They had been running through the forest for only a few minutes when the Doctor slowed to a moderate walk, pausing altogether for the second or two it took Rose to catch up. Stuffing his hands deep into his pockets, he glanced curiously around him, seemingly taking in the sight of the dense green trees, as he spoke once again.

"We'll need to move more slowly now that we're so close. It wouldn't do for us to have come all this way only to be killed for wandering in unannounced. Hardly the meeting I have planned." As he spoke Rose was only barely listened, her mind occupied by some of his earlier statements. When one of his comments onboard the TARDIS finally fully registered she gasped quietly and waited for him to pause long enough for her to get a word in. "They should be able to hear us coming from a good distance and since they don't hunt this close to town, we should be safe."

"Doctor? Back on the TARDIS you said that a human wouldn't be much good against one of these Cravor things, but one of the people we're going to see is, right? So does that make them alien then?" She had never before thought to ask him if there were aliens living peacefully and secretly on Earth. The idea had never really occurred to her and even now, as she realized it was a good possibility, it still seemed a bit too Hollywood to be possible.

He glanced sideways at her as they continued to walk, his pace continuing to slow gradually as they moved further and further from the TARDIS. The smile on his face was the one that told her he was happy that she had been paying attention and had managed to work out a larger meaning to his words.

"Well…they're not alien in the way you're thinking, no. Not extraterrestrials from outer space that is. But they aren't exactly human either."

"I'm not going to meet more talking trees, am I?" She asked with a chuckle as she recalled their first space adventure together.

"No." His smile widened in response even as he shook his head briefly. "No, these people used to be human, but have been mutated by an exceedingly toxic and highly specific pathogen."

"You mean like a disease?" Rose's face twisted with concern as she remembered the cat-bred clones on New Earth.

"Sort of, except this isn't like the diseases you're used to which are generally cure or be killed by. The pathogen travels through the body and mutates every cell in the system, but very much leaves its sufferer alive at the end; some might even say better at the end, but…" His voice trailed off as he seemed to be mentally weighing the pros and cons of each side of an argument only he was aware of. "For the most part there is very little outward difference in appearance other than any other human – except for a shift in coloring – and despite major increases in strength and the reach of their senses, the family you will meet are very much like everyone else in terms of emotions and lifestyle." He took her hand and pulled her gently against his side, silently urging her to look him in the eye for his next words. "They won't hurt you in anyway, okay?"

Rose nodded and gave him a small smile, but her mind whirled at the unintended meaning of his words. Normally he saw no reason to promise her that they wouldn't be in danger. He knew that she trusted him to keep her safe and that even if he couldn't it wouldn't stop her from following him. So what his words really meant was that, despite everything he'd already said, he expected her to be afraid of the people they were going to meet. That and the remembrance that they had slowed so as not to be killed sent a shiver of fear down her spine. The Doctor continued speaking as though he had not noticed her sudden apprehension, but gave her hand a tender squeeze all the same.

"Most of their kind live in a state of nomadic isolation, wandering the world alone or in pairs. There are a couple of exceptions, but they are exceptional in more ways then just their lifestyle. Secrecy is paramount to them and yet the rest of humanity is still aware of their existence, though most put it down to folklore or fairytales."

She glanced at him surprised. "The Cullens? Isn't that what you called them? I've never heard of such a creature."

"Cullen is a family name." He gave her hand another squeeze as a final steep took them suddenly into a large clearing. Rose was certain that, had there not been a much more interesting sight available in the open space, she would have been stunned breathless by the beautiful white house at its center. Instead her eyes were drawn to the people standing a few meters in front of them; the nine most beautiful people she'd ever seen. So engrossed was she with watching them, standing still as statues, that it took her a few moments to register the Doctor's next words.

"The term you would recognize their species by is vampire."

TBC