(10th Doctor story)~Gale/Gallifray Dow
~~ Aura Borealis, light beast
Gale was sound asleep when the alarm went off, and fell out of bed trying to turn off her alarm clock. "what is going on here?" she walked into the control room, to find her dad the Doctor batting at something. "dad what are you doing?"
The Doctor only glanced at Gale to see where she was, "something got in the Tardis, and now I am trying to get it…Gale look out!"
Gale looked up in time to see a blur of blue light slam into her, and sent them both to the floor.
The Doctor quickly walked around to where Gale had fallen. "Gale, are you all right?"
Gale sits up, stroking a blue lighted cat thing. "we both are. She was just scared, and thought the Tardis would be safe. Can I keep her?"
"you mean as a pet? Gale we travel to some unsafe places, it could get hurt."
"her name is Aura, and you let me go with you on unsafe planets."
"you think on your feet. She…where did she go?"
Gale giggled and pointed, "look up." Aura was walking on the ceiling.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "well…that is impressive. All right! You may keep her as long as she wants to stay, but I don't want to hear you ask me to go back if she got off and didn't get back on in time. Am I understood?"
Gale nodded vigorously, "completely. Aura come on. This way to my room." Aura flouted after Gale down the hall, leaving the Doctor to his thoughts.
'Gale's first pet. Oh boy'. But Aura did stay around, and hung around Gale to stay with her and protect her.
They landed on a planet the Doctor said had some ruins of people he knew long ago. "not my long ago, the planet's long ago".
Aura sniffed the air, smelling for anyone, then went back to her usual spot; laying across Gale's shoulders.
Gale looked at one of the columns with writing on it. "I can't read this. Does that mean the Tardis doesn't know it?"
The Doctor glanced over from his own writing he found. "yeah, means it predates the Tardis. Vary few things predate time-lords, let alone the Tardis. Copy as many writings as you can find, then we can do some searching and maybe figure out what it's saying."
Gale pulled out some paper, and turned as something touched her mind. 'hu?' she looked around, but only saw her dad. 'guess I am a little spooked'.
When they both filled what paper they had with them, they headed back to the Tardis.
The Doctor was ahead by several steps. "we can run these through the computer, and in minutes have a translation."
Aura hummed as she flouted around Gale.
Gale held her hand up, and let Aura rub against it. "so, though the Tardis can't help us read it, she should be able to read it herself?"
"yeah, well, in a way," the Doctor walked inside, but then spun around with a jerk hearing the doors slam shut, with Gale still outside. He pulled at the doors, but they wouldn't budge. "she's locked the doors. Try your key while I try and figure out why."
Gale dug in her pocket for her key, but froze as a growl reached her ears. She slowly turned to see what made the sound, and saw Aura looking like a freaked out cat.
Gale shouted at the Tardis, "dad, use the cameras on the outside of the Tardis to see what is out here."
The Doctor pulled the screen around, and could just make out red eyes at the tree line. "Gale get in here!" his eyes went wide seeing Gale run with Aura in her arms.
"Gale! We need to get ahead of her." he shouted at the Tardis as he ran around working the controls.
Gale ran with Aura tucked in her shirt, getting as much distance between her and whatever was chasing her. Her foot caught on a rock, sending her down and rolling onto her side.
Aura tumbled out of Gale's shirt from the force of the fall. she looked around and saw Gale regaining herself, then something with glowing red eyes growling as it came closer.
Aura placed herself between Gale and the beasts, and slowly grew brighter.
When she could see, Gale spotted Aura glowing brighter. She covered her face as Aura suddenly flared into a bright white light.
As the light faded Gale lowered her arms. Only Aura and her were left.
"what did you, OW!" Gale screeched in pain. Her arms had slight burns. "how did that happen?"
Aura walked over and licked Gale's arms.
They soon hear a welcome sound; the Tardis engines. It landed feet from them, and the Doctor ran out.
"Gale are you ok?" the Doctor swept his eyes over her looking for injuries.
Gale winced as she showed him her arms, "I got burned somehow. The beasts are gone."
The Doctor looked over at Aura, 'light beast?' he helped Gale back to her feet, "lets get your arms fixed up, then bed for you. Coming Aura?"
Aura flouted after the two, taking one last look around, then went in side as the doors shut behind her.
The Doctor stood at Gale's bedroom door, watching her sleep with the gauze wraps on her arms after he slathered on the salve.
Aura, who normally curled up in Gale's arms, sat on the only chair in the room.
The Doctor met Aura's eyes, "I want to know what happened out there, and I know you are the only one who knows."
Aura looked at Gale, and her fur dimmed knowing why but unable to say. She jumped off the chair, and walked out of the room.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, staring at Aura with wonder, 'I need to find a way to understand you'. he turned back around as he heard Gale groaned in her sleep. "rest easy Gale." then went back to the control room.
Gale woke a short hour later, and walked into the control room with a blanket around her. "dad are you in here?"
The Doctor leaned out from under the Tardis, "over here. How do you feel?"
Gale dropped the blanket on the captain's chair, "a lot better, especially my arms. Could you help me get the gauze off my arms?"
"sure, back to med-bay." the Doctor slowly removed the gauze while Gale sat patiently on the bed.
Gale looked left and right, "where is Aura? I haven't seen her for a while."
"about her Gale…are you able to understand Aura?"
"we have a understanding. Why do you ask? Oh! Sore spot." Gale grimaced as the Doctor's finger lightly rubbed part of her still burn arms.
The Doctor laid a wet towel on the red skin. "a wet towel will work better now. I mean, can you understand what Aura is saying, like when we talk?"
"never thought about it. Is something wrong?"
"I think I know what Aura is. A rare beast that can travel through space without needing a ship. A light beast. I thought light beasts were extinct, and on top of that she looks different then what I knew light beasts to look like."
Gale glared at her dad and stated, "you are not to experiment on her!"
The Doctor kissed Gale in the middle of her forehead, "the thought never crossed my mind. I wanted to asked her about what happened in the woods, and how you got burned when there was no fire."
"oh, yeah, I kind of wonder that myself. But I don't know…Aura?" Gale's eyes widen as she sees Aura walk in on all fours.
Aura let the Doctor pick her up and set her on the bed next to Gale. "guess you came cause you know. How can we understand you?"
Aura elongated her tail, and held it out between the Doctor and Gale.
The Doctor frowned, "this is not like a 'pull my finger gag' is it?"
"not everyone is like you dad," Gale stated as she grabbed the tail. The Doctor shrugged and grabbed hold.
*Instantly they were back in the woods, moving fast, hearing something growl behind them. They suddenly roll on the ground, turn and see Gale in trouble. They jumped in front of Gale and stare down the things. One last look back at Gale, they flared to a white light at the things.*
Gale and the Doctor gasped as the vision ended.
"you really are a light beast, maybe the last of your kind." The Doctor stated, awed at his own words.
Gale pulled her arms close, "you…you burned me?" Aura hung her head at the question.
The Doctor turned Gale's face to look at him, "it could have been worse. She controlled it enough to scare the things off, but she couldn't keep you from getting a little hurt."
"but, we cuddle at night. How do I not get burned then?"
"remember what I told you. Blue flame is a cooler fire, yellow and white are vary hot. She is a blue cat because in that color she doesn't hurt, but will keep you warm. She is still your Aura."
Gale looked at Aura, her head still lowered. "are we still friends?" Aura's head sprung up and stared at Gale with wide eyes.
Gale slowly took Aura in her arms, "I'll take that as a yes." Aura nuzzled Gale in the crook of her neck, purring loudly.
The Doctor helped Gale off the bed as he ordered, "you can sleep together, but I want you back in bed. Your time-lord powers work faster when you are asleep." he tucked them into Gale's bed, and left them to refine their friendship.
"Aura, try a little flare!" Gale suggested.
Aura stood in what she thought was the middle of the room, and flared just enough for Gale and the Doctor to get a good look around.
They had gone back to the ruins when Gale's arms were better, still wanting to figure who the ruins belonged to.
Gale used a camera she had found in the Tardis to get pictures they could examine later. "I only recognize a few images, but only from earth history class. Anything look familiar to you dad?"
The Doctor buzzed his sonic around the room. "very vague ideas. None are gallifrain, which I think is a good thing. I don't even see anything that looks like an alien I have seen before."
"you mean like Egypt, Anubis and Isis?"
"exactly! These could be older then timelords, which is a really long time ago."
"at least over 900 years," Gale giggled out.
The Doctor chuckled in the back of his throat at the joke, "go back a few thousand more years and you will be close to the start of the timelords themselves. Whoever it was, whatever people followed would be smarter then the beasts that attacked. What brought the beasts here, and why?"
Aura gave a brief flash.
Gale stated, "ten more minutes, then she needs a rest."
"I will only be a…" the Doctor turned to the entrance to the temple as a noise flouted in, "Aura dim down."
Aura went back to her normal blue glow and ran to Gale.
"that sounds like chanting. Maybe some primitives are still around," Gale suggested, lifting Aura into her arms and walking over to her dad.
They could hear the chanting getting louder, meaning whoever it was getting closer.
"I suggest we make a dash for the Tardis before they get in the way." the Doctor wrapped one arm around Gale's waist and quickly led them out and away from the ruins.
They could see the Tardis when several things in masks jumped out of the trees and surrounded them.
The Doctor's mind went into overdrive, trying to plan a way for Gale to get away.
Gale suddenly shouts, "AURA!" as Aura jumps out of her arms and surrounds the Doctor and Gale with a shield of light.
The Doctor covers Gale with his body, and forces her to crouch low to the ground. A brief flash of intense light later they slowly opened their eyes and looked around.
All the masks primitives were gone, along with Aura.
Gale jumped to her feet and shouted, "Aura where are you? Aura can you hear me? AURA!"
"Gale she's gone."
"no, she can't be gone. Those people may have taken her. Maybe we can lock onto her signal in the Tardis."
Gale ran to the Tardis controls and started a scan of the area.
The Doctor waked over to Gale's side and pulled her hands away. "you wont find her Gale."
Gale's stared at her dad with tears running down her face, "we can't leave her behind. Help me find her."
The Doctor whipped the tears from Gale's face, and laid his hands on her cheeks, "you wont find her, because she is not the Aura you knew. She is, was, a bit like a tadpole and a frog. The form we saw was the tadpole stage, and through a trial she has grown into an adult. She has likely gone into hiding with the rest of her kind."
"but…I thought we would…I…" Gale fell to her knees, tears streaming down her and her whole body shaking.
The Doctor lifted Gale into his arms and carried her back to her room. 'it is never easy the first time', he thought thinking about Susan. He took off her shoes and both coats, laid her on her side and adjust the sheet over her. "do you want me to stay?"
Gale answered by grasping the Doctor's hand in both her hands.
With his free hand the Doctor brushed Gale's hair out of her face, and gently rubbed her temple to try and help her relax. He knew she would hid away for a while, barely eat anything unless she felt her stomach growl for food or water, and may never be the same starry eyed girl as before. "I am sorry Gale. Very sorry."
"both my hearts hurt."
"I can't do anything about that. It should go away over time. Just know I am here for you, and I love you."
Gale looked at her dad, and saw the same pain in his eyes as she was feeling now. "this is what you call, the curse of the timelords?"
"yeah. One life time, between regenerations, we can live up to two hundred years, and in that time you would see generations come and go in front of your eyes. You have to find your own way to try and coupe with it all."
Slowly a light filled the room, blinding them for a second, and then faded to reveal a human like being glowing in the middle of the room.
The being nodded, "hello again Gale, Doctor."
Gale stared, her jaw hanging open, "Aura, is that you?"
"yes, it is me. I came to show you I am alive, and that I will try and visit you now and then. I was stuck in a way because I had no light beast to teach me what to do, but you showed me love and friendship and helped me find my family. Thank you." the room brightened again, then faded back to normal with Aura gone.
Gale hugged her dad's hand close, "she has her family, and I have mine." she smiled up at the Doctor.
The Doctor wrapped his free arm around Gale hugging her, practically laying on top of her in the process.
They were both soon giggling over the situation.
"you ready to visit another planet?"
"yeah, can I choose?"
"sure, just let me double check before you hit go."