The evening warmth lingered on her skin as The Master revealed his cards, beating John yet again. The ex-Time Agent rolled his jaw, his mouth pulling into a poorly concealed pout. Smug enjoyment tickled the corner of The Master's mouth, his eyes glinting with mirth as he swiftly gathered the small pile of bottle tops and pebbles he had 'won'.

None of them were betting with anything of actual value on the games, in part because they'd been stuck on the same beach for over two weeks now and didn't have all that much to bet with, but also because none of them were willing to actually part with the few belongings they did have.

Poker.

Apparently, John's favourite Earth game. Although, he'd noted sadly that it was nowhere near as good as the version played in the gambling city of Katan. The Master had hummed in soft agreement. It hadn't taken too long for John to teach her the basics. Even Armitage had joined them for a beer and a game after giving up on his daily badgering for a 'solid plan'. Hart had set up a makeshift table and had brought out the alcohol. The Master had spent the past three days taking apart John's Vortex Manipulator to see if anything could be done with it. He'd concluded that the stabilisation spring was 'fucked' and without a replacement it was useless.

John had just lost his fourth game in a row and was getting rather snippy.

Although, it might have also had something to do with the fact that Hally had drunk over half of his favourite whiskey…

He let out a disgruntled huff, cocking a blaming eyebrow at her. "I feel like you're not taking this seriously." His pout turned on her this time.

She sighed dramatically. "I just don't like games of chance."

John clicked his tongue against his teeth, taking great offence. "It's not just a game of chance."

"Mm, otherwise how come I've won every time?" The Master input quickly, shooting her a sly wink.

Armitage hummed from her right.

One of his 'I'm agreeing without really agreeing' hums.

She let out a sharp tut. "I could beat all of you if I really wanted to." Hally leant back into her chair.

The Master's eyes immediately lit up, glinting with a challenge. "Are you willing to bet on that?" Her gaze snapped to his, the low rumble of his voice promising trouble.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't need to bet on it." To illustrate her point she lifted her cards to his face, the images on them flickering and shifting as she morphed them from a Two of Clubs and Seven of Hearts into two Kings in front of his eyes. "I have an advantage."

The Master's face split as he snorted a laugh, leaning back in his own chair as he raised a half-empty beer bottle to his mouth. The wry smile lingered on his lips even as he took a sip. "Oh, I know. But that doesn't negate the fact that you're on the wrong side of tipsy and you don't really understand the rules." His eyes never left hers, the challenge dancing happily within them.

She forced her expression into neutral. She'd watched him win four times in a row. She understood the rules enough. Vaguely. How hard could it be? Kings and Queens were always the highest, right? That was the general gist of cards? She could switch whatever cards were in her hand to best match the cards on the table. His mouth curved into a smirk and she felt as he hardened the edges of his mind, keeping her at bay. Koschei looked across at her knowingly, waiting for her to accept. Her husband knew she wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Especially not one so openly laid out by him.

"Fine. Yes. I bet I can beat all of you." She poured herself another glass of whiskey, almost out of spite. John's gaze flicked between the two, amusement creasing his eyes.

"Of course." The Master responded, his voice clipped with a tone of mock professionalism. "And what is it that you bet?"

She rolled her eyes, shooting him a look that told him his act wasn't ever going to work on her. "Well, you evidently have something in mind."

His face fell into an easy, innocent smile. "If you lose, which you will, then I get my Laser Screwdriver back."

Silence fell between them, but Koschei kept his stare fixed on her. She swallowed the incoming groan and let out a noncommittal hum instead. "Fine. Because I'm not going to lose." She retorted.

There was an unconvinced chuckle across the table from John, she could practically feel the intrigue rolling from him.

Urgh.

The Master tilted his head almost imperceptibly. "And if you win, darling, what would you like?" His voice dripped with feigned innocence.

He was such an arrogant bastard.

Hally shifted in her seat, a scowl darkening her features. Her husband was so lucky that arrogant looked so damn good on him. She swiftly racked her brains, running through ideas of things she might want from him. Although, truthfully, he wasn't one to leave her wanting for anything. And in terms of material possessions, considering their current predicament, he didn't have much to offer.

Although…

The Master was assuming he was going to win this.

Which meant, theoretically, she could ask for anything.

Denying her would hint to the fact that he'd considered that she could win. Which he would never do.

Oh, she might have just walked into his trap but she was going to make him suffer just as much for it.

She took in a breath, a small smile curving her mouth. "Alright. If I win… I want 24 hours during which you have to do everything I tell you." Her eyes met his with a soft flutter of her eyelashes. A dark shadow passed across his face as her words settled on him, the already dim light falling over them from the house seemed to flicker, the deep brown of his eyes turning to black. Tension bit at the edge of his jaw, the corners of his eyes twitching with hot irritation. Her internal victory was immediately squashed, however, as the burning behind his eyes shifted. Annoyance melted into a brief flicker of surprise before settling on desire.

The wolf hunting its prey.

Carnal and dangerous.

Oh shit.

She opened her mouth, perhaps to backpedal but he spoke first, barely a sound left him but the word vibrated through her. "Deal." The playfulness had disappeared from his gaze and she forced herself to swallow, adjusting in her chair in a way that hopefully didn't look too much like a squirm.

Alright… she'd better actually fucking win this, otherwise judging by the look he was giving her she was going to be in deep trouble.

Although, that seemed inevitable… she should have put in a clause.

Damn.

John smirked and dealt them all in.

Hally stewed, forcing her attention to move to her cards instead of the black hole of stifling resolve in front of her.

Ok.

She could win this. It didn't matter that The Master had raised the stakes. The hair on the back of her neck pricked and stood on end as she considered her options. Perhaps, The Master hadn't been completely wrong, she really didn't understand the rules. There would be no pulling them from Koschei now, he'd completely blocked her out of his mind.

Spoilsport.

Hmm… she could always try Armitage, his hand wasn't too far from her own…?

"Don't let her touch you." The Master didn't even look up as he muttered the command under his breath. John and Armitage shared a look between them before considering her and shifting back in their chairs. She audibly huffed and rolled her jaw, resigned to the fact that she was going to have to sort this on her own. She checked the cards in her hand.

A Jack of Clubs and a Five of Diamonds.

They went around the table, using the discarded bottle tops to make their bets.

Not that either she or Koschei could exactly fold…

John dealt out the first three cards for the table.

The Queen of Hearts, Seven of Clubs and Ten of Clubs.

Alright… so she could change her cards to Kings? Or maybe to two Queens, then she'd have three Queens, that'd be good right?

As the four of them continued to place their bets, Hally began to appreciate the phrase 'poker face'. Of course, Armitage's face never really changed at all. Hart constantly spewed meaningless quips, actively trying to rile each player, which, she realised, was most likely a ploy to distract them.

"You know, you could make a hell of a lot of money in Vegas with that trick…" He'd purred, eyes glinting with mischief.

Armitage had hummed. An agreement tinged with discouragement.

And then, there was The Master. She wasn't sure whether the unapologetic expressions that ended up on his face were just an act, or if he was simply totally at ease with showing them exactly what thoughts were going through his mind.

With Koschei, it really could be either…

Damn.

Hally doubted very much that she had a good 'poker face'.

Usually, she found all her thoughts ended up written all over her features before she'd even processed them.

Although, perhaps she could use the fact that her knowledge of the rules was less than adequate to her advantage…

Her game plan was to simply 'steal' the cards she required to give her the winning hand. Therefore, no schooling of her expression was really needed.

Hally 'collected' herself the Queen of Diamonds and the Queen of Spades to go along with the Queen of Hearts, Seven of Clubs, Ten of Clubs, Queen of Clubs and Ace of Spades on the table. It wasn't 'conjuring' as such, simply swapping images on cards already in front of her. Easy manipulation of matter. Which she could do expertly, even on the wrong side of tipsy.

She'd win with four Queens, right?

She'd watched The Master win with four Kings a few games ago…

Hart was wrong.

This game was just chance.

She resisted the need to roll her eyes.

They were placing their final bets, she needed to concentrate.

Queens… had to be high right?

She hadn't realised she'd rolled her bottom lip between her teeth until she felt the heat of The Master's gaze on her. She flicked her attention up to him, a quietly confident smirk curved the edge of his mouth.

She noted with a hint of frustration that the shiver that ran up her spine wasn't due to the chill in the evening air.

No, no, no. Concentrating.

Although…

Why was he so sure he could beat her?

Her own, unhelpful self-doubt keened, 'because, you don't know the rules of this game…'

It was a fair point…

Most card games favoured Kings and Queens though.

He'd won a previous game with Kings?

He knew she was cheating and yet he had made the bet anyway.

Which meant he had another strategy.

Perhaps there was a way to win without Kings and Queens.

Shit.

She probably should have paid more attention to John when he'd been explaining the game.

With the last bets made, the remaining players placed their cards face down on the table to be revealed. Armitage had already folded, John was still playing but she had a feeling he simply wanted to be involved.

Why did Koschei look so smug?

Self-satisfaction glimmered fiercely in the black of his eyes.

How could he think he'd won?

She had literally picked her cards…

Amusement sparkled back at her.

Did he know something she didn't?

Well, apart from… the rules of the game…

Damn.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

How had she not learnt to avoid taking The Master up on a challenge?!

Wait…

A new idea blossomed in her mind.

If The Master thought he'd won, that probably meant that he had. But right now, no one was looking at their own cards. They'd all placed their cards on the table face down in front of themselves to reveal all at once…

With barely a twitch of her finger, she switched the two pairs. Her cards were now in front of The Master and whatever his were, now in front of her.

If The Master was so sure he'd won… she'd take his cards.

"Alright, children, let's settle this." John flashed them a bright grin, motioning for them to turn their pairs over.

John, as predicted had a terrible hand, but he didn't even look at his own cards as he turned them over, far more interested in watching the outcome of their bet.

She looked down at the pair in front of her, turning them over.

The Five of Diamonds and…

The Two of Clubs?

Wait… what?

Her eyes snapped up to The Master's, confusion written across her face.

He was already watching her, his face splitting into a wry smile as it dawned on her what he'd done.

John chuckled softly, collecting the cards. "Looks like you win again."

Hally hadn't yet found any words.

He'd won.

…

He had won with the cards she gave him.

"Thanks, sweetheart." Her husband offered her a wink, the victorious smile creasing his eyes.

Her mouth dropped open.

Armitage barked a laugh.

He actually laughed.

"You…"

He'd…

He cocked an eyebrow, patiently indicating for her to continue.

"You… tricked me."

His smile widened into an unapologetic grin. Across from her, John shook his head as his shoulders shook with the low laugh. "You might be starting to understand the game." The bright blue of his eyes glittered.

The Master sucked in his cheeks, holding out his hand towards her. "Screwdriver." He commanded, his tone daring her to disobey him.

She glared at his open palm.

Damn him.

She shifted on her seat, unclipped the weapon from her waist and slapped it into his hand.

"Thank you." He clipped at her, resting back comfortably into his chair as he turned the device over in his hands. "Although, I will miss watching you brandish it around. You know, it really was quite erotic."

"I hate you." She grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest, willingly sinking into a sulk.

She'd played right into his hand.

He clicked his tongue against his teeth, pouting as if he'd taken offence. "No, you don't." He ran his fingers over the controls as if reacquainting himself with it, refamiliarising his muscles with the weight in his hand. "I must say though, I am intrigued…" His eyes found hers once more, capturing her. "Exactly what would you have had me do if you'd won?" The inkling of a smile didn't mask the dangerous amusement whirling inside the dark brown.

Through a groan and the hands that she'd brought to her face, she shot him a petulant glare. "Fuck. You."

It only fuelled his gloating. "Darling, we both know which one of us does the fucking."

For a second she'd thought maybe, maybe he'd spoken only inside her mind. But no, his mouth had definitely been moving. Her eyes slid from him to their audience, her face warming.

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm rather enjoying the foreplay." John quipped, his eyes alight with amusement.

A noise vibrated in her throat, a sort of high-pitched yelp.

The Master happily rotated the screwdriver in his hand, evidently pleased to have it back in his possession. He shifted, slipping it into his back pocket before taking a long sip of his drink.

Fine. She would leave and sulk in peace.

His fingers closed around her wrist as she moved to stand and he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her in a grip that wordlessly told her she wasn't going anywhere without him. A deep hum vibrated pleasantly underneath her from his chest. She shifted in his grip, allowing him to manhandle her into a comfortable position, pulling her legs up to curl underneath her. The quiet rumble of voices told her that John and Armitage had moved their attention elsewhere. She looked down at her husband. He'd dropped the smirk, the curve of his mouth genuine as he looked up at her, fingers splaying against her hip. The edges of his mind softened back into hers, she could feel the undeniable trickle of his amusement. She pouted at him, which only brought out a rumble of a gentle chuckle. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek, how one might comfort a child.

"Was that dreadfully mean of me?" Soft amusement glittered in his dark eyes. She hummed in stroppy affirmation. His thumb traced a path over her bottom lip, no doubt outlining her petulant pout. "What can I say, sweetheart? I know you too well." An appreciative growl vibrated in his throat as his eyes glittered.

Her gaze slipped from his as heat crept up her neck.

"But-" He shifted his fingers to tilt her chin back up, forcing her eyes to his, just as a sly smile crept across his face. "-Do listen carefully." Dark possession flashed behind his eyes, she shivered. "Seduce me like that again, and I will take you regardless of where we are - in front of whoever - until you can barely remember your own name." His eyes kept hers locked on his. Heat rushed to her face, spreading hot over her chest. She shifted in his lap, resolve weakening under the heavy intent in his gaze. "Understood?"

"Mmhmm…" Was the only pathetic noise she could muster.

Thankfully, he seemed to accept it as affirmation. His fingers tightened, giving her jaw a squeeze as his face fell back into an easy smile. "Good. Now. Up you get. We're going to bed."

She quelled the groan that wanted to escape, knowing it would only amplify the trouble she'd already walked herself into. She got to her feet, his hand never leaving her hip as he rose, his other arm wrapped around her, engulfing her and pulling her back against his chest. His mouth found the back of her neck and she choked back the noise that hummed in her throat. She took the hand at her hip, extracting herself from his embrace so they could actually move. She wondered briefly if his handsy display was more for Hart's benefit than for hers. Most likely a mixture of both. Then, she moved forward, pulling him by the hand back towards the house.

"Goodnight gentlemen." The Master lilted over his shoulder.

Armitage cleared his throat. "Bright and early then, Sir?"

"Of course." The Master hummed in gentle approval.

The instant the bedroom door closed he had his hands on her, twirling her around to give his fingers access to the front of her dress. Wordlessly he unbuttoned the front of it, shifting it off her shoulders so that the whole thing fell to the floor in a heap around her ankles. His gaze never left her skin as he undressed her completely, laser-focused on the task at hand. Fingers followed the trail of his eyes, running his fingertips across her skin. Touching her as if somehow it surprised him. He straightened up, shifting his attention to her face as he pulled her body flush against his. The heat crackling behind his eyes danced with a hint of mischief as a smile flirted with the corner of his mouth. He wound a hand into her hair, tugging to angle her face towards his.

"Is that what you want, hmm?" His voice was low, a light teasing floating across the top of the wild hunger underneath. "Would you want me at your mercy?" His breath fanned across her face, he was so still, so present. His face hovering barely an inch from hers. "On my knees for you." The words came out as a hushed rumble.

Images flashed through her mind at his words and she let out a weak whimper, desire shooting through her.

His free hand came to cup her chin, his thumb brushing across her lower lip before he bent his head and took her mouth in a firm kiss. His mouth demanded her attention, the hand in her hair holding complete control over her movement. Her body caved into his and The Master was happy to oblige. His mouth worked her into a starving frenzy, the inkling of a smirk pressed against her mouth.

Her body thrummed with need.

He needed to take her.

Now.

Right now.

Suddenly, his mouth wasn't on hers anymore and she felt a steady pressure pushing her back a step on either side of her waist. The Master had shifted her back, away from him. He rocked back on his heels, arms crossing over his chest as he shamelessly looked her up and down.

He was a picture of easement. Still fully clothed and barely ruffled. "Well, go on then." His eyes glittered with a challenge.

Hally was barely aware of anything other than how breathless she was, every cell in her body buzzed with desire. It took her a moment to comprehend that he was expecting something from her. The confusion must have shown on her face because he captured both of her hands in his and pressed her palms to his chest. "Take what you want." He lowered his head, fixing her with a commanding stare.

Her skin prickled, goosebumps running up her arms as a mixture of desire, fear and uncertainty trickled through her. Her feet stepped her forward and her hands, which she noticed were trembling, began to unbutton his shirt. She took her time removing his clothes, in part because she didn't trust her hands but also because it seemed like The Master was letting her. She pushed his shirt off him, running her hands across his chest, down his abdomen. The deep whirlpools of his eyes tracked over her face, surveying her. Now that he was standing in front of her fully naked, she wasn't too sure what to do. She rolled her lower lip between her teeth. She felt exposed. That was a new feeling. Taking control.

Beautiful torture.

The Master's speciality.

The need to have his body closer was overwhelming, she moved forward until his chest was pressed against hers. Then her mouth found his, heated passion flared as he responded eagerly to the kiss. He kissed her back with equal fever but he remained on the back foot, letting her lead him.

Her body hummed with frustration, begging her to cave to him, to fold and plead for him to take her.

But her mind had decided she wasn't going to back down.

Her body might have been begging to submit but her mind was determined to show him that he was hers.

She shifted them, backing him towards the bed until the backs of his legs made contact with the edge. The thrill of anticipation that sailed through her was a welcome surprise as he yielded to the light pressure she'd pressed on his shoulders, lowering to sit on the edge of the bed. He tilted his head to look up at her, as she moved her hands from his shoulders to cup his face.

Her Master.

All hers.

His gaze never dimmed, alight with a furious need, wildfire contained behind a glassy prison. His hands had found their way to her hips, his fingers pressing into her skin desperately. Holding himself back to teach her a lesson.

Well, like the good student she was she was going to see his lesson through to the end.

And torture him, every step of the way.

With her hand splayed in his hair, she tilted his head forward until his lips met the soft skin of her stomach. A needy groan hummed in his throat as he wasted no time before tasting her, leaving open-mouthed kisses across her abdomen, teasing a line just underneath her breasts. Hally shifted herself forward onto his lap, resting her knees on the bed on either side of his hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she settled into his lap, catching his lips with hers. She swallowed the clipped moan that escaped him as she sank herself down onto him slowly. He twitched impatiently inside her, the bruising grip on her hips holding her down onto him. Her mouth curved into a satisfied smile, breaking the kiss. The Master choked back a sharp breath as she rocked lazily in his lap, their chests pressed flush together.

His hearts were racing and there was a thin sheen of sweat starting to form across his brow. Hally had to bite her lip to squash the giggle that threatened to fall from her lips. She kept up the torturously slow movement, she wanted to tease him, to drive him insane, to see how long it would take for him to break and take over, but it wasn't long before soft, breathy moans were falling from her own lips as well. The urge to fall apart above him was growing by the second, a low growl rumbled in his throat. She lifted herself up off his lap almost completely before slowly shifting back down. His head fell back with a guttural moan, she grabbed hold of the opportunity and attacked his neck with her mouth as she repeated the movement. He tensed underneath her, inhaling a sharp breath. He bucked his hips, the hands at her hips forcing her down onto him hard.

Her moan was stifled by his neck but she felt his vibrate up his throat.

She found herself conflicted, part of her wanted to fall over the edge into oblivion, but the other part was finding more pleasure in feeling him fight his every instinct not to flip them over and fuck her into the mattress.

She shifted off of him again, feeling his Adam's apple bob underneath her mouth. He was wound so tightly, the knowledge sent a heated thrill through her.

Despite this being on the opposite side of his comfort zone, he was enjoying it.

He trusted her.

Completely.

She couldn't help but tighten around him, moaning softly as she shifted back to look over his face. "Are you going to come for me, Master?"

His eyes flashed open, catching her gaze with scorching heat. Without warning, his hand was pressed against her throat, a steady pressure slowing the blood moving to her head. But he didn't push her off him. Her body curved, happy to yield to his but her eyes flashed with determination. She shifted her chest, allowing space between them for her own hand to find its way to his neck, mirroring the pressure he was applying. Her forehead dropped against his, neither able to escape the other. She rocked her hips, picking up the demand in her movement.

This was still hers.

He was hers.

Mine.

His pupils blew wide and he let out a sharp moan, his hand fell from her neck to pull her closer onto him as his hips jerked against hers. She closed her eyes, letting his pleasure wash through her, happily tipping her over the edge. She let her head fall back, rhythmically rocking her hips through their orgasm.

The Master's breath was hot against her neck, the low growl purring in his chest her only warning before he flipped them over, pressing her underneath him.

Mine.

Sleep was ripped from her by The Master shoving the warmth of the duvet off her.

"Up."

She groaned, attempting to block him out with a hand over her face, her other hand weakly trying to find the duvet on the bed. "Whyyy?"

"Up. Now." There was a sharp clip to his voice, she opened her eyes to check his face. No anger lingered there, so she concluded that he was just being bossy.

She levelled a scowl towards him and sat up on the bed. He was already dressed. "What for?"

His face curved into a smirk, one of those that told her there was something she didn't know and probably wouldn't be happy about. "Because we have things to do." He gave as explanation, before stalking from the room. "Be out in 5 minutes, otherwise I'll send in Armitage."

She glared after him, before letting out an unnecessarily loud groan as she forced her legs out of the bed, muttering irritably under her breath. She pulled on the nearest clothes she could find and followed him outside. He was waiting for her, standing near to the shoreline. She clocked Armitage, sitting back towards the house, observing.

Feeling her approach, The Master turned to her, a hint of a smile falling onto his face at the sight of the irritated scowl on hers. "Armitage raised a valid point."

Hally pouted, turning her scowl towards Armitage, seated a few meters away. "Well done Armitage." As usual, he was undisturbed by her glare. She turned back to her husband. "Why does that mean I have to be forced out of bed before the sun has even properly risen?"

"He reminded me that our safety here very much relies on you."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So?"

"Well, darling, I think we can both agree you're a little out of practice."

"And whose fault is that?"

He shot her a winning smile in response.

Her temper bristled. As much as she didn't want to admit it, they were probably right. "Fine. What did you have in mind?"

As it turned out, The Master had rather a lot in mind. A whole schedule.

For the next few weeks, each morning he would unceremoniously prod her awake just as the sun was rising and she'd drag herself onto the beach. Then, he'd take it upon himself to tirelessly work with her until lunch.

She had forgotten how much she hated his 'teaching' style.

They had created a routine of sorts, Armitage would always arrive out on the beach first to take his spectator's seat, followed by The Master, then begrudgingly, Hally and finally John would mosey out to watch.

She'd initially been naïve enough to hope that perhaps she could just move a few heavy rocks around and The Master would be satisfied, but no. Every single day he wanted to find her boundary and push it harder. Moving rocks swiftly progressed to moving larger rocks, to lifting rocks she couldn't see out at sea. Pushing her harder and harder, to see how far her reach could cover.

He had her create shields, strengthening them, holding them for longer and longer. Then he'd move onto offensive actions, testing the force of each energy blast until she'd outperformed the last one.

After a week and a half, he'd become intensely interested with how she'd swapped the cards during their poker game.

"I don't know how else you want me to describe it to you, it just happens."

His eyes glinted with impatience, fixing her with an unforgiving stare. "Of course, it doesn't just happen woman. Did you physically swap the whole cards, by moving them, or did you alter the images on the cards themselves? There's a difference. One is simply altering something that already exists, the other is moving an object through space into another space…"

She huffed, looking down at the pair of cards he'd placed in front of her. She repeated the motion, swapping the Two of Clubs over to her right-hand side and the Six of Diamonds to her left. A crease of a frown formed on her forehead. "I think I just swapped the images. The physical cards themselves never move, I don't think." She picked up the two cards to examine them, her gaze flickering back up to his.

His face was scrunched in deep thought, lips pressed into a pout. He hummed to himself. The pair were sat cross-legged opposite one another on the sand, Hally had placed a cushion underneath herself after her hips had started to protest. The Master removed the cards from her hand and instead placed one of Hart's half-empty whiskey bottles in front of her, next to a short glass. She cocked an eyebrow at him and his eyes twitched, narrowing at her. "Without lifting the bottle, can you move the liquid inside, into the glass?" His pupils were focused on her with sharp intrigue. Her gaze fell from him to the empty glass in front of her.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure.

She stared at the unassuming empty glass, feeling more and more like some sort of performing zoo animal as she failed to make anything happen to the liquid. She picked up both items, bringing them closer to her face, eyes narrowing into a concentrated squint. The problem… or what she perceived to be the problem, was that she could feel the liquid inside the bottle, but she was unsure how to force it to jump to the glass. The glass was empty. She could feel it's cold emptiness in her mind. She considered simply levitating the liquid from the bottle into the glass, but she knew that wasn't what The Master was after. He wanted to see if she was able to shift the liquid into the glass through space. 'Conjure' it. Take it from one place, the bottle, and conjure it into the glass. The idea wasn't impossible. After all, she wasn't conjuring from nothing, she would be taking it from the bottle. But the mechanics of it eluded her.

Hmm.

Hally had a thought. It was technically cheating, but she wanted to explore an idea. She tipped the bottle, pouring a small splash of the whiskey into the glass. Then she set both bottle and glass down on the sand. Now, she could feel whiskey in both containers. She concentrated again and as they watched, the liquid in the glass rippled and expanded, the line of the liquid drawing higher as she pulled the whiskey from the bottle, into the glass. Simultaneously, the line in the bottle descended as the matter moved directly into the glass. The Master watched, she could see a multitude of thoughts running across his face. He hummed in approval, eyes darting away from the now full glass towards the edge of the sea.

"The sand." His attention fixed back onto her face. In front of him, he drew two circles in the sand. "Make a pile of sand in this circle, from the sand currently in the other circle."

She let out a long breath. Rocks and shields and explosions were easy enough but this took effort. It was specific and tiring and he'd already had her swapping cards for just under two hours. But she knew that complaining wouldn't stop him, so she concentrated on the circle. The ground inside the circle shifted, a pile forming in one, while an equal-sized dip began to form in the other. Conjuring the sand from the one circle, seamlessly into the other. A small smile curved The Master's face. As if understanding something she didn't.

He hummed and opened his mouth, no doubt with another demand.

She cut him off swiftly. "My head hurts."

His attention moved back to her, surprisingly his expression softened. With a knowing sigh, he shifted, standing and reseating himself behind her. He pulled her into him, her back resting into his chest. Without a word, his hands came to her temples, fingers rubbing slow purposeful circles into her skull. A happy sigh fell from her as she relaxed into him, letting her eyes fall closed. He mingled with her thoughts, massaging her into a sense of ease while his own mind whirred with possibilities.

"We've barely scratched the surface." He mumbled from behind her, she wasn't completely sure if he was talking to her or to himself. "This… energy seems to be able to manipulate a great deal of matter. Physical matter as well as non-physical. Taking matter to a place where it wasn't before." His upper body had engulfed her in a warm cocoon while his hands worked her temples. "When you dry your hair…" His voice lifted with a new train of thought. "How do you do that? What's the process… do you heat the water until it evaporates?"

Her face scrunched into a frown. "No… I just remove the water from my hair."

"So where does it go?"

After a moment, she replied. "I don't know…"

She could hear the smile in his voice. "Mmm, the universe moves around you. Still in balance. You remove the water, it will show up somewhere else. You conjure it, it'll be taken from elsewhere."

She shifted in his arms. "Do you have to sound so excited?"

He chuckled softly into her back. "It's magnificent. The laws of physics don't apply to you. They bend around you." Hally exhaled with a soft sigh, his expert fingers keeping the tension at bay. She could sense his line of thought skirting around the edges of both of their minds. She shifted in his arms as a certain heaviness settled in her stomach. "Why are you afraid?" He murmured just above her ear.

She blinked her eyes back open, rolling her lip between her teeth. "It's just… I've thought about it before. After you showed me…" They both understood what she was referring to. After The Master had shown her the truth about her parents.

She lazily raised her hand, a gentle glow dancing around her fingers. "This power comes from them… it comes from 'Bad Wolf'." She slowly released the breath she'd been holding, the glow fading away from her hand. "But that means that it comes from the Time Vortex itself…"

"And that scares you?"

"Yeah…" She shifted to turn her head towards him, searching his eyes for any hint of the fear she felt. She found none.

His lips pressed against the side of her head. He remained silent. After a few moments, he tilted his head to the side. "How's your head?"

She offered him a small, appreciative smile. "A little better." The warmth of his embrace retreated as he got to his feet, offering her his hand. She took it, letting him pull her up.

"Good. I want to see if you've remembered anything Armitage taught you while I was dead." His self-assured smirk had returned.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, a playful smile tugging at her mouth. "Oh, are you asking me to fight you?"

His face brightened with a brilliant grin. "Darling, I'm ordering you to fight me."