Somebody I Used to Know (Shannon/Chamuel)

[The Master]

Somebody I Used to Know: A Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Story
Staring Koschei, and Shannon!

Time: Distant past
Place: Gallifrey

Koschei Oakdown. He was only about 10 years old. He was in the field of red grass behind his home. He had a black eye that really hurt right now and he had ran out of the house to his happy place. Waiting for Theta. There was just one problem...he knew Theta wasn't coming today.

They were both in their second year at the Academy. Both had been roommates ever since they started. Both had the same classes. The only time they were apart was during a break. A holiday. And even then, they tried to spend as much time together as possible. They were on a break right now. A holiday, two weeks off. Theta lived with his uncle in the city, his uncle, aunt, and 45 cousins. They went on a trip for the first week of the break. So Koschei...was so utterly alone. No one to run to when his father hurt him. His mother would just tell him not to upset Arkham and leave it at that.

He was sitting curled up in the red grass, hugging his knees. His family was rich and so well off...so why was he always so miserable? Why couldn't he be loved like Theta? Why couldn't he go home and be happy and safe?

Well. He did decide one thing. He's going to start staying at the Academy over breaks from now on. They let you if you claim you need the time to catch up on work...he can easily make that excuse, his grades were all over the place thanks to that sound in his head...it only happened sometimes. But if it happened during a test...and there were a LOT of tests...then the grades came out poor.

He sat there, desperately wishing Theta would come over that hill, bag over his shoulder... he'd have some of that stinky cream that would make his eye stop hurting.

He looked around. He was out here alone. Very alone. That enough let the young boy crying, burying his face in his knees. He just needs someone right now to talk to, someone to help him.

[Shannon Kennedy]

Time: Distant Past
Place: North Dakota

Shannon Kennedy, just four years old, snuck out of the garage. There was a doggy door, and she crawled out of it. It made her allergies act up, but she stifled them in order to keep quiet. She didn’t know where to go, so she just ran. Father had done it again. He’d…he’d….she couldn’t even think it. Because she didn’t know what it meant.

She just knew that it hurt. And when she got sick from it, he got really mad and hit her. Now her lip is coated in dried blood. She didn’t know where she was going. Shannon didn’t understand why such things always happened to her. The one time Nanny was out of town visiting relatives in England, bad things happened. Bad things always happened after eight at night because that was when Nanny had to go home to her husband and children. Unless Shannon was sick--this happened more often than either of them cared to remember.

She looked around wildly, trying to find a direction in which to go. Which was the way to Nanny’s house? Shannon tripped, and landed on the raw and unforgiving cement. She held back tears as she stood, feeling fresh blood trickle from her scraped knees. Her jeans were rubbing uncomfortably against them, making her frown. Keep going, Shannon, keep going!

All of a sudden, she heard a voice. Shannon, darling, there is a place I will take you to. To keep you safe. Do not worry, I will be with you the entire time. She saw a flash of light, and was soon standing in a strange land, in front of a crying boy.

Shannon ignored her injuries, ignored the strange red--red?!--grass immediately felt more concerned for the clearly upset boy than her scraped knees, cut lip, and stuffy nose. He was clearly worse off than herself, and needed her help. Even though…he looked so much older than she was.

Should she stay? Should she say something to the boy in order to announce her presence? Should she run away and hide? Should she smack herself and make sure that it wasn’t a strange dream? Shannon Kennedy waited for the voice to speak to her again, tell her what to do. But all was silent; just like the stars she often stared at outside her window. When she would stare for hours at the sky, asking anyone to come and save her. To make all her pain go away. To love her. She didn’t want to be afraid of anything anymore. She didn’t want to hide in her room at 8:01 P.M. waiting for the dreaded thudding of footsteps walking closer and closer to her door. She didn’t want to lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling and waiting until it was 6:30 A.M. and have Nanny’s gentle voice calling for her.

Shannon was a smart kid, she could always tell the difference between Nanny calling for her as opposed to someone else. Nanny always called her “Sunshine” whereas everyone else simply called her Shannon. The little girl adored being called “Sunshine” because it made her feel special. No one else had ever given her a nickname. Unless they wanted to count “Kid” or “Girl” as a nickname, and Shannon didn’t.

Do not be afraid, my dear. This boy will not hurt you. I will never allow him to harm you.

Those words gave her the strength to inch ever so much closer to the still crying boy. “Uhm….whatsa matter?”

[The Master]

At the sound of the voice, Koschei jumped and looked up. There was a little girl in HIS field? Who was she, and why was she in his field?

Of course now that he was looking up at her, she'd see why he was upset. That black eye had its own pulse, his eyes was red from it too. But she looked almost as bad. There was red on the pants around her knees.

Looks like they both needed Theta and his magic bag of medicine today.

"Nothing.... i just hit a door." Reflexive answer, "I came out here to wait for my friend but he's not coming today."

He stood up, and walked over to her. If she had been his age or older, he might have demanded to know why she was here. But she was just a little girl. Very little. Too little, like him...

"What are you doing way out here? Are you lost?"

She had to be, right? His house was the only one around for miles. But when he walked over closer to her, he noticed...a feeling. A smell. He knelt down in front of her, trying to be nice to her like Theta had always been nice to him. She smelled... really hurt. And she felt and smelled... not Gallifreyan.

He took her hand and stood again, leading her over to the flatter spot he had been sitting at and had her sit too. This place was worn down from all the times he and Theta had sat their together.

"My name is Koschei.... what's yours?"