fateandfortune | Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

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Just two vampires, traveling the galaxy... [For Todd the Wraith]

[continued from here]

It was a pleasant surprise to glance over and see Todd asleep on the bed, relaxed and peaceful. He can't have gotten much quality rest the night before propped up in the chair as he had been, certainly not when he'd been woken by her nightmare. She hoped that didn't happen again tonight, he had important things to take care of tomorrow; she didn't know all of the details, but with a civil war going on between his people, he needed his wits about him.

To that end, Rogue forced herself to stay awake for hours into the night, eating the dinner he'd brought for her and looking through one of the books from the collection he'd shown her before their sparring session. She didn't recognize anything on the pages, but it gave her a topic for conversation with the voices in her head, providing ample entertainment to pass the time. Eventually she fell asleep herself, the book held carefully to her chest as she curled up in the armchair, her boots set on the floor beside it. It was a fairly deep sleep, and she didn't dream for one of the first times in many weeks, something she was eternally grateful for when she awoke.

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Midway through the meal, Rogue paused in her eating to address Todd with something that had occurred to her the night before. "Commander, will everyone be eating at the same time on the ship?"

The 'dining room' wasn't that large, having been designed for the humans previously found on the ship, and she didn't think there'd be an easy way to accommodate everyone. But she hadn't seen the entire ship, so maybe there was another space that would be more suitable.

"Unlikely" he replied "After all, can't just have everyone abandon their posts. We'll set up some sort of shift change system like that here on Atlantis" he said.

Todd left Rogue and his crew to check with Keller about the drones they were leaving behind, as well as tie up any loose ends needed with Woolsey. While he was gone, his crewmates got to know the strange human-not-human better.

"What are you to one another?" asked one curiously. Then elaborated, "Are you his pet? Mate? Are you teaching the commander something?"

Rogue may have choked on her coffee when the question was posed. Just a little. From the sheer surprise of what they were asking, and the fact that she wasn't entirely sure how to answer.

For one thing, she didn't know how to define what they were to each other. Their relationship had changed quite a bit over the weeks they'd known each other, and she was sure it would continue to change with her permanent position on the ship. But this was also his crew, so she wanted to be careful of what she said and the light it would put their commander in.

Clearing her throat, she slowly began, "Well, I'm not his 'pet', that's for certain." She didn't think so, anyway. She wasn't being 'kept' in any way, since she'd now have an official job aboard the hive. "And mate? Well, I wouldn't be opposed to that, but that's not possible with my ability." Which she knew they were aware of to at least some extent.

She had taught Todd things, but he had done the same with her, it had reciprocal and not the basis of their connection. "I guess the simplest answer is that we're... friends." Of course, she didn't know if that was a something they would understand. She'd never asked if wraith had friendships in the way humans did. But it was the only good explanation she could come up with.

There seemed to be a bit of disappointment when she told them she was not his pet, perhaps they thought that if their commander could have one, they could again too. Mate, not too surprising there as she did have that ability of hers that made touching let alone...anything else, impossible.

"Friends" repeated one with a nod, "Like with Colonel Sheppard?"

"No, that cannot be, the commander and colonel saved one another's lives." said another.

"So did she and the commander." the first pointed out.

"Yes..." he looked to Rogue "He fed from you when he was injured in the crash."

"But I thought you cannot touch anyone without hurting them?"

They did like asking the hard questions, didn't they? Just like their commander had in the early days, when they'd been getting to know each other. Innate curiosity then, which made sense since wraith enjoyed learning new things.

"It's... a little different with the commander," she carefully explained. "With Wraith in general, I assume. When I touch humans, the transfer of energy is fast and almost heavy, I get a lot in a very short time. But with the commander, the transfer is naturally slower. When he fed on me, I guess it overpowered what I was getting from him, so he wasn't hurt."

They continued to question her about her on and off as they ate, some questions were simple like food-related, others were more complicated.

Todd returned soon enough and the marines escorted the newly inoculated wraith to the pier.

"Ready to leave?" he asked Rogue. "I'm sure the others would like to say good bye." he said, and, sure enough, Sheppard was making his way over, along with the rest of his team. Todd stepped away so that she could have a moment with them.

The question and answer session had been a little awkward at times, but she was glad it happened. She'd be living and working with them, so it was good that they were starting to get to know each other.

Saying goodbye was a bittersweet experience. Rodney shook her hand, Ronon offered her a grin and a nod, Teyla clasped her arm, and Sheppard... He gave her an actual hug, strong and warm, and it nearly broke her with everything it meant.

Stepping back from the hug, he signaled to a nearby marine who brought over a backpack of all things. Handing it to Rogue, he prefaced the exchange with, "It was Teyla's idea."

The Athosian gave Sheppard a slightly exasperated look. "You mentioned you have no other clothing than what you brought with you. Colonel Sheppard and I thought you would appreciate this." Because Sheppard had taken part in the planning and execution, and she wasn't letting him go without credit.

Rogue took the bag and peeked inside, smiling at the small collection of items. It wasn't much, but it would be better than wearing her combat uniform everyday. "Thank you both," she told them. "It means a lot."

And then she turned to Todd, ready to finally leave the city.

"Until next time, Sheppard." Todd nodded to the colonel and led the way to the transporter. After Rogue followed him inside, he touched the map and a moment later the doors opened and the salty sea air greeted them, along with Major Lorne and his team to see them off.

They boarded the scout ship, laden already with the other wraith and after they were settled, they took off to the hive.

After they disembarked in the dart bay, Todd led the way to his chambers for Rogue to get settled. "I'll see about finding you your own quarters at some point" he said. "Until then, we will be sharing again"

Rogue nodded her understanding. "Thank you," she said with sincerity. "I can sleep on the floor instead of taking the bed until then."

He deserved to be able to sleep in his own bed, especially if they continued training. It was nice to hear that she'd have her space eventually, though it would be a bit strange after only having shared with Todd during her time on the ship.

He said nothing to that, not quite sure if he should let her have the floor or let her have the bed. They could figure that out later.

After dropping her off at his chambers, Todd went about his duties, checking up on things before they went into hyper space. The supplies were neatly organized in the pantry, the serum set safely in the laboratory, and so on.

Soon the hive turned and jumped into subspace, the view above the bed going from black and stars to blue haze once more.

Todd returned after he was satisfied with how things were.

"What were you given?" He asked Rogue, indicating the bag.

Rogue took note of his distinct lack of response to her comment about sleeping on the floor. If he decided to fight her on it, she was determined to stand her ground on the matter.

While he was gone, she spent her time investigating the contents of the bag, and had replaced them by the time he returned, not wanting to leave any of her new things just strewn about his room. She smiled when he asked though, and eagerly unpacked them again.

A pair of jeans that she was fairly certain would fit. A long-sleeved green shirt, and another in grey. A pair of long blue pajamas. A bottle of Tylenol that had most certainly been Sheppard's contribution, because the rest of the items were various pieces of underwear that she only mentioned to Todd but didn't bother to show off.

All of it was simple, nothing extravagant by any means, but it was more than she'd had, and it made her feel a little more normal in a way. Which was nice in and of itself.

"It was really sweet of them to put this together for me," she told him, clearly happy with the gesture.

What she showed him looked like it would suit her. Wraith wardrobe was simple and rarely changed, and he found himself looking rather strange in anything else. Besides, the coats they wore were specially designed to fit perfectly. Shirts and pants made by humans did not feel right in one way or another.

He didn't point out that despite everything that had happened on Atlantis, she was still well-liked. The gift spoke for itself.

Todd led the way to the kitchen so that they could work out what to make for tonight's meal. Despite all the Warriors now on a real food diet, there were still the drones to consider. Also Rogue had yet to learn the hallways, about halfway there, he paused and said, "Think you can manage?" He wouldn't leave her on her own, but at least he could see how much of the ship she knew.

Edited 2015-12-16 13:25 (UTC)

Rogue just looked at Todd for a moment, pondering her own capabilities, and then finally nodded. "Sure, easy," she decided and took the lead.

Maybe 'easy' wasn't the best way to describe it, but it wasn't as difficult as it could have been. She'd already been trying to remember the way through the halls during the last few days before their trip to Atlantis, more for posterity than anything, and now she simply had to recall what she'd previously committed to memory. It would have been less trouble to have started at the beginning, but it didn't go too badly. She nearly made two wrong turns during the trek, but caught herself both times and retraced her steps, ultimately deciding on a different path.

When they finally came upon the kitchen, she let out a huge sigh of relief. "This place needs GPS," she muttered to herself before heading into the pantry to take stock of what they now had to work with.

Todd chuckled at that. "If it were easy then disabling the hive would be so as well" he pointed out. Having a large ship that was hard to navigate within was a good defense, with luck if your enemy should board, they'd die of dehydration or starvation before being able to locate and take out the queen.

Course this works best when you don't have C4 and thus locating the top of the food chain was hardly necessary when you could take them all out.

Woolsey, despite the ass he was, had spared no expense with ensuring the wraith got not only a variety of food, but the best too. They'd also thrown in a crate of MREs, just in case. And, true to Todd's word, coffee and chocolate-baking and some for regular consumption-had been thrown in as well.

After they got their bearings on all that they'd been given, he worked with Rogue to plan what they'd have tonight. Since cooking every day for so many wraith would tax even the hardiest of soldiers, and she had to devote some time to sparring, training and of course sleep and personal quiet time, they sat down and planned out who got to eat when. Those that she'd taught and fed prior to the trip to Atlantis would rely on the skills they'd learned to feed themselves for awhile. And those that had recently joined in on the new diet would work in the same groups they were inoculated in to take their turn with the head chef.

Rogue might be able to stumble her way from Todd's quarters to the kitchen, but she'd definitely be one of those lost and starving to death individuals if she tried going anywhere else. So she'd stick with their usual routine until she either learned more of the ship or someone invented hive ship GPS.

She appreciated the great deal of consideration Todd had given to the situation and the allowances he made to ensure that she didn't spend every moment of the day in the kitchen. She would have done it if it had been necessary, but the strain would have takena real toll on her, so this way was much better. She'd have time for work, recreation, and rest, all the things that mattered.

The new stove was a thing of beauty. Well, maybe not literally, but she was instantly infatuated with the new appliance that would work so much better than its predecessor. Combined with the store of coffee and chocolate, she was just short of dancing around the kitchen, overjoyed to be back in her element and where she ultimately felt safe.

When it seemed like things had been set, Todd mentally reached out to his comrades and told them the plan as well as who would be learning tonight.

As he and Rogue pulled out what they'd need for the meal, the first group arrived. From there, Todd let Rogue take charge of giving jobs to each of them and keeping quiet as she explained and answered questions.

The best thing for a teacher was to have eager, inquisitive students. Rogue had that in spades with the group of wraith, and it was wonderful. She instructed them in how to use the various cooking tools, explained why things were being cooked a certain way, even had them taste the raw vegetables they were going to cook so they would understand how the process changed the flavor and texture.

The meal that night was a thick vegetable stew that was fairly easy to produce in mass quantities and had a robust flavor. It also didn't require much heavy lifting - Rogue knew she'd have to ask for help for such things for a while longer until her ribs finished healing, and she'd rather put it off as long as possible. When the last crew member had been served, she finally got her own bowl of stew and leaned heavily with her good side against the island.

Todd stood with her as the rest enjoyed their stew over at the table.

"You did well your first day back" he said with a grin.

The stew was delicious and while he'd been a strictly meat-eater before the diet change, he found veggies could be good too, especially like this.

Except maybe broccoli.

"Thanks," she replied with her own smile. "I don't know if it's my injury or I'm just out of practice from our days off ship, but it sure took a lot out of me."

She felt really accomplished, though. The meal had turned out well, her students had seemed pleased with their progress. All around, it was a good evening.

It'd been a busy week for her, it was understandable that she was exhausted.

After they cleaned up, and the newbies thanked her, the commander and Rogue headed back to his chambers for some well-earned rest.

He decided not to argue about the bed, as it was probably easier on her ribs to lay on a flat surface than the rippling shifting of it anyway, and it was only for a couple nights at most, tomorrow he'd find her her own quarters. He provided her with plenty of blankets and all the pillows she wanted.

It wasn't until he was sitting down when he realized that they'd forgotten something.

"Guess we won't be reading anymore of The Once and Future King." he grunted

Rogue had been about to start the process of lowering herself to her quite pleasant makeshift bed (she'd taken quite a few pillows) when he made the comment. She grinned at him, having been waiting for this moment since before dinner.

"I may not have shown you everything that I got earlier," she commented slowly, her excitement showing through. Grabbing the backpack where she'd set it by her 'bed', she fished around for a moment until she was able to grasp the bulky worn paperback tucked at the bottom. She tossed the bag back on the floor and walked over to hold out the book to him. The Count of Monte Cristo. "I'd told Colonel Sheppard that Dumas is one of my favorite authors; apparently he paid attention."

So not a total loss of something Atlantis had.

The wraith chuckled, "He does indeed. Feel like reading a bit tonight?" he asked.

It'd been a long week and Todd wouldn't blame her for putting it off until tomorrow, but if she was up for it, so was he. He enjoyed listening to her, and was patient with him when it came to trying to understand why humans made of fake stories.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," she agreed, smile still in place.

She went back to her bed and curled up on the pile of blankets, propped up on the stack of pillows. "Fair warning: you'll probably have even more questions with this one," she advised before opening the cover and turning to the first page. Dumas was a master at creating complex, compelling stories that had stood the test of time, and she was quite looking forward to seeing what Todd's reaction would be to the tale of a man out for revenge against those who had wronged him.

As always, Todd was an attentive listener. But by the first chapter's end, he had a better grasp on the story than he had with Once and Future King, and thus asked fewer questions.

About five chapters in, he asked her to stop for the night, he could tell how tired she was and he did want to get back to their training tomorrow. Shame sparring was off the menu until her ribs healed though.

When they'd both settled down with only the haze of blue from the sky light filling the room, he asked, "Do humans often seek revenge for those they are affectionate for?"

If a female carried out or attempted murdering a queen and the queen's commander got to her before her own did, sometimes he might retaliate and kill her, though it was rare because that would mean the hive would have no female. So a new one who'd murdered the old was better than nothing.

Revenge among males however was different as he knew all too well. Prior to the completed gene therapy, seemed like an endless cycle of his underlings going off on their own with his hard work and attempting to end his life.

"It's one of the most common elements of human nature," she confirmed, a little drowsy from being nestled in among the blankets in her extremely comfortable new pajamas, but awake enough for a good discussion. "Sometimes revenge is just for something done to the individual, but it's a powerful thing when the crime is committed against a loved one."

She adjusted a pillow slightly and sighed quietly. "I supposed it's probably a difficult thing for you to grasp, with how different human and wraith relationships are."

There had been few times in her own life that she'd felt a yearning for revenge, but she certainly had in the days following Remy's death. He had talked her out of it though; he knew firsthand what that all-consuming rage could do to a person, and he wanted more than that for her. So she had simply grieved - though there had been nothing simple about losing what felt like the other half of your soul.

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I laughed so hard, nosy wraith <3

lol

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