HOWLING HALLOW
Chapter Seventeen "Wow," Rose said. They walked into a large cavern that was lit by flaming torches. The walls were filled with rock crystals that sparkled in the firelight. The walls were filled with them enhancing the glow of the torches. The Doctor looked at Rose when she inhaled deeply. He did the same but couldn't smell anything except slightly stale air. "You don't smell it?" Rose said to him. "Um…not sure, what am I'm supposed to smell?" "Other lycan." "Um, I smell old air, is that why lycan smells like?" "No, it's a musky sort of scent. I like it. Your nose can't pick it up?" The Doctor inhaled deeply and shook his head when he couldn't smell anything resembling musk. "Maybe your nose isn't hardwired to pick up the scent," Rose said with a shrug when he told her he still couldn't smell it. "It must be how we can tell who's a lycan and who isn't. Liu did it to us." "Apparently that's something a Time Lord isn't capable of." "Gee, I thought you were capable of everything," Rose teased. The Doctor grinned when she stuck her tongue between her teeth. "No, sadly I can't do everything," the Doctor said with a wistful sigh. "Well, I could give you that ability," Rose teased, wiggling her fingers. The Doctor raised his eyes when she mimed scratching and biting his arm. "No thanks, I enjoy being able to control my lycan metamorphosis," he said. "Blast, I figured you might enjoy running together in the moonlight," Rose said. "I do. That's what the pelt is for," the Doctor said. "Chicken." Rose giggled when the Doctor gave her a playful swat. They walked deeper into the cavern and after twenty minutes Liu led them through a tunnel. They emerged into another cavern but this one showed signs of habitation, both in the cave and in some of the tunnels going away from it. Liu stopped them and changed back into this werewolf form. They listened while he howled loudly for a couple of minutes. Then suddenly others began streaming into the cave. Max and his friends stared in awe as the people kept coming. Finally, about fifty people stood inside the cavern, staring at Liu and the newcomers. The Doctor listened while Liu told everyone who they were and what was happening in the lycan language. The Doctor gave Brat a sideways glance when he mentioned what Brat done and the majority of the lycan growled at him. Brat tried to back away so he could run but Liu grabbed a hold of his arm. "Don't go anywhere or you'll die at the hands of my people, Doctor or no Doctor," he growled at him. "Please, I ask for mercy," Brat said. "Mercy? Did you show my daughter mercy when you beat and abused her? We are not dogs that you can kick around, we are lycans!" "Shen!" Everyone watched while a young Asian woman with shoulder length dark hair and almond eyes broke from the crowd. Shen ran towards her and the woman fell to the floor, catching Shen in a tight embrace while she cried. The Doctor looked at Liu. "How long has she been missing?" he asked. "Nearly five months," Liu said. "We searched in the village up above but there was no sign of her. We searched everywhere so where was this thing hiding her?" "I'm with a traveling circus, I was offworld until now," Brat said. Brat flinched when there was a collective gasp from the lycans and a menacing growl rising from everyone's throat. The Doctor started to intervene but Liu calmed them. "This man will have a fair hearing and we'll decide his fate there," Liu said. "We will show him that even though we can transform into animals, we aren't savage and mindless like the werewolves he imagines us to be. We will imprison him until that time and no one is to harm him." "What about them?" a female lycan said, pointing to the others. "These are fellow lycan, except for him," Liu said, laying his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "But he is their adopted litter mate so they are our guests and will be treated as such." The Doctor was impressed when he obtained a mutual agreement. "Are you the leader?" he asked Liu. "One of them. We have a council and I'm on it. I'm highly respected though and people will listen to me so you don't have to worry about your safety and that goes for the prisoner," he said, giving Brat a pointed look. "Be thankful I gave that order because I feel like tearing you to bits right now." Brat swallowed hard but allowed himself to be led away, fearing the collective wrath if he resisted. Once he was out of sight, Rachel came up beside the Doctor. "Um…I don't know if this is the right time to ask," she said. "But we were wondering if you'd let some of us stay here with all of you." "You want to become a part of Howling Hallow?" Everyone nodded except for Rose. "I don't," she said. "I'm staying with the Doctor." "Well, I have no problem with it but I'll have to speak with the council. You don't want to stay with us?" he said to Rose. "Nah, this is my mate," Rose said, wrapping her arms around the Doctor. Liu nodded. "You did mention that you had the ability to change into a lycan without being one. How do you do that? Are you a shapeshifter?" Liu asked the Doctor. "No, I purchased a pelt from someone at the fair. He claimed it could turn me into a lycan if I wore it around my waist during the full moon and as hard as it is to believe, it works." "Can I see it?" Liu said. The Doctor took it out of his pocket and gave it to him. Liu held it in his hands, held it up to his nose and gritted his teeth. "Did that bastard sell you this?" he said, pointing in the direction they took Brat. "No, it was a different man," the Doctor said. "This is an actual lycan pelt. We had several members of our pack slaughtered and skinned. They were left to rot in the woods a few months ago. I see now why they were skinned. Will you allow the council to examine this as evidence?" "Yes, but I don't know if Brat did this," the Doctor said, pointing to the pelt. "Yes, but the council must know. They must know what the humans are doing to our kind." The Doctor told him to take it and Liu told everyone to follow him so they could meet the council in person.
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