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Fic: Rainbow-Hued Monstrosity - Chapter 2/?
Title: Rainbow-Hued Monstrosity
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tarnera
Appearing in this work: 6th Doctor, Peri
Spoilers/Timeline: Set some time before The Two Doctors. No spoilers.
Word Count: 1,277 (this chapter)
Summary: The Doctor's coat gets stolen. He wants it back.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. This fic has, so far, been written with the encouragement of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fic_rush, they're a great bunch!
Chapter One
Jast crouched on his branch trying to breathe quietly, his heart pounding. He was hidden in the trees, there was no way the braani* could see him here! The male hadn't seen him before he had dashed off in such a hurry; the female hadn't seen him when she came up the beach from the water. They couldn’t see him. He started to relax a bit.
"...coat is gone!" he heard the male cry. Jast tensed up again. This thing was valuable to the male! Maybe they would look for him now. He swallowed. Who knew what such creatures would do when they caught him? It had just been a bravery-challenge; one he hadn't dared refuse, but a bravery-challenge nonetheless. And now he was going to die from it, probably. If the stories were true about the braani...if they caught him, he was definitely going to die. He risked another look through the leaves. The male now had his back to the trees and was looking out in the direction of the water. Maybe he could leave without them seeing. The whole time he'd been there they hadn't seen him...but they hadn't been looking then.
Jast realized there was another problem. The coat he had snatched was lying on the branch in front of him. If he wanted to get down from his perch without making a sound, this garment was going to get in the way. He inspected it as carefully as he dared. The creatures he had taken it from probably had some sort of spell on it, a curse that would affect anyone who dared touch it. Luckily, his Grandmother was deeply versed in the Old Way, and when he had told her of the bravery-challenge, she had lectured him on the dangers of this venture. He didn't back down...he couldn't. Urta had been the one to challenge him. He had been foolish to brag to her, but if he didn't do this thing now she had issued her challenge, she would never look at him again. He explained all this to his Grandmother, and she had shaken her head—but in the end she agreed that it was the only thing he could do.
To help Jast in this trial, she had given him a charm guaranteed to ward off evil curses. He dug that out of his pocket now. It was a green stick of falta wood with feathery houn leaves tied to one end. His Grandmother had chanted the words of protection over it just that morning, so the power was fresh and strong. Studying the garment again, he admired its strong coloring even as he tried to touch it as little as possible. He saw a device affixed to one of the fabric flaps on the front of the coat. It was of a small animal, similar to a khat, perhaps.
After studying the way it was attached, he rubbed the charm over the khat-device to remove any curses that it might bear, then detached it and used it to attach his charm, leafy-side upwards, in the spot where it had been. "There," he muttered. "That should stop any curse the braani put on this from affecting me." He gingerly put it on over his clothing, alert for any curses that his charm didn't ward against. Not feeling any, he let the coat settle into place, and then swung himself lightly down from the branch.
Once on the ground Jast listened intently for any indication that the two braani had heard him. Hearing none, he decided that his luck had been pushed enough today, falta wood charm or no falta wood charm. Moving as swiftly and as silently as he could, he headed for his home village, his thoughts already turning from the braani to the look on Urta's face when she saw how he had proven himself, when she saw the wonderful prize he had stolen for her from the Forbidden Beach.
***
The Doctor spun on his heel, frustration writ large on his face. "Peri, you said you saw a person up here. Right?"
"W-well, I thought I did," Peri said, a bit doubtfully.
The Doctor looked past her, in the direction of the trees. He didn't see anything that looked particularly track-like, but the sand turned into hard-packed dirt—the sort that didn't hold prints well—only a very short distance away. "Peri. Did you see someone, or didn't you?" he asked. The faintest hint of impatience colored his tone, but all things considered he thought he was doing a good job controlling his temper.
Peri said, "I did see someone," in a much more confident tone.
The Doctor nodded encouragingly. "Good. Did you see which way he went?"
Peri frowned. "N-not really. I only saw a little glimpse of whoever he was, but I think he was heading...um...that way." She pointed vaguely off in the direction of the trees. "Not toward the water, anyway. I-I would have seen him more clearly if he had done that."
He sighed. "That gives us a place to start at least. Hmm." He frowned down at his feet. "Not barefoot though, I think. We're going back to the TARDIS so I can get changed, and then we'll go after our thief. Come on!" Feeling almost cheerful despite the disaster this day was turning out to be, the Doctor snatched up his umbrella, closed it, scooped up all his other belongings, and marched off toward the TARDIS, mindful of his bare feet and sharp rocks.
Ten minutes later, fully dressed in dry clothing except for his coat and armed with some sort of bleepy gadget, the Doctor and Peri returned to the scene of the crime. The Doctor stood exactly where his umbrella had been planted and, holding the gadget in front of him, turned in a slow circle.
"Doctor, what is that thing?" Peri asked.
"This," the Doctor said, "is a life-sign detector. It should tell us if there are other life forms nearby—" the bleeping abruptly got louder and higher pitched. The Doctor looked up, saw that he was facing the trees. "—and where they are." He looked back down at it and finished going in the full circle. The device went back to the quiet bleeping it had been giving off and didn't react again. "Right! It looks like that's the only life within this scanner's range, it’s as good a place to start as any! This way..." he strode off in the direction his gadget indicated, Peri following behind him quickly.
***
Jast ran through the forest, his stolen braani coat flapping around his legs dramatically. Automatically jumping over a snare-loop, he wondered if the braani were going to try and follow him through means magical or otherwise. Just in case, he decided to go along the river route, which twisted and zigzagged and would probably throw them off of his scent. He couldn’t do anything about the magic, but this would take them far away from his village. If he went fast enough, his magical trace might have vanished by the time they conjured up a Familiar-beast, and maybe they wouldn't be able to follow him all the way. He ran deeper into the woods, heading for home, and Urta.
*Braani – It has two meanings, deepest evil and greatest beauty. It is used to refer to a particular kind of powerful demon. Similar to the Furies of Greek mythos, if you call the powerful braani something bad they will become deeply insulted, and probably kill you. If you compliment them, they will simply ignore you.
Chapter Three
Author:
tarneraAppearing in this work: 6th Doctor, Peri
Spoilers/Timeline: Set some time before The Two Doctors. No spoilers.
Word Count: 1,277 (this chapter)
Summary: The Doctor's coat gets stolen. He wants it back.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. This fic has, so far, been written with the encouragement of
fic_rush, they're a great bunch!Chapter One
Jast crouched on his branch trying to breathe quietly, his heart pounding. He was hidden in the trees, there was no way the braani* could see him here! The male hadn't seen him before he had dashed off in such a hurry; the female hadn't seen him when she came up the beach from the water. They couldn’t see him. He started to relax a bit.
"...coat is gone!" he heard the male cry. Jast tensed up again. This thing was valuable to the male! Maybe they would look for him now. He swallowed. Who knew what such creatures would do when they caught him? It had just been a bravery-challenge; one he hadn't dared refuse, but a bravery-challenge nonetheless. And now he was going to die from it, probably. If the stories were true about the braani...if they caught him, he was definitely going to die. He risked another look through the leaves. The male now had his back to the trees and was looking out in the direction of the water. Maybe he could leave without them seeing. The whole time he'd been there they hadn't seen him...but they hadn't been looking then.
Jast realized there was another problem. The coat he had snatched was lying on the branch in front of him. If he wanted to get down from his perch without making a sound, this garment was going to get in the way. He inspected it as carefully as he dared. The creatures he had taken it from probably had some sort of spell on it, a curse that would affect anyone who dared touch it. Luckily, his Grandmother was deeply versed in the Old Way, and when he had told her of the bravery-challenge, she had lectured him on the dangers of this venture. He didn't back down...he couldn't. Urta had been the one to challenge him. He had been foolish to brag to her, but if he didn't do this thing now she had issued her challenge, she would never look at him again. He explained all this to his Grandmother, and she had shaken her head—but in the end she agreed that it was the only thing he could do.
To help Jast in this trial, she had given him a charm guaranteed to ward off evil curses. He dug that out of his pocket now. It was a green stick of falta wood with feathery houn leaves tied to one end. His Grandmother had chanted the words of protection over it just that morning, so the power was fresh and strong. Studying the garment again, he admired its strong coloring even as he tried to touch it as little as possible. He saw a device affixed to one of the fabric flaps on the front of the coat. It was of a small animal, similar to a khat, perhaps.
After studying the way it was attached, he rubbed the charm over the khat-device to remove any curses that it might bear, then detached it and used it to attach his charm, leafy-side upwards, in the spot where it had been. "There," he muttered. "That should stop any curse the braani put on this from affecting me." He gingerly put it on over his clothing, alert for any curses that his charm didn't ward against. Not feeling any, he let the coat settle into place, and then swung himself lightly down from the branch.
Once on the ground Jast listened intently for any indication that the two braani had heard him. Hearing none, he decided that his luck had been pushed enough today, falta wood charm or no falta wood charm. Moving as swiftly and as silently as he could, he headed for his home village, his thoughts already turning from the braani to the look on Urta's face when she saw how he had proven himself, when she saw the wonderful prize he had stolen for her from the Forbidden Beach.
***
The Doctor spun on his heel, frustration writ large on his face. "Peri, you said you saw a person up here. Right?"
"W-well, I thought I did," Peri said, a bit doubtfully.
The Doctor looked past her, in the direction of the trees. He didn't see anything that looked particularly track-like, but the sand turned into hard-packed dirt—the sort that didn't hold prints well—only a very short distance away. "Peri. Did you see someone, or didn't you?" he asked. The faintest hint of impatience colored his tone, but all things considered he thought he was doing a good job controlling his temper.
Peri said, "I did see someone," in a much more confident tone.
The Doctor nodded encouragingly. "Good. Did you see which way he went?"
Peri frowned. "N-not really. I only saw a little glimpse of whoever he was, but I think he was heading...um...that way." She pointed vaguely off in the direction of the trees. "Not toward the water, anyway. I-I would have seen him more clearly if he had done that."
He sighed. "That gives us a place to start at least. Hmm." He frowned down at his feet. "Not barefoot though, I think. We're going back to the TARDIS so I can get changed, and then we'll go after our thief. Come on!" Feeling almost cheerful despite the disaster this day was turning out to be, the Doctor snatched up his umbrella, closed it, scooped up all his other belongings, and marched off toward the TARDIS, mindful of his bare feet and sharp rocks.
Ten minutes later, fully dressed in dry clothing except for his coat and armed with some sort of bleepy gadget, the Doctor and Peri returned to the scene of the crime. The Doctor stood exactly where his umbrella had been planted and, holding the gadget in front of him, turned in a slow circle.
"Doctor, what is that thing?" Peri asked.
"This," the Doctor said, "is a life-sign detector. It should tell us if there are other life forms nearby—" the bleeping abruptly got louder and higher pitched. The Doctor looked up, saw that he was facing the trees. "—and where they are." He looked back down at it and finished going in the full circle. The device went back to the quiet bleeping it had been giving off and didn't react again. "Right! It looks like that's the only life within this scanner's range, it’s as good a place to start as any! This way..." he strode off in the direction his gadget indicated, Peri following behind him quickly.
***
Jast ran through the forest, his stolen braani coat flapping around his legs dramatically. Automatically jumping over a snare-loop, he wondered if the braani were going to try and follow him through means magical or otherwise. Just in case, he decided to go along the river route, which twisted and zigzagged and would probably throw them off of his scent. He couldn’t do anything about the magic, but this would take them far away from his village. If he went fast enough, his magical trace might have vanished by the time they conjured up a Familiar-beast, and maybe they wouldn't be able to follow him all the way. He ran deeper into the woods, heading for home, and Urta.
*Braani – It has two meanings, deepest evil and greatest beauty. It is used to refer to a particular kind of powerful demon. Similar to the Furies of Greek mythos, if you call the powerful braani something bad they will become deeply insulted, and probably kill you. If you compliment them, they will simply ignore you.
Chapter Three