#xinflesh

The Master had been doing a bit of work on his TARDIS. An attempt to see if he could finally get the damn ship to stay in a manner he liked or not. But instead he thought everything outside might have been jumping time and space. That wasn’t a concern, though, until the door opened, and he heard footsteps.

Ashildr turned to look at the face she knew well enough. Facial recognition alone wasn’t a guarantee that this Doctor (or who she assumed to be the Doctor) would know her, but the familiarity made her sigh all the same. 

"I had the strangest dream last night," John murmured, sipping his coffee. He leaned against the counter of the bookshop, his eyes tired, a little unfocused as he watched the rain hammer away at the street outside. He turned to look at his best friend, and his brow furrowed slightly, as if he was having trouble trying to place him. Nightmares and migraines made it hard for the shopkeep to concentrate most mornings, but having someone like Johnny around to keep him grounded often helped.

"You were in it... Only... You weren't you... You looked... different. Paler, I suppose. Like a candle, left out in the sun... We were running away from something. I remember seeing the look on your face. You were so... scared. Upset. I was asking you to-" He winced as the pain in his skull spiked suddenly, inhaling sharply, and breathing out slow. He had to wait several seconds for the pain to pass... and as it did, the memory of the dream faded with it...

Johnny was in a state of panic. I had been an accident! He hadn't meant for anything to happen. He didn't mean to destabilize and lose control. But someone had seen him, called him a monster and it was like some part of him lost it. Next thing he knew someone innocent was at his feet, seemingly more than just unconscious. "How can I calm down! I just hurt someone....Worse!" Johhny frantically ran his hands through his hair, unable to feel the sensation other than it being a byproduct of stress, "Oh god I really am a monster, aren't I?"

The man... creature (?)... alien -- definitely an alien -- looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown. Gene instinctively started forward, holding up her hands in a gesture half signaling for him to calm down, half to show that she didn't mean him any harm. She'd seen him take down that brute who'd been screaming at him, after he'd... phased, or melted, or whatever -- shown his true form. Didn't matter that she wasn't technically unarmed; with a speed and power like that, the little pocketknife she was carrying around in her back pocket wasn't going to do her any good anyway. Better to just avoid a conflict entirely.