thoughtformed | [Video/Private to Doktor]

[The video clicks on to a familiar pale face looking rather upset.]

Múinteoir, something's wrong. She's not getting better, and I don't know what to do. I am no healer...

[She whirls, her hair lashing the lens, to scamper into the wolf den. The narrow tunnel opens into a wide, shallow, low-roofed cave of sorts, the light from her screen just enough to make out the shapes of Banríon curled around her youngest daughter. The pup is from the most recent litter, the smallest of the three, and she... doesn't look good. Her mother is cleaning her fur, but she's thin and bedraggled and shivering, but panting as though she's overheated. When Aisling touches the little one's face, her eyes open, but they're glazed and glassy. She barely responds when the sprite tries to get her to drink some water. Finally she drinks a few drops by licking the water from Aisling's fingers before letting her head fall back to the dust, clearly exhausted.

Banríon whines softly, nosing her daughter and then looking beseechingly to Aisling, who looks extremely troubled. Taking up her phone again, she creeps outside, speaking low.]

I would be grateful if you might come see her. Please, I have done all I can. I don't think this is natural.

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[That phrase, delivered in her own tongue, never ceased to warm her in a way that even Captain and Ianto could not. It was different, of course, but in some ways a deeper, stronger bond, coming from one who knew the nuances and meaning behind it. But to hear him say it. And affirm that which she knew instinctively. That caught her breath. Her hand tightened about his, trying to pass on some of the wealth of emotion he inspired.

The key, though, was a surprise, and she was slow to take it, gently lifting it to let it lie in her own palm, strangely weighty for such a small object. It gleamed invitingly, and she looked up from it solemnly.]

What is it for?

It's a TARDIS key, little sister. [He gently closes her fingers around the key, holding her small hand in both of his before moving it and pressing it reverently over her heart.] You are welcome anytime, day or night, invited or unannounced. And I will always be there for you, every time you need me and more, no matter what or who stands in my way. [His voice is quiet, yet intensely fierce. His words hold a solemn meaning, and as he speaks the universe seems to quiet, as if reality itself were listening.]

Edited 2013-08-26 02:42 (UTC)

[She knows a vow when it's spoken. She can feel the reverberations through the fabric of reality. The hold it takes on everything within it. She watches, a little shaken, eyes dilated in the dim light, feeling humbled by the enormity of the thing she was witnessing.

It was a great gift she had just been given. Access to his home, his... his consort, almost. Certainly his sanctum - the place where he felt safe and comfortable, where none but him and his closest companions were allowed without his express permission. And even then, it was an honor only bestowed on a very, very few. She reminded herself to breathe, pressing both hands over the key and feeling it warm against the skin just below her throat.

She couldn't break the tension and the silence. So instead she nods, slowly, deliberately, bending her knees in the curtsy of a girl to a king. She holds it, bowing her head, for a long moment before raising her eyes and straightening, making bold enough to reach out and gently capture his hand. Raising it to her lips, she catches his eyes and deliberately presses her lips to the place where a signet ring would lie. A close alliance between their clans. The last survivors, lonely and quiet in their power and responsibility.]

[He let her curtsy and kiss his hand, because this mattered, this was important to her. He nodded solemnly at it. But as soon as she had finished, he smiled softly and took her up in his arms, enveloping her in a tight embrace. He said nothing, but his actions conveyed a message, in addition to all his love and affection. The hug was not the hug of a king to a girl, or the embrace of even the closest representatives of allied peoples. It was the hug of an older brother to a younger sister, fierce and close and tender, and just a little bit playful.

They still bore their burdens, the power and responsibility of their races, their clans. But now, at least a little, they bore them together. She was not timelord, and he was not fey - but they were one clan nevertheless. Bound more closely than any allies. A relationship that was at once vast and encompassing and incomprehensible, while at the same time it was small and personal and the simplest and most natural thing in the world.]

Edited 2013-08-26 05:40 (UTC)

[She was taken by surprise, but went willingly, folding herself in against him and wrapping her arm round him as far as she could while still clutching the key to her chest. He was warmth and safety and understanding, and an opportunity to reclaim some of her heritage, or as close to it as she could.

With Jack she could be a child, and trust that he would do his best to keep her safe, to play with her, to understand what it meant when they lost someone. But the Captain sometimes had a harder time seeing her as older. As Other than Human. And why should he? He was only human himself. She didn't blame him for that. He was as close to her Father and King as she had ever met. And she loved him for it.

But it meant that, while she could be herself, whole and entire, with Captain, she often didn't want to. She didn't want to disappoint him, or remind him of the things which he couldn't control. With the Doctor, she could hardly forget that part of her. They were so alike sometimes. And even under all their seriousness, and the weight of their natures, they still had time to play. To be friends as much as scions of races lost to time. And now, family.

Aisling smiled, rubbing her cheekbone along his shoulder with deep affection before standing up on tiptoes to murmur in his ear.]

She is beautiful, your TARDIS, and I will treat her well, you have my word, deartháir. We will all take care of each other.

I am glad the two of you get along. [His voice was soft and warm, and the look in his eyes clearly displayed just what it meant to him when she said they would all take care of each other. There were not another two he cared about more in all the universe. They were the only two he had considered family in hundreds of years. Because of them, he would never truly feel alone.

He closed his eyes for a moment, face smiling and bittersweet, as he let a tear roll down his cheek.] I could ask for nothing more.

Edited 2013-10-19 05:49 (UTC)

[As gently as though she were coaxing a butterfly onto her finger, Aisling smoothed the damp from his cheek. ...And then tweaked his nose. She wriggled out of his grasp and darted away in an excess of good spirits, laughing, dashing for the trees where she could vanish up into the branches. What they both needed was some cheering up. A loosening of tension. Time to let some of that joy loose and let it grow in the open air. Come chase and play with her!]

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