The Doctor trudged along through the sparse scenery with his mind a whirling storm that rivaled even the angry, lightning-touched clouds he could see brewing on the horizon. It would rain tonight. Another delightful thought to add to his list of Very Big Problems. It all started with his rubbish driving, as usual. He swore he had gotten the coordinates right, checked three times even. Usually he wouldn't have bothered with more than a cursory glance at his flight calculations, but usually he wasn't bringing Rose to a planet that was inhabited by bloodthirsty brutes for a few hundred thousand years. His aim had been several thousand years after the extinction of the dominant species, but instead he landed them right in the thick of their empire. And what a bloody treat that had turned out to be. The creatures who were currently marching them over seemingly endless rocky hills were called Xythiers, and he'd always hoped to keep his knowledge about them theoretical. Sometimes, book knowledge alone was plenty good enough, even with his endless curiosity. The Doctor knew that the Xythiers had ruled this galaxy's underworld as thieves, bounty hunters, and black market merchants until their characteristic brutality led to an early extinction. And now he'd gotten him and his very fragile human a front row seat. Xythier Behavior and Ethics (or lack thereof) - 101. He hoped they would survive this particular lesson.
Stupid! he cursed himself silently, bloody stupid alien git!
Because if being marched who knows where with an icy storm approaching and no visible shelter save for the blue box that was now miles behind them wasn't bad enough, if that wasn't already enough danger to put his companion in, he'd also made her a target because of his bloody inability to hide his…regard for her. Their captors had seemed to sort out right from the beginning that the fastest way to ensure his obedience was to target Rose. He wouldn't be surprised if her ribs were thoroughly bruised from the Xylthier's rough grip. Not for the first time, he wondered when he had become so transparent in his feelings for her. Centuries of being a master at reigning over every situation and it was all toppled by this scrappy human girl. And now, what was simply uncomfortable when Jackie Tyler shot him knowing looks when Rose's back was turned had become incredibly dangerous to the person he wanted most to protect. It wasn't only cowardice that prompted him to keep up barriers between himself and the young human he traveled with; It was the fierce desire to keep her safe. He couldn't do that if his enemies saw what she meant to him. And yet, for all his painful and frustrating efforts to push her away, he had failed her anyway. Now all he could do was try his best to get them out of this and make it up to her later.
With an enormous amount of willpower, he reigned in his dark thoughts and started focusing on an inventory that would hopefully lead to some kind of solution. So, what did he know? Well, since he and Rose hadn't been killed on sight, this was probably either a kidnapping for ransom or slave trade operation. The Doctor didn't really feel like sticking around to figure out which one it was, and he didn't trust the creatures to keep them safe in their increasingly exhausting trek to whatever their intended destination was. Xythiers were known for their bad habit of killing their victims before delivering them to their boss or a buyer, either through neglect or beatings. It would be up to him and Rose to keep themselves sheltered from the elements. And when it came to that, he feared more for Rose than himself. There was a good chance he could survive even with the dramatic temperature drop that would come with nightfall, but if the storm got them, Rose's many layers that currently kept her warm would do little to protect her from freezing to death in mere hours. Instead of panicking at that thought, he focused on how he was going to prevent it from happening. He chanced a glance to either side and then behind him to get his bearings. What he saw wasn't promising. With the sparse vegetation, there wouldn't be much in the way of food or shelter if - no when he corrected himself - they managed to escape their captors. Their best bet would likely be to head straight back to the TARDIS as soon as they got away from the grumpy boulders. Fine by him. They could warm up, he could get Rose's ribs sorted, and then they could come back in a dozen centuries to admire the view once the Xythiers had bullied themselves to extinction. Now it was only a matter of figuring out how they were going to get away without getting beaten to death or shot through with arrows. For that he needed time, and he just hoped that Rose could hang in there until he figured something out. He couldn't help but notice how her feet had started dragging an hour or so ago, and that she was starting to stumble more than walk the sandy path ahead of him.