Haunting the Shadows

Tyra let out a low breath as she stood in the empty bus station, eyes darting about the area, constantly checking for something, anything that stood out of the ordinary. The slightest inclination that told her of an alien or something about to attack, and she'd be on it within moments. Reaching into her pocket, she tapped at her gun idly, wondering why she even thought to bring it in the first place. She hated using anything weapon-like, her smarts, her whits, those were what she used to get rid of anything. Out smart it, trap it, then send it off with Torchwood. Her uncle taught her that lesson first when she learned how to walk.

Giving up for the moment, she wandered over to the snack machine and studied the selection for a moment, her eyes wandering over the bags of chips and candies before a sudden movement from the corner of her eye sent her head spinning in it's direction. 'Ah! Caught you!' Feeling her lips curl upwards into a wry smile, she followed after the small shadow as it darted across the floor from corner to corner, trying to escape her without being fully seen. "You can't hide forever, my friend. I only want to send you back home."

Robin was getting pretty fed up with people. They weren't doing anything - in fact they were just being ordinary caring people who didn't want to see a girl her age wandering around like this. Still, they were annoying. She'd tried for months to figure out what was so repulsing about them, but it was best to just settle with 'pointless'. That didn't mean she wasn't done with them, though. It was time to get out of their way and into a quiet, empty area. And she wasn't hiding in a restroom - no sir, never again.

Saturday nights were always irritatingly busy, so she found herself huddling in an alley again until the sun rose and everyone was shut up in their flats with a hangover. Maybe she should be moving on from this city... No matter. It was a nice morning while it lasted, but now the drunkards were out and moaning. Time to find a hiding spot. No reason to risk being mugged. Again. Pushing herself up to her feet, she brushed her palms off on her jeans. Ugh, definitely time for a shower. She was beginning to run low on vitals, actually. Brilliant. Hiding her face in the shade of her hood, Robin reluctantly left the comfort of the alley in search of something... useful. Not the best word for it, but she supposed it fit.

The general stores and such things wouldn't be open for another hour or so - probably, anyway - why not find a decent place to wash up? Or just to hide. Honestly, today felt like it was going to be a lazy one. A few minutes and she had found her feet carried her to a bus station. A rather empty looking one, at that. She nearly ran inside, happy to find a nice place to actually lay down for a bit. Hopefully.

Oh, but there was always that one person, wasn't there? That one person who just happened to be there and made it feel awkward to be in a situation like this. This woman seemed to have a nice life, judging by her appearance. People like that usually ended up thinking she was scum. If she could only drag them through her mind for a moment, show them what was out there, they'd have a much more open mind...

Without a word, and barely a glance, Robin found a spot on the benches as far from the girl as she could and laid down - trying her hardest to keep the scowl away. She knew there was no good reason for it, but it just felt natural by now.

"I hate to say this... But don't move." Tyra murmured to the young girl quietly, suddenly appearing behind the bench she laid on, eyes narrowed in thought as she took stock of the situation. She hadn't counted on anyone coming in at this time of the day, Sunday, early morning, usually this place is empty. "There's a Lyrox right below the bench your laying on, and if it stings you, you'll end up with a splitting headache... Quite literally, your head will split open, like a taco shell." Shaking her head, she slowly crouched down, sharp blue eyes locking onto the small lump curled up near the edge of the shadow.

"So do me a favor, stay quiet and I'll take you out to eat afterwards, yeah?" Winking up at the girl, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small glass box with a button on the side. With the flick of her wrist, she pressed the button and tossed it at the Lyrox, effectively trapping it inside when the bottom opened up and sucked the creature inside once it made contact. "There! Snap and trap, that's my motto." Straightening back up, she held out the box triumphantly showing Robin the slug-like creature with a rather large and nasty sting on the top of it's head.

Robin yelped, looking up towards the woman, then back towards where she THOUGHT she was standing a moment ago. This isn't a cartoon - how did she.... No, she must be overly tired again. But what was she talking about? A creature that splits your head open with a sting? Well that wasn't Earth, now was it? Maybe she should be acting afraid. But for what reason? Not like she'd notice - or care if she did. It was an... interesting experience, though, when she managed to find another person who knew about life. Not those creepy nerds who think Martians are little, but people with proper alien knowledge. That was fun. Or at least it used to be, and that was good enough.

Sitting up once the thing was trapped, she pulled her hood down to get it out of her face and get a better look. Now there was something you didn't see everyday. A creature with the stinger on the head opposed to... elsewhere. 'Lyrox? Doesn't exactly sound as threatening as you make it out to be. Or look it, either, really...' Reaching forward, she tapped a finger on the glass, just once out of curiosity. Her eyes finally wandered up to meet the woman's and she nearly winced at the piercing blue. It had been ages since she'd seen someone with eyes of that color - and back then, she was nice. 

After a moment of silence while Robin stared pointlessly into her eyes, she managed to try the people skills again. 'I'm not quite sure what to say to you, seeing as you just basically saved my life - without killing the alien, I'll add. Hello is such a boring word and doesn't do it justice. Guess I should be asking for your name?' That was about as friendly as she was willing to force herself to be - that, paired with the clearly fake smile forced onto her lips.

Tyra smiled warmly, already tucking the little creature into her pocket as she studied the small girl silently for a moment. Her reaction to her eyes was a little unusual, granted plenty of people commented on how bright and or clear they were, but her reaction was almost pained. "Ah, Tyra, my name is Tyra, nice to meet you..." Trailing off, she realized belatedly she didn't even ask the girl for her name and held out a hand to her. "Don't exactly know your name, but how about grabbing a bite to eat, you look peaked and to be honest, I could eat something myself. Been ages."

Flashing the girl another smile, she tilted her head to the side curiously, watching her with a light laugh. "Come on, I won't bite. Unless asked, but that's beside the question."

Robin committed the name to memory - Tyra. This would be the first new friend in ages if nothing screwed it up and she wasn't about to make it any worse. But how long had it been since she'd actually been out to eat with someone? When was the last time that happened? God, it felt like ancient history - way back when with a certain Time Lady who just happened to be showing up in every little detail today. Still, it had to be a coincidence - most things were until it happened thrice.

Then she remembered - people. Tons of people. All sitting there and being all around bothersome. But... she'd quirked a smile. Just a little half grin at her comment on biting. Now how long had it been since she'd actually been made happy? Forget the crowds - this was an adventure she was just going to take.

With a nod of the head, she got to her feet and made to leave for where ever it was they were going. 'Robin.' She offered, feeling she should put her name out there. Talking was ever so difficult - how did she ever manage it?

"Well then, Robin. Pleasure to meet you. I don't know about ya, but I'm starving and craving some Tacos. Let's see if we can find a place, hmm?" Tyra laughed brightly, suddenly offering her elbow to the girl out of habit. Blasted 51st century training from her uncle, honestly, she ought to learn that not everyone in the 21st are like that. "Ah, right, come on then." She said awkwardly, tucking her hand into her pocket in embarrassment, the other hand passing through her hair before she turned and headed for the door.

"You coming or not? I mean, stick around here all ya like, but I'm starving." Tyra called over her shoulder, stopping by the door with her hand on it as she looked back at Robin, a questioning eyebrow raised up, making her blue eyes dance in amusement. "Come on then, food, drinks, you know, the works... Maybe a shower." She added as an afterthought, eyes darting up to the messy hair on the younger girl's head.

The Doctor strolled around. Some chips in one hand, a device that looked like television remote in the other. This device was red with an antenna and a spinning such at the top. "Come on...Do the thing!" He exclaims. With that, the machine went ding. Turning to a complete stranger who was looking at him with an odd look, The Doctor smiled. "It did the thing." He says to the stranger. Thirteen was searching for universal anomalies. He needed them for a little project in about 200 years. Needed to find all of the anomalies he could. As he walked, smiling like a fool at his machine, he bumped into a woman, around 20. Doing so, he dropped his snack. "Aw my chips!" Looking down at his ruined chips on the ground, a look of disappointment spread across his face. "Oi!" The Doctor yelled. "You owe me some new chips!" Looking up, he calmed down a bit when he saw a familiar face. Completely ignoring the girl in front of him, he says hi. "Hey Robin!"

Candalynne had landed her TARDIS down in an alleyway near by the bus station and she smiled happily, she patted the console before running down the lit up pathway, grabbing her blue, denim jacket off the coat hanger by the front doors of her TARDIS and she opened them and took in the fresh air of Earth. She shut the doors behind her and locked them, putting her TARDIS key in her front pocket and she smiled happily as she wandered down the street.

A minute or so later, Candalynne looked towards three people. A man and two women, one quite young. She tilted her head curiously and went to walk past them but her Time Lord senses tingled in the back of her head - when she passed the man - and she immediately stopped and stood still for a few seconds before shaking it off; she slowly glanced at the man before looking forward and walking to a bench and she sat down with a sigh.

Robin seemed to have a permanent confused expression on her face. Just met the woman - barely got through names - and now they were going out to lunch. Well, no reason not to, so long as she was paying. It had been long enough since the last hot meal, a bit too long. With a poorly concealed frown, she tugged her hood back over her head and moved to follow her.

That was, of course, before the crazy Time Lord showed up. Rolling her eyes at his unnatural enthusiasm, she lifted a hand in greeting. If this turned out like most meetings did - with this sort of thing, anyway - it wouldn't be long until an entire crowd had gathered. If only she could just curl up in this hoodie like a snail in its shell. Silently, she imaginatively urged Tyra to hurry on with the leaving, and just might have done it if she had gone and lost all her manners, too.

Tyra turned and studied the man, her gaze moving up and down his form in appreciation before flashing him a blinding smile, the one she learned from her Uncle by simply watching, and held out a hand. "Well, hello there." With a light laugh, she tipped her head to the side and simply studied the man idly. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, almost as if it were a quality around him rather than on him. "I'm Tyra, on the off chance you were going to ask."

Once she felt the impatient tug on her hand, Tyra looked over at the girl in slight surprise. The man obviously knew her and was her friend, but she seemed impatient to get away from him as quickly as possible. "Anything the matter? I mean, he is your friend right?"

"She reminds me of Sonya." The Doctor thinks to himself. Shaking her out stretched hand, he introduced himself. "I'm The Doctor. Maybe you've met me, well not me, another version of me. Either Skinny, ears, chin, scarf, vegetable, grumpy, colors, manipulative, owl, scarecrow, grumpy again, or shorty. Not particularly in that order, but all versions of me. Complicated I know, but you'll understand in due time, if you stick around. Robin knows em, isn't particularly fond of me though. Always tries to avoid conflict she is." Thirteen rambled on. "Hey do you know someone named Sonya? Old friend of mine, reminds me of you. What are you to her? Stranger? Or perhaps a sister? Third cousin twice removed?" Taking a magnifying glass out of his pocket, he puts it up to his eye and looks at her. "Ding!" Goes the machine in his other hand.

Tyra's smile dried up the second the man introduced himself. He was the Doctor, the man she set out to kill, and stood there, directly in front of her claiming that he was her friend? Pulling back from him, she cast another look over him and felt a small scowl place itself on her face as she stared at him. "The Doctor, you're the Doctor too? Do you even know what happened to her? Sonya, your friend?" She snapped, sudden irritation causing any good humor she had vanish completely, blue eyes sparkling in anger as she crossed her arms over her chest, hands fisted tightly to keep her from reaching for the gun she carried.

"The Doctor, I know of one, tall, skinny, wears a striped suit." She spat out, her eyes refusing to move from his face as she silently reminded herself he wasn't the one she looked for, he wasn't the one that did it, and she wouldn't condemn him for the act. They were all separate in a sense, not the same person when it came to bodies and actions. "She's dead... Mo- Sonya is dead." She finally managed to get out from between gritted teeth, her reason slowly winning over the anger clouding her mind as she slowly breathed through her nose. "I despise that name, never call yourself that around me again."

The TARDIS spun through the time-vortex. It rumbled and shaked, with the Doctor running around the console flipping switches and flicking buttons. It finally landed with a big-

THUUMMM
THUUMMM
THUUMMM


The Doctor walked walked to the door. He busted open through the huge white storm doors, observing his surroundings. He started to walk down the street, taking in a breath of air, and smiling. He was going to take another breath when-

oomph


He backed up a little. "Sorry abou-er, what's that you have there?" he asked, observing the man he had bumped into. The man had a gadget that almost looked like...

"Because I have one just like it!" he continued, taking out his own from his pocket.. "Now, i'm guessing your not human. Or your just really advanced. Either way, we both have the same gadget and-" he was about to continue when his made a slight ding noise.

(I posted at the same time as Tyra >.>)

Robin raised an eyebrow, wondering for a minute what was going on before taking a careful step back. Okay, so... clearly she was upset about something. And clearly she was having to keep a lid on it. But why? What could be so upsetting about the Doctor? Well... Tons of things, really, but which one this time? 

As the conversation went on, she slowly began to realize Sonya was a key point. Brilliant. Honestly, the woman was a trainwreck, and she might have even despised her if they hadn't met before she absorbed a loonybin and a tornado. Maybe some fire along the way, too. She wasn't exactly sure what she thought about her now, really. But that didn't make it hurt any less - she was dead. As easy as it was to keep her face expressionless before, it must have been a million times harder now. Keeping her jaw clenched, she let her tears well above her eyelids, hiding them in the shade of the hood she wore. How could Sonya just be dead? After everything? What, did she just get tugged through that crack and that was it? 

No, it couldn't be. No way that was just how it all ended for her. Pulling herself together the best she could, she managed to pay attention to the conversation enough to piece together... nothing. Tyra hated the Doctor for some unknown reason, but that couldn't be connected. Especially not that one. If anyone was close to the Time Lady....

She made the mistake of sniffling, her eyes squinted slightly in an attempt to keep any tears from falling. No reason to decompose into an ugly bawling mess now, yeah? Just so long as she didn't have to talk, she'd get it together. She had a feeling if she said a word now, her voice would crack.

Whipping her head around, Tyra ignored the newly arrived, bow tie wearing man to stare at Robin. As soon as she uttered the words that her mother was dead, the girl had seemed to curl up on herself and just before she went to say something, she sniffled. As if holding back tears, Crouching down in front of her, she peered up at the girl's face, baffled at the tears shining in her eyes before sudden realization struck her. She knew Sonya too, and had been close to her, close enough to cry over her death even.

Reaching out without realizing what she was doing, she pulled the girl into a fierce hug, not even realizing when she stood to do it before her chin rested gently on her head. Closing her eyes, she simply stood there, offering what comfort she could to the girl. She still hurt over her mother's death, burned over it every time she came across something that reminded her of her Alien mother, but Tyra had cried, she mourned already, now to see someone else suddenly crying over the same thing brought a soft protective feeling into her.

Not caring if Robin even wanted the hug, she gently rubbed the girl's back, awkward at first, unsure of what exactly to do before it just simply became natural to try and ease her sadness. "I thought her friends new... I didn't think... I wasn't even sure who it was she traveled with, only she had dozens if not hundreds of friends scattered all over the universe." She whispered softly, keeping her voice low so it wouldn't crack under the sudden emotion that clogged her throat.

"Two's company, three's a crowd... so what does that make 5?" The Master's voice sounded over to them. Usually the Master would avoid this sort of gathering, and just have kept his head down, but he had caught a fragment of their conversation. There was a whiff of alcohol on his breath and his jacket had been thrown over his shoulders carelessly leaving it ruffled and scruffed as he stumbled towards the group. His hair looked like someone had run their hand through it a few times then put it in a wind machine in order to achieve that quality of messiness. A layer of uneven stubble dotted his chin and his mouth was twisted into a false grin. "Doctor. Doctor." he acknowledged the two men with a nod of his head. "I feel like a pair of curtains," he announced turning to the hugging girls and glancing at Robin, he'd known her a lifetime ago. "Pull yourself together!" He finished spinning as his eyes darted across the only face he didn't recognise. His attempts at humour could have been seen as trying to lighten the mood, but really they were just trying to hide the darkness and sorrow inside him. Drinking helped with that as well. "I'm the Master," he introduced himself to Tyra, trying to avoid mentioning Sonya, the name he'd heard as he walked past that had drawn him in, the pain of losing her to the crack was still too much for him to acknowledge it, it was better to bury it, "Basically..." he pulled a bottle from his pocket, took a quick swig, placed it back into his jacket pocket and made his grin grow wider, "...I'm awesome."

Turning to narrow her blue eyes at the third man to walk up to her today, she paused. Something was familiar about him, a simple shift in the air made her pause and stop the words that she nearly spat at him. Darting her eyes between him and the two forms of Doctor, she realized something impossible before his name finally struck home. "Master, your.. The Master, the one she talked about, her brother?" She gasped faintly, unable to come to terms with meeting a member of her family, her true blood by blood uncle even. Today was beginning to look dizzy, she knew she shouldn't have left home last night.

Shifting so she stood beside Robin, an arm draped protectively around her shoulders, Tyra studied the man, silently trying to compare him to the most recent form she'd seen of her mother. "You're her brother alright." She finally muttered, spying the bottle of what she knew contained alcohol as he pulled it out quickly then just as quick, deposited it right back into his jacket.

'The Master, my brother, is an arrogant jerk, Tyra. I swear, all he does is drink, get into fights and swagger around like he's the king of everything he touches.' Her mother shook her head in mock irritation, it was obvious she cared about him from the amusement Tyra saw sparkling in her eyes. 'If you ever meet him, tell him one thing for me, yeah? Tell him he's acting more and more like a Scot and if he isn't careful, he'll end up acting more human than I do.'

Opening her mouth, Tyra attempted to say the words only to realize she was speechless. Blasted Time Lords! Why did they all have to pop up at once, at this rate her father will make an appearance too to make her world turn completely upside down. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and adopted the usual, lazy smirk she wore whenever in the company of strangers. "Sonya told me once, you're turning into a scot with how much you drank, and if you weren't careful, you'd end up acting like a human more than she did." She forced back the sudden rise of sadness from the quote her mother often told her whenever she spoke about the Master. "And honestly, I can see what she means now. I can smell it pouring off of you from where I'm standing, honestly, did you bathe in gin before gracing us with your presence?"

He smirked with amusement. "I may have had a couple..." he admitted, shaking his head from side to side. The smile faded. "Gaining a family just to lose them all a few years down the line will do that to you," he added quietly. She hadn't told him her relation to Sonya, but from the snippets he'd heard and her physical likeness, particularly those eyes, he could tell she was her daughter. "A scot..." he muttered, "that really is a fate worse than death." He cocked his head to the side, "So if you're my sister's daughter, where have you been for... your life?"

Blinking her eyes rapidly, Tyra glanced from her uncle and the gathered people there nervously. One thing she never planned on saying was Sonya had been her mother. It was an unnecessary thing to mention, and was bound to bring up thousands of questions. The first one had already been asked, Where had she been?. Licking her lips nervously, she dropped her arm from around Robin and took a small step back. Her spirit willing her to stay, the deepest part of her that stood strongest wanted to stay right there and spill out the entire tale, telling the four gathered of the fabled Doctor her Mother spoke so often about. The one in the striped suit, the one she shared all of her secrets with. The one she trusted with her life and ended up being proved wrong in the end.

"I... I..." Tyra tried to speak only to come up blank with an answer. All she could say was she happened to be raised by a man she knew only as 'Uncle'. She had never been told his name, nor asked for it. It wasn't necessary at the time, now for the life of her, she wished she could go back and ask him to tell her. "Blimey." With a soft uttered curse, she spun around and sprinted off, her legs stretching out as far as they could go, carrying her away from the group there, the group of people that so obviously knew her mother, they traveled with her, they were her family even.

Candalynne looked up, observing the conversation from a few steps away at a bench. "Three Time Lords..." She muttered to herself before watching the woman sprint away and past her. She sighed and stood up, about to follow but she thought it was unnecessary. She knew she was Sonya's daughter, Candalynne had slapped Sonya once to get sense into her but that was the one and only time she had seen Sonya. She felt sorry for Tyra, she had lost family just like Candalynne did.

Candalynne sighed deeply before walking over to the three Time Lords. First she looked to 13, 11 and The Master. "Damn it Koschei, why do you drink that bad substance? The smell is revolting!" She shook her head in disapproval before looking to 11 and 13. "Hello Doctor.... Doctors." She corrected herself with a happy smile and a slight giggle. "It has been a while." She said softly. "I recognize you." She points to 13 but looks to 11 with a curious expression on her face. "But I don't think I have seen this handsome face before. Nice bowtie by the way." She smiled at him. She had noticed the small girl but seeing the way she acted made Candalynne feel like Robin didn't exactly want to be there at the precise time so Candalynne thought it was best to not talk to her.

((why u no let me post!?!))

The Doctor silently took in all the events. First, this girl starts to get angry, then the other one starts crying, then the Master comes, and now this girl is Sonya's daughter? And then this Tyra girl runs off. He looked around to the group before he noticed a girl sitting at the bench get up and walking over to him. 

"Hello Doctor.... Doctors."

"Doctor...s? Wait....I remember you!" he yelled to 13. "I met you in a past live! Your me!" he said before looking at Candalynne. "And I remember you too...Candalynne. And yes. Bowties are cool. Now, who's gonna go talk to Tyra?" he said, looking around from one person to the next.

Robin glanced down at Tyra as she crouched to see. She didn't need to - she didn't want her to. The hug was completely unexpected, but.... nice. They barely even knew each other, and she was comforting her as if they'd known each other for years. Instinct told her something had to be off here, but she really didn't want there to be. Reluctantly, she returned the gesture, a tear or two spilling over the dam as it crumbled. 

Once conversation resumed, she felt a little better, at least. The arm around her shoulder - again unexpected - wasn't exactly bad. It was nice to someone cared, for once. Wait when did he get there? The Master - interesting name. Oh God, he was a Time Lord, wasn't he? And according to Tyra, Sonya's brother. Oh.. So he was THAT Master. Okay hold on, too much information. Taking a minute to process it, she ran through the facts that were just spewed out. Master. Sonya's brother. Brother says 'sister's daughter'. Hold on. No way...

Looking up at Tyra, she felt a tiny shred of hope flutter in her heart. Sonya's daughter. Since when did she have a daughter? A word hadn't passed her lips before the woman bolted, leaving her a bit awestruck. Why would she do that? Everyone here loved Sonya - to her knowledge anyway, she didn't know Chinny much, or the Master, for that matter - what would she have to hide from? Chinny spoke, and she looked up towards him for a moment, wondering if what she was about to do was really a good idea. Too late - she had started in a sprint towards the poor woman. 'Tyra!'

The Master stood in silence for a moment. "Koschei..." he repeated to himself. "I really hate that name..." He glanced over at Tyra and clicked his tongue. "I should go talk to her..." he thought outloud, "But I really don't think I'd be able to be all sensitive and all that lark." He took another swig of the drink from his pocket and made sure to breathe over Candalynne, so she could 'enjoy' the smell. "Remind me, who are you?" he asked her.