OKAY, as Alimac pointed out to me, I should have another disclaimer so here it is: All Torchwood characters belong to the BBC, and all Tortall characters belong to Tamora Pierce. The Nepthalae, however, are mine.

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Oh, it was a mistake, Jack thought giddily. It was a huge mistake to let these people get involved, but their support was very, very gratifying. He turned back to Sardon. "I need to see your mainframe," Jack told him. "I don't know what I can do about food. How many people do you have?"

Sardon shifted his weight, very obviously fearful. And who could blame him, in a strange world with strange people gabbling strange languages? It was a wonder he was speaking to Jack at all, rather than shooting at him. "A little over a hundred," Sardon replied. "Men, women and children. We are herbivores, but I do not know the plants here."

Jack felt a chill go down his spine. Of course there were children. Better not think of that. Focus on the task at hand, he told himself firmly. "Nor do I, to be honest," he replied, and then turned to Daine, who was curled under Numair's arm, as an idea struck him. "Listen," he told her, "They say they're herbivorous – they eat plants, but they don't know any of the plants here. Do you think you could help them identify a few that aren't poisonous? Then again—" he interrupted himself and spoke to Sardon in Galactic standard, "What's not poisonous to us might be deadly to you."

"We can run it through our scanners," Sardon replied easily. "We brought them for that purpose."

"Jack?" Alanna asked, not understanding the rest of the conversation as it was in another language. Numair had tightened his arms around Daine protectively. It was a pity his wrist strap didn't translate Galactic standard, Jack thought distractedly. The Time Agents who designed it assumed that the wearer could speak a few languages, Galactic standard being one of them.

"Okay," Jack replied, "Their body chemistry's different from ours, so what's safe for us might be deadly to them. They've got scanners, though, machines that will tell them what they can eat. Do you think you could lead a small party of them around the edges of the meadow, so they can gather some food? They're starving."

Daine nodded. "Of course."

Jack opened his mouth to say something along the lines of "good," when he really looked at her. Numair stood protectively next to Daine, hugging her close defensively. She was pale, and though she was standing up straight he realized how ill she had looked. Jack frowned.

"Are you up to it, Daine?" he asked again, gentling his voice. Daine was no Torchwood operative, he thought guiltily. She wasn't trained. "You were—"

Daine waved away his concern. "The basilisks were drugged by the smoke," she explained flatly. "There's no smoke, and they've left. I can barely feel it anymore, and the farther they get the better I'll feel. I'm fine, Jack."

"Sweet—" Numair protested, but she smiled at him and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

"Really," she assured him and the mage sighed as she stepped from his arms.

"If you're sure," Jack said, and Daine nodded determinedly.

"Alright." Jack turned back to Sardon. "We can send out a small party with Daine." He beckoned her over and rested a hand on her shoulder. "She'll keep them safe; they're just going to go around the edges of the meadow, is that alright?"

Sardon nodded emphatically. "Yes, yes that would be wonderful. Thank your companion for me, please." He turned back to his ship and called. Five more Nepthalae came tumbling out, three of them obviously children. Jack tried very hard not to cringe at the sight of them. Daine glanced up at him when his fingers tightened on her shoulder. He smiled weakly down at her.

Sardon spoke swiftly to his people in his native language, which was not Galactic standard. Jack collected himself and fingered his wrist strap. He surreptitiously had it translate Sardon's words although Daine, not wearing it, could not hear.

"—on your best behavior. It is a great honor; you will gather for the tribe. If she threatens you, you are not to harm her; we are not equipped for battle. I want you to run back to the ship… we will see what we can do from there. Do not, under any circumstance, provoke her, are we clear?"

Jack turned off the translation circuit, feeling guilty for briefly doubting them. Sardon was sending children out, after all. If that wasn't a gesture of good will, he didn't know what was. He swallowed and told himself very firmly that panicking was not an option, and that he had to focus on the task at hand.

Wait, he thought with a sudden thrill of fear, speaking of children, where was Kitten? He swept his eyes away from the Nepthalae and frantically to Daine, who very clearly wasn't holding the dragon anymore. His voice hitched on a gasp as he scanned for the child, and relief flooded through him when he saw the dragon on Cloud's back, cowering next to the pony's mane. She must have crawled away when he wasn't looking. No children lost, he assured himself. Not yet. Jack turned back to Daine who was looking at him oddly. He spoke before she could ask him if he was alright.

"You won't be able to speak with them," he told her, and realized that his unease was poorly hidden when her eyes filled with concern. "But try to be polite. They're scared silly."

"That makes two of us, then," Daine said with a wry smile.

"Makes a bunch of us," Alanna muttered.

Jack smiled a little. "The smaller ones are children," he said. "It's a gesture of good will, even though I've repeatedly said that this place is hostile. Keep yourself armed; I don't want them eaten by any of your Immortals, alright?"

"I know how to protect a scouting party, Jack," Daine chided him gently.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Sardon said softly, and he and Daine turned. "I would like to introduce you to Maling Heron, my adviser, his son and daughter Heron Regon and Heron Farthon, my daughter Schuan Gering and my wife, Sardon Jalish."

"It is a pleasure," Jack replied with a small bow, and then quietly reintroduced the gathering party to Daine. She nodded and smiled as she met the eyes of each individual that Jack indicated. Daine was taking this very well for someone from such an isolated world, he thought proudly. He was about to warn her about bearing her teeth to them – they might interpret it as hostile – when Sardon Jalish clicked her beak at Daine in a way that seemed friendly. It seemed they understood the concept of a smile, Jack thought with vague surprise. That was odd, especially for a species with beaks rather than lips.

"Daine, where do you plan on taking them?" Jack asked her. "So I can tell him. Schuan Gering and Sardon Jalish are his daughter and wife – he's placing a great deal of trust in you." And me, he thought ruefully. People should stop placing trust in me.

"I'm going to take them just around the edges," Daine replied, gesturing a little. "Like you said."

"Yes, but where?" Jack specified. "Where are you starting, so he'll be able to glance over and see them?"

"Oh," Daine muttered, and looked out to the edge of the meadow thoughtfully.

"We'll start over there," Numair suggested, pointing directly in the line of sight of the ship, "And work our way around."

"No," Jack told him, a vague plan already formulating in his head. "Daine will. I need you here, Numair."

The mage looked ready to protest, but Jack cut him off. "If anyone's prepared to take a crash course in space travel, Numair, it's you. Your Gift might also be helpful. Alanna, you're Gifted as well?"

"You know the answer to that," she replied wryly. Jack gave her a half smile.

"You're right. Stupid question, sorry. We'll need you here, too." He turned back to Sardon and indicated where Daine would be going. Beckoning her over, Jack established a few simple hand motions to help with communication – Come with me, good, danger, run. Nodding, Daine smiled at the little party and gave them the "Come with me" motion. Hesitantly, and with many backward glances at their father and leader, they followed. Jack watched her go, a little nervous himself. Alanna caught his eye with a small smile, and together they glanced at Numair, who watched his lover walk away, a forlorn look on his face.

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As Daine walked over to Cloud, the Nepthalae remained far behind her, chattering nervously at each other. Kitten cheeped from where she was perched on the pony's back after she had decided that Daine was clutching her too tightly before. The Nepthalae party all fell silent, wide eyed. Cloud snorted.

I would like an explanation, please, the gray pony demanded crossly, although fear threaded her voice. Daine beckoned the Nepthalae, and they followed cautiously.

They're peaceful, she told Cloud silently. Their ship crashed and they're scared and hungry. They're grass-eaters, like you, so I'm showing them food. Don't bite them, please, they're terrified.

I see. Cloud pricked her ears forward, and walked toward the aliens. Kitten, on her back, shrieked in alarm. She leaped down before racing over to cower behind Daine. The Nepthalae watched the gray pony nervously. Wide eyed and chattering, they retreated when Cloud approached. Daine gave them signal for "good," although it didn't seem to help. They stopped fleeing and stood stock still, the children clutching the adults with obvious fear. Cloud walked up to the smallest one and bent down, gently nudging the creature with her soft nose.

The littlest one made a high pitched gurgling noise and, carefully, patted Cloud's cheek. The others soon clustered around the pony, stroking her and exclaiming to each other in their strange, trilling language. Daine smiled.

Thank you, she told Cloud.

I'm not a barbarian, Cloud shot back.

Daine gave the signal for "come with me" again and the Nepthalae followed, seeming more assured. One of the larger ones – Daine was guessing that it was Sardon's wife, although for the life of her she could not remember their strange names – touched her elbow. Daine looked over and smiled into the creature's eyes, and, in response, it clicked its beak and squeezed her arm. The children stayed close to Cloud.

Kitten, for her part, did not like them, and she made this quite clear. She shrilled angrily at Daine, and hissed whenever one of the aliens got too near. When she threatened to bite one of the children, Daine swooped in and grabbed her.

"What's gotten into you?" she demanded. The dragon chattered, turning an even deeper shade of pink.

"They're just as scared of you as you are of them," Daine told her firmly, "And you've got the advantage of being on your home ground. Imagine being in a scary place and having people you've never seen before trying to bite you!"

The dragon's scales turned gray around the edges. "So be nice," Daine scolded. When she tried to put the dragon down, however, Kitten screeched and clung on to her. She was trembling. The Nepthalae were watching with wide eyes, staying on the other side of Cloud. Daine sighed and resigned herself to holding the baby dragon.

It was so odd. Kitten was never this scared of something that Daine had labeled okay. Actually, Daine could not recall a time where Kitten was this scared of anything, period.

They reached the edge of the clearing and Daine pointed out several plants that she knew many of her animal friends liked. The Nepthalae took out their little metal machines and ran them over every leaf and twig that they could find. Signaling "Good!" at her, they carefully stripped several leaves off each plant and placed them into the baskets that they carried on their arms. One of them carried a small, dark box the emitted blue light. Daine was not sure what it did, but they all dropped leaves and even seeds inside it. It must be some kind of storage, she thought. Daine was touched to note that, while they took a fair amount of leaves, they always left enough for the plant to survive.

Having filled their baskets to the brim, they then began to pick out food for themselves. They very delicately plucked leaves in their beaks and, with a strange snapping sound, they would swallow. By the time they had made it around the meadow, they had had their fill and were beckoning Daine to "come with me" back to the ship. It was starting to get dark.

Daine, who had sat up on Cloud's back scanning for spidrens, smiled and followed them back. Jack was right, she thought. These people were about the gentlest she'd ever met. They were even careful not to kill their food. She couldn't think of any animal that took the same courtesy, even herself.

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