Wolves of Sisterhood (Storm Prophecy Special Edition) #Wattys2018

Shalka

He caught sight of figures on the horizon. It's them!
He nudged Robin, who was almost asleep on her paws. "It's them!"
Gyaki leaped on the Sighting Rock, scouting around. A moment later, his tail started wagging.
A gray figure - the Twelfth Doctor - ran quicker than before. "Never thought I'd hear that voice again." He murmured. But the Shalka Doctor noticed that his eyes were a bright gold, not the dull, faded yellow he'd seen before. "You got your sight back? Wait, you were blind? Oh StarClan, I'm talking absolute nonsense."
"Let's just say we had a couple of surprises on the way over." He signaled for the others to follow - the Shalka Doctor noticed Erlin tagging along.
But there was someone missing.
"Where's Thirteen?"
It wasn't the Twelfth Doctor who replied, as he was now speaking with Gyaki, but Erlin. "He went off to scout. He'll be back soon."
"You said that an hour ago, and the hour before that!" Ruby set down the kit she had been carrying. "When is he going to be back?"
"We should wait a bit." Gyaki came back with the Twelfth Doctor following close behind.
The Shalka Doctor nodded, a loud yawn then escaping his mouth. The same could be said for Robin. "We should get some rest."

It was the middle of the night.
A sound of something restless.
The Doctor's ears perked up; he raised his head. It was Ruby pacing back and forth in her nest, and then taking a nervous glace outside the den.
She's still worried?
Ruby looked around the den, the Doctor lay his head in his paws to make himself look inconspicuous, then she dashed away, out of the den madly.
The Doctor stood up, giving Robin a quick lick between the ears, before following the ginger queen.
"What are you doing out?" Asked a silver - and - green guard. The Doctor skidded to a halt, turning around to meet the blazing blue gaze.
"Oh. Well." He began backing away uneasily. "I was going for a walk. I couldn't sleep."
"Okay..." The den guard seemed unconvinced and suspicious; however, ignoring that, the Doctor turned back around and made a break for it, crashing through the forest. A branch suddenly whipped him in the face. "StarClan there couldn't be a worse time!" He spat, taking the branch in his mouth, snapping it off the tree, throwing it as he ran.
The Doctor froze as snarling broke through the forest. There Ruby stood, cornered by two Quartz Wolves, her eyes wide and fearful.
"Any last words?" And older wolf snarled, fur beginning to ripple, transforming into scales. The other began snapping his very teeth close to Ruby's throat.
"Oh, wait. Yes I do." Ruby broke into a wide grin. "ALLONS-Y!" She ran in the Doctor's direction.
"Get her!"
All three bowled into the Doctor, but got up and kept running as if they'd never noticed him.
After he regained his equilibrium, he yowled after them, "That would be a federal offense on Gallifrey!"
His anger diminished as quickly as it begun as he realized Ruby's life was in danger. "StarClan!"
He shook off his leaf covered fur, dashing off quickly behind them.

It was over quickly when the Doctor heard Ruby's shriek cut through the air.
"StarClan, no." The Doctor breathed to himself in shock. Ruby couldn't be dead.
She just couldn't.
He began to creep forward, head down cautiously as he poked his head  into the clearing. He let out a long breath of relief as he saw that Ruby was still alive.
But not for long. The wolf lunged for her, taking his neck in her mouth, throwing her and slamming her into a tree.
There was a sickening snap; the Doctor snapped his head away, shutting his eyes tight. That one thing reminded him of one painful thing: his companion Moss' death.
He realized something else as he stepped into the clearing as the wolves fled. He'd witnessed the death of a companion. His future mate.
"Ruby. StarClan, why's this happening to me?" He pressed his nose into her still warm shoulder fur. "This is the last time I'm letting someone die."
He murmured, "I'm sorry." As an approaching Quartz patrol made him freeze. "I have to go."
He took off, unable to take any more.

In the meadow, just inside what the Doctor suspected was Copper Wolf territory, he collapsed, legs weighted down from the exhaustion that vane with running.
"How far did I...?" He faltered as he attempted to catch his breath. "Where am I?"
His eyes fluttered closed, sinking into sleep.
Little did he know that he'd been watched the entire time.

"Wake up. You're safe."
A face of a copper colored wolf appeared in his face as the Doctor's gaze began to come into focus. He took in a large gasp of air. "No! Moss, don't!"
"Shh, quiet." The Copper Wolf's voice was stern and demanding. "I said you're safe here."
"I'm not safe. MY CLAN IS DEAD!" The Doctor knew that the wrong words were coming out of his mouth. He just couldn't control them. "GET YOUR FILTHY PAWS AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T NEED COMFORTING!"
"Shut up. Nobody knows that you and your friend are here."
The Doctor calmed down, although his breath was still quick. "Friend?"
The wolf turned him around.
There he was.
Thirteen.
Injured.
But alive.?
The spotted tom raised his head. "Who's there?"
The Shalka Doctor blinked, but soon realized that the tom's eyes were closed, with fresh scratches near them. It must be too painful to open his eyes.
"It's me."
"Have you seen Ruby? Is she with you?"
"She was, but..." How was the Shalka Doctor supposed to explain Ruby's death? "She went off on her own to look for you." He cleared his throat, hoping that the lie was believable enough.
Thirteen lowered his head into his paws. "Well, I hope that she makes it here okay."
The Doctor looked at the Copper Wolf in worry. He'd lied to one of his own successors. Hopefully he'd forgotten all about this 'witnessing Ruby's death' thought and all.
He cleared his throat again, sighed, slinking back to the ground again.
He let himself sleep.