"Owen," Tosh shook his arm, "Ianto doesn't like it when we come down here."
"Besides, Jack said he already left." Gwen commented.
Owen glared at them. "Yes but I have good evidence to say that Jack is lying. I haven't seen Ianto leave at all. He's got to be somewhere down here in his lair. Can either of you remember seeing him after lunch?"
They reflected back. The Welshman had brought lunch early and eaten quickly claiming to have a lot of work in archives. Speaking of the archives, a shiver ran down Gwen's spine. The whole place was very dark despite the desperately glowing incandescent lights high up at the ceiling. They barely cast any glow onto the rows and rows of shelves. Some flickered eerily like a cheap horror show.
"Call for him." Gwen gave the medic a small shove.
"Alright, alright." Owen nodded.
He didn't call out though. No one did. It was like a spell cast over the dimly lit area for complete silence. Dust sparkled through the air from the old tomes demanding a solemn respect. Owen took a step forward and peered down an aisle. He jumped back.
"There's something down there." He whispered. "It looks anything but human."
Gwen looked. Tosh leaned over her shoulder. Owen tip-toed next to them to stare down the way. A mass of movement that looked Weevil like in every way except it was covered in dark fur poked about the shelves. Its ear angled away from them and they couldn't see what kind of face was on the thing.
"What is it?" Gwen hissed.
The triangular ears shot back. The thing twisted its head and the trio found themselves staring down a massive wolf. The wolf's blue eyes pierced them. It picked its body up from the floor to stand ten feet off the ground.
"Run!" Owen hollered.
He turned on his heels catching the girls and keeping them before him. They hustled up the stairs hearing the scrabbling of claws against the floor behind them. Owen slammed the door closed at the top of the stairs.
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Gwen huffed.
Tosh looked back. "Owen, Ianto's down there. He's still down there."
The medic looked back with horror. "Or is he?"
Gwen covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes watered. "He could be hurt. He could be dead. What do we do?"
"About what?" A voice cut in.
"Jack!" They cried out in relief.
Owen launched off. "Jack. There's some kind of creature in the archives!"
"I know." The captain looked oddly calm and seemingly resigned.
Gwen interrupted with concern. "But sir, Ianto's still down there."
"I know." Jack repeated.
Owen just gaped. "You're going to let him get killed?"
Jack snorted. "I hardly think Ianto is going to hurt himself."
"Hurt… Himself?" Tosh thought out loud.
"Are you saying," Owen panted, "That that big beasty thing down there is our docile little teaboy."
The man nodded. "Ianto, yes. Docile, yes. Little, he's not quite so much now."
"Is he a werewolf?" Gwen asked with wide eyes.
"Not really." Jack said. He started walking toward the stairs to the archives, "Coming?" He called over his shoulder.
They scrambled after him. Gwen stuck close to his shoulder, just barely looking over to see. Jack didn't speak until they were at the bottom of the staircase.
"Ianto is what is English would be an Xolotllet." Jack began explaining. He made a flowing sound with many rolls of his tongue. "That is what they are called in his own language. They're human shaped for the most part and they've been living here for just as long too."
"Teaboy's an alien now?" Owen growled.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "He always has been. It was one of the first things he explained to me. The interesting thing about Xototllet is they reflect Earthen wolves very closely. On their planet he would look like that all the time. Here though, with so much gravity the liquid that triggers transformation is pulled away from their central nervous system but on full moons; less gravity, the trigger is free to move, and-"
"Bang." Gwen finished softly.
As if to prove his point far down in the archives a figure crossed the aisle way. It had its nose to the ground snuffling at some unknown smell.
"Space werewolf." Owen snorted in amusement.
Gwen squinted down the way. "So he's not dangerous?"
Jack shook his head as the big steam colored wolf glanced over at them. "No. Not at all. Actually he's even more shy as a Xototllet than as a person. You really can't get him to be anywhere near you or allow you anywhere close to him."
The big canine like alien nosed one of the many filing cabinets tucked neatly into the shelves. A whine drew from its throat. The Xototllet turned its blues to them pleadingly.
"Spoke too soon." Jack pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. "This is the exception. He'll let you near him if he needs a set of drawers open or a door knob turned.
The wolf tensed as he approached but held itself in place. Jack slowly pointed to a drawer and the alien made a deep groaning huff and nodded. The captain maneuvered the drawer open then backed away quickly. The Xototllet stuck its nose right into the files and sniffed at each one carefully.
"So what exactly is he doing?" Gwen asked.
"Sniffing." Jack commented. "He pretty much spends the whole night tracing scents that old archivists and Torchwood Agents have left down. Ianto has asked me several times not to let him do it but it keeps the guy calm and busy. He always prefers the archives anyways."
The Xototllet pushed the drawer back in neatly and turned his back to wander down the hallway, nose to the ground before turning into an aisle further down.
"That's fascinating." Toshiko commented. "Why didn't you two tell us?"
Jack shrugged. "It was his choice, I simply respected his wishes."
"We'll see where conversation wanders tomorrow." Owen growled.
Gwen nodded in agreement. Somewhere in the archives a Xototllet sneezed.