The Rebels of the Fallen

42

Rebel and I were very much enjoying the TARDIS garden space. It wasn't a space often used, I myself am half convinced the Doctor thinks it's a rainforest. There was a lot of open space for Rebel to run, so it was Rebel's second favorite room.

I had just taught him another command. He was doing good at it, with repeated practice.

Rebel barked. He scratched the top of his head with a hind leg.

"No, I said sit." I instructed.

The dog whined.

"You're a good boy, Rebel, but I need you to do it." I explained, keeping my voice steady.

The dog did sit.

"Good boy!" I handed him a dog treat. The dog beamed at the praise, licking my hand as I handed the treat over. "Alright. Now for the test."

Rebel stood up, tail wagging in delight.

"Bewegen Sie nicht!" I shouted.

Rebel froze. His tail stopped wagging, lowering to a resting position.

Bewegen sie nicht- 'hold still', or 'stay'.

"Good boy." I pointed out an obstacle course. "You remember this, right? We had to use it for that planet with the orange lizard people. Schnitzel!"

Rebel ran to the course. He leapt over one display.

Schnitzel: 'jump'.

"Good boy!" I praised him again. "Balloony! The cat!"

Rebel barked. He ran off to another part of the course- one covered in toys. He picked up a stuffed cat with his mouth.

Balloony: 'steal whatever I tell you'.

"Man, you're going 10-10 on this." I praised him. "For now, last one: Harkness!"

Rebel ran back to me. He held up his paw. I accepted it, giving it a shake.

Harkness: 'say hello'.

"Goodest boy." I handed him more treats. Rebel hesitated. "Broccoli."

Rebel ate the treats.

Broccoli: 'safe to eat'

I beamed with pride. "Training complete!" I knelt down to hug the dog. "You did great today!" Rebel licked at my face. "Yes you did, oh yes you did!"

'Thank you, Mama!' Rebel replied in my mind.

Wow, talking to animals with telepathy. I'd seen the Doctor do it loads of times on the show. Just seeing it- experiencing it- was on a whole other level. I mean, who could turn down the chance to actually hear a dog's thoughts? And by Rebel's time, dogs were becoming more and more evolved. The Doctor had said eventually, they'd be exactly like the cats on New Earth.

But for now, they just had higher mental capacities.

And Rebel could stay if he was trained.

Which I would complete.

We'd been traveling with Martha for a week now. She'd gotten her own room and everything. Everything was great. We'd only nearly gotten her killed twice. It was all really chill.

Which, considering the first week with Martha, this was beyond tame.

It was good. The relaxation time had been what we needed. The time taken between trips to just breath, to acknowledge the passing of time with quiet moments of peace. Moments where no one was running towards (or from) the big bad monster.