Cards on the table.
The Doctor quirked an eyebrow at Jack.

"How do you do that?" asked Jack after the Doctor finished scrapping together the chips he'd just won.
"You can't keep winning at this; it's called 'Game of Chance' because you're having a chance of winning. You're not supposed to win all the time."
The Doctor shrugged.
"Black Jack is boring; why don't we try something else?"

Jack frowned.
He'd only taken the Doctor to the casino to take his mind off things; and he had to admit that he was jealous of the Doctor for enjoying this more than he usually did.
Jack stopped the Doctor before he could sit down by the roulette table.

"How do you do that?" Jack asked.
The Doctor shrugged.
"It's all a matter of static calculations with structural analysis. You know Jack; probability versus plausibility… that kind of thing…"
Jack nodded glumly and scratched the back of his head.

The Doctor sat down, still watching Jack out of the corner of his eyes.
He sighed in relief as he found Jack wandering off to get something presumably alcoholic or an easy prey; or possibly both at the same time.
The Doctor searched his pockets for the small scrap of paper he'd prepared.
Apparently it hadn't been such a bad idea to travel into the future and take notes about the cards that had been played.
The Doctor had known that he couldn't change Jack's mind concerning both of them visiting the casino. So he'd considered how to make the best of it.

Evidently it wasn't allowed to travel on your own Time Line. Except for cheap jokes.
And cheating while playing cards. But only if it was valid; well, if the money was valid.

The Doctor sighed. He knew he was going to win the first to turns; and he knew that soon there would be someone trying to supplant him.
He'd seen it himself; and he had to remember that he shouldn't turn around when someone spilled a drink on his back; apparently that had been he in the future.

Right.
He placed his bets ignoring the chuckling figure beside him.
He knew that he'd win.
And he already felt the cool liquid running down his shoulder blades. He shuddered and swallowed quietly.
Life sure would be easier if he could stop being clumsy.

"Rien ne vas plus."

The Doctor coughed uneasily as his own drink reached the sensitive spot at the small of his back.

His rival, who'd occupied the seat beside him by now, leaned closer, nearing his ear.
The Doctor remembered seeing this from his hiding place near the slot machines; and he also remembered that he would turn around to the stranger and glare at him.

And he had to admit that he was rather excited to find out what it had been.

"Obsequious slut."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and turned around to face the offender.
"I beg your pardon?"

Back at him stared a pair of young and glistening eyes.

"You bastard! Just you wait… I'll get you for this! Oh... the pumpkins!"

Theta couldn't bite back a laugh as he hurried off the red veldt. He'd lost sight of Koschei minutes ago as he'd melded with the higher bushed in the distance.
And he'd just not only escaped his probably worst enemy (an outraged Koschei) but Koschei's pitchfork swinging father, too.

Theta panted heavily as he rushed through the waist-high grass towards the Academy.
Now all he had to do was sneaking in and pretending none of this happened.
No one would suspect him and no one would believe Koschei's father that he'd just seen Theta-Sigma putting up that rather offensive sign on his land.
Theta was still chuckling as he reached the Academy's gates.
Oh, Koschei would be furious the next time he'd get to catch him.
But gladly they'd agreed that they would only punish on Academy territory each other for crimes committed on Academy territory.
So, Theta smirked quietly, in that case he hadn't to worry about this for the next two or twenty years.
Unless, of course, Koschei would catch him during one of the nights when he'd sneak away with some of the other young and disobedient Time Lords.

Theta sat down in the shade of a large Khajihla tree that was closest to the main building and tried to catch his breath again.
Boy, he should really stop doing nonsense all of the time. If he'd only invest half the time he spent right now playing tricks on others in studying…
Theta didn't even want to think about the results.
It wasn't that he was lazy, no it was even worse; he was restive.
And he was afraid he might stay this way until a strong hand would take hold of the scene, or, more likely, his neck, and turn his life around. Or just his head.

Theta breathed in deeply and sighed as he stared at the bright sky through the fiery leaves.
It wasn't that Koschei was better student; he wasn't even more obedient. But most of faculty members believed Koschei to be a slow learner; they couldn't see through his masquerading.
And, secretly, Theta had always envied Koschei.
Just for being himself…

Theta crept out of the shadows and sneaked towards the entrance.
Now all he had to do was tiptoe into his room before anyone would…

"A little attention there, my boy!"

Theta looked up and let his head drop as soon as he'd seen the insignia on the cloak the man in front of him was wearing.
The Academy's insignia and the stitching… if he was lucky he'd get out of this conversation in one piece.
Disrespect towards high-ranking seniors could lead to terrible punishment.

"My apologies, Sir" mumbled Theta instantly and stepped aside, making room for the man to take a closer look at him in the broad sunlight.
Theta stared at his feet in embarrassment.

Whoever he was… he hadn't even seen him coming. As if he'd waited for him in the doorway; or if he'd just popped up there, out of nowhere…

"My, my…" the senior staff member smacked his lips irritably before he asked: "What is your name, boy?"

Theta swallowed. This could turn out to be nasty.
"Theta-Sigma, Sir" replied Theta, quietly adding "Please don't kill me."

The man in the wine-red cloak shook his head and turned it slightly to one side as he walked around Theta.

"You're coming with me, boy" stated the man eventually.
Theta nodded.
This so was going to get nasty.

Theta saw several other students turning pale or hurrying off as they caught sight of him and the man he was forced to follow.
Others bowed and mumbled strange greetings.
All in all, Theta was getting quite the picture.
He was screwed; seriously screwed.

"Are your always thinking such naughty thoughts?"
Theta froze and stopped behind the senior member.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked quietly.
"That's soon going to change" added the man in front of him without even bothering to face him "As soon as you're under my supervision…"
Theta swallowed again.
He could literally hear him smirking.

Supervision.
Theta gave this some thought. So he was going to be supervised by a senior member of the Academy staff; which was completely unnecessary. He'd always been under supervision.
Under Koschei's supervision.

As Theta followed the impressive appearance of a faculty member he kept grumbling quiet curses. He blamed Koschei; for his current situation as well as in general.
Koschei always got him in trouble.
It was always Koschei who suggested skipping lessons, sneaking out of the Academy at night or sneaking into the Headmaster's private wine cellar and replacing his 205876's Chardonnay with vinegar... everything so far had been Koschei's idea.

Koschei was the troublemaker. And if anyone needed supervision it was him.

"Always the innocent one, aren't you?" mumbled the senior member half to himself.
Theta was tiptoeing behind him in order to catch his next words:
"You're not taking enough responsibility; that's probably the main reason why they've asked me to take you under my wings...that, and the fact that you look rather gorgeous..."

"What?" snapped Theta and stopped behind him.
The senior member came to a halt as well. He turned around and Theta's gaze sagged again.
"You should not stick your nose into somebody's business."
Theta nodded in silence; his cheeks were burning from both shame and the slap he'd received.
"And, in order to put you at ease, I was only putting your curiosity to test."

The senior member pushed open a door in front of him; he reached out for Theta's shoulder and pushed him into the office before slamming the door behind him.

"Take a seat" he ordered firmly as Theta was still rubbing his cheek. As Theta wouldn't succumb instantly he got shoved onto an old and creaky chair.
Theta caught a quick glance of the senior member's eyes.
They seemed to burn.

His wouldn't only undress you but set fire to your body as they vaporized your clothes.
His stare reflected persuasion and ultimate authority.
Theta was convinced that he could actually crush him just with a penetrating look.
And once more he came to the conclusion that he was screwed.

"Will you stop thinking those impure thoughts?" snapped the senior member.
Theta winced at his insistent voice. He shuddered involuntarily before swallowing.

How can he know what I'm thinking? Theta wondered as he stared at his feet in embarrassment.

"Solely because there's no capability I may not be capable of" replied the senior member harshly "There's no limit to my competence; and simply because of my excellent acquirement I was authorized to get you back onto the right track."
"Certainly, Sir" replied Theta abashed "My apologies Sir."

Theta tried not to think the pending thoughts that were whirling through his mind.
He raised his head slowly and dared to catch a glimpse of the senior member's face. He was smiling as he spoke.
"Good. At least you're trying to behave."

Theta evaded his gaze as he felt his opponent searching his eyes. The sparkle in his eyes seemed to fascinate Theta; and yet he felt the superior's glistening iris burning into his skin wherever his eyes dared to touch him.
Theta gulped barely audible.
Those eyes...
If the Dalek Emperor ever possessed eyes they couldn't have been worse than the two disquieting orbs of dark amber that narrowed on him right now.

Theta gasped as his temples started to throb.
"Rather rude to compare me with something so disgraceful, don't you think?" his superior went on as he arranged the notes in front of him to a nice pile.
Theta nodded as he clasped at his hurting skull.
"As I was told you weren't willing to learn" explained the senior member as he arose;

"So I guess you have to learn the hard way."

Theta nodded in silence, nearly immobile due to the pounding and stinging in his mind; the pain was intangible as well as its origin. Something inside of him just seemed to rearrange his synapses and turned them into small knots.
And it was rather hard for him not to think of any scathing remarks.

"That's enough for now, I guess" said his superior eventually as the pain stopped abruptly.
"Thank you, Sir" replied Theta quietly without stopping to rub his prickling temples.

"So" stated Theta's superior calmly "You've learned your first lesson, which is probably the most important one: Disobedience leads to punishment. And you will remember it. I promise you, you will never disobey any of the staff members ever again as soon as I'm finished with you. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir" replied Theta instantly as he felt something strong forcefully entering his mind.
He grasped his seating absent minded and dug his nails into the velvet covering.

"Excellent" replied the senior member as he sat down in front of him again.

Theta knew he was still inside of his mind; he felt him. And he was too scared to think of the damage he might be able to do inside of him.

"You're under my strict supervision until further notice, Theta-Sigma" explained his superior "and, as a sign of respect, you may refer to me as 'Master'. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir" replied Theta in an instant. The throbbing in his temples increased and he felt tears forming in his eyes as he hurriedly added: "Yes, Master."

His superior grinned visibly pleased.

Theta swallowed and stared at the table as the pain had vanished again.

"Good" smirked the Master "speaking of respect I may point out that according to this..." he shuffled through the papers in front of him "ah, right that...'Every committed crime was not only executed in total disregard of higher authority but as a violation of the student's superior's dignity itself'... and that's only a quote from your ethics teacher." He scowled at Theta in front of him.

"Disrespect is disobedience. And I don't care what you think where your ethics teacher should go and what she should do to herself or if you wonder if she's ever done that before and stop that, it's annoying" the Master slapped Theta in the face and continued, unimpressed by Theta's attempts to think faster than he may could read his mind, "Disobedience towards authority will be punished."

"Yes, Master" replied Theta only to get slapped once more.

"And furthermore I'd like to make clear that you're only to speak when you've been given permission. You may reply to any question you're asked; but talking without permission in my presence is a sure sign of disrespecting my authority. Understood?"

Theta lifted his head bashfully. The Master nodded.

"Yes, Master."

"Excellent" the Master smiled at him again.

Theta tried hard to concentrate as his supervisor continued to read out the accusations and crime's he'd been found guilty of committing. And Theta obeyed exemplarily and did nothing but nodding in silence.

"...and, worst of all, putting your poor colleague's rat into a microwave and watching it ballooning before it popped; furthermore you've been suspected of carrying out several other atrocities involving rats and, mostly, their internal organs."
Musingly the Master eye up Theta.
"Would you like to comment on it?"

"Sir... Master, I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused and the unpleasantness you're experiencing as my supervisor..." muttered Theta quietly. His voice was trembling with fear.
"But I'm afraid I must... protest..."
"Protest?" repeated the Master wondering and leaned back in his chair.

Theta dared to cast another glance at him.
His eyes. His terrible and fearsome eyes. Why did his stare hurt? How could it hurt?
Why did it feel as if those two gleaming orbs were trying to burn their ways into his skull?

"Protest?" repeated the Master once more.
"Yes, Sir... Master. I may be found guilty of those offences... but it was never my intention to cause any trouble. It was Koschei's."
The Master's facial features hardened. His eyes were burning menacingly.
"Instead of apologizing you want to make other responsible for the sins you've committed?" said the Master as he arose from his seat.
Theta shifted uneasy.
"I..."
"You may have only received minor punishments for your offences but do you even realize that soon this..." the Master pointed at the folders and piles of paper that were still resting on front of him "will lead to your banishment from the Academy's hoar soil?"

Theta's eyes widened. At first in disbelieve, shortly afterwards in shock.

"But Master... please I..."

"Your infamy has driven most of your superiors to the verge of despair" growled the Master "and I will not tolerate your indecent behaviour any longer."

Theta had stopped breathing. The world around seemed to collapse as his mind was racing with the strangest ideas, as something tried to torment him inside of his head, the pictures that were projected into his skull weren't his mind's attempt to clarify his current situation but a sign for someone being able to meddle with his imaginativeness.
Theta shuddered and stared at the enraged Master in front of him.

"You may not want to see it" hissed the Master visibly enraged "but this is your future!"
Theta was struck by another shooting pain inside of his head.
"And don't try to block me out; don't even start right now."

Theta lifted his gaze and stared at the Master blankly.
He felt himself burning; he was burning with horror and consternation.
His rationality tried to keep him from making the mistake of speaking his mind; but eventually it realized that his superior would have read his thoughts anyway.
Still, his rationality agreed with his tactfulness, that Theta could have tried to be a bite more sensitive than just saying:

"You don't know what you're talking about."

The Master examined him and assumed a posture of expectancy.
Theta met his gaze and felt his hearts sagging again.
"Go on" teased the Master as he waited for what might follow.

Theta tried to swallow the dry knot that was forming in his throat.
"You don't know what you're talking about" repeated Theta, not as self confident as before "You don't know Koschei. You may know him as a faculty member, or his teaching staff or his chastiser but..."
"What?" snapped the Master uneasily.
"You don't know what it's like... knowing him as a friend."
"And you want to betray that friend by blaming him for your offences?" added the Master.

Theta hesitated and bit his lower lip.

"Stand up."

Theta obeyed immediately. He didn't dare to look up as the Master rounded him; yet he felt his stare burning in his neck.

"Kneel."

Theta gulped. As he didn't followed the Master's instructions he felt two strong hands picking him up before hauling him against the dark red carpet.
The Master stopped Theta's struggle for getting up again by placing his foot on one of his knees as Theta got into something closest to a sitting position.
Theta froze in astonishment.
And he gave nothing but a quiet yelp as the Master slapped his ass.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" asked the Master mockingly.
Theta shook his head and opened his mouth; but as soon as he felt himself blushing in front of his superior he gave in and shut it again.

"You're using your friend's indecent behaviour for an excuse for your own naughtiness. And I can feel your mind tingling at the word, so stop blushing! You may seem innocent, my little friend, but I can look right through you. You're nothing more than a naughty and devious little boy...";
He could hear the Master smirking;
"And my mind is telling me that you're looking forward to the spanking you're going to receive. Well, actually it's your mind."

"Sir I..." Theta began but got cut off instantly.
"Use my name."
Theta dared to look up; his frightened stare caused the Master to smile.
"Master I... I'd never dare to question your skills but..."
Theta broke off as he received another slap. He felt tears burning in his eyes.

"Get up."
Theta nodded and followed the Master's instructions obediently. He stared at his own feet in embarrassment as he was ordered to strip and after some hesitation and a few ruthless slaps on the backside he removed his clothes reluctantly.
The Master chuckled quietly as Theta blushed even more.

"What lovely and beguiling legs you've got... and your thighs" he examined his body and hoped that he hadn't already frightened the boy too much as he demanded:
"Come closer. Let me feel your thighs."

Theta didn't budge. He remained frozen.
"Closer."
Theta jolted back as he heard the Master's voice inside of his head. Not that he actually heard it... it wasn't there, not in his head. His voice was like a tremor spreading throughout his body.
"Closer."

"Stop it" snapped Theta as he felt tears running down his cheeks.
The Master cocked an eyebrow at him.
He was waiting expectantly.

Theta covered his eyes with his hands and stepped forward until he'd sense the Master's presence right in front of him.

"At least you're feeling ashamed of yourself..." muttered the Master.
Strong hands grasped Theta around the waist and pressed him down on hard knees.
Theta gulped and bit his lower lip again.
He winced as the Master's hand made painful contact with his buttocks.

"I think I should give you another spanking just for your impure thoughts" explained the Master as he worked on Theta's body with increasing roughness.
"Who would have guessed that you could possess such a naughty mind?"

"Please Sir... Master... I beg your indulgence... please... just stop..."
"Just imagine it is your dear Koschei who's doing you a favour."

Theta's mouth dropped open.
"I beg your pardon?" he mumbled quietly after receiving another slap.

"Don't play naive, my little Theta" replied the Master "Don't think I won't find those naughty cravings just because you keep them locked out of sight for yourself. To me your mind is an open book. And maybe succumbing to temptation would have been a lot better than biting it back."
Theta dug his nails into the Master's knees.
"You're a vicious little devil, Theta-Sigma" the Master hissed under his breath "and let me tell you something: Koschei knows all about it. He knows everything about your desires."

Theta bit his lower lip and spat on the floor at the taste of blood.
The Master placed his hands on Theta's hips and pulled him up as he slowly turned him around.
Theta met the Master's vicious grin as he realized that he was resting on the Master's lap still in the nude.
The Master's hands were still resting on Theta's haunches.

"And don't you think it would have been better to tell Koschei about it? To talk to him? Don't you think it would have spared you from a lot of trouble and some sleepless nights?"
"I never had sleepless..." Theta began but stopped abruptly as the Master placed a firm finger on his lips. Theta met his cold stare.
"There's no sense in lying to me" explained the Master before tapping Theta's temples "I know what you're thinking."

Theta evaded the Master's gaze.
"I never caused any trouble" Theta tried to defend himself "And I didn't put the Rani's rat into a microwave. That was Koschei. And I didn't ask him for doing it."

"Just because Koschei performed the evil deeds doesn't mean that you're guilt-free" explained the Master; "You're inciting him."

Theta was too stunned to think of a quick reply. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and narrowed his eyes at the Master.
Though he still didn't get the grip on his tactfulness.

"I don't see why he's my responsibility. He's just a friend of mine. And I'm not spurring him on. He's inciting me! I was a good student, a brilliant student before I got ensnared by him. I wasn't goading him on - he kept pulling me down."

In an instant Theta's cheeks burnt as the Master had struck him mercilessly.
"You were neither asked to talk nor allowed to do so" hissed the Master and punched his ribcage; "You're forgetting yourself."

While moaning quiet curses Theta straightened up again and touched his cheek hesitantly; he felt the Master's hand still burning on his skin.
"You may think this is all you friend Koschei's fault. You still think you're the innocent one, don't you, Theta?"
Theta glared at him.
The Master hadn't expected him to react self-confident; nonetheless he was amused to see what impact his treatment had on the boy.

"Do you know who the real troublemaker is?" asked the Master softly. Theta stiffened a bit as the Master moved closer.
"You."