Thanks again to all my reviewers, you're the best! No Ianto in this chapter I'm afraid; we had dreams last time and now everyone's awake. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!


Daine woke at dawn, starting in her bedroll.

I want you safe. Protected. The words rang golden in her mind and she rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of an awful headache. She recognized those words and that voice – it was the Bad Wolf, the goddess from her dreams.

Something dark and muddy was sneaking along the edges of her perception. She reached out to it, sitting up and looking around. Numair's arm slipped from around her shoulders, thumping softly onto the bedroll.

Surprise!/fear/run

Daine blinked, and the feeling was gone.

"Sweet?" She'd woken Numair. He blinked up at her, hair tousled and dark eyes groggy. She smiled ruefully down at him.

"Sorry, love," she murmured, gently running her hand through his hair, frizzed from the pillow. "I seem to be waking you up a lot."

The mage yawned hugely and leaned into her hand. "I'm used to it by now," he replied softly. "What was it this time?"

"A warning, I think," Daine said, looking out into the woods and rubbing behind Numair's ear with her thumb. "I think the Bad Wolf was warning me." Numair hummed for a moment at her touch before shaking her off gently.

"About?" He sat up and wrapped both arms around her middle, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't know." She leaned back and smiled at him, affectionately watching his eyes light at her expression.

"You have no sense of humor," Jack's voice rang out randomly, and they both jumped a little and turned toward their friend, curled fast asleep in his bedroll. Kitten jerked awake from where she slept at Jack's feet. She huffed at him irritably.

"So says you," George muttered, sitting up as well. He looked over and smiled in greeting to Daine and Numair. "G'morning," he said.

"'Lo, George," Daine replied, echoed by Numair. Kit cheeped at him. Four sets of eyes went to Alanna, nothing more than a tuft of red hair poking out of her and George's bedroll.

There was a whisper on Daine's senses again and she gently pulled herself from Numair's arms. Frowning, she looked around.

Here/here/quick/food?/maybe/careful-!

"I think we have company," Daine whispered, and started to rise. Numair shook off the blankets and began to roll up their bed, and George turned to wake Alanna. Jack, hearing the scuffle, opened his eyes drowsily.

"Whass th' rush?" he slurred, still half asleep.

"I think I might've just found your weevils," Daine murmured darkly, and Jack sat up like a shot.

"Where?" he asked grimly, reaching for his revolver. Daine knelt on one knee beside him, placing her hand on the barrel of the weapon, lowering it. Kitten sat up too, looking around anxiously.

"Wait," she whispered. "I can hear them."

Jack nodded and stood up with her.

The two mages, the knight, the Baron and the immortal man stood still and silent. The five horses were instantly awake, ears pricked forward and snorting uneasily. The birds were not chirping. Kitten growled softly at Jack's feet, but Daine hushed her before reaching with her magic.

Who's there? she called, as loudly as she could.

Heard that/yes/who/where?

"They're—" Daine bit her lip. They spoke quickly and with many voices, replies overlapping questions. It sounded as if they were one animal broken up into many, and then smashed back together. "You said they were telly-pathic," she whispered to Jack.

"Telepathic, yes," Jack replied softly, muscles tense, head high and looking around. The dragon remained crouched at his feet, teeth bared. "Low level. They can feel each other, I think."

"They can," Daine whispered back. "It sounds like there are a lot of them, all speaking at once—it's confusing, and nothing like I've ever—"

There he is/there/there!/others?/eat?/there/there/there!

Daine opened her mouth to yell a warning, but Jack reacted before any of them even moved: something brown and fierce charged out of the woods and he ducked, rolling out of the way. The horses reared and bolted and Kitten shrieked in fright, lunged for the bedrolls, hiding under them, trembling.

It was man shaped, Daine thought dimly, except its four fingers were knarled and dark. Its skin was the color of tree bark, eyes deep set and beady. There was only a sparse sprinkling of hair on its brown, deeply grooved scull. Jack had been right, its teeth were vicious—she could see four primary canines on the lower jaw, long and wickedly curved, and she did not doubt that they were sharp.

Daine lunged for her bow and black, glittering fire whispered around Numair's hands. She heard Alanna go for her sword and George threw a warning knife that thudded into a tree.

Food?/yes/hunt!

"No, stop!" Daine shouted and the creatures fell back, staring at her. There were four of them in a loose circle around the humans.

Call?/speech?/who?/hungry!/with HIM/ food/hunt!

"No," Daine repeated, stepping forward and lowering her bow.

"Daine," Jack warned, and she heard Numair whisper a prayer behind her.

"If you hurt us, we'll have to hurt you," Daine told them softly.

Hurt them/yes/hungry

"Daine, they respond to power—" Jack hissed.

"We are not food," Daine asserted, taking Jack's words to heart. She understood this kind of game, for all that she disliked it; many of her other animal friends lived in such a steep hierarchy as well. "So back off."

What/why/who?

"Stand down!" Daine growled and they flinched, backing away. The largest one gave a long, low moan, like a cow or a buck, and the others responded.

Too much/too strong/not good

"What are they doing?" Alanna whispered. She had her sword out, her stance ready, but her eyes darted in confusion from one weevil to another. They were bowing and retreating, lowing like cattle, as though they were injured.

"Yes, yes, Daine!" Jack enthused, voice low. "That's exactly what they did for Owen! They're submitting. Can you ask them how they got here?"

Daine bit her lip. She didn't think she'd harmed them, but they sounded like they were in pain. "How did you come to be here?" she demanded, voice harsh, but she watched them uneasily.

Follow/the rift/we are hungry/so hungry

"Rift?" Daine asked, confused. The lowing stopped and the largest growled, eyeing her as she showed them confusion rather than dominance.

"Daine," Jack warned.

"Explain yourselves!" Daine demanded, forcing them with her power. The weevils cringed again, lowing. "What rift?"

The Big Place/stone walls/lots of prey/darkness/Bronze light /anywhere we want

"Cardiff," Jack whispered. "It must be. A rift in time and space? Daine?"

"The Big Place," Daine told him, biting her lip, utterly confused. The weevils all spoke together, slightly out of synchrony, and it was hard to distinguish what they were saying. "Somewhere with stone walls and flashing light? Lots of prey, they say. In the darkness."

"In the sewers," Jack whispered. "Why are they here?"

"Well?" Daine asked, turning back to them. Her voice was hard. "Why are you here?"

Thingsdienearhim/HUNGRY

Daine took a step back from the force of their thought, gasping and as though sensing her weakness they lunged. Jack was fast, faster than Daine had imagined. He darted to one side and grabbed one of the weevils by the neck, wrenching it around, giving Daine time to leap back and draw her bow. Numair's magic flared beside her; two weevils went down. Alanna lunged at the last, fighting it off with a slash of her sword, ripping through the strange leathery fabric it wore as clothing. Dark blood welled up and the creature turned tail and fled, howling like a wolf; Jack's weevil struggled, tossing him to and fro and the four two-leggers rushed to help.

"I need a tranquilizer!" Jack gasped, managing to get his hand over the creature's eyes. It bellowed and slashed with its teeth; Daine feared to draw her bow lest she hit Jack but Alanna leaped into the fray without hesitation, slashing with her sword, and Daine could see where this battle was going.

"STOP!" she thundered, throwing all her will behind it. The weevil froze. Jack took a step back, breathing heavily and Alanna went still, coiled like a spring with her sword arm extended, the point inches away from the weevil's throat.

"Is everyone alright?" Jack asked, glancing back at the others. Daine did not take her eyes from the now submitting creature, and she did not relax until she heard the assent from all of her friends. Alanna was not even out of breath, voice flat as she affirmed that she was unharmed. She kept the weevil at sword point.

"Why are you here?" Daine demanded, glaring at the creature and holding it tightly to her will. If it broke free Alanna would kill it without hesitation, and Daine did not want that. The creature watched her with strange dark eyes. It gave a low moan, backing away from Alanna.

Everything dies so we eat it/so hungry/my brothers, don't hurt my brothers!

"Numair, did you kill them?" Daine asked, eyes never leaving the weevil.

"No, they're asleep," he replied.

"Good. Jack, he says he's here because everything dies?" She watched the weevil's strangely hypnotic eyes, and the creature lowed again.

No/we follow him/ death follows him/we follow death

"Everything—dies?" Alanna asked slowly.

"No," Jack whispered, his voice suddenly horrified, as he reached the same conclusion as Daine.

"Jack," Daine said slowly, "Jack, I think he's saying he followed you."

Jack took a step away. "N-no," he stuttered. "Impossible. Impossible!"

"Easy now," George said and although Daine could not see him she knew he'd put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Explain that again, lass."

"Show me," Daine demanded of the weevil, crouching down next to where he bowed. He flinched away. "Show me!"

We/all/know/him—

Images flashed before her eyes: Jack, in a different coat, looking young, so young. Wait till I find the Doctor, he'll put this right. I'm the man who can never die. Torchwood: outside the government, beyond the police. The Doctor said I'm a fixed point in time and space… one hundred years of loyal service…

Images flashed by and Daine watched a city, impossibly advanced, rise around Jack: he never changed, except for the clothes, but around him, always—

"Death," Daine whispered. "They think you bring death."

She heard Jack give a choked gasp from behind her.

"You're wrong," she told the weevil fiercely, angry on behalf of her hurting friend. "He doesn't bring death, and he doesn't bring food. Get out of here, go!" She advanced on him furiously and the weevil lowed, leaping to his feet and running off.

"Daine, we were supposed to catch them," Alanna said wretchedly, but Daine hardly heard her. She spun to Jack.

George had a supporting arm around him, but Jack's eyes had gone cold. He was shaking, face pale and blank. "I have to leave," he whispered, unseeing. "I have to go—"

"Don't be stupid," Daine told him. She walked right up to him, fists on her hips and then pulled him into her arms, the whole stupid mass of him.

"D-Daine, you need to—"

"You need to fix our Gates, remember?" Daine told him firmly.

"You—you can—Daine, if I bring death—not here, not here too—"

"You do not bring death, you dolt!" she cried, pulling back. Jack watched her with wide eyes and he stood still, as though his sanity depended on what she would say next. It was unnerving, and his eyes were very blue.

"They think you bring death," she told him urgently. "They don't see time the same way that we do, they don't see people the same way we do. Jack, you're immortal. If you stay in one place too long, everyone's going to die, just of old age. Those weevils, they don't see the time, they only see the death. They see everyone dying around you," and here she hugged him tightly, "and they think you're the cause. You're not, time is."

"I'm sure I don't help!" Jack snarled, trying to wrench away. Daine held him tighter and Numair, standing slightly behind and to the left of her, laid a firm hand on Jack's shoulder, Alanna at his back, so they surrounded the frantic man.

"You do help," the mage told him quietly. Jack looked desperately over Daine's shoulder and into his eyes. Daine could not see Numair, but she knew the compassionate expression on his face by his tone. "You're trying to fix our Gate, aren't you? And if I understand you correctly, your Torchwood was an institution to protect people. It was, wasn't it?"

Jack stood stock still, shaking. It seemed the name of his old workplace had stunned him, if only for a moment. Daine rubbed his arm. "C'mon, then, Jack," she said quietly. "Let's get some food into you, mm? We're going to have to hunt down those two that got away."


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