He woke with a start, body drenched in sweat, hearts beating a rapid form of his usually calm pattern. Du-du-du-dum, over and over again, a frantic pulse that seemed like it would never slow. The young child rubbed his iridescent crystal eyes and stretched. What was that, Koschei wondered. All he could remember was hatred. The cold, cruel hatred of those around him, and it had something to do with his initiation in front of the Eye. But nobody was allowed in the initiation, so that hatred was impossible. It's just a bad dream, Koschei reassured himself shakily. There was no way the disgust he saw in his classmates'—in Theta's—eyes could possibly be real. He resolved to tell Theta when they next saw each other.

Koschei rose and stretched, preparing himself traditionally for the ceremony. His hair freshly combed and the robes of the Timelord on his back, he walked out of the room, giving off an air of confidence that was as much a lie as it seemed true. Koschei had always been good at misleading people as to his feelings, his personality, even why he was out on the purple grass past curfew! Although, he never really needed to bother with the last one. All of the adults knew and accepted that whenever he went missing, he was with Theta. Speak of the devil… He ran up to his friend and explained breathlessly what had happened. Theta listened, his face creasing more and more with each passing phrase; the dream Koschei had had was troubling to say the least. Theta pulled him in for a hug, helping Koschei release the rest of the stress he had been holding inside of him.

"You know it'll be ok. Hardly anybody has a hard time at the Eye."

"Yeah, but the thought that I'll be one of the exceptions… It scares me, Theta."

"It scares me, too. But we have to go through it anyways.

"Now, let's get something to eat!"

Koschei nodded happily, getting some food and sitting down next to Theta at their customary table. Theta's laughter and bubbling talk filled his hearts with joy, but, in the back of his mind, he was still terrified of his dream and what would happen when he approached the Eye. Theta saw this—Of course, Theta sees everything, Koschei mused bitterly—and wrapped an arm around the thin shoulders of the boy next to him, as carefree as an 8-year-old child should be on the most important day of his life. Koschei sighed and relaxed into the other boy's grip, allowing the calm waves that always seemed to be radiating off Theta to wash over him, numbing his senses.

Theta gazed at the boy burrowed so deep within the crook of his skinny elbow he almost became a part of him in sadness. He couldn't help Koschei; nobody could. He could only hope that Koschei's dream had only been a dream, not a scarily accurate premonition. They sat in silence, nibbling on toast, neither one's appetite worth much, until it was time to go to class for some, the Eye for one. That one was Koschei, and Theta gently nudged his friend, afraid that he was waking him up from sleep that would actually do him good. Koschei looked at him, eyes wide with panic.

"I don't want to go, Theta. I can't do this!"

"Yes, you can! Koschei, I believe in you."

"Please, Theta," he begged, "help me hide, run away. We could run together, see the stars." He smiled hopefully, but Theta shook his head.

"You know as well as I that we need to go through with this, no matter how we feel about it. It's what makes us who we are!"

"Why do you always have to be the sensible one?" Koschei's voice wavered, eyes filling with tears.

"Because if I wasn't, you would be a mess, and probably would have lost your head in history class by now. Literally. Your head would have gotten up and walked away.

"Ready to go?"

Koschei whimpered, but nodded; he didn't have much of a choice, anyways. Theta watched his friend walk away with a deepening sense of dread. He hoped his instincts were wrong, but they rarely were. He couldn't shake the feeling that he should have agreed to help Koschei run away.

Koschei approached the swirling mass with halting step, urged on by his schoolmasters. Eight years old, and his body was trembling at the thought of the huge mass opening before him, engulfing him. He stumbled, but was caught by one of the masters, grimacing.

"You cannot look away, Koschei," one of them ordered, and the boy nodded, not trusting his voice.

What if my nightmare comes true? His breathing quickened with the thought that he would lose everything this day. He didn't know what he would do if that happened; it would likely destroy him.

He stood, staring, as the void opened and the drums called him. Through the ages, come for him through the Eye. Koschei fell to the ground, pain engulfing him. He could hardly think, he could barely breathe. His constant thought was this wasn't supposed to happen. I should have been like Theta. What's wrong with me? He felt the masters gripping his shoulders and he lashed out at them, scratching, biting, and using energy from the Vortex almost like a shield. Koschei stood, his head pounding with each movement he made. Slowly, the drums softened into a four-beat rhythm, and Koschei didn't know what to do. His head felt like it had split in half, yet he was still whole. He twitched, head throbbing in the four beats. He touched his head in disgust. If Theta finds out, he'll hate me. Something happened today, and I can't tell him. He sniffled at that thought, unaware that his masters were watching him. Only when one of the cleared his throat did Koschei break out of his reverie. He looked around as if he was seeing them for the first time.

"Well," he said, "don't we have somewhere to be?" The robed men looked startled for a moment before nodding, leading Koschei out of the Shrine of the Vortex to his formal initiation ceremony.