The books and movies didn't help and I didn't know enough about electronics to do something useful with the tech in the room. As another evening drew nearer I found myself on the windowsill again. It stretched wide enough to offer room to sit and with a pillow under me I even felt comfy there. It didn't help with the boredom, but what did was the pouring rain that started in the evening. Thunder rolled through the air, sometimes distant, sometimes way too close. A forked lightning bolt twitched through the streaks of falling rain, illuminating the office for several seconds.

I was alone right now and had dimmed the lights so I could appreciate the spectacle better. Thunderstorms always calmed me down and I never got tired of watching them; witnessing the raw force of nature from a safe space soothed me in a way not many things can. Time moved slowly and I drifted with it, sliding deeper into a half slumber until I felt a presence behind me.

"You're still here."

I hummed sleepily. "Where else would I be?"

"The rain is so strong it would overshadow the sound of your steps and the cameras would have a really hard time seeing you. Maybe the guards would, but I doubt it. They are dumb as bricks."

The Master stood close enough so I could feel his body heat and catch the scent of his aftershave reaching towards me. It reminded me of how his room in the TARDIS had felt, so strangely familiar that all I wanted to do for a moment was to lean my head against him. But the urge vanished quick enough to keep me from doing it.

"Right… 'n then some sniper would have shot me." I yawned. "'Sides, I like watching and I don't like to get so wet."

The Master chuckled and moved closer. My head brushed the cloth of his shirt and my longing for warmth and comfort returned with a force that almost hurt.

"Mhm, this planet truly has marvellous thunderstorms." To watch out of the same window he now loomed there, definitely touching now, his arm resting on my shoulder. But only for a few seconds before the Master removed it as quickly as if I had called him out on it. He didn't go away though, just stood there next to me in silence.

A little shy I peeked up and saw he stared at the rain and the lightning with a calm expression, almost serene.

"You like it too, huh?" I commented.

The Master didn't budge, but his lip twitched upwards a little. "It's soothing. And the drums get muffled."

Drums. A memory stirred in my mind, refusing to fully resurface and when I tried to focus on it the headaches returned with full force. I let out a pained groan and held my head, breathing slow to make it vanish again. Hands reached for me, gently taking my face between their palms. I blinked away tears and found a worried expression on the Master's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, searching my face for an answer.

"It always hurts when I try to remember." The pain faded and I drew back, releasing myself from his surprisingly gentle hold. "I know about your drums, but that's all. I can't get any more."

"Then stop trying if it hurts you!"

"But I want to," I muttered.

The Master sighed. Relieved? Annoyed? "No, seriously. That whole memories bullshit? It makes no sense. It shouldn't hurt. They shouldn't be gone in the first place!" He growled.

"Thats why'm trying so hard," I whispered, a little spooked by his outburst. However, I immediately flinched in pain when I tried again.

"What part about stop didn't you understand, idiot?!"

"But…"

"Shush!" The Master put a finger on his mouth, scowling. "I'll tell you again, alright. Stop hurting yourself!"

I flinched again, but this time because of his commanding and angry tone. The Master glared at me until he was certain I would obey and only then moved. He tapped against his head and sat opposite to me on the windowsill. Then he told me the story of his initiation, of the sound that had entered his mind, only to never leave him after that. Of the years of torment they had caused him. The Doctor had never listened, had always claimed they weren't even a real thing.

Everything changed, but the drums always stayed.

Centuries.

"It was you," he added quietly after a long pause and an especially loud thunder. "You heard them first. It was an accident, but you did. It was the first time I got confirmation that they are a real thing and not just…" He made a vague hand gesture and smiled. "Madness."

"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. It probably wasn't a lie. The Master sounded way too serious for that; and way too pained. "Can you muffle them at least?"

He gave me the strangest look and it was clear he wanted to say something, tell me another detail of the past that had slipped from me. But he closed his mouth and shrugged instead. Then, as sudden as the lightning outside, a grin sat on his lips. "Chaos," he said. "That makes them better."

I chuckled at his remark and the teasing expression. It felt so weirdly casual to sit like that, without his usual malice and without the rage in his eyes and I wished this moment could last longer.

"You're bored, aren't you?" he eventually asked, head leaned back against the window, looking up at the darkness.

"Yeah. I'd rather be out there exploring the city."

"I thought you wanted to run back to the Doctor."

"Mhm. I don't know. There is… no progress." I laid my chin on my bent knees, thinking for a while. "Didn't want to come here at first, not in the mood to be a sacrifice for some random planet."

The Master's eyes wandered sideways to cast a sceptical glance at me. Why did I feel this urge to tell him all of this anyway?

"But 's not helping to be in the TARDIS. She's got no answers for me."

"What, so you volunteered to wander into my fangs?" He laughed out loud, even louder than the thunder. "What if I had really killed you?"

I shrugged. "The thought… doesn't scare me as much as it should. And somehow-" I squinted at him- "I have a suspicion this is your fault."

The Master chuckled and sprang up from the windowsill. "Certainly not, stupid, little human." He leaned down and poked my head. "If anything, I would try to make you even more scared."

I swatted his hand away, regarding him with a deep frown. "Then what happened?"

"Isn't that obvious? You died. You chose to die. I'm the exact opposite, so I can't say for sure, but it seems like that does something to you." Again he poked my head. "And by the way, you not being scared of me makes you horribly annoying and is actually reason enough to throw you out of that window." The one behind me, the one he pointed at.

He wouldn't do it. I knew.

"But whatever." Suddenly his threatening demeanour completely changed and instead he clapped in his hands and regarded me with an excited grin. "You want to run away from here?"

Wow, what a mood shift.

I shook my head. "What, to get shot in the back? Doesn't matter what happened to me, I can go without."

"And if you don't get shot?"

What was he on to? Was it a trap? Carefully I regarded my next words and finally shrugged. "Told you already. I'd go and explore the city."

"And afterwards?"

"Uh… I don't know. Place's big. I guess I'd be busy for a while."

"What about food? Sleep? Don't tell me you want to beg and live on the streets."

I sighed and shook my head. Why was he asking such strange questions anyway? "What's this about, Master?"

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.

"Just want to tease you with all the things you can't have."

Of course. I rolled my eyes. "That's childish." Not that he would care.

Another thunder rumbled through the room and the sound of rain increased in volume. The Master chuckled. Something mischievous twinkled in his eyes. "Get some sleep. I'm pretty sure I'll have some nice torture methods ready for tomorrow."

Again, I couldn't resist the eyeroll. "That makes me sleep quite a lot better."

"Thought so." The Master winked and left the room.

I stayed with the storm, wondering what the heck this had been all about. Then the rest of the conversation wandered through my mind and I realised that this had just been the most pleasant conversation I had had with this man. A fact that was equally unnerving and calming, because it reminded me of all the nights I had to keep myself from wandering through the TARDIS.

.

"Wakey, wakey!"

The voice tore through my not so peaceful slumber, robbing the last few moments from this other world that might or might not have had similarities to the real one. All images faded before I could get a hold of them. And besides, that voice rang some pretty serious alarm bells in my head, so I - grudgingly - opened my eyes and peeked out from under the blankets.

A very blurry Master stood there, waiting with a wide grin. I didn't need my glasses to see and feel the mirth he radiated and was tempted to completely ignore his very presence.

"Piss off," I grumbled and drew the blanket back over my head. "'m not awake."

"A sleep-talker, tze, tze. How could I have missed that?" A dip on the sofa told me the Master had sat down next to my feet. "So, how's the dreaming going?"

"Splendid." My voice sounded muffled by the blanket but he probably understood me anyway. "Just dreamed you'll vanish in a second to let me sleep."

"Ah, I see." For a few seconds there was silence and I already hoped he would leave me alone, but then the blanket lifted, despite my struggling, allowing light to offend my eyes. "Your prophetic dreams are rubbish, little one. Come on, get up."

"I don't want to!" I whined.

"You've slept for at least four hours, that has to be sufficient. Chop, chop! Rise and shine. You get half an hour to be ready." He bent down a little, making sure I would see the menacing grin, bad eyesight or not. "Else I will make you."

"Fuck you," I grumbled into the sofa, but then heaved me at least into a sitting position. Groggily, I fumbled for my glasses and slipped them on. "What for anyway?"

"You wanted to explore the city, didn't you? Go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

It took me a moment to react. My eyes still refused to stay open properly. Damn, I needed some coffee. And this planet didn't have any.

"You're throwing me out?" I finally asked.

The Master grinned. Or maybe the grin had never vanished. "Basically. Half an hour."

And with that he was gone, only to keep his promise (threat) to return exactly thirty earthen minutes later. The time hadn't helped my state much. I had had a quick shower and splashed cold water on my face, but the few hours in bed hadn't been nearly enough.

When the Master strolled back in, I was ready, not really willing to think about where I would actually go.

To my surprise I got aware of a familiar smell and my mood brightened tremendously when he held out a paper cup of steaming coffee. My hands closed reverently around the cup and I breathed in, just to be sure, and let out a happy hum.

"I could bloody kiss you."

"Don't make promises." The Master winked and motioned me to follow along.

I stuck out my tongue towards his back, but followed. The overall mood of the situation surprised me. Was this a trap? Was he nice now, just to kill me later? But then why the complicated setup?

Whatever the case, I smiled up at the sun when we left the building. I had only spent a few days inside and still it was great to finally feel the warmth on my skin again.

"So… what direction?" The Master's voice made me acutely aware that he still hadn't vanished.

"I don't know." I took a careful sip from my hot beverage. "Just… somewhere."

He looked at me as if I had said something incredibly stupid. "Well, then go ahead. I'm not good at running around without a plan or goal."

Only then did it click.

"Wait… You're coming with me?"