Soul Deep - Part One: Pack

Author's Notes: This story is set in an AU based on Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series of children's books where everyone has an external soul in animal form, called a "daemon" (pronounced 'demon'). This story is not a crossover and no characters from the books appear in it - it's all Gibbs/DiNozzo all the way through. This story is NOT set in one of the worlds Pullman wrote about. The universe in this story is structured very like our own, except for the fact that people in this universe have daemons. These daemons are broadly similar to the ones in the Pullman novels, but I have embellished them or tweaked them a bit to suit my own purposes and put my own spin on them.

Pullman established that daemons take animal forms that are a representation of a person's soul, or inner being, or gut instinct. They can talk. They have to be in close proximity to the person they belong to as it causes huge distress if they are separated. Daemons are usually the opposite gender to the person they belong to. Children's daemons take various different forms until they reach adolescence when they settle into one form which they keep for the rest of their lives. Daemons have names (although he doesn’t establish if they’re born with them or given them!). If you are hurt your daemon feels it too, and if your daemon is hurt you feel it. It is a deep taboo to touch another person's daemon with your bare hand. Daemons can touch each other, and you can touch your own daemon, but not somebody else's. When a person dies, their daemon turns to dust. Daemons are corporeal – you can touch them – but they don't appear to need food or drink or medical treatment. Their physical condition reflects your own – so if you've got a sprained ankle, they limp too. This goes both ways to a certain extent – if another daemon (or even a person) hurts your daemon then you feel it. I have added a few minor tweaks of my own.

As I was writing this, I became aware of lots of questions Pullman never answers about daemons. I'm afraid I don't know the answers, either. I could guess, but in keeping with the spirit of the universe I'm not going to try and explain away some of the logical, practical and logistical issues I have with the concept of daemons. I hope people go along with it as a magical fantasy kind of AU and enjoy it on that level.

1978

"Leroy – did you clear out the old stock items?" Jackson's voice wafted down the basement stairs.

"Yes, Dad," Leroy growled, wiping sweat from his forehead with a dusty hand as he piled up some boxes in the corner of the basement.

"Leroy! Did you hear me? I asked if you've cleared out the old stock items."

"YES! I told you I did!" Leroy shouted back up the stairs.

"No need to take that tone with me, son." Jackson appeared at the top of the stairs. He had a worried frown on his forehead, and his daemon, Meldra, a plump red hen, clucked at Leroy disapprovingly.

"And I replied! It's not my fault you're going deaf." Leroy hobbled his way up the stairs and pushed past his father, Tessa limping at his side.

"Leroy!"

His father's disapproval was evident from his tone of voice. Leroy ignored him – and the pain in his knee – as he tried to stalk angrily out of the store and succeeded only in limping rather pathetically as far as the door. He had to hang onto the door handle for a moment when he got there as the pain in his left knee suddenly stabbed at him viciously, making him gulp for air.

He heard his father behind him. "I thought if I kept you occupied it would take your mind off it, son," Jackson said, reasonably enough. "Look…it's not for long. In a few weeks you'll be better, and you can go back to your unit. In the meantime, we have to rub along with each other. We can do that, can't we, Leroy?"