Dance of the Unicorn

Toshiko sat on the dew covered grass and shivered. Jack had sent her out here at some ungodly hour in the morning to check up on some odd happenings from a nearby town.

There'd been reported sightings of a unicorn, and Jack wouldn't believe it until he had proof of its existence.

Sighing loudly, she sipped slowly on her cooling coffee and wished Ianto was nearby to fix her more as it was the only thing keeping her warm. Still, at least the thermos had kept it hot for most of the night. Now that it was closer to morning, it was getting colder.

"Jack, I'm going to kill you when I get back..." she whispered softly to herself, not too loud, just in case someone or something heard. Shifting slightly and wrapping her jacket closer around her body, she watched the clearing in the woods for any signs of life.

She had almost given up when she heard the scream. It didn't sound human at all, so she ducked down low and hid herself as best she could and waited. She didn't have long to wait. A small horse, bright silver in colour came crashing into the clearing, gave another shrill scream, before looking about itself.

It was definitely a he Tosh thought to herself, as an impressive set of genitals was seen quite clearly even from where she was. It made her long for a man, any man, to wrap her in his arms and take her. Hard. She'd never had thoughts like that while around a horse before.

It was then she saw differences. While she couldn't see a horn on his head, she could see cloven hooves. She could see the shiny spun silk of his mane and the lion-like shape of his tail, the beard that was under his chin and the tufted hair on his ankles. She could see them all because he shone so brightly under the moonlight. Or maybe that was a glow that was in himself and he was showing it to her.

He turned his head to the side, lifted his head and gave another loud scream.

It was then that she saw the horn. Long, spiralled and sharp, it made the rumours true. She fiddled around in her pack, trying to get to her camera without looking away from the magnificent creature in front of her, and was stopped by a hand clamping down on her wrist.

"Don't. You'll scare him off," came a male voice, scarily close behind her. She hadn't heard anyone walking up that close.

The hand released her wrist and came to sit down next to her. There was a small smile on his face, and she didn't think it was out of happiness. "Who are you? One of the locals who reported a sighting?"

"Hmm?" he said softly, turning to look at her, before grinning. "Oh! No, I'm the Doctor. We've met before. Space pig in Albion Hospital? Remember? Mermaids! I've changed a bit since then, so it's alright if you don't recognise me. No more big ears."

"You're that same doctor?" she asked, not surprised to hear the doubt in her own voice just as clearly as he must.

"Yep. One and only. I've regenerated since then. Travelling alone right now though and got wind of unicorn sightings myself and couldn't resist seeing if it was true. I thought that unicorns went extinct quite a while ago."

They were quiet for a while after that small admission and watched as the unicorn in the clearing pranced about, his tail lifted high, and his mane streaming behind his head.

Sex. Why couldn't she stop thinking about sex?

"I heard once that unicorns represent all that is good and pure about male virility. Usually it takes a virgin to get close to one of these gorgeous creatures, but he's called me here. I've been hearing him for the past two nights. Finally found him. And, I think, he can sense me."

Tosh looked at him and frowned. "How?"

"He's calling not only with his screams, but with his mind. He's reaching out. I didn't know that unicorns were telepathic. Well, for that matter I don't know much about them at all. Maybe he's not telepathic, just broadcasting his feelings out and those sensitive to such things would either come and see or run."

"Why would people run from him?"

"Empathic people do if met with such...hard feelings. But I'm not an empath. I am, however, telepathic. And understand his feelings."

Tosh looked at him, and could see his struggle with hiding his feelings.

He shook his head, looked to her and smiled. "I'm going to call him over here and hope it works. He needs someone right now."

She had no idea what that meant, but she watched as the Doctor stood back up and gave out a scream that sounded remarkably like the one the unicorn was making. It turned his head towards them, and in a matter of seconds was standing close by.

She could see his eyes rolling in his head, from fright or nervousness, she didn't know which, but it made her want to reach out and comfort him. She lifted her hand and he backed up. Disappointed, she lowered her hand again.

The Doctor made some comforting sounds under his breath, which the unicorn clearly could hear, and to her astonishment, she watched as he crept closer to the Doctor.

"Hello. Now, what happened to you to have you so up and out of sorts, hey?" asked the Doctor, his voice soft and low, as he gently laid a hand on the unicorn's forehead, soon followed by his other hand when it was made clear his touch was alright.

"Come on, be a good boy and show me. I can't help otherwise."

She watched as he frowned, and then his eyes closed with a slight smile. "That's it. Good lad."

They stood there, together, long fingers of the Doctor just under the place where the unicorn's horn was, and the unicorn silent and unmoving. They seemed frozen there. Stuck in that moment of time, their eyes closed off to the rest of the world.

Tosh didn't know how long she had been waiting for something to move or happen, but it felt like hours, or seconds, or forever, when the Doctor's hands moved from their position, and he rested his head against the long graceful neck of the unicorn.

To her surprise, he started quietly crying. All the time, the unicorn stood there, moving his head to keep contact with the Doctor. By the time tears had stopped, the sun was beginning to rise.

"Go on. Run free, and one day you'll be with them again."

The contact between them was gone, and the unicorn trotted himself back down to the clearing, gave one last, shrill scream, before running from view.

The Doctor sat down next to her. Looking off into the distance, where their visitor had just left. "He's the last. The last unicorn. I thought that they were extinct, and soon they will be."

Slowly, Tosh shuffled closer to the Doctor, and leaned against him. "How do you know that?"

"He showed me. His forest was cut down. His home and herd lost. All he's doing now is wandering around, trying to find a place similar enough to be a home for him, but it wouldn't ever be the same. Without his forest he'll die."

"He's looking for a place to go to die?" Tosh asked, voice quiet. It seemed a shockingly horrid thing to happen to such a beautiful animal.

"Yes, but he'll be free enough to do it, and I told him to stay away from the human villages."

She shook her head. "We could help him, find a place he wouldn't..."

"No! Torchwood shouldn't get involved. Let nature take its course. Everything dies. It's his time to go. He knows it, that doesn't mean he's not saddened by it."

She froze at that. "How do you know I work for Torchwood?"

He grinned and winked. "I have my ways. One of which is Jack. Before you ask, no I haven't slept with him."

Tosh laughed at that. This strange man in front of her who claimed to have met her as someone looking completely different, definitely knew Jack if he knew about her boss sleeping with almost everything that had a pulse. Or so it seemed. He definitely flirted with everything that moved. Jack really wasn't fussed about who he slept with, though as of late she suspected Ianto was getting most of the Captain's spare time.

"Is there anything to do to save him?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. It's his time. Just let him be. That's what you can do. There won't be any more sightings. Well, any real ones anyway."

"So unicorns were real and here all the time..."

"Of course they were real. It's not like they have any kind of cool superpowers or anything. That thing about their horn being able to cure poisons isn't true. They were just a rather long lived species stuck in a world where anything beyond understanding can't be real."

Tosh nodded. "Which is why even after all the alien attacks people still don't believe in aliens."

"Yep! You humans can be silly sometimes in what you believe."

She blinked at the wording he used. She'd been telepathic for a while, with help of an alien device. She remembered how it felt to be able to hear the thoughts of those around you. He was apparently telepathic by nature. He could change his face and had called her human. "You're an alien then? Should I be running?"

He grinned at her and shook his head. "Nah. I'm not harming anyone am I? Just came to help our little friend."

They both turned to the clearing, and Tosh wished she could have another glimpse of the unicorn before going back home to hand in her report to Jack. She'd been up all night and she was feeling aroused, freezing, and would like to get some coffee and maybe even some sleep, before work the next day.

"Tea? There's this little tea shop not too far from here, if you're interested that is. Could be good to get a bit warm. It's chilly out here this time of day."

Turning towards the Doctor, she smiled and stood, brushing off the dirt that was clinging to her jeans. "Sure, sounds good."

Offering her his arm, she took it with a warmer smile.

She was off to have a hot beverage before going back to Cardiff and it felt completely natural given the events of the morning so far.

Coffee and tea turned to other things to keep her warm. Starting with a hug, which led to burying under blankets in a hotel room, which led rather quickly to sex. Mind blowing good, messy sex.

All that was good and pure about male virility indeed. She'd found a unicorn and an alien lover in such a short span of time.

She felt like the luckiest woman alive.