Even for Aisling, it had been a long day. She had no idea where the wild dogs had come from, or why they were so sick, or how to cure them. She had no idea why the bats were about in day time or why they were actively attacking people instead of avoiding them and finding a nice dark place to sleep in until night fell. So she and her Doctor had been running all day, trying to keep as many animals from being killed and as many people from being hurt as possible.

As evening approached, the creatures seemed to thin, and they had retreated to the forest to rest and watch as the sun set over the mountains. They hadn't spoken much, as tired as they were. Her hand throbbed strangely where an overzealous bat had sunk in its teeth as she'd tried to free it from the wires it had been caught in, and the dog bites hadn't healed as they should either. Doctor had taken worse, over all, though nothing seemed to be bad enough to cause too much concern.

There was something soothing about the way the sun drew in its trailing golden cloak over the waves and turned the sky orange and letting deep dusk follow behind. Finally the edge of it dipped below the sea, and the light of its passing faded behind it, the moon peeping out from behind the mountains. With a sigh, she stretched and made to get up. A sharp, lancing pain shot up her arm, startling a cry from her lips and making her hunch over the offending limb. Something was very wrong. She couldn't quite catch her breath, and her blood burned, scalding her from the inside out. The trees about her rustled and cried out in their shared pain, and she tried to close herself off from them as much as possible. The pain intensified, radiating out to engulf her.