fandomhigh | Constant Vigilance, 8/18, A classroom

Rather than the Doctor, a rumpled Walter is at the front of the room examining a small device that is clearly labeled "Push here to start." Simple enough, and with a quick push of the button, a projection of the Doctor appears.

"Hello class," the projected Doctor said. "Sorry I couldn't be with you today, but I had a sudden bit of urgent business to attend to. Hopefully, Mister Dornez has properly started the system to play this recording. Today's lesson is one that I understand our Miss Rosenberg has some experience in, so I recommend that you direct any questions in her well learned direction, given my absence Now first off, there is no such thing as your average werewolf. There are common tropes, certainly, but if you put all your eggs in one basket that wolfsbane will protect you or that silver is your sure bet, you might end up playing a part in a very grim fairy tale."

"One of the more memorable encounters I had with a creature of this type was a girl named Mags. She's now travelling with a circus, actually. Not as some sideshow attraction, mind you. Mags is the perfect example of why the first reaction to a werewolf is not find silver bullets and prepare to fire. Mags is a wonderful, funny, clever girl. In the light of the full moon, however, she tranforms into a creature that may end up harming others. Precautions can be taken, and everything works out well."

"However, Mags is not the only type you may end up with. Other werewolves may be perfectly aware of their actions when transformed. Those are the dangerous ones. Where the beast and the man are one. In these instances, you have to do your best to outwit them. As in most case scenarios, they'll be stronger, faster, with bigger teeth and claws. As the myths say, wolfsbane, misteltoe, silver, all of these things may be the way to combat it. Try them all, and hope. In many cases, these types aren't only around during the full moon. They're self controlled, they are. Able to transform at their own will. The lunar cycle is not their master."

The holo-Doctor cleared his throat. "Moving on to Vampires. Bela Legosi type, not really what I'm talking about. As much as the camp vampires exist in this world, they're usually just the spawn of greater Vampires. Vampires that my people once waged war against. The Great Vampire, in all capitals, I should add, was a right evil bastard, he was. Huge, too. It took a stake the size of a spaceship to put an end to him, it did. But that's the thing, how many of you keep a handy spaceship sized stake around with you? I'm guessing none. And so what do we do in that case, boys and girls? You guessed it, run."

"Stakes to the heart will kill a lot of things, and it might have to be cold iron, silver, gold, wood, something along those lines. Garlic might help, it might not, if anything it'll be tasty as part of your dinner. Hopefully it won't be a tasty addition to the vampire's dinner. Now, I've had more than my fair share of run-ins with these classic vampire types, and half of what the movies tell you works in these cases. Running water? Crucifixes? Sunlight? Most likely it'll save you, but always have a backup. And when all else fails, run."

"As for non-traditional types, you've got Haemovores. Bloodsucking beasts that are no longer amongst the living. They fear not the rays of the sun, and a cross will do you no good if you don't believe in it. Your best bet if you stumble across one of them is your strongest faith. That's right, your faith. A soldier warded them off with a simple hammer and sickle pin, because he had faith in his motherland. I, well, I had faith in something else, and that drove them away from me. A companion of mine had faith in me, and that protected her. Faith generated a psychic barrier they could not penetrate. The vicar at the local church tried to ward them off with his bible. But he didn't have true faith, and it cost him his life. But, of course, stakes through the heart are your means for a violent end, here, as well. But, suprise, my best advice is run."

"Now, I want you to pair up. Discuss what you have faith in. Discuss Vampires. Discuss Werewolves. Discuss what really scares you, and who you trust. Build your friendships, because that's the real tool to universal survival. Friends. Miss Rosenberg and Mister Dornez probably have some related stories to share, and anyone else feel free to speak up as well. And now Mister Dornez or whoever can feel free to switch off the projection. And in case they don't. . ."

The sounds of the song 'The Monster Mash' fade in, and the Doctor projection begins to dance.

Walter hit the off button and looked at the class. "And there you have it."

[ooc: My apologies for the delay. I lose today.]

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"Nope," Jack said casually, hiding the twinge of discomfort behind a relaxed smile. "It's all a blur. I'm supposed to be here, though. And once I graduate, I've got somewhere to go."

"That has to be very difficult though I'd suppose it's good to know you're in the right place," Peter remarked. "May I ask where you shall be going?"

"It has it's own challenges," he laughed. "And of course. I've got a place at the academy for something called the Time Agency. They," he paused, not sure how to explain it to someone form the 1940s, "try and make sure that if someone goes back in time, they don't mess anything up."

Peter looked at Jack for a long moment. "Really. Is that...often an issue?"

"I think so." Leaning back in his chair, he stretched out his legs. "Think about it. If someone went back and changed something important, say they went back and stopped you from going to that other country. What would have happened?"

"Do you believe in alternate dimensions and such?" Peter asked in what seemed like an abrupt jump in topic but was quite clearly connected in his head.

Topic jumps didn't faze Jack. "I don't think there's much choice once you've spent any time here. You should talk to a friend of mine if you want to know about alternate dimensions. I think she's something of an expert."

"I'd like to do that," Peter replied. "Is your friend a student here?"

"Yup. Sam Carter. She does physics for fun, and she loves to talk about it. I think you'd like her."

"I've only met her when there was singing and dancing involved," Peter said with a deprecating smile.

"Did you get caught up in that, too?" Jack asked, then automatically added, "You know it wasn't her fault, right?"

Peter laughed. "It's been explained to me that it's my fault for eating cookies not baked by my girlfriend."

"Ah, good. Sorry. Force of habit." Jack waved a hand in the air dismissively. "Your girlfriend is Willow, right?"

"Understandable," Peter replied with a shrug. "She's not got too many hard feelings for it, has she?" He smiled only the slightest bit doofily. "Yes, that's her."

"No, but she was a lot harder on herself than anyone else was." Jack hid a grin at Peter's slightly doofy smile. "Willow's beautiful, and very sweet."

"I can believe that," Peter said. "Poor girl. I'd say she can hardly blame herself given that this is Fandom, but I don't suppose she'd accept that excuse. And Willow certainly is both though she'd rather not believe it."

"Sam's hard on herself. It's just part of who she is," Jack explained. "And I noticed that about Willow. I told her she was beautiful once, and she actually looked behind her to see who I was talking about. It was kind of adorable, actually."

Peter nodded. "Have you noticed most girls around here are? It's almost disturbing how very focused they are." He smiled. "She is lovely, and if I'm very lucky, one day I'll convince her of it."

"If you need help convincing her, just yell." Chuckling, he leaned over and clapped Peter on the shoulder. "Well, we didn't talk about werewolves, vampires, faith or what scares us, but I think we did okay with the rest of the assignment."

"We talked about them in an oblique way," Peter replied with a laugh. "Good enough for all practical purposes. I'm glad I got to meet you, Jack."

"True," he conceded with a grin. "And so am I, Peter. Willow's a lucky girl."

Peter flushed slightly. "Not as lucky as I am."

And Jack thought that was just too adorable for words, so he patted Peter on the shoulder again. "You two make a good pair."

Peter would have protested at being thought adorable, but he couldn't argue with the sentiment. "I very much agree."

Constant Vigilance, 8/18, A classroom

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