The Monster in the Cold (Clara, PM to join)

Subject: The Monster in the Cold (Clara, PM to join) Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:42 pm

Winter would soon come to Scotland, and all who lived their knew how cold it would be. The temperature would drop so great that the rain would often turn to snow and yet would hit as hard as an ice storm. With that in mind many of the natives of Loch Ness were trying to enjoy the last bits of nice weather they could have before the coming winter.

The obvious among these were the children all playing along the shores of the loch, often playing at how one was the infamous monster that roamed in the water. This game, however, was a little more frightening to the children as recently there had been sightings of what many believed was the creature; much more now than in recent years. But being children they paid no mind to this and instead wanted to have as much fun as possible.

The group playing that day were around five, including one of the girls in the group bringing her family sheep dog along. She and her friends played as much as they could, running about and skipping stones and hide-and-seek and so on.

None of them realized they were being watched by something not too far away.

During the playing the sheep dog caught the scent of something off. It was nothing he had smelled before and yet right away the dog could tell it was dangerous. With a bark the loyal but curious pet ran off to find the source, the children seeing this and running after him so he wouldn't run away.

There came a point where the dog went behind a large stone, the children not seeing where it went. They stopped when the heard him barking and fighting with something; something that hissed before the sound of a snapped neck and a whimpering cry of death followed. Hearing that they all feared what they knew must've happened.

Only one step closer did any of them take before something reptilian-like zipped from behind the stone and splashed it's way back into the river. They all ran screaming to tell their parents what had happened.

Five days since then and everyone now feared that the legend of the Loch Ness Monster may have come true.

There were strange reports heard from Lock Ness, more than usual. This of course spread through the news even as far as London, and it was all over the papers about the Loch Ness monster. Clara was intrigued, and she tried to call the Doctor to see if he knew anything, and also to see if he thought they should investigate, but he must have been busy because he didn't answer his phone.

So, Clara decided to just investigate on her own. Maybe the Doctor was already there, and just neglected to come pick her up first. If that were the case, she'd be a little upset, but then, it wasn't Wednesday so he probably wasn't expecting to hear from her. Except, he had a time machine, so maybe it didn't make any difference what day it was? It was a bit confusing, but she tried not to think too much about it.

On her way to the loch, Clara worked out her cover story. She would pretend to be a newspaper reporter or journalist, trying to get the whole story. So, she made sure to get plenty of notebooks and pencils, and other stuff she thought journalists or reporters might use. She wore her hair up in a bun, so she looked professional and reporter-like.

Upon arriving at the lake, she took a look around, trying to decide where to start. She didn't see anyone around, so she took her notebook in hand and began to walk along the shores, glancing around slightly as she went. She looked out at the water, and made sure to look for tracks in the shore. She wasn't seeing much that could be evidence about a monster, but then, she'd only just begun. Maybe she would find out more as she went.

Seeing the area where the kids supposedly saw their dog get killed, Clara hesitated briefly, debating whether she ought to check it out. It could be dangerous, but then again, she liked a little danger sometimes. She smiled slightly to herself and cautiously stepped closer, keeping her eyes and ears alert for anything that might be lurking around, possibly waiting to kill someone such as herself. She liked taking a little risk sometimes, but she wasn't going to just rush into things and get herself killed by being careless and stupid.

Upon seeing her near the water, without her seeing him, a fat bearded man came walking over towards Clara and called out "I'd be careful about getting too close if I were you, girl."

With that he came walking over to her to address what she was doing, though he already had a few ideas in mind. He was dresses warmly for the cold day, despite the clear sky and the sun beating down over the Loch. He even had a hat covering his balding head while the beard may as well have been the thing to keep his face warm, given how thick it was.

When he finally reached her the man asked "So what brings a young thing like you down to the Loch? You another one of them monster hunting types?"

Clara nearly jumped out of her skin when someone called out. She'd thought she was alone here. And, being so close to the place where the poor dog was murdered, she was pretty sure she was close to where the monster may be hiding. So it was very startling when someone called out and startled her. She spun around and then relaxed when she saw that it was just another person, which she had expected by the voice, but still, the sight of a human instead of a monster was reassuring.

She flashed a friendly smile to the man.
"Hi. Clara Oswald, I'm a reporter for the.. Blackpool daily newspaper." She explained, only hesitating briefly to decide on using the name of the town she once visited with her parents as a child. She held up her notebook and smiled. "And you are?" She asked, leaving a space for the man to state his name. She glanced around. "So, do you know what happened? Have any good info for I could use in my story?" She inquired, hopeful to gain a bit of information.

Perhaps this man could shed a bit of light on the mystery. People lurking around a lake that was supposedly harboring a deadly monster were more likely to know things about the story than someone who stayed away from it. Plus, using this story, she could easily take notes and no one would think it was odd, because it would be weird for a reporter to not take notes.

Hearing her name and all the man nodded before saying "Ah, another newsie then? Though you lot thought the whole thing was just a tourist stunt." When she asked her questions he answered with "Name's Hamish MacClannough." After that he said "Not sure what you did or didn't hear, but thing is this sort of thing hasn't happened around here for a while. Always people saying the see the monster, but never where it killed something. Anytime we hear about another sighting we figure it's someone just trying to get attention. Never seen someone kill a dog just to get it."

Clara nodded slightly as he finished speaking.
"I see. So, um, right over there is where that happened, isn't it?" She asked, pointing to behind the rock where she was just about to investigate. "I realize it may be nothing, but I'd still like to check it out for myself." She explained.

She remembered hearing that it was some kids who saw the thing, and she didn't think kids would kill their dog just to get the attention of claiming the Loch Ness Monster was alive. It was possible that there might have been a man hiding behind the rock, and killed the dog. But the kids also said they saw a lizard like thing going into the water. And that didn't sound like any alligator's work, even if there was likely to be any of those around.

So, the closest thing she could think of was if a man was hiding, killed the dog, and then went into the water, maybe wearing a wetsuit or something to make the kids think they saw a lizard like thing. But then there's the factor of the dog, and that it was killed so easily. She knew it was possible for a man to have done it, but it shouldn't have been so easy, so she just didn't think it added up quite right. Something was off about this story, and she intended to find out what it was.

"So Hamish, would you fancy escorting a young lady over there, to check behind yonder rock?" She asked with a faked 1800's nobility type accent, just for the humor of it. She smiled and opened up her notebook to the first page, and stuck her pencil behind her ear, ready to grab and write things down quickly. She would go over there whether Hamish went along with her or not, but she thought she'd ask if he wanted to come. "Also, can I call you Ham?" She asked curiously, almost as an afterthought.

"Aye, was right back there." he confirmed before pointing out the spot. After she asked him in such a polite way she huffed a smile before saying "Right this way, lass. And Hamish will be fine enough. Only the wife calls me 'Ham'."

He lead her around the rock to show her the spot itself. Really there wasn't much out of the ordinary in the area itself. The dog's body had already been cleared and there wasn't any sign of anything else. No footprint in the rocks or sand, which would've dissolved by now, and no residue.

"You should've seen it when they pulled it out." Hamish said while Clara had her look. "Poor thing's head was twisted clear around, like a bloody top. I tell you, if it was a man then he was one strong bloke."

While he spoke there was one other little bit of evidence he, and others, had failed to see before. The nearby bush had a shortage of leaves on it, as if something had been eating from it. There were berries growing along where there hadn't been any eating but so sign of any of those hat were.

Clara took a look around carefully, thoughtful. She tried not to picture the image of the poor dead dog with its head turned around backwards.
"Yeah.. thanks for that image." She replied to the man saind she should've seen it. She did, however, make a mental note of his comment that if it was a man, it would have been a very strong man.

Clara looked all around, searching for any tracks. She thought carefully, trying to think of different questions the Doctor might ask. For one, she thought it was odd that if it was a monster, the dog's neck was broken, rather than having its throat ripped out or something bloody like one would expect from a monster.

Clara kept looking around, and then tilted her head as she noticed the bush.
"Hm. Interesting.." She commented thoughtfully. She turned to Hamish. "Is the Loch Ness monster herbivorous?" She inquired, thinking about the bush that was missing its leaves, and thought at least that would explain the lack of interest in the dog's body, because if it was carnivorous, it would have probably been interested in it as a food source.

Hearing her question he huffed a little and asked "What, like eating plants only thing?" When she confirmed this for him he shrugged a little before saying "I really don't know that one, miss. For all I know the bloody thing can fly. I always hear people say it's a dinosaur. Those things eat plants and all, right?" He scratched his head a little before noting "Though it's funny you say that. "Cause the other day Mrs. Kelly had someone go and eat half her garden. Looks like a whole ton of rabbits came through it all of a sudden."

Clara thought over this new information, and then took her pencil down from her ear and began writing down the notes of things she had discovered so far. She made note of the bush missing its leaves, and berries having been eaten too apparently. She knelt down and studied the bush more carefully, trying to determine what sort of bush it was. However, Clara didn't have much knowledge of bushes and plant life, so she didn't know what it was. Obviously, it was something edible, because it had been eaten, right? It was possible, she supposed, that rabbits or deer or something may have eaten these, but it seemed unlikely that they would have been eating the leaves right here, and it not be a coincidence.

She stood up and turned to Hamish.
"Went through the garden, did they? Don't suppose they focused on the carrots, huh?" She smirked slightly to herself at the joke and then wrote a note about the garden in her notebook. "Right.. anyway. So, looks like we have a killer herbivorous monster on the loose.." She said, puzzled by this. She then considered the dinosaur question. "Some were herbivors, but then there's the others like Raptors and T-rex's, who were carnivorous." She shrugged. "Plus, I don't think it's a dinosaur in the lake." She added.

She tried to think of what the Doctor would do, how he might gain some sort of a clue. But she came up with nothing. She suppressed a giggle as she thought of a humorous, not at all serious, idea.
"Could always leave a few souffles along the bank, see if it comes and eats them." She found the idea amusing. "Or.. maybe vegetables. Probably vegetables, I guess. If it's an herbivore, it wouldn't be too interested in souffles, would it?" She asked rhetorically. "Oh well.."

"The carrots. Tomatoes. Everything. Looked like a slaughter for vegetables." Hamish said before hearing Clara talk to herself a little. When she mentioned the dinosaurs again he said "Well if it's not any dinosaur then it's some kind of monster. Has to be. Nothing just does this sort of thing for no reason." Then when she mentioned souffles he looked at her oddly before she shot the idea down and then just said "Aye....I guess it would." He just took a step back after that and let her continue thinking to herself before saying "If it's any help, miss, you'd probably want to find a place to stay for the night. Half the time people don't see this thing until then. Guess it likes no one watching it."

Clara glanced at the man as he spoke, and then wrote down a few more notes.
"Hm, night. Yeah, probably a good idea." She agreed. She likely wouldn't be able to see much of anything until night time. The monster, if it was a monster, would probably be aware of all the human presence in the area, and would probably stay out of sight until it was more likely to be safe, such as at night.

"Good idea." She decided. "Where can I find a hotel?" She inquired. She wrapped her jacket around her a little better, as the wind attempted to blow her jacket open and chill her. She would make sure to dress warmer when she returned tonight. It was already chilly, and she knew it would be much colder after dark. She also made a mental note to get a good flashlight.

"There's an inn, just up the road for about a mile." Hamish explained. "Should be easy to get to from here. Tell Willy, the owner, why you're here and that I' the one who sent you. Should knock off a few quid for any of my friends." He chuckled a bit at that before saying "Good luck to you, Ms. Oswald. And be careful. Hate to find your head twisted off next."

With that Hamish walked off and left Clara to do as she wished. He went back towards his house which wasn't too far away but up far enough away from the Loch itself to not fear anything.

As Clara would soon walk off she didn't realize she was being watched by something in the water. Something that quickly swam back underneath and disappeared before being seen by anyone else.

Clara raised an eyebrow slightly at the comment. She would hate to find her head twisted off too. She didn't care much for that mental image either.

"Thanks, I'll be sure and mention you." She said with a smile to the helpful man. She took a look around the area again, and tried to see if she could find any prints near that bush. But there weren't any left by now, so she shrugged slightly to herself. She took one last glance out over the water, then wrapped her jacket closer around her and held it in place by folding her arms against her middle.

Deciding that there was nothing to see, she headed off in the direction Hamish had mentioned there being an inn. Upon reaching it, she went in and hopped up and down a couple of times to get warmed up again. Then, smiling cheerfully, she approached the sign in desk.

"Hello! Lovely day, isn't it?" She asked the person there. "I'd like a room for the night, if you've got any available. Name's Clara Oswald.. reporter from Blackpool daily newspaper. A kind gentleman named Hamish suggested this place. It looks lovely, by the way." She said with a bright smile.

She then realized that she had no luggage. She wouldn't be able to change into something warmer. But maybe she could buy an extra coat or something. She hesitated briefly.

"You wouldn't happen to know of a shop around nearby, where I could get a couple of things, would you?" She asked, hoping the answer would be that yes, indeed there is a shop nearby where she can buy things like that, for not too high of a price. She kept up her friendly smile as she waited for a reply.

Willy, the owner, nodded when Clara gave all her credentials and mentioned Hamish. He nodded, telling her he knew the policy when it came to Hamish's friends. However before he answered her question he rambled on fro a bit about how he and Hamish were friends growing up and through a series of friendly mishaps, that was why the policy of the inn was. Thankfully for Clara she didn't need to answer any silly password questions since she was here about the monster killing.

Finally he did answer with "Oh yeah. A shop right down the block. Ms. Kingsly's." He'd even pointed down the left from where he stood to indicated it was just down the street.

Clara listened politely and nodded at various points when the man spoke about how he and Hamish went back to childhood or something. She wasn't really that interested, but she was kind of listening for anything that might be useful information. She didn't hear anything useful though, until the end when he finally answered her question.

"Thanks, I'll go check out that shop once I get settled in my room." She said with a smile, waiting for a room number, or key, or something. She wasn't too terribly interested in the room, as being able to put her notebooks and stuff somewhere while she went and killed a little time until it was dark.

After getting her stuff in her room, Clara went to locate the shop. She spent a little while in there, picking out a few things that she could wear that night, and the next day. She wondered why she hadn't thought to bring any luggage, but she shrugged it off, figuring it was probably because she'd gotten used to going with the Doctor in the Tardis, where she didn't really need to pack a bag or anything.

As she browsed through the shop, Clara didn't realize someone walking up to her. It was an older woman, the owner in fact, who came up to her with a very suspicious look in her eye at the young girl.

"You're not from around here." she said to get Clara's attention. "You came here to find that beast, didn't you? The monster?" After she confirmed this the old woman said "You don't know what you're doing. That thing....I saw it. It's.....it's inhuman. Like nothing....nothing I've ever seen or heard about."

Clara looked up from a jacket she was trying to decide whether she wanted to buy or not. She smiled a little quizzically at the old woman.
"Yes, I'm a reporter from Blackpool Daily Newpaper. Just trying to get a story on the monster sightings.." She replied with a smile. "I'm Clara Oswald, and you are..?" She asked.

She then widened her eyes a little as the woman said that she had seen it. That was different. She hadn't expected anyone to have seen it.
"Really?" She asked, interested and surprised. "Could you describe the monster, maybe?" She asked hopefully. If the woman had seen it, maybe she could get a vague idea what sort of monster it might be. Clara wondered even if it might be something she had met during her travels with the Doctor.

She took her notepad out so she could take notes on what the woman said it looked like. She wondered if she ought to try calling the Doctor again. He'd surely know what to do. She decided to try calling him after she had come out of the shop, but she didn't want to call now because for one, the lady was talking to her, and for two, she wanted to wait until she was back in her hotel room.

The woman looked oddly at Clara, seeing how she wasn't afraid of her threats, before saying "I'm Kingsly. Julia Kingsly." It then cam to questions about the monster, to which she said "It was swimming in the lake. I saw it. The moonlight shined over the water and I could see it, clear as day! It had these horrible claws. And...and those eyes! They were....they saw me. They were bringing red like the devil's. I thought it was going to come for me next." She stated to shiver with fear over what she remembered, seeing the creature, before saying "Please, dear, don't look for it. It might kill you like that poor dog."

Clara frowned a little as the woman began pleading with her not to look for the monster. She set her notebook aside and put an arm around the old lady's shoulders.
"It's alright Mrs Kingsly, I'll be fine. I promise." She said, a bit worried when she began shivering in fear at the memory of what had happened. "I'll be very careful. I'll stay away from the lake, no monster's going to get me." She reassured her.

She thought for a moment.
"Did you say it had red eyes?" She asked. She tried to think of what sorts of monsters could swim in the water and had red eyes. "And.. claws.. hm." Clara was somewhat baffled about this, but she felt even more determined to find out what it was. She wasn't about to let some the possibility of danger stop her. "Did you happen to notice what sort of, you know.. body the thing had? And did it have fur, or scales, or skin..?" She asked, wondering about that. She tried to remember all the aliens she'd met and faced against with the Doctor, but nothing was coming to mind just yet.

She shook her head at Clara's question before saying "It looked like a lizard. But then it could've been a bleeding fish for all I know." She was holding back more shivering before saying "That's all I can say, dear. I'm sorry."

With that Ms. Kingsly walked off back to the counter, only hoping that Clara would be safe. In fact she hoped everyone would be safe now that this monster was running about in the Loch. Everytime she could she'd glance out the window and look towards the water, making sure those red eyes weren't poking out to look at her again.

A lizard? Clara considered this for a moment. She wasn't sure if she knew of any lizard people with red eyes. But then the woman said it could've been a fish. She wondered if it could've been an alligator, but if that were the case Mrs Kingsly probably would've recognized it for an alligator, and also, the dog's neck wouldn't have been snapped, the whole dog probably would've been torn to pieces.

Baffled by the whole thing, Clara brought her items over to the counter and took out the money to pay for it.
"Thanks for the information." She told her with a friendly smile. She was thinking over all she'd learned about the monster since arriving here. She wondered what the Doctor would do, if he were here.

After paying for her purchases, Clara returned to the room in the inn, and hung up the clothes on the rack. Tossing her jacket over the back of a chair, she hopped onto the bed and lay on her side, propping herself up on her elbow with her palm supporting the side of her head. She took out her cell phone and called the Doctor.
"Come on.. pick up Chinboy." She mumbled quietly, listening to it ring over and over. She sighed and hung up as the answering machine picked up. She didn't want to leave a message, she wanted to talk to the Doctor.

Since that didn't work, she decided that she might as well get some supper. So she changed into some of her new clothes, so she'd be warmer, and then went back to the reception area.
"Hiya Will. Could you direct me to someplace where I can get some food please?" She asked with a smile.

Seeing her come down the first thing Will said was "Well don't you look lovely, Ms. Clara?" After giving the compliment he heard her ask about eating before smiling and reaching under the desk he was at and pulling out a menu for her. "I can have the boys whip you up something nice. What you in the mood for? By the way, today's special is a nice serving of haggis with corn bread."

Clara smiled in reply to the compliment, her cheeks going slightly pink.
"Oh, thank you." She replied, taking a brief glance to look down at herself. She thought it was very sweet of him to compliment her, and she hadn't expected it.

Curious about the menu he had pulled out, she went over to look at.
"Hm.. Haggis with corn bread. I think I'll try it." She decided, figuring she may as well try the local food. She smiled at the innkeeper. "And a cup of tea to go along with it, thanks." She glanced around. "Where's the dining room, by the way?" She inquired, not sure where to sit to eat.

After being seated, she smiled at Will.
"By the way, I forgot to ask. Have you heard anything, or maybe seen, the monster yourself?" She asked curiously. "I'd love to hear about it, if you have, and if you have the time." She told him with a smile.

Will lead her to the other room in the inn where she could dine for the night. There were a lot of tables but not so many customers to fill it, only a few couples and one or two patrons at the bar inside it as well.

After seating her Will said "I'll get your meal and tea." He was about to walk off when she asked him about the monster, to which he huffed a reply "I couldn't really say, miss. Growing up around here, you hear plenty about the monster. I think that whole business with the dog was just some accident that's got the more superstitious bit."

Afterwards he went off to fetch her meal for her, returning only half an hour later. He had the tray with the food and the tea ready as well.

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