Within Earshot

Theta breathed a low whistle, looking at the strange creatures in wonder. An entire ecosystem, surviving off a species? Amazing. He had heard of lone planets without stars before, but never ones that housed life. He assumed they would always be rocky, desolate, and freezing cold. But just standing here, looking around proved that assumption wrong. Theta kneeled near Sonya, watching the strange creatures with a small smile playing on his lips.

"I have to say, I've never seen anything like these before. It's like Kalrorian plants on steroids"

Theta could just lay here all night, looking up at the stars at watching the light creatures play. He was usually very ADHD, but he was certain that nobody, no matter how energetic, would turn down the chance to do so.

Sonya opened her mouth to say something only to cut it off as one of the light creatures spotted them and hopped over, holding out a vine-like hand to her. Reaching out slowly, she held out her own hand for it to inspect. Suddenly it's light shone bright red and the creature hopped into her arms, cuddling up against her chest with a low humming noise. Glancing up, she spotted the rest of it's friends wandering over, inspecting Thet, Robin and herself before climbing up to cuddle them as well. "Well, we know they're friendly." She said with a low laugh as one of their vines tickled her neck gently. Reaching up, she plucked the one off of her head as it tried to climb on top and held it out to inspect. "You are so cute, I would love to take one of you home with me." She cooed at it playfully as it's light turned red like the first one's and wiggled around in her hands until she brought it over and sat it on her lap next to his friend. "I think the colors are emotions... Red must mean pleasure or happiness, see the blue ones? Those must be calm or sad, see how the brighter colors surround them until their light changes?" Sonya murmured to Thet, watching as the little creatures began to tumble around them on the grass playfully once more. "They are incredible, thanks to these little guys, this entire planet can live without a sun. In fact, they are the sun, they give off heat and apparently they roam around the woods, like the light I saw earlier. It makes me wonder how large this forest is though... And if there are other forms of life here."

Theta nodded half-heartedly, seeing as he was distracted at the moment; three of the creatures had decided to gang up on him and glomp him to death, poncing on him playfully and making him fall backwards onto his back. They all glowed a bright red, and their little vine-like arms tickled at his neck. He couldn't help but start laughing.

"N-no, stop, that ti-haha-ti-hahah-ti-tickles...hahahahahaha"

As he laughed, the creatures glowed brighter, obviously thinking it was fun to torture Theta with tickles. He looked over at Sonya, tears in his eyes.

"Sony-hahahaha-Sonya, help-hahahahahaha-th-they tickle!"

Sonya giggled brightly and leaned over to help Thet rid himself of his playful attackers. "Alright you lot, let the man breathe." She chided them teasingly as she set the bright creatures to the side and got to her feet slowly, allowing the ones on her to climb off as she did. "Come on, I want to see what else this place has to offer." She said brightly, holding a hand out to Thet to help him to his feet before turning to Robin and helping her as well. Turning back around, she set off for the opposite side of the glade, several of the lights hopping along beside them, sending a multitude of colors to light the path once they neared it.
Just as she was about to step under the trees, the little lights suddenly glowed a bright orange and blocked her way, not allowing Sonya or the others to pass. "What?" She asked curiously, looking down at the creatures as they wound their vines around her legs and glanced at the path. "It's almost as if they're scared..." Reaching down, she plucked one from her pants and lifted him onto her shoulder so he could hug her neck gently as she peered into the path. "I don't see anything, what do you guys know is there..."

Robin tried to take a look down the path, but once their little friends started turning orange, one had taken a liking to her leg and she didn't want to upset it. Crouching down, leaving the one knee off, she smiled gently at him and wrapped her arm around him for comfort - not the most comfortable position, though. "Do you guys know if there's anything down there?" She tried asking, pointing to the path with her free hand. Unfortunately for Robin, it only tightened its grip, seeming to be more scared. With a sigh, she stood up slowly, trying not to knock the creature off. "Well we'll never know what's down there until we go..." She looked from Theta to Sonya, trying to hide the grin that was forming on her face. She couldn't help it - adventure was just too fun.

Theta grinned back, nodding and starting forward. The little creatures flashed a bright orange, pulling at his legs to stop him, but he simply reached down and unclung their little hands from his ankles. As soon as he was past the tree line, they stopped trying to pull him back, instead just glowing worriedly, the Timelord out of their reach. He looked back at them, smiling reassuringly.

"Aw, don't look like that! Don't worry, we've done dangerous things tons before, I bet whatever it is we can handle"

They just continued staring back at him, glowing a bright orange. He shrugged and turned back to the two girls, grin and eyes alight with the spark of adventure.

"Coming?"

Sonya patted on the ones attached to her legs, gently pulling them away and setting them next to the others. Reaching up, she tried to pry the one from her shoulder only to have it cling tighter to her shirt, refusing to be removed. "Alright, but we're going in there buster, if you don't want to you better get down now." She said quietly, lifting her shoulders in a shrug before following Thet into the shadow of the trees, her eyes immediately going skyward only to have her view of the stars blocked by yet another ceiling of leaves and branches. "Right, onward and forward." She said cheerfully, looking over at Thet and Robin with a grin then turning back around and striding into the shadowed path. The little orange light from her friend brightening the path enough to see by as they went around the corner, the trees blocking off the light from his friends standing at the entrance.

Robin reached down and coaxed the creature off her leg, patting his head as he went to join his friends. She ran to catch up with Theta and Sonya, slowing down to their pace once she saw the orange light moving along. Other than that, she could barely see down this path. It wasn't a nice feeling - she crossed her arms as a chill ran down her spine. She tried to block the scary feeling out of her mind, focusing on the orange light and walking. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she looked around a bit, not liking that she could only see dark blurs. She stepped on a twig, making her jump. I'm thinking about this too much, I need to calm down...

Theta turned his head this way and that, trying to see the path...or at least not run into any trees. The orange glow helped a bit, but it only reached so far, it's edges being swarmed by the inky black hands that were the dark.

Now that he thought about it...there were no noises at all, except for the sound of their feet as they walked, and the occasional whimper from the creature that clung to Sonya. Odd; forests, no matter on what planet, usually had at least some sort of bug. But nothing mosquito-like was buzzing forward to bite them, and there were no night time sounds, like that of the crickets on Earth.

"Doesn't it seem...quiet? Maybe animal life can't be supported here..."

"Might just be sentient plant life." Sonya answered, staring around in the dark with a slight frown. Just as she was about to dismiss the planet devoid of everything besides trees and the little light creatures, a loud crack echoed in the forest, as if a large branch was broken. Freezing in her tracks, she cast an eye over at Thet and Robin, already stopping her breathing to hear better in the dark. Faint footfalls could be heard, steadily growing louder and coming from the direction they had just walked from. Another crack sounded, just beyond the turn they took twenty feet behind them, shaking Sonya from her frozen daze. Grabbing both Thet's and Robin's hands, she yanked them to start running. "Go! Get ahead of me, I don't know what that thing is, but I have a weapon and you don't, run!" She shouted, plucking the little light from her shoulder and holding him in her arms just as his light faded out, instinct kicking in to protect himself from whatever chased them. Stumbing in the sudden darkness, Sonya let out a soft curse, struggling to get back on her feet as the sounds of running footsteps behind them drew near. "Go!"

"What?! We can't just leave you here!" Robin shouted in protest, her heart thudding out of her chest. Another loud crack sent her running away anyway, trying to keep her breathing and footfalls quiet. She spared a glance or two behind her, but it didn't matter. She couldn't see a thing in this light, which was why she just about ran headfirst into a tree. She winced at how loud her gasp was and kept running, keeping a hand on the treeline to try and guess the path. Come on, Sonya, why don't you just run?! By now, trying to keep her breath quiet was pointless and rather impossible.

Theta glanced at Sonya worriedly, his mouth making a dissatisfied frown. He really really didn't want to leave her to fend off whatever was coming down the path, but she was right. He and Robin didn't have weapons. Sonya did. They would only get in the way. He gave her a quick hug.

"I hope you know what you're doing..."

Theta then took off like a bullet in the opposite direction, sprinting down the path and hoping that it kept fairly straight so that he wouldn't run into anything. The darkness almost seemed to whiz by him as he ran, and only his superior Timelord senses allowed him to dodge a tree that happened to be right in the middle of the path. He soon caught up with Robin, and he took her hand as they ran, dragging her along with him, urging her to go faster.

Sonya took a deep breath and turned around, the little creature in her arms suddenly flaring up with a bright, white light that filled the pathway in front of her. The beast that was running wasn't what she had expected. Sonya thought of walking trees, or perhaps another plant-like animal, but no, this thing wasn't like anything they have seen here before. Letting out a hiss of air, she glanced at the small creature in her arms, it's light flickering slightly. Looking back up, she studied the beast as it stopped in front of her, it's hackles raised up and long fangs bared, a low snarl working through it's throat. It looked like the large timber wolves from Earth, but much bigger, with six legs and eyes that shone with the same light that came from the creature in her hands. The fur on it's hide shone brightly like a polished surface would when light shone on it, causing the thing to look much bigger than it really was. Squinting her eyes slightly, she took a step forward, one of her hands coming up as she started to gather enough energy into it to send out.
Before she could react, the little creature in her arms jumped from them and ran at the beast, the white light shining brighter as it got near, blinding both Sonya and the beast before going completely dark in the path again. Fumbling quickly, she pulled the penlight from her pocket and shone it in front of her, her eyes widening slightly in shock at what she saw. Where the beast had stood was a large flower that opened slowly even as she stared, it's petals spreading out and casting a soft silver light in a small circle around it.

Robin yelped as Theta grabbed her by the wrist and ran with her. "Theta! I can't run that fast!" She shouted, stumbling on her feet as she was practically dragged along. "Woah!" She yelped, tripping over a root. Theta, of course, was running so fast she didn't even have time to fall on her face. Her feet kept slipping from under her and made it impossible for her to keep up. Once she got her footing, she yanked her arm free and sprinted as fast as she could to keep up with him.

Theta stopped once he was sure they had gone far enough, ducking into the trees on the side of the path, hiding in the darkness that was created by the thick canopy. He hid with his back to the tree, attempting to not breathe as heavily, or make any other noises for that matter.

Slowly and cautiously, he peeked his head out, eyes searching for any indication of what may be happening. The orange light bobbed in the trees, and the crashing through the forest of whatever had been chasing them had stopped.

The Timelord retreated his head back to behind the tree, letting it fall against the trunk. He swore, if that madwoman got herself killed...

Sonya let out a soft sigh, her hand reaching out to pick up the piece of plant laying beside the flower. It looked like the skin of her little friend. He had saved her life by sacrificing himself, just so she could go on. Shaking her head and straightening back up, she wiped a hand across her eyes and began heading in the direction Thet and Robin had disappeared into. Looking down, she studied the leaf before realizing with a small shock that it was bright, a soft phosphorescent glow was coming from the plant in her hands, giving her just enough light to study it but nothing else. Bringing it closer to her eyes, she studied the lines on it before tripping over a branch in the path and falling face-first into the dirt. "Ah! Fikin meich!" She growled, getting up and sitting on her behind to rub the dirt from her face in irritation. Small cuts on her skin stung as the dirt was rubbed into them from her attempts to get rid of it. Giving up, she got to her feet again and stomped off once more.

Robin skidded to a halt once Theta stopped and ran behind a tree. Panicking, she jumped behind the tree next to her, peering her head into the path. She couldn't hear anything else - not even foot falls. Oh god... She didn't... She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a thump. Whatever happened - the monster must have died. It would have made a much louder noise, right? "Theta... I think we can come out now..." She said quietly, walking out from behind the tree slowly. The path was still to dark to see down, but at least now she didn't have to run for her life. She took a few steps and stopped, listening again. What if it's just clever? Is it still out there?

"Yeah, well just in case..." Theta picked up a large stick that was lying on the ground, holding it close to himself in a defensive position. He walked with Robin down the path, mind coming up with the most horrible  situations. Sonya had been killed, or kidnapped, or...or she could just be lying down.

Theta threw the stick down and ran forward, kneeling next to where Sonya tripped, eyes searching her face. She looked fine, aside from her irritated expression; normal Sonya then.

"You ok? What happened?" Thet noticed the absence of the little orange light creature "...and where's the glow-y guy?"

Sonya's face fell for a moment before she held out the softly glowing leaf to him. "He saved me, that's where he went." She snapped and got to her feet, gently putting the leaf in her pocket, she strode forward and began walking down the pathway once more. She had only known the little creature for a few minutes, but the pain of having yet another person save her life at the loss of their own will always hang over her head. Once she turned the corner up ahead, she crouched down on the ground and hid her face in her hands, the tears she had been holding back finally falling down her face, making tracks in the dirt there. "I should have never brought anyone along..."

Robin ran up to Sonya and crouched down beside her. "Hey, it's okay... Come on, don't blame yourself." She wrapped an arm around her to try and comfort her, her face falling. "He was just trying to protect you... You know it's not your fault, right?" Robin sighed, not knowing now to help. She stood up and looked to Theta, hoping he might be better at this. Looking back down at Sonya, Robin's face fell into a slight frown, hating that she couldn't make her feel better.

Theta looked on, struggling to figure out what to do. Was he supposed to let her calm down first? No, that was with anger...he decided to just follow his gut instinct, and hope for the best.

The Timelord neared his friend, and keeled down by her. He wrapped an arm around Sonya in comfort, much like Robin had, and let his head rest upon her bright red hair.

"Look, Sonya...it's not your fault. Please don't smack me for saying this, but if he didn't do that, whatever you faced off against might have killed you. Then gone on to kill me and Robin. Then possibly all the others of his species. And don't kick yourself for letting him do it; you can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try. But you've done so much more good than anyone would ever expect from one person, Sonya, so please don't be upset about not being perfect. Sometimes things just happen, things you can't control. And that's fine, and you go on with your life; even with a time machine, there's no rewind buttons to life"

As he talked, Thet stroked the Timelady's hair softly, knowing that his mom used to do that to him to calm him down. Sonya's sobs continued, meaning inevitable wetness on his jacket once he was done. But he really didn't care about that; he hated to see his friends sad. Especially Sonya, since they had known each other for so long. She had always been there for him, now he needed to be here for her.

"Shh, it's ok to cry..."

Sonya shook her head against his chest as he spoke, not wanting to hear what he had to say. "No, it isn't just him... I've had so many people sacrifice themselves just for me. People much better than I am, people that could have done so much good in the world if I wasn't around them. I had a friend... Natalia, she regenerated multiple times because of me. But... Some of them, they were human, they were different species that can't just come back after receiving a fatal blow." Sonya said quietly amid her choking sobs before she pulled away and sat up straight, wiping the tears from her face. "I will always have this over my head, people dying just to save my worthless hide." Getting to her feet, she cast a sullen look at the two there, trying to understand what they saw in her before shaking off the sudden depression and forcing a smile on her face, a weak one, but a smile nonetheless. "Come on, might as well keep going... Least we can do is continue on for his sake."

Robin offered Sonya a little smile of encouragement, hoping her own wasn't just a mask and that she was actually feeling better. "There ya go, that's a much better way of looking at it." She began to walk forward again, her eyes finally starting to adjust a bit to the low lighting. After everything that just happened though, she decided to stay away from the trees. Now wasn't the time to worry anyone if something magically came to life or something. She turned around and paused for a minute, "Coming, then?"

Theta glanced up and smiled, getting to his feet. As they walked down the path they originally had been going down, he hung back behind the two girls, knowing that he must have said the wrong thing. He tried helping, honestly, but if he didn't know better then he would say Sonya was feeling worse than before. Theta could deal with electronics, sure. Daleks, slightly more difficult, but manageable. But when it came to emotions, he was as useless as a Weevil trying to teach an Abzorbaloff table manners. He just hated feeling so useless in that aspect. He really wanted to help more, but feared that he'd just screw up again.

Sonya stopped and let Robin walk ahead of her so she could walk beside Thet. "Listen... I have problems. Everyone that knows me knows this to some extent." She said quietly to him, staring down at the faint outline of her feet as they walked along. "One thing that has always bothered me was that no matter how hard I try, people I care about end up dying because of me in the end." Tucking her hands into her pockets, she felt the leaf brush her fingers softly as she did and let out a small sigh. "Too many good people have died around me, I blame myself because I couldn't save them or I was the reason they had died in the first place." Pulling her hand out, she reached over and gently took Thet's and squeezed it lightly. "Thank you for talking to me, I may have been rude, I may have not understood. But thank you." Sonya said with a genuine smile over at him, her hand wrapped around his still as she turned her attention back to the path. "What do you think could be out there... What else could survive on this planet with only small lights to help it grow?"