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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"Yes, that is true" he confirmed "The loss of another is complicated among wraith. We live for so long that if we were to ever feel as humans do when they lose someone, I believe we'd all be grieving masses unable to go on. I suppose, to put it better, we mourn the deaths of others differently than humans because we have it in us to not let it consume our minds and drive us to self destructive means...most of the time. Oddly enough though, humans aren't weaker for it."

Todd gave a small chuckle, "But oh we do enjoy getting back at those who betray us."

Wraith did like some payback, but it was hard when it was a death. It boiled down to one thing: Was the death necessary for the health of the hive? If not, then retribution was quickly brought down on the killer, but more often than not, it was just taken in stride.

She let out a breath that was almost a laugh, but not quite. "I can see that," she acknowledged, though she was sure that mindset presented its own complications for his species.

"For humans, death and mourning are... It's always difficult to lose someone, but the circumstances can make it more so. If a loved one dies of old age, peacefully, then at least you have the knowledge that they were able to live their life. But if the loved one is young, if their death is violent, if you haven't had much time together..." Her voice wavers slightly at the last, and she pulls in a shaking breath. "I really don't know how we survive it."

She didn't know how she had survived it.

"You did." He pointed out, "And you will continue to."

He fell asleep soon after that. Atlantis was pleasant with its sea air and waves lapping at the distant pier, but the hive was familiarity, and home.

The days passed and the mutant and wraith fell into a regular rhythm. Morning was for Todd to make his rounds about the ship and for Rogue to meditate and calm herself. Upon his return, they'd train. Sometimes the sessions were as good as those on Atlantis, sometimes he ached for the rest of the day thanks to a lapse in concentration, though those moments were fewer and farther in between. When the sessions ended abruptly or Rogue broke it off before they could end badly, they walked to help her familiarize herself with this end of the ship.

Finding her her own quarters had taken far longer than he thought it would. He had to find somewhere nearby his own that weren't the queen's nor another wraith's. Eventually he decided the old worshiper quarters were best. It was nearer the kitchen but had all the amenities she needed, unlike several of the underling wraith ones which were basically glorified closests by comparison.

The room was about the size of the sparring room on Atlantis, and the walls had beds within that could be pulled out, seven in all, and in between each of them was a panel for clothing storage. The bathroom was the same size as Todd's, but he insisted that she continue to bathe with him until the modifications to it could make it into a shower, which were coming along well, surprisingly, as hive ships were hard to adapt and change from their original design.

Rogue's ribs were healing but still at a rather agonizingly slow pace-by wraith comparison especially-and he wanted to get back into sparring, so he took her to the arena and taught her wraith weapons. Full out fighting would have to wait, but he could still train her in slow motion and what weapons were best suited. Wraith favored stunners, as the goal of fighting was usually to capture your opponent alive for one reason or another. Handheld and the larger ones that the drones typically carried were the two types, but they also had a variety of blades.

The daily time allotted for Rogue to meditate and center herself was incredibly appreciated as they progressed with her training. Without it, she very much doubted she would have been able to make the progress she had, now being able to hold her control for a much longer time while being distracted with conversation and reading. She could do it almost without thought some days, but it was like physical exercise in that while she pushed herself to go further each time, sometimes she overdid it a little. It was nice that Todd still salvaged that time by walking with her so she could get to know the ship better.

It was strange having her own space within the hive ship. The design of the room reminded her of those first days at Xavier's school, when she'd shared a room with a few of the other girls, before they'd realized just what her powers could do and the students were afraid to get too close to her. That there wasn't going to be anyone else in those beds was possibly the strangest part, and it reminded her somewhat of the war, of all the people who had been lost. She tried not to dwell on thoughts like that, though, because they didn't do anyone any favors.

Learning about the wraith weapons was something she hadn't expected, but she enjoyed it. It didn't compare to the physical satisfaction of their normal sparring sessions, but it was an adequate substitute.

"We need something new," she said one afternoon when they were having a particularly good, and easy, training session. "Something to challenge me." She worried that her progress would stagnate if she didn't make a real effort to mix things up on a regular basis.

"Unfortunately with your injury, there's not much else to be done" he said, getting up from the floor where they sat for her training. "Why? What did you have in mind?" He asked

Walking through Atalntis while touching had been the next goal, but as activity on the hive was comparatively silent, it wasn't much of a boost or change to her ability, and thus not really worth doing.

Sparring gloves-free would be a good challenge, but he didn't want her to further injure herself. It was best to save that challenge when her ribs were completely healed.

Rogue stayed on the floor, her legs crossed, arms resting atop them, and sighed heavily. "I'm not sure," she admitted, frustrated. "But I need... something."

She frowned, and decided thinking aloud might be the best option. "I can't spar yet," she was just as annoyed by how slowly she was healing as he was, "but I need to do something active instead of just sitting here. Walking around is too simple, but what about the taiji forms I've shown you before? The slow martial art I use during meditation sometimes?"

It was much less strenuous but still required a great deal of focus and attention. "We could work on my response time for turning off my power instead of how long I can hold it that way. It would be good preparation for when we are able to spar again."

Todd thought a moment on it. He supposed it was better than nothing, and perhaps it was better to start out with something slow than to jump into sparring as soon as she healed.

"Very well." he nodded once. He'd watched her enough to know the basics.

"Shall we start now?" he asked. They hadn't been at the day's training long so getting started right away seemed only logical.

Nodding, Rogue removed her shoes before carefully standing and removing the grey shirt she'd been wearing, leaving her in a sports bra-like undergarment.

"My hands move a lot in the form, as you've seen," she explained as she set the shirt aside. "This will be easier. You can touch anywhere that's not covered, I don't mind." It would make it more of a challenge if he mixed things up a bit, after all.

Todd evened the field by removing his coat and boots as well, and so that not only did she have to concentrate on making sure where he touched her would not shock him, but also so that any touches she made on him were also under her control. Or attempted to.

He nodded at that and they began their new training session. The temptation or want to speed things up kept getting in the way but eventually the wraith fell into the slow rhythm with her.

It was oddly calming once he got into it and so far, each brush of the hand or finger or block with the arm was met with "normalcy". No gut-wrenching jolts or the like.

It took all of Rogue's focus to stop her power from working at each touch, quickly scaling back the transfer of energy until it ceased completely. Combined with moving in a precise manner, including favoring her injured side, she tired more quickly than during their regular sessions. The fatigue was more physical than mental, though, so she pushed herself a little further, not ready to give up on the progress they were making.

The change in her vision was sudden and entirely unexpected. With a hissing breath, she pulled away from Todd, stepping back and covering her eyes. There was a slight burning as she felt them physically change, and when she looked up at him again, it was with the eyes of a Wraith.

They'd theorized that something like this might happen, that she might temporarily take on wraith genetic changes based on how much she absorbed, but it hadn't happened before now. Apparently those brief periods of pulling his lifeforce into her had added up quickly.

He quickly pulled away when she did, not wanting to deal with another day of aching limbs, but he quickly realized her loss of control was not why she'd stopped.

Todd stared at her a long time, not quite understanding, then remembered she'd taken on physical characteristics of those she absorbed before, and all their sessions together had been enough to change her.

The dim of the room would not be such a hindrance, in fact it was far easier to see everything, even the rolled up papers in the normally black cubbies above the desk. Everything was also far more sharp and little details stood out more. Todd himself even looked a bit different with her new eyes, the dark veins in his skin were far more pronounced, the color of his hair, the face tattoo was far more bold.

Wraith might look a lot alike to humans, especially the males, but through the eyes of one another, it would be like lining up Ronon, Sheppard, Keller and Teyla, the differences were far more noticeable.

He got a feeling that he need not tell her something had changed about her. Instead he asked, "How long do the physical changes last?"

The nature of the changes to her vision were disorienting for Rogue. Seeing everything in such clarity compared to before, the differences in his appearance, the way the lack of light was no longer such an issue. She stared at him for a moment, taking in everything before she let out a deep breath and turned away.

"It varies," she answered quietly, moving to lean against the desk as her strange new eyes wandered over everything around her. "A few minutes, hours." Days. If she had full control over the abilities she absorbed from others, she might be able to switch it off at will, change her eyes back to their usual human shape and color, but that wasn't an option.

"Well, so much for more training." he sighed. He figured it'd be best if they took a break from it and let the side effect go away, or risk more traits showing up.

Last thing he wanted was to give her the hunger of a Wraith.

No sparring, no training. Her ability and injury were certainly not making the trip all that fun.

Rogue had other ideas though.

"No, let's keep going," she countered, stepping away from the desk and back toward Todd. "We knew this might happen, there's no point in waiting to continue. For all we know, this'll just happen again next time."

She was worried about other potential changes as well, but the only way to completely avoid them would be to cease training altogether. And she wasn't about to do that.

Todd wasn't too keen on this.

"If we continue, there is the very real possibility of you developing the need to feed." he pointed out, and he didn't think he had to tell her how serious that could become.

"I think we should wait until this clears up, then we can gauge how long it takes exactly." it would be boring, but better than the alternative.

Rogue wanted to argue, point out that the possibility of that particular side effect was lessened because genetically he had been altered to not need to feed himself, though he was still able to physically do it. But she decided against pressing the matter, not wanting to fight. Her ribs were feeling slightly more tender than usual from the exertion anyway, so a break would probably do her some good.

Even if it did frustrate her to no end.

"Fine," she finally agreed, though her expression and tone made it very clear that she wasn't happy about it. "We'll wait." And she grabbed her shirt from where she'd left it, wincing slightly as she pulled at her side while tugging it on.

He knew she was unhappy about it but he had to keep firm on this and not take risks.

After pulling his coat and boots back on he let her lead the way as usual to the kitchens. By now she could do it perfectly, but he still wanted her to do it as often as possible without his help. Since they were done for the day, they might as well get dinner started as they'd be feeding quite a lot of the crew tonight. They settled on making stew as it was the easiest to cook a lot of.

Tomorrow they would return to the rendezvous point for the commanders and Todd wanted his warriors in top condition in the event their possible queen decided to inspect the ranks. Which also made him think of another issue. Should he allow her to meet Rogue or wait? Distracted, Todd cut his finger with the knife he'd been slicing potatoes with. He hissed in more annoyance than pain and quickly withdrew to wrap a towel around it to avoid dripping black blood everywhere.

Rogue was startled by Todd's sudden withdrawal, having been concentrating on her own tasks of measuring out spices, trying to vary the flavors from the last time they'd had stew. The streak of blood on the knife he'd been using caught her attention and she was at his side not a few seconds later.

"Are you alright?" she asked quickly, concern apparent. It wasn't like him to be so careless. It wasn't like him at all.

"Still used to slicing flesh with a knife" he said with a chuckle "Not potatoes." He withdrew the towel to look at the cut, it'd already ceased bleeding and he tossed the ruined cloth aside.

He looked to her a long time, finding it very strange to see wraith eyes on a human.

"I don't want you gaining the ability to feed. You understand that, correct?"

By no means did he want to cease their training, she'd made wonderful progress, but...she couldn't shift anymore.

She was grateful for his quick healing, it lessened the worry she'd had for him. If only she'd gotten more of that instead of the new eyesight.

Chewing on her lower lip for a moment, she finally nodded and moved away, picking up the bloody knife to clean it. "I know," she assured him quietly. "I don't want that either. I just..." She glanced over at him from the sink, trying to decide how to say it, but just shook her head in the end and changed the subject.

"Was that what had you so distracted?"

"Yes, that and tomorrow's meeting the commanders. Our potential queen may come aboard and inspect my crew." he answered, resuming his peeling of potatoes.

"I have not met her in person yet. I suppose you could say I'm nervous" he chuckled.

Like the blind groom and brides of old, not finding out what your partner looks like until the day of the wedding. Though he was less concerned with physical appearance than he was with ensuring she found him up to snuff.

Returning to her own post, she gently commented, "I'm sure it'll go well. You have an excellent crew, and you already know my opinion about yourself." She'd happily repeat it if he needed the reminder.

She set the bowl of spices aside and set to work on chopping her own vegetables. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked carefully. "With the visit, or trying to make you less nervous?" They needed the visit to go well, and if there was something she could do, she wouldn't hesitate.

He chuffed and shook his head, "No, but I thank you for the offer." he said with a nod, tossing the last of the potatoes in the bowl.

Soon enough, those that would eating tonight filed in. Todd quickly explained to them about what had happened to her eyes, as they were surprised by their teacher's change in appearance. They settled and asked nothing more of it after that.

Those with less experience in cooking took Todd's place and helped Rogue out getting things together. As the stew bubbled away, the commander and human browsed through a very large cookbook also included in their delivery to find something for dessert.

They finally settled on key lime pie as it wasn't too sweet and they'd not tried any meals let alone dessert with lime before.

Edited 2015-12-20 04:00 (UTC)

Watching the wraith try lime for the first time was a fantastic experience for Rogue. It took everything in her not to laugh at the subtle changes in their expressions as first her helpers taste-tested the lime juice and then everyone tried their slices.

It was nice to have the distraction after the reactions she'd received in response to her eyes. There was none of the disgust or fear she was certain would have been present in humans, though, so she was incredibly grateful to the crew for that, and they didn't let their surprise get in the way of their tasks. For that alone, they'd endeared themselves even further to her, and she took extra care in explaining the processes involved in the cooking and especially the baking. Baking had much more science behind it than what they usually dealt with in the kitchen, and she thought that might appeal to this particular group.

Wraith were scientist, engineers, warriors and flyers all in one, though some leaned toward one "profession" over another. Several in the group were very interested in the science behind baking, others were more keen to taste it.

Todd had listened to her tell many of his crew about all this before, but still, he listened again. Rogue's southern drawl and presence was quite...wonderful.

The pie was a success among the group, and after they finished cleaning up, Todd escorted her back to the worshiper quarters. While the worshiper's sleeping room was roomy, there were no windows to show her the stars or even the blue haze of sub-space.

"Tomorrow I'll come by before the commanders arrive, however, you're to stay here until they've gone." he said

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theycalledmeacurse - 2015-12-20 04:50 (UTC) - Expand

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

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Hope the jump is ok

Perfectly okay!

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