Chapter 12

"You know, there are better ways to get answers out of people than flat out asking whatever comes into your head," Pride said, as soon as the door closed. His patience was wearing a bit thin, and he didn't see why it shouldn't. Lilly had no valuable qualities.

"You mean like lying?" Lilly asked. "You know that could backfire on your pretty badly if anyone happened to eavesdrop, before or right now."

"Well clearly they're not. And it's acting, not lying. Try to learn the difference."

Acting was a part to play, a trait that took actual skill, and something humans so rarely saw through. Another thing to take pride in. Compared to that, lying was such a shallow thing.

Lilly opened her mouth and took a step forward. So easily riled up. Then she shut it, and took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine. You got your answer. Do you think it's true? The others sure seemed skeptical."

"Whether it's true or not, it's all we have to go on. So come on."

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and spun around, smile on her face. "Alright Lilly. Are you ready to-?"

She cut off because Lilly wasn't there. In fact, neither were Pride or the TARDIS, and there was some sort of jungle behind her. The area they'd stepped out into had been dry, and while in all of time and space it was possible to get such a clean abrupt cut between two very different ecosystems, it seemed unlikely. Just to confirm, the Doctor turned around. The town they'd come to had disappeared, replaced by more jungle. She'd stepped out of the TARDIS and promptly been teleported somewhere else.

"That must be some sort of record for being captured."

Still, she and her companions had been captured plenty of times. And it didn't always go so well. She needed to figure out what was going on and reunite with them.

She started off through the jungle, not really bothered yet, despite potential dangers. It was fascinating in a way. How did she get here? How come her companions weren't here? What were all these unusual plants? What would happen if she ate one?

Then there was a rustle, and a growl, from the bushes.

Well, still nothing to worry about. If it was a wild animal, she'd talked plenty of them down before. Easier than the so-called sentient species really. She turned around. Sure enough, a leopard of some sort was coming out of the bushes.

"Hello there," the Doctor said. "You don't want to eat me. All skin and bones really. I'm sure there are easier catches in this forest."

The leopard growled. The Doctor frowned. That was a growl alright. Anyone else who heard it would assume this was a normal leopard. But the Doctor didn't, because there was nothing behind that growl. Even if a leopard wasn't speaking words, its noises should tell you something. And this one didn't.

"Oh come on, talk to me," the Doctor urged. "We can work this out."

The leopard growled again and lunged. The Doctor jumped out of the way, sliding slightly on all the mud in this forest.

"Right. I guess we won't work this out."

She turned around and started running. This wasn't normally a bright plan. Even humans knew if you spot a leopard, you don't usually run. But this creature wasn't playing by the usual rules, and the Doctor considered herself something of an expert at running away from danger, even danger you shouldn't usually run from.

She heard the leopard chasing her. The Doctor licked a finger and lifted it to the air. Satisfied about which direction to go in, she turned a sharp left. She went up a hill for a moment, and came out on the edge of a cliff. Luckily, that wasn't an issue, as she'd counted on. They were in a jungle. The trees were growing so tall she could easily jump onto a branch without falling. She ran to the base of the branch, by the trunk, and grabbed the branch above. Then she shoved the branch below her with her feet, trying to get it to break off. If she succeeded, the leopard couldn't follow her.

"Come on, come on," she urged, bouncing on it as hard as she could.

The leopard jumped onto the branch. Then she heard the sound of a bow stretching, and firing. She looked up towards the noise, and almost missed the sight of a flaming arrow whizzing past and hitting the leopard.

She followed the direction the arrow had come from, seeing a man in one of the branches above. Matted black hair, gray eyes, skin on the darker side.

"You didn't have to do that," she said.

"I saved your life."

"We could've worked something else out."

The man didn't look convinced. "Look."

He pointed. The Doctor followed his gaze back to the leopard, only it didn't look much like a leopard now. Fur had burnt off, and bits of flesh had dropped to the ground far below, but beneath that relatively thin outer coating was metal, and wiring.

"Ah," the Doctor said, not looking away. "That is slightly unusual. Explains a few things."

The robot took another step. The branch finally cracked, under that thing's weight, and it fell towards the world below. The part of the branch the Doctor was on held. For a moment she just stood there, and the man just sat, butt on one branch, leg pushing against another with his other foot hooked around it, so he could stay sitting and free up his hands. Clouds were rolling in.

The man cleared his throat. "Better get you back, tell everyone there's a new arrival. Come on."

Well, it wasn't like she'd had any other concrete plans.