Chapter 4

"What do you think this is, then?" The Doctor asked, disapprovingly, holding up what looked like, to Clara, a white blur.

"She wasn't fully awake yet, still curled up on the floor of the back room of Jessica and Tobias' house, a blanket draped over her shivery form.

"She squinted at the blur and then blinked a few times to steady her vision before stating,

"What do you mean 'what is it'? It's clearly a feather," she replied, yawning.

"Precisely."

"And..?"

"What animals have feathers?"

"…Well… birds, obviously-"

"And what do Zoranians resemble?"

"Birds?"

"And what are they currently trying to do?"

"They're- … oh…"

"You get my point now?" The Doctor sighed, raising an eyebrow at Clara.

"Yeah…" Clara mumbled, "I did wonder why my back was throbbing so much…"

"No wonder," The Doctor mused, gesturing for her to turn around and sit up straight, "Your body is forming new bones that are pushing through your muscle and skin before growing new nerves, muscle, skin and feathers."

"Don't say it like that…" Clara whimpered, sitting up.

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder blade and rolled down the neck of her dress so he could see her back.

Clara flinched, baring her teeth and trying to think of rainbows and puppies to take her mind off the pain.

"Ah…" The Doctor mumbled, rather nervously, "Sorry about that… I dread to think how much that hurts…"

"Is it bad?"

"Well, there's… um… lots of blood… and flesh…"

Clara swallowed,

"I'm guessing that's hardly natural?"

"You're guessing right. Don't worry, though, once you get some covering on those bones, you should feel a lot better," The Doctor assured her, "Though we may need to cut some holes in your dress…"

Clara forced a smile,

"Just do it neatly."

A voice disturbed them at that very moment. It was Toby: he had just come home from going into town with Jessica for some food for breakfast.

"Any sign of wings?" Toby asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Clara hid her face between her knees and gave a high-pitched whimper as The Doctor nodded at Toby.

"Ah well," Tobias muttered, "Maybe the things will come in handy one day, if you do end up stuck with them."

"I doubt I'll be able to fly with them," Clara sulked, her voice muffled, "Or if I do, it's going to take me a few hundred years."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Clara: maybe Pride can give you flight lessons…" The Doctor joked.

"Can we not talk about flying for a second here and focus on the objective of stopping these aliens that seem to be hell-bent on converting you all into them," Clara replied, lifting up her head.

"Of course," The Doctor nodded, standing up and then helping her to stand, too, "But first, I'm going to need some scissors…"

"That'll do," The Doctor sighed, brushing the cloth down.

"All done?" Clara asked./p

"Yep: done," The Doctor nodded, tossing the dress to her.

"Good, because I'm getting very cold behind this room partitioner…"

"I don't see how that's colder than the rest of the room…"

"Nearer the window."

"Whatever you say, just get dressed."

"Gladly!" Clara smiled. The dress seemed almost too nice to spoil, though she'd rather have a couple of holes in her best outfit than have to put up with bones pushing into… where they shouldn't push into.

The Doctor leaned on the doorframe and waited for her to dress while he gazed out onto the street outside. He could hear Jessica working away in the room behind them. She was sewing.

"Why don't you have any?" Came Clara's voice from behind him.

"Any what?" He replied.

"Wings," Clara coughed, stepping out from behind the room partitioner and wandering over to him.

"Time Lord immune system," The Doctor smiled, "It'll take a good week or so for it to kick in. I'm good for now."

"Be glad of that," Clara said, making sure her bones fit through the holes in the dress, "Will it emever/em stop hurting?"

"Of course," The Doctor assured her, "As soon as the skin heals up around the wound: it's just growing pains, you could say, so once they're fully formed, you'll be fine."/p

Clara looped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder, expecting him to push her away. But he didn't. The Doctor stroked her arm, gently, and they both stared outside into the bright sunlight before they heard footsteps coming and promptly let go of each other.

"Morning, Doctor!" Jessica smiled at him, "And good morning, Clara! How are you two?"

"Very good, thank you," The Doctor said, just as Clara replied with 'pained'.

Jessica held up something that looked, to Clara, like a cloak.

"I made you something," Jess beamed, "It's a cloak."

It certainly was. It was purple and velvet with a hood and a silk bow around it. It had no holes in the back, though, so Clara didn't know why Jess had made it at first, before she explained,

"Something to cover them: maybe the aliens won't notice you've begun the process."

"Good idea, Jessica!" Clara smiled, "Thank you very much!"

"A pleasure, now: haven't you got work to do?"

"We have, indeed," The Doctor nodded, stepping outside and taking the cloak, gently, before draping it around Clara.

"Use whatever you like from the town to assist you," Jess said.

"Thank you again," Clara smiled, following The Doctor into the morning sun, "And goodbye for now. I'll make you proud."

"The Doctor studied the screen on the TARDIS console before turning to Clara, who was leading Pride into the time machine.

"Try and keep your dragon under control, Clara," he smiled, "We don't want him knocking anything over, now."br /"Why do we need to bring him, anyway?" Clara whispered, patting Pride's head and closing the doors.

"You'll see…" The Doctor grinned before sending them flying through time and space…