"His scent is quite clear."
"Could you follow it?"
"I could," she told him slowly.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I don't want to be forced into a confrontation with my daughter, Doctor," said Vanya.
"A confrontation! Jamie's out there! He could be torn to pieces and you're worried about having another argument," exclaimed the Doctor. "Well, if you won't go, I will," he told her and began to climb out the window.
Vanya put her hand on his shoulder. "Doctor, wait. I apologise, of course I will help."
"Thank you."
"I must wake Paul, and we will need torches."
+
It was cool outside; the air was sharp and smelled of the sea. Zoe was quiet now, as she had been for some time, still her small hand held his own as she led him along the shoreline. He could hear the waves below, smashing into the cliff face. Once he stopped to peer over the fence along the cliff edge, unable to see anything but loving the feel of the sea breeze on his face. He had only enjoyed the sensation for a few moments though as Zoe had hurried them onwards, telling him time was of the essence.
"Where are we going?" he asked, stopping again. The tug of her small hand was insistent, but he was by far the stronger, and he was only going to allow her to lead him so far before demanding some sort of answer.
"Don't you trust me?" she asked, her dark eyes looking up at him. He could just make out the expression on her face, the slight creasing of brows showing she was hurt.
"Course I do," he replied because there was nothing else that he could say. Still, he felt uneasy not knowing where they were going, and, more importantly, why they had to get out of the house. She seemed so very wary of the Doctor; perhaps that's why they were hurrying. Jamie knew that as soon as the Doctor found out he was missing, he would try to find him.
"Then we must keep going, Jamie," Zoe told him.
"Aye, but where? Am no taking another step till you tell me," insisted Jamie, pulling his hand away from hers.
"Not another step?" she asked.
"No."
And then everything went black.
+
The Doctor met Vanya and Paul, wearing a bathrobe, outside the house. They were both carrying torches and Paul passed his to the Doctor.
"You'll need this more than I will," he said with a grin. "The scent goes south-west, down by the cliff walk if he doesn't change direction."
"Any sign of Louise?" asked Vanya quietly. Paul shook his head. "Alright, see if you can find the boy, but for pity's sake, don't frighten him."
The Doctor felt as though he was intruding somehow, but he was curious enough not to look away as Paul transformed. He fell forward as his spine and legs shortened, arms, now legs growing stronger. Face lengthening and the Doctor caught a flash of sharp teeth. Paul slipped out of the loose bathrobe, his skin now covered in thick grey fur. He resembled a grey wolf, though none of that species would ever grow quite so large or powerful.
Paul looked up at Vanya with yellow eyes and the Doctor was sure that he nodded before turning away and racing across the ground, leaping the bungalow's dyke easily.
"Is it always voluntary, the transformation?" asked the Doctor as he and Vanya headed for the more conventional exit of the gate.
"We can change at will, yes," replied Vanya quietly. She seemed uncomfortable with the subject, but for the moment the Doctor's curiosity outweighed any other consideration.
"So the moon...?" but he was interrupted by a burst of soft laughter from Vanya.
"Oh no, no, a human myth, Doctor. Certain emotions will make it difficult to resist the change. And the young do not have a fine control (why do you think we live in such an unpopulated area? We cannot risk sending our children to school) but we are in control of ourselves."
It was a cold night, with a swift wind and rain threatening in dark clouds. The two torches seemed feeble compared to the threat of the dark from every angle.
"How dangerous is this cliff path?" asked the Doctor.
"Safe enough," Vanya replied. "Even on a night like this. It's a walk for the tourists in summer, it doesn't go right to the cliff edge and, besides, there's a railing in place.
+
Black, black, black.
It made no difference whether Jamie kept his eyes open or closed it was all black: a terrifying omnipresence.
"Zoe! Zoe, where are you?" But there was no answer. Oh, and it was cold, so cold. He felt for his dirk. That made him feel better, the secure feel of familiar metal in his hand, even if he could see no enemy to fight.
He moved forward, moved back. He edged around trying to work out where he was. It took a few minutes for him to realise, but some ways seemed safe than others. A little to the left. Yes, yes, that was right. A little further? No, move forward.
Suddenly, Jamie stopped, realising he didn't know who this guide was. It could be Zoe, he thought, maybe this was part of what she was warning him about.
He needed time to think, but it was getting colder.
+
They were following a dirt path through the heather at a brisk pace. The Doctor could hear the sea clearly now; they could only be a few minutes away from the shore.
The eerie quietness of the night was broken by a howl, easily piercing the silence around them.
The Doctor looked at Vanya and could see, even in the poor torchlight, that she had paled.
"Paul?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head. "That was Louise. She's hunting."
"You're afraid," commented the Doctor.
"I don't want to hurt my daughter."
"She would attack you?" he asked.
"I...don't know. She has harmed so many people in the past few weeks, Doctor. I didn't think she could...there was a hunting party in the woods. The indigenous wolf population are grey (like Paul) but my family is black. They knew the wolf they were searching for and yet somehow...somehow she drove them off. Injured two of them. The village set a curfew and watch if it came back to the streets, but decided it was more trouble than it was worth to go hunting for her."
"You sound almost proud."
She smiled, a small, reluctant smile. "She is a better hunter than I, Doctor, of course I am. But I can never condone her actions. Look, down there, that's where your friend has gone." She pointed, and ahead of them the Doctor could see the hill sloping down into the top of the cliff, and if he angled his torch to a narrow beam, he could see the railing guarding the path.
They picked up the pace of their walk, till they were almost jogging, until they reached the cliff path. Here the Doctor took hold of the railing and shook it. It seemed secure enough, still as they followed the path, he kept hold of the railing. There was still no sign of Jamie.
"Paul should have found him by now," muttered Vanya.
"He can move very quickly when he wants to," said the Doctor.
"So can we."
+
"Jamie, Jamie, help me!"
Zoe, of course, but her voice seemed to echo around him, and inside his head. There was no way to pinpoint where she was.
The cry of a wolf distracted him, and he spun round. Yes, it was clear enough, but he could not see. Still, he crouched, dirk in hand, ready to pounce.
+
The grey wolf stood watching a good distance from the humanoid silhouette. It could only be Jamie, and the Doctor threw caution and sense of balance to the wind and pelted down the path to where Paul waited.
Paul whipped around and barked a warning. Able to understand the sentiment, if not the meaning, the Doctor slowed, watching his companion. He was quite still, though on the wrong side of the fence. Face white, eyes staring out to sea.
"Jamie, Jamie!" he shouted but there was no response. He heard Vanya breathing sharply as she caught up with him.
"What is he doing?" she asked.
"I don't know...but he can't see us, and I doubt he can hear us," said the Doctor.
The Doctor edged forward, but Paul growled a warning, and the Doctor could see Jamie inch forward, towards the edge of the cliff, ever so slowly. He stopped immediately.
"It's like he's possessed," murmured Vanya.
"Jamie! Jamie! Listen to me! It's the Doctor. You're in danger, Jamie! You must listen! You must step away from the cliff, Jamie! It's in front of you. You must step back, step wait from it, Jamie! Step away! Listen to my voice, and follow it!"
+
Murmurings, faint and distant reached Jamie's ears. Oh, it was dark, so very dark and so very cold.
And it wasn't Zoe who was speaking, she was trying to, he could hear her pleas, but the were fading fast.
"Doctor!" he called uncertainly.
"Yes, Jamie, I'm here. You have to step back from the cliff. Step back, Jamie."
There was no one he trusted more in the universe than the Doctor; Jamie stepped backwards. He blinked, he felt as though he was falling and suddenly there was solid ground beneath his feet again. Dizzy, uncertain and almost nauseous, he fell forward.
"Jamie!" A cry of concern and a moment later the Doctor was next to him. Checking his pulse, his breathing. "Yes, you're going to be fine," said his friend and he could tell he was smiling.
"What happened, Doctor?" he asked, sitting up, still feeling groggy. "What happened to Zoe?"
The Doctor frowned. "She's back on the Wheel, Jamie. You know that."
"No, she was here, she was..." He threw up on the sparse grass in front of him.
When he stood up, the Doctor was looking out at sea, pretending that he hadn't noticed. And though Jamie knew something had occurred, something that he didn't understand, he was still embarrassed, and his mouth was still bitter and tasted of acid.
"Do you feel up to walking back to the house?" asked the Doctor quietly.
"Aye, I'll be fine," said Jamie, noticing for the first time Vanya, and the wolf sitting next to her. "Doctor, look out!"
"It's alright, Jamie," he said, putting a calming hand on his friend's arm. "I'll explain on the way back."
"I'm glad we found you," said Vanya as the Doctor and Jamie joined them. "But why did you leave?"
Jamie shook his head. "I'm no sure, I...I need to talk to the Doctor." It looked like the woman and wolf exchanged glances, and Jamie looked at the Doctor, confused.
"Well, I'll have some supper made for you when..." she paused and spun round. Jamie could see nothing, but the wolf had also turned and he could hear it growling - a low, threatening noise - as it stared up the cliff. "Go back to the house, both of you please," she said quietly, passing her torch to Jamie. "You know the way."
There was something further up the cliff. Jamie could see a shape moving in the dark. Back and forth, pacing, watching them.
He was so distracted watching the creature that he almost didn't notice what happened to Vanya. When he glanced back at her, her appearance was so altered, he could not help but gasp. She was somewhere between woman and beast, still standing but the face was that of a wolf, the teeth sharp, the eyes yellow. Moments later the transformation was complete, and a black-haired wolf leapt up the cliff, bounding after the other animal, which Jamie could no longer catch sight of.
A moment later, the grey wolf followed.
"Let's get back to the house, shall we, Jamie?" said the Doctor.
"Aye," Jamie said to him. "But you'd better explain what's going on."