~ The Bird Market ~
Flashback before the main events of Wholock: Travels in Time
"Ah, here we are!" The Doctor happily jumped out of the TARDIS onto a paved path, with brick and stone shops lining the street.
Clara stuck her head out. "Are you sure this is the correct place, Doctor?" She was carrying an old camera, hoping to get a few shots of the setting suns of Helios.
"I'm 99.9% sure this is not the right place, but I hear strange birds, so let's stay!" He clapped his hands, and the doors of the TARDIS shut close.
They followed the sounds of the city square, hoping it would lead to the birds.
"Step right up, step right up, we have here a sale on our wonderful pigeons; buy, buy, buy!" People all around bustled to the Bird Market, chattering away excitedly.
Clara seemed amused, "Why would anyone buy a pigeon on an alien planet? They're free on Earth." The pair turned a corner and her jaw dropped.
In front of her were birdcages she'd seen when she was little, but multiplied in size hundreds of times. The cages seemed to be made of twined silver, and dug deep into the earth as reinforcement. Though the cages by themselves were beautiful, it was the birds that really caught her attention. They had colors of plumage she had never seen -yet she now knew existed- and precious metal for beaks and claws. The birds were large, but they stayed on their perch, singing notes tinged with bittersweet memories of when they were free.
"Marvelous!" The Doctor stared at the angelic birds in awe. The man selling one of the large ravens pointed at a sign, stating the amount of money for the extremely expensive creatures.
"Do you have enough money for a marvelous bird?" she whispered sideways.
"Not nearly enough" he muttered back. They straightened themselves and walked towards one of the cages. A poster was leaning against the side. It read in large letters: DO NOT FEED YOURSELF TO BIRDS. The giant macaw inside cocked his head and looked at Clara as if wondering how she would taste. The Doctor had headed over to one of the stands nearby, and she slowly backed away. The bird's eyes followed her.
"Bad bird." She shooed her hands at it and ran up to the Doctor. He was bargaining the price of a bobble head.
"Hello Clara! Just doing a bit of souvenir shopping."
"Oh, wonderful. Do you know of any food stands? I'm famished."
The Doctor turned to the alien occupying the shop and asked for the nearest stand.
"He doesn't know, but he gave us a map to find out." He handed the map to Clara who put it in her jacket pocket. "Meet back in an hour?"
"Sure…" The Doctor turned away from her, and she looked around the store corner. She had felt someone's eyes bore into her back. Shivering, Clara walked away from the souvenir shop.
She never saw the shadow follow her.