Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: I really got the inspiration to write this, my second HDM and DW crossover, from Spinner Dolphin's crossover Alternates (it's another HDM and DW crossover, and is one of my favorites). That's not to say that I haven't thought about the Doctor's daemons before hand, it's just that Dolphin's story got my mind working again on the subject. So, thank you Spinner Dolphin for the inspiration. This is my take on the whole Doctor's daemon thing, and the daemons of all his companions, and more. Enjoy.
You see, we all know that when the Doctor regenerates, he becomes a different person with the same memories. Kind of like a reincarnation, except memories don't get washed away. And because he becomes a different person, his daemon changes into another animal from Gallifrey. For example: the ninth doctor's is a wolf-like animal (rough, war torn, angry, lonely), the tenth's is an animal similar to an eagle (haunted, beautiful, brilliant, menacing), and the eleventh's is a like fox (brilliant, cautious, quirky, clever). The daemon is always in a form of an animal from Gallifrey, because he is a Time Lord after all and that is his birth planet.
Like each incarnation has a different personality, each daemon displays the qualities of that Doctor and the changes that occur between. At the same time, again like each incarnation, the daemon retains some qualities that never change, for example intelligence and the need for a companion.
That's right, just because the Doctor has a daemon, doesn't mean that he doesn't need a companion. A daemon might be nice company, but it still isn't the same. He needs someone to share the wonders of the universe with and it's not the same with a daemon that knows as much as he does. The reactions and actions of the human companions are what he needs out of them, not just company which he can get from his daemon.
How do I know so much? you ask. Well, I am his daemon, plain and simple. Like the Doctor can remember his past incarnations, I can too. And you learn a lot about the nature of a Time Lord's daemon after all that time.
Human's daemons are different though, and I don't think I'll ever understand them fully, like the Doctor will never understand humans themselves. Human are a tricky bunch, so imaginative, so brilliant, yet at the same time capable of so much hate and destruction. They're like a double sided coin and you never know exactly which side they will land on. Take Rose Tyler for example. I don't like thinking about her, neither does the Doctor, but you have to learn history in order to never repeat the mistakes of the past.
Anyway, Rose's daemon was pine marten. I know, she's not the only important person in history to have a pine marten for a daemon, but that's what he was and that's all that really mattered. They always seemed to be kind hearted, and well intentioned. I was a wolf-like animal the first time they came along with us, and they were like a bucket of ice cold water, waking us up from the deep dark slumber of the past. They were both so amazing and brilliant, that we realized the decency of the universe again.
But then there were times that we met other humans, humans that seemed to have landed on the wrong side and ended up the complete opposite of dear Rose and her daemon. It was heartbreaking to encounter those magnificent minds so warped and twisted with hate and panic and greed.
Then came Captain Jack with his terrifyingly beautiful Siberian husky daemon, and he showed us that the human race can change. He started off as a con man, tricking people out of everything they had. But then the coin was flipped when he stepped onto the TARDIS and it landed on the right side. They traveled with us for awhile, until…I don't even want to think about it. It was so wrong. Jack lost his daemon when he died and she never fully came back when he was unintentionally brought back to life forever by Rose and the Bad Wolf. I felt sorry for Jack, but we had to move on.
That was when we changed and became fresh, and new. I was a golden Gallifreyan eagle and the Doctor was kinder, and gentler. He was still my Doctor and I was still his daemon, but we were different and brand new and ready to travel the universe. Which we did with Rose and her daemon, we did for quite awhile actually.
Then we lost her and became lost ourselves.
But shortly afterwards, we met the good, brilliant Martha Jones with her sleek, black and white warbler daemon. They brought us out of our hole, but we were still blind to their love. We just didn't want to see it after Rose. I'm more guilt-ridden about her than most. She traveled the world for us while her family suffered yet we did never see her, never truly saw her for what she was until she was gone.
That reminds me…The Master…when we first met him his daemon was a tired old purebred dog with gray speckling her muzzle. Then he when regenerated, his daemon became similar to a ring-tailed lemur, so quirky, so mad, yet so smart. It was strange for me. I remembered when his daemon wasn't fixed, when Gallifrey was still in the sky, and everything was alright. Things were so peaceful then, until everything changed of course…
Anyway, more time passed and we traveled just like always. Then we met Donna and her jandaya parakeet daemon again. It was odd meeting up with her for the second time, and eventually we found out why, but that really didn't bother us then when Donna and her daemon traveled with us, making us smile and laugh, making us forget the past and look at the humor and wonder in everything, and making our belief in the human race grow. They were our best friends.
We traveled and during that time we came across many people but the one that I remember most was River Song. Her daemon was a white tiger and they were enigmatic and brilliant and they died…technically. After her though, we still traveled with Donna and her daemon, having fun all the while.
But the daemonless Daleks intervened and it all changed. We had to take away their memories; they had to go home and forget about us. Something broke inside as we walked away from Donna's house in the rain while her grandfather and his mutt daemon looked on. We still adored the human race, but couldn't take them in anymore; they would only get hurt. So we traveled alone, saving people and the universe along the way.
Time passed and events occurred with the daemonless Cybermen, and other daemonless aliens along with some that actually had daemons. Then the Master came back, incomplete with his own daemon hardly there. After him the Time Lords came, then Gallifrey. We stopped it all though, with the help of Donna's grandfather and his daemon. We saved the Earth once again. But we had to die. We didn't want to go. We had learned and experienced so much, and even though we would remember it all, it still wouldn't be the same. We didn't want to go. But we had to.
We regenerated, and I became a fox-like Gallifreyan animal and the Doctor became someone new, yet the same. We crashed the TARDIS, the poor old girl. She has always been there for us, always there when no one else was. And we crashed her, right in seven year old Amy Pond's backyard. Her daemon was still changing when we first met her, then when we came back 12 years later, he was fixed into the form of a black panther. Things happened, and we saved the world again, and Amy and her daemon ended up traveling with us. In fact we're still traveling. We never seem to stop. It seems to be the only thing we know how to do, that and saving the world of course.
And it was one day, while the Doctor was checking the TARDIS's circuitry and Amy and her daemon were reading a future murder-mystery book, I began to think about a woman that we met that had done just that and more.
She was human, one of the most brilliant and wonderful humans we probably will ever meet. She had landed on the right side of the coin and seemed to be stuck there. She reminded us a lot of Rose…
Anyway, the Doctor and I were in our tenth incarnation, then, traveling with Donna and her daemon, when we landed on the woman's planet.
"Planet 1234567.9D, known by the locals as Earth," stated the Doctor after a quick glance around.
"Earth?" asked Donna as her and her daemon stepped out of the TARDIS, sounding a bit disappointed.
We were surrounded by the greenery of trees, flowers, and a myriad of many other photosynthesizing organisms. It was near dusk, the planet's sun elongating shadows as the world itself slowly turned away from the light.
"It's not the Earth you know," I clarified, perched on top the Doctor's shoulder.
"Then what is it?"
The Doctor then proceeded to tell Donna that this planet was almost identical physically to the Earth she knew, and was known at first as Earth's Twin. Humans started a colony on this planet, but lost communication with the outside and became isolated. Most of their tech was lost to the ages and centuries and centuries later, the colony had evolved into the civilization it was today. It was also still isolated and would be for a few more centuries, forgotten to by most on the outside upon the discovery of New Earth. It was interesting stuff, but Donna didn't seem to think so.
"So it's just like Earth even though it's not really Earth? There's nothing different about it?" she questioned looking around at the garden we landed in.
"I don't know…let's find out, shall we?" proposed the Doctor, setting off down a random path.
Donna sighed and followed, her daemon taking off and flying above her. Soon I was up in the air too, surveying the area. The planet did look extremely similar to Earth, but I could tell there were some differences. They were slight, and even for such inspecting eyes as mine, it was hard to spot them.
As I looked for the differences, I kept one eye on the Doctor. He was snaking through the brush like he was the first to step foot on that path, an aurora of amazement radiating off him. I couldn't help but to feed off that amazement. This was our way of coping with all our loss, finding the brilliant and remarkable in timespace.
Suddenly I spotted someone up ahead. I couldn't exactly tell who or what it was from my vantage point. All I saw was a blot of blond hair before the brush swallow it up, but I knew it was something. I swooped down to the Doctor.
"Someone is up ahead," I informed.
The Doctor nodded and stopped.
"What is it, Doctor?" questioned Donna, coming up alongside him while her daemon came down to her shoulder.
"Shhh…" replied the Doctor, putting his finger on his lips.
He suddenly grabbed Donna's arm and pulled her behind a tree with him. He had heard something, and together, with me and Donna's daemon perched on a branch above, we listened as footsteps came closer and closer.
"Pan! Don't go too far," spoke a female voice.
"It's not like anyone's going to see us. We are in the most remote part of the Botanic Garden, and on top of that it's getting near sunset," replied a male voice.
"It's not that I'm worried about…" softly replied the female voice with a hint of sorrow.
Suddenly a young woman and her pine marten daemon came into view. I felt the surprise coarse through the Doctor. We had met people with the same daemon as others, but a pine marten daemon was rare. Only one other person we've known had a pine marten daemon…And it didn't help that this woman had blond hair as well.
The woman was struggling underneath the weight of a stack of books that reached her chin. There was a satchel strapped across her body as her daemon trailed close behind. She didn't look a day older than 19 or 20.
"Let's just hurry up and get home, okay?" said the woman to her daemon.
But before he could respond, she suddenly tripped on an exposed root, sending her to the ground and the books to the air. Thuds rang throughout the garden as the heavy books crashed to the floor. The woman cursed and winced in pain as she got up and began collecting the books. The Doctor watched her for a few moments, and then slowly bent down and picked up the books that were nearby.
"Uh…excuse me…you dropped this," spoke the Doctor stepping out of the shade of the tree.
The woman stared at him for a few seconds, eyes wide, until I flew up and landed on the Doctor's shoulder. Upon seeing me she relaxed, and walked up to take the book from the Doctor's hand.
"Thanks," said the woman.
I could feel the blood pumping through the Doctor's hearts. He was uncomfortable as the memories of Rose tried to flood his mind, but curiosity about this woman and the whole planet in general was overpowering them and he smiled his quirky smile at her all the while. Typical Doctor…
"And these," said Donna, her daemon on her shoulder, as she walked out of the brush, two books in her hand.
"Again thanks," replied the woman taking the books.
"You're welcome…uh…I'm the Doctor by the way, and this is…uh…"
"Donna Noble."
"Yes, Donna. Brilliant Donna…," stated the Doctor, clapping his hands while his smile was still painted on his face. I could feel emotions shifting lightning fast through the Doctor. See that's the thing about him, he's always moving in some way or another.
"Nice to meet you, I'm…uh…Lyra…Lyra Slivertongue," spoke the woman. "I…I really should be going…thank you again for helping me with the books."
"Yah, we would've been in a heap load of trouble if you we didn't find them all," said her daemon coming up beside his human.
"Well, I imagine you would be. Books on how to read an alethiometer, are extremely rare…Well, I could wrong. I don't know everything about this planet…But alethiometers themselves are pretty rare so I would imagine that the books aren't common per say," rapidly babbled the Doctor.
I smiled. He had seen and noted the titles of the books and speedily calculated that they were about reading alethiometers, his brain working as fast as ever despite Lyra's daemon and his slight discomfort.
"What are alethiometers?" questioned Donna.
"Truth meter," I clarified, talking as quick as the Doctor. "Tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. It runs on self-conscious matter, dark matter, or otherwise known as Dust."
"And it's very advance technology. Used by early colonists to help prepare for dangers their scanners couldn't detect. Probably one of the few things that survived the centuries of isolation and therefore extremely rare. That of course doesn't mean that they're not rare everywhere else, I mean they're basically obsolete. Used mostly for fortune telling, nowadays. And Miss Slivertongue here, I'm guessing, 'as one," said the Doctor, picking up where I left off. "Otherwise, why would you need the books to read it?"
Lyra's eyes had grown wide at the Doctor's guess. She backed up slightly and moved her hand over to the satchel in a protective fashion.
"Who are you?" strongly questioned Lyra, her body rigid.
"Told you. I'm the Doctor," he replied his quirky smile still there.
Lyra eyed him suspiciously as she picked up her daemon and placed him on her shoulder.
"We don't mean any harm. That's just what he does. His brain is like…a living computer or something…," comforted Donna, her daemon nodding in agreement.
Lyra didn't relax. Her whole body was tense and the tension began to fill the air like fog off the bay of San Francisco. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Donna shuffle her feet uncomfortably and her daemon look around nervously, both obviously unsure what to do next. I looked at the Doctor and could see his smile still planted on his face, patiently waiting for a response, while confusing emotions swam inside.
"Well…," he began after a few more uneasy seconds of silence. "I guess…"
"You're not from here are you?" questioned Lyra's daemon.
"Wh-well…" stammered the Doctor, surprise seeping into him.
"No," I finished strongly as I gripped the Doctor's shoulder.
"Then, where are you from?" demanded Lyra, slightly stepping forward. I could tell there was a vague hint of curiosity in her, despite her obvious distrust of us.
"Well…a long way away from here," replied the Doctor, scratching the back of his head.
"From a different world?" asked Lyra. Her eyes were wide again, but this time not in fright or suspicion, but amazement, hope, and curiosity. I immediately wondered why, but the Doctor bushed away that question.
"Yah…a world about three hundred million light-years away…and extremely similar to this place. I mean I knew it would be a similar but not this similar. Everything's almost exactly alike. It's magnificent!" babbled the Doctor, doing a quick spin to take the whole place in.
"Oh…you mean a different planet?" responded Lyra, the hope diminishing from her eyes and voice, but the curiosity and some of the amazement were still there.
"Yes, isn't that what a different world is? What did you think we meant?" questioned Donna.
"Donna, don't be rude…but, she does have a point. What did you think we meant?" queried the Doctor.
"Uh…n-nothing," stammered Lyra, suddenly becoming defensive.
I could tell that there something she was not telling us, and I knew the Doctor felt the same way. This woman was hiding something. And it could possibly have to do with her alethiometer. But before we could press further, Lyra's daemon spoke up.
"The sun's about down. We should get going," he stated, still on his human's shoulders.
"Yah, we…need to go and…return the books," stammered Lyra looking between her daemon and us.
"Plus, it's past our curfew," added her daemon, Lyra nodding in agreement.
"Nice, meeting you," murmured she, shifting the books in her arms.
Then without so much as another word, they both rushed off down a path, soon disappearing in the brush. The light was indeed fading, but I had a feeling that it was not the true reason why they left in such a hurry; it was just that I didn't know quite yet what that reason was.
The Doctor on the other hand, who was looking at where Lyra had just disappeared from, eyebrows thoroughly furrowed, was thinking something different. I couldn't read his exact thoughts, I never could, but I could tell that his mind was busy, his brain cells furiously running around from one idea to another. There was also a particular emotion that went along with his busy-bee mind that I couldn't quiet place. Something in between confusion, intrigue, and uneasiness, along with a feeling of remembrance, like he should know who Lyra Slivertongue was but couldn't quite grasp how or why.
"Okay is it just me or is there something this girl isn't telling us? There's more to her, I just know it. I mean if alethiometers are rare, then why does she have one? She doesn't look all that important. And shouldn't it be in a museum or something. And why was she here with it in this place, anyway? She could damage it or get dirt on it or something. What was she doing with it?" mused Donna, turning to the Doctor.
I smiled as she said that. I still smile, remembering back on it now. Oh, how I loved Donna. There were just some things that she could pick up that no one else could. Sure, all the companions could do that, that was another reason the Doctor and I kept them around, they were a fresh point of view and therefore they could see things that we missed. But Donna was slightly different. While Rose was practical and empathic, and Martha was logical, Donna put a real world spin on everything. Not that I'm bias. I miss every companion, so does the Doctor.
Anyway, back to the story...
"You know about as much as I do, Donna," muttered the Doctor, coming out of his thoughts.
"Well, what are we going to do next?" she questioned.
"Let's see where Miss Slivertongue is such in a hurry to get back to, shall we?" answered the Doctor, his quirky smile back.
)))))
Planet 1234567.9D's moon was now out and the local stars were shinning around the lunar body like Earth's luminescent fireflies fixed in billion year obits. We were staring at a magnificent complex of stone structures, which appeared to be some sort of college judging by the arrangement of the buildings and their similarity to Earth older colleges. We arrived just in time to watch Lyra and her daemon rush into one of the smaller building.
The Doctor and Donna shared a look, communicating so much that could only be summed up in a raised eyebrow and a tilt of the head, and a shallow nod in response. During that exchange, Donna's daemon and I shared a perch on one of the roofs nearby, both examining the college and smiling in communal amusement of our other halves unspoken connection.
A moment later we were all heading towards the building that Lyra had disappeared into. Its door was locked, but that was no trouble for the handy dandy screwdriver. Such a helpful tool, and so unappreciated and underestimated. The perfect tool for the Doctor.
In no time at all, we were in. Through the threshold, the space opened up into a cozy living area with plush oriental carpets, fat armchairs, and a flickering fire. Black and white photographs of family and friends and students joined small landscape paintings decorating the wallpapered walls. Bookshelves, end tables, and lamps were scattered in between the aforementioned furniture like sprinkles in ice cream.
In the far left corner was an open door, leading to a wooden staircase, and in the far right was another door set ajar, this time leading to what appeared to be another room in which movement could be seen. The Doctor motioned to Donna to stay put and be quiet while he and I slowly moved towards the room, me taking the lead above him. The closer we went, the more we could hear in the other room. There was a scraping of a chair against the floor, a curse as someone knocked into something, and a creak of a cabinet opening. When we were only about a few feet away, we could hear a snippet of conversation.
"…be careful…"
"I know…I'm just so tired, Pan. So tired…"
"I know…I miss them too…"
There were no lights on in the room, only the moon shinning through the window hanging on the left wall made it possible to see anything. It looked like an office of some sorts. Degrees and more pictures decorated the walls and a large oak desk sat in the center with chairs scattered around it. Finally, there was a hefty glass-covered bookcase stood tall and demeaning behind everything. Lyra and her daemon were located near the bookcase, its glass door open as she quickly and quietly put the books from before back into their places upon the shelves. Obviously, she was not supposed to have taken the books and therefore was putting them back before anyone noticed.
The Doctor continued to inch into the room, with me still flying above him, both of us not really thinking about what we were going to do once in. But that question was quickly answered when the Doctor knocked into one of the many chairs, making it scrap nosily against the floor, causing Lyra and her daemon to snap their heads towards us. She almost screamed in surprise, but she quickly caught herself and covered her mouth. Her expression of surprise didn't last long though, as soon she saw that it was us.
"Wh-what in 'ell are ya doin' 'ere?" she angrily whispered, seemly reverting to a less formal dialect. "Why'd you follow me?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but soon closed it. The reason why we were there was because we knew that Lyra was hiding something. There was also the little nagging feeling of remembrance that she had brought up. But we couldn't explain that to her, could we?
"Doctor?" quietly questioned Donna, poking her head into the room, her daemon on her shoulder. "Oh…" She had seen the situation.
"Why…Who are you people?" asked Lyra more in confusion than anger now, returning to more formal speech.
"Well, we just…uh…" muttered Donna walking into the room and looking towards the Doctor and me for help completing that answer.
But before anyone of us could the Doctor jumped up in exclamation, for a light bulb had just gone off in his head.
"AH-HA! I remember where I've heard your name before. I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. Well, I knew I'd met you some day, but I didn't think it'd be this soon, or on this planet for that matter," said the Doctor, talking to Lyra.
"Doctor, what are you talking about?" questioned Donna, puzzled.
Lyra looked as perplexed as Donna was. What did the Doctor mean? I knew. I knew who Lyra Silvertongue was now and I couldn't believe I didn't make that connection sooner.
"Lyra's the savior of the universe, actually the multiverse. Well, one of the saviors, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that she saved this universe and plenty of others from total destruction. Even I don't do that every day," replied the Doctor, facing Donna and smiling ear to ear.
I grinned too. I was kind of hard not to when my other half was that excited. It was not every day we met someone so important to the wellbeing of the multiverse. It's not only an honor but a rarity. We meet important people all the time, but every once and awhile there's that one person that just makes our year.
"H-how…how do you know that?" muttered Lyra.
The Doctor and I turned to face her. The woman was pale as Himalayan snow, and her blue eyes were large and dilated in confusion and harsh surprise. Her daemon stood on the desk next to her, staring at us with the same expression while his fur bristled.
"Uh…," began the Doctor, his and my excitement somewhat dampening at the sight of Lyra's expression. "I-did-I…uh…it's kind of hard not to know what with me being me."
"Then who are you?" she questioned.
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer but then closed it, speechless and his excitement all but gone. He was remembering exactly what the story of Lyra Silvertongue entailed, what she did, and what she had to give up. Thoughts, memories, and emotions began to swarm in the Doctor's mind. My mind did the same, as my eyes fell upon Lyra's pine marten daemon. The Doctor tried to speak again, but like the last time, he couldn't make any words come out.
"We're someone who has experienced what you've experienced…who knows how you feel," I softly spoke, speaking for my other half while holding my head high and looking straight into Lyra's eyes.
Beside me, I could see the Doctor nod in agreement and straighten up himself. There was a solemn and resolute expression on his face. We both missed Rose but things in the past of personal lives can't be changed. Being a Time Lord, we know that law of nature all too well. Things have to happen; sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. And once they happen, they can't be changed. That was how time worked.
"Wh-what…" began Lyra, staring at us with a bewildered expression. But she soon trailed off upon seeing the Doctor's face. Her perplexity had vanished.
It was almost like an unspoken understanding passed between us. Lyra could see the sorrow, pain, and age in our eyes and a certain comprehension opened in her mind. She needed no more explanation. She knew what we were talking about. Different universes, trapped loves, et cetera. Say no more. She got the connection.
Silence ensued. Unsaid sympathies and similarities were shared. The room was still but the air around it was charged with complicated thoughts and emotions. It was only until a creak of a floorboard did the saturated silence break.
The sound had originated from up stairs, almost directly above our heads. Lyra jumped at the noise and a look of panic engulfed her face. A curse escaped her lips as she hurriedly turned to continue to put the books back in their proper places. Apparently whomever she had borrowed the books from was awake. The Doctor rushed to help her as I flew to see if the owner was still upstairs.
I encountered Donna just standing there in the other room. She had apparently backed out of the office out of respect and politeness. She was well aware of Rose and how touchy that subject can be. And even though she didn't know the exact details, she understood that Lyra was someone like us. She also understood that we needed our space. A good companion just understands.
In the left corner where the stairs were located and voice was flowing from.
"Lyra? Lyra, is that you?...Are you?...Did you?...You did didn't you!...How many times have a told you not to take the books outside! They're old and precious and you don't even listen to me when I…"
I stopped listening as footsteps, probably belonging to the owner of the voice, began to come down the stairs. I was about to turn back to the Doctor and Lyra to warn them, but they were already coming out of the office and starting to race out of the building. Donna and I followed, and as the last flick of my feathers few out, the possessor of the voice and footsteps burst out of the door. We had made it out just in time. Perfect timing…as always.
We all raced through the cool night air. In truth, if you were to ask me or any of us right then where we were going, no one would've been able to give you an answer. No one knew. We all just kept on blindly running, into the cold, dark night.
Somehow we ended up back at the Botanical Garden, right where everything had a started. We stopped, the humans huffing and puffing while the Doctor gazed around. I landed on his shoulder. He glanced up at me, an understanding that only a daemon and their owner could possibly possess, passed between us. I would try to explain what was passed, but that would be like trying to explain quantum physics to a three year old. You just wouldn't understand.
The cool night raged on. The breeze was soft, dark, and comforting like a secret pressed against a heart. As the Doctor and I cleared our heads with the nighttime chill, the two women gradually regained their breath.
"Thank you," suddenly spoke Lyra, looking at us with a complicated smile.
"Wh-what for?" asked the Doctor pulling himself out of his thoughts and spinning around to face her.
"For 'elpin' me back there. I've already been caught twice before…I don't think she'd even let me touch them ever again if she'd seen me there tonight."
"Oh, no problem…"
"Helping people is kind of what he does," commented Donna.
"Yeah, we got that impression," stated Lyra, eyes bright with the moon's glow.
"Just wondering here…why did you need the books in the first place…I mean I know you used them to read that alethio-thing, but why did you need to read it? It tells the truth right? Well, what would you want to know the truth about? And why here?" questioned Donna.
"It's…uh…long story…," murmured Lyra, a dark note escaping in her words and as she put on a poker face.
"Don't worry, Donna…I'll tell you it sometime…It is quiet a brilliant one," interjected the Doctor, with a slight smile.
"You best keep your word to that, mister," friendly threatened Donna.
"Right," replied the Doctor with an exaggerated nod.
"It's weird…I didn't know anyone knew my story…besides the ones involved of course," muttered Lyra, staring at the flowers at her feet.
"Well, I wouldn't have known if…I mean my people used to keep that kind of stuff in check, but well…things happened…I was focused on other things and…in all retrospect I wouldn't even know who you where if…," responded the Doctor, trailing off.
"If it wasn't for Rose…right?" interjected Donna softly. She knew she was treading on dangerously sensitive ground, but I could tell that she was too curious to back off.
"Rose?" questioned Lyra, looking up at us with bright interest in her eyes.
"She's…um…she was a…friend…," murmured Doctor, looking up into the woman's crystal blue eyes.
Lyra took one look at his face, and nodded. Just like she knew before, she knew now. She could relate to that expression of hidden pain on my Doctor's face. No doubt that same look plagued hers just as often.
"Right…um…thanks again, and I should be…getting off to bed. I have lessons tomorrow and…yeah…well…good-bye Doctor," replied Lyra, standing tall and holding out her hand.
"Yep…we should probably get going too…," responded the Doctor, taking the woman's hand.
And before he knew it, he was swept into a tight hug. At first I could feel he was too shocked to do anything but instinctually jump back, but after a second or two of her warm embrace, he relaxed somewhat and loosely wrapped his own arms around her thin frame in uneasy reply. And as we looked down at her blond head, we couldn't help but flashing back to Rose and the light scent of her hair and the glow of her smile. My talons tore into his coat.
"Every road reconnects at the end," Lyra whispered as she let go a second or two later, a light grin on her face. "Remember that. That's what helps me."
The Doctor nodded, swallowing down painful memories.
"Good-bye Lrya," I said.
In reply, she only smiled her sorrowful grin and skipped off into the soft darkness of the trees.
I could feel Donna and her daemon's eyes on our backs. I could tell that they were worried, but they knew that it would be best not to say anything. Best give the Doctor some time to breathe, they probably thought. They knew us that well.
At little less than a minute passed in this fashion. As the distant stars winked up ahead and the wind gently pressed against the plants making them waltz and sway, doors were closing in the Doctor's mind, locking away the things that could hurt him the most. Lyra was one of the saviors of the universe, but she was also a reminder of what and who we've lost and these things had to be pushed back, because if we let them take over and engulf us, nothing would get done and the world would fall to pieces like cardboard in the rain. We have to move on for the greater good of everything left.
Then he took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes like he had just been sleeping. We turned back to Donna and painted on a smile. "Well, Donna…Allons-y!" And we were off, racing out to the stars.
Now, years later, after so much as happened, I can't help but think of Lyra from time to time. Not only because of all the things that she reminds me of, all the silence and loneliness, all the hurt and loss, and all the joy and smiles, but also because of her own brilliant story. Because it is at times, when things seem their worse, that I can't help but wonder what the universe would be like with no daemons.