stopped playing in mid bat with her paw in the air and stared at him. The Doctor nuzzled his nose against her belly for a few seconds and then pulled his head back. The child stared at him while she brought her paw down and then rolled over and got back up on her legs. She walked to the Doctor while she sniffed him. The Doctor held still while she sniffed his face. Then she nudged his snout with her nose and the Doctor lay down while he held his head as still as he could. The other men came up around him while the child sniffed his face and walked down towards his tail, sniffing him. The Doctor turned his head and watched while she continued down to his tail. Then when she reached it, she batted at it and the Doctor snuffled out laughter as he gently flicked his tail around, watching while she followed it with her eyes and batted at it. The Doctor did that for several minutes until the child grew tired and lay down beside him. Rose shared a glance with the others and they moved in and lay down around her like they did with the Doctor and Rose earlier. Rose lay down beside the Doctor and they watched while the child looked around at the bodies and then snuggled down into a ball in the center of the Doctor and Britney's bodies. They watched while the little girl closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. The Doctor looked at Rose and she put her head across his paws. The Doctor laid his head across her neck and they and everyone else closed their eyes and took a nap with their newest member.
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