omething whispers in the edge of Susan's mind. It niggles, tickles like an itch that she cannot scratch, and she follows it, leaving Grandfather bartering with a couple of Lucanians. She knows he won't miss her for a while yet.
There is a commotion to her left. A pack of Hi'alderi have surrounded a little boy, barking enthusiastically.
It is immediately apparent to Susan that the boy doesn't speak Hi'alder. He is backed against a wall, eyes wide with fear. Susan feels a stab of compassion. She'd been intimidated by the Hi'alderi when she'd first met them, too.
She sends them off, waving her arms, grateful for the TARDIS translation circuit. She doesn't want the boy to think her mad.
She turns to him. He has messy dark hair, a bit too long, and large, brilliant green eyes. He is breathing hard, chest heaving. Susan thinks he cannot be more than eight; he is very small. She approaches him slowly.
"Are you alright?" she asks softly, sliding to her knees in front of him.
He locks his gaze onto her, eyes wide and luminous, and suddenly, Susan understands the niggling in her mind.
The boy is Gallifreyan.
She wonders what he is doing off-planet. Surely he should be at the academy. "You're far from home," she says gently, wondering who he was with and why he'd been left alone on an asteroid bazaar.
He nods, and she thinks for a moment that he might cry. His eyes glitter with unshed tears, and his face is full of confusion and fear. "I don't know where I am," he says, voice cracking slightly. He looks completely overwhelmed.
Susan wants to comfort him. She tentatively reaches for his hand. "You're on the asteroid bazaar, in the Rings of Akhaten."
He gives her a blank look, but she notices that he grips her hand tightly.
The little boy's timeline flashes before her eyes. It is bright and shining, a beautiful deep green woven through with golds and reds and warm browns. She realizes what, who, this little boy is, just how critical of a role he will play, and she trembles under the weight of the knowledge.
She also sees the danger.
The details fade as quickly as they'd come - she'd never been gifted in the temporal arts, much to her father's embarrassment - but she knows what she has to do, knows that it is extremely important.
She looks him in the eye, grips his other hand in hers. He returns her gaze, and she thinks that he must be very brave.
"I'm going to help you," she says slowly, seriously.
He nods, and she knows that he trusts her.
She gently raises her fingertips to his temples and slips into his mind. He shudders, but does not pull away.
Slowly, carefully, she shields him, building defenses from the inside out, piece by piece, layer after layer. It is painstaking work, hiding such a mind, but Susan is a talented telepath, and she applies all of her abilities to masking this little boy. She is nearly finished, has built an impenetrable wall, when she remembers.
Even the strongest walls can be broken.
Working quickly now, she adds one last layer. It is not a barrier, will not deflect an attack, but she hopes it will be his greatest defense.
She disguises his mind.
She makes one last check, satisfied that she's done her best, desperately hoping that it's enough. The future depends on it.
She gently releases him.
He looks at her, eyes luminous and round with wonder. "What did you do?" he asks, voice awed.
She squeezes his hand. "I made it so that nobody can find you," she says.
He blinks at her, obviously confused.
She can feel Grandfather approaching. She doesn't have time to explain.
"It's time for you to go," she says gently, laying a light kiss on his forehead.
He nods at her, wide eyed and serious.
She turns, heading off in search of Grandfather. She knows he is looking for her.
Susan feels a crackle of energy behind her. It raises the hair on her arms.
She closes her eyes tightly and hides the memory. She can hear Grandfather calling her name.
