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

Todd remained asleep for a long while until he was jerked awake by his pillow falling out from under his head against the wall.

A mumbled grunt of annoyance and he decided it was time to get up, picking up and tossing the rebel pillow onto the bed.

Why was he so tired these days? Was it a side-effect of the therapy? He'd been the first to be inoculated and it was nearly a year before the go-ahead was given to start distribution, so he'd see any problems long before his crew did.

No, it wasn't the gene therapy. It was Rogue. She'd brushed against him several times already. His body had healed by now, but his energy had yet to catch up.

It was a bit startling to see Todd wake up like that, Rogue catching most of it from her spot at the desk. She watched him toss the pillow, studied the way he moved. He hadn't said anything, but he still seemed... tired. Worn out. While she was well-rested and full of energy.

Leaning her arms on the desk, she leaned forward slightly and tilted her head to the side. "My offer still stands," she said to him, voice quiet but without any sign of hesitation. "You can feed on me if you want. I don't mind."

Even if it would hurt like hell. She'd stolen energy from him, and she didn't really need it. He could take it back.

The wraith was tempted to, but touching her again, especially to feed upon her, might result in another moment like in the arena. The Hoffan drug all over again.

"I'll pass" he said "Can't risk only getting my energy withdrawn. Or worse, my life" he pointed out. The temptation to lay down now that's he'd vacated his bed was tugging at him, but this was a cycle he had to break now before it got out of hand.

Todd shook it off and then left to go about his rounds, promising to be back before the morning was out so that they could spar.

And there was another piece of motivation to somehow get hold of her powers. He sure as hell didn't deserve this, and he was right to be wary about even trying to fix what she'd done by taking his energy back. It was frustrating, but he had a valid point.

Rogue tried to push past that frustration and focused on her reading. It was a slow process, trying to learn the characters enough to recognize them and then piece together the words, but the symbols that represented whole words themselves were easier to distinguish. It was rewarding when she'd finally worked her way through an entire page of text and actually come away with a vague understanding of the content. Despite that small accomplishment, she'd be more than ready to take a break for some sparring when he returned.

Repairs were holding well, despite the age of the hive ships, they regenerated almost as well as the Wraith themselves. Todd made his usual rounds after that, borrowed a pair of full gloves from an underling, and then returned to his quarters to take Rogue to the sparring chamber.

Today they had the place to themselves.

He pulled the gloves on as they entered the ring. It was extremely strange to wear full ones, wraith rarely wore them at all, and when they did, they were fingerless with an opening in the palm so that their claws and feeing slit weren't confined. It was like putting socks on a cat. But, for his own safety, and to build Rogue's confidence, he had to wear them. Now the only way they'd touch were if one were to headbutt the other.

Todd took a stance and waited for her to make the first move this time.

Rogue had debated for a long while over which style of fighting she might try for this sparring session. After going over Todd's style and form from the previous session, Logan was urging her to go full-on cage fight, but she just wasn't feeling it. Nor were any of the Asian styles appealing to her that day. No, after having Remy pulled to the forefront of her thoughts the night before, she'd decided today would be Savate fighting, the style he'd preferred and really made his own. It had been perfect for his endless kinetic energy, and with the extra buzz she was still feeling from her brush with Todd, it would be perfect for her as well.

She took the offensive, going in strong and quick with kicks and quick jabs. The key was to keep moving, using her momentum to gain more speed and strength behind each attack. It wasn't true Savate that she used, but Remy's more fluid style, but it still remain true to the original technique. Her kicks were limited to striking only with the foot, the sole or toe or inside edge, not her shin or knee - it gave her an added distance that helped a bit when Todd had a longer reach.

Todd took the defense this time, and found she was fighting almost completely different from the day before. Probably due to those other consciousnesses swimming in her head.

But she probably would have done better to go with Logan's preferred style, for once the Wraith predicted where she was swinging her leg, he caught it almost every time. However, instead of flipping her on her back or trying to defeat her, today's spar was more to get the blood moving and keep active.

His thoughts of Atlantis and what was to come of Rogue distracted him and she managed to land a kick in his face.

He staggered back and when he stood up straight again, his nose was bleeding black. He lifted a hand to touch and look at it. Ow. yep, she broke it. A snarl and an audible crunch and he fixed it.

"Quite a blow, takes a lot to break a Wraith's bones, even the most delicate ones." he said "Not angry at me are you?" he teased.

She honestly hadn't expected the kick to make it to its target, he'd been so on game up until then, blocking her and maintaining his defensive position. But he seemed to take it in stride, even as she cringed at the sight of the truly alien blood and the crunch as he reset the bone.

Well, if he was going to take it so well, and even tease her, who was she to turn down the opportunity?

"Oh, sugar," she drawled, laying on the southern charm, "if I was angry at you, I'd do a hell of a lot more than break your nose. This is just me being friendly." It was the first time she'd called him that, sugar, a term of endearment she used with most everyone she was close to. It had just felt right to do so now; he'd earned it.

A roll of her shoulders, stretching the muscles in her back, and she continued playfully, "My former lover used to actually hide from me when my temper flared. He had excellent survival instincts."

Remy's laughter echoed in her mind and she wrapped it around her thoughts, pushing back the grief of his loss and instead embracing the fond memories of him running for the hills after pushing one too many of her buttons. He'd loved her southern spirit, but had also been fully aware that she could and would kick his ass in more ways than one. It felt a little strange to refer to him as her 'lover', it was such an antiquated term, but he'd been so much more than just another boyfriend, and they hadn't had the chance for him to become her husband. So lover it was.

He blinked at the...strange name he'd been bestowed, and the curiosities kept coming, she'd had a mate at one point. Not a question he might have asked but an answer he'd received nonetheless.

The bloody nose had stopped but now his gloves were all bloody. It'd be rude to keep fighting and spray her with it, so he removed the gloves and tossed them aside., which instantly helped clear his head. The feeding slit was more than just a way to suck the life out of humans, but provided a sixth sense. In combination with the heat pits beside his nose, it made Wraith lethal in the dark.

She still had her gloves on. He just had to keep his blows low and not touch her face.

They began again, this time, Todd pushed back.

Since Todd couldn't touch her face and she'd already done a bit of damage to his, Rogue kept her own strikes low as well, going no higher than his shoulders. She could see that she wasn't really getting anywhere with the kickboxing, but it was giving her a good workout, and she definitely needed it. Staying active helped her mental focus, and if they were actually going to try to pick up her control training again, she needed all the help she could get in the focusing department.

She fell into the same trap he did, her thoughts drifting as they moved around the arena, and he landed a blow on her knee at just the right angle to send her tumbling to the ground. And it hurt. A lot. Which was sure hadn't been intentional. Wincing, she rolled her feet again and immediately had to shift her weight off her left leg.

"Lord, sugar, you're good at this," she complimented him, leaning over to put pressure on her knee. "I think the point goes to you this round."

"Todd, Commander, or Sir." he reminded quietly. He wasn't blue jell-o.

"And I've been fighting longer than you" he said with an acknowledged grunt, coming over. Well, that did her in for the day. Best not play with injuries, and they'd been at it for awhile before the screw ups started.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

Not a fan of the sugar thing, then. She made a note of it, and would actually try to refrain from using it too often. Certainly never when his crew was around, just as she had yet to address him as Todd in their presence. It had been a polite sir the entire time during their cooking lesson.

She took a few testing steps, carefully putting weight on her knee. "I can hobble," she determined, noticeably limping but still managing to move pretty well. She'd had a lot of practice in the past - Logan's Danger Room sessions had put them all through the wringer in their early years. "Nothing's torn, just a little overstretched, I think."

Todd nodded and picked up his gloves before they headed back to his chambers, a little the worse for wear than when they went in. He walked slow so that she wasn't left behind hobbling along in the dim corridors.

Bloody, sore and even the Wraith was sweating a bit from the spar, he started the water to fill the tub for a much needed bath upon their return. After setting the bar of soap and towels beside the edge he came back out. "You can get in first." he invited, working to undo the decorative knots and thin braids in his hair.

The tub was plenty big enough for them not be near each other, so her VIP treatment was over.

Rogue was proud of herself that she only paused for a moment at his words, watching him work on his hair with a hesitant expression. After his explanation of no one bathing alone, she'd figured this would come up eventually during their time together - he was nothing if not practical, and this was the only practical way to go about things.

Not that she was entirely comfortable with it, but a bath sounded completely amazing, water was scarce on the ship, and it wasn't as if he was going to try anything. Todd had been nothing short of a gentleman with her, aside from trying to kill her to save himself and kicking her ass in the arena. But she understood the reason for the former and she'd asked for the latter, so really, perfect gentleman. Besides, touching her skin would kill him. So she ignored the seething protests of certain other less gentlemanly types in her mind and started the awkward process of undressing while limping.

Rogue considered it another moment for a bit of personal pride that she didn't fall over while favoring her injured knee, and she put everything into the cleaner before the pain worsened too much. Being on the run and at war had meant that propriety had gone right out the window with things like movie theaters and hot showers, so she actually wasn't that bothered by being naked in Todd's presence. She'd been proud of her body once, of the way her muscles had toned from training, of her set of curves that Remy had complimented to high heavens. She pulled up that old confidence now as she lowered herself into the sunken tub, ignoring how prominent her ribs had become as food became scarce, and not looking at the scars from the battles when Logan hadn't been on hand to heal her. A short knife wound along her left hip, about three inches long. A burn on her right shoulder, the patch of scar tissue large and glossy and in the distinctive shape of a hand. A bullet wound on her right thigh. All signs that she was a survivor, Erik reminded her, and she smiled slightly at the sentiment.

Her knee screamed in pain at the sudden heat put upon the swelling tissue. She should really be icing it, but the hot water would eventually help with the pain, so it wasn't the worst thing for the injury. She just hoped eventually came really damn soon.

While she settled into the tub, he undressed, running his fingers over the bridge of his nose a couple times. Wraith weren't exactly vanity-driven species, compared to humans anyway, but even he had some pride in his appearance.

Satisfied his nose had not healed into a crooked mess, Todd tossed the last of his clothing on the bed and joined her, though first went over to the closet and pulled out an old jar he had.

If they could be any more physically opposite, it was in their scars. She had several, he had none. Even after his years of imprisonment, several good feedings had healed all that up after he returned, leaving not a single sign of physical evidence. Mental, well, those scars would never completely heal, and he'd be forever bitter that Sheppard got to kill Acastus Koyla before he got his hands on him. He did have another tattoo though, along his right scapula. A bunch of weird V's, but upon closer inspection, was actually a flock of simple-illustrated birds. A line of blunt ridges also followed his spine, a remnant of the iratus ancestor no doubt.

Walking by her, he set the jar down at her end of the tub. "Rub that into your knee. It'll help with the pain and speed up healing" he said. "Wraith use it on torn fingers." He added before she could ask. Sometimes an over-enthusiastic wraith might rip out a claw while feeding or in a fight. They grew back but the pain was like the worst hangnail you could imagine.

Finally, he joined her at his end of the tub, settling into the hot water with an escaped audible noise in the back of his throat.

Rogue had glanced up when he'd set the jar down and gotten a very clear view of both the similarities and differences between their species. Humanoid, yes, but the ridges she glimpsed along his spine appeared to be another link to an insect-like influence on Wraith genetics.

Trying not to stare at him or worry over the distance between them (which would never be enough for his safety in her opinion), she picked up the jar, opening it and examining the salve within. Not the most pleasant smell, but those were generally the most effective remedies.

"Thank you," she said to him, indicating the jar she held. "Your nose is okay? I thought you'd block me again, or I wouldn't have gone for your face."

The wraith chuckled a bit at that, "Just my pride." He rested his elbows on the edge of the tub, letting his clawed fingers dangle in the water.

"You changed your technique up today, do you learn such from those you've absorbed?" he asked "Or were you taught it?

"Both," she answered, turning a bit of her focus to her knee as she probed at it with her fingers, checking the current state of swelling. "I've studied dozens of fighting styles, first to stay useful in the field and then to help with teaching the kids. With the X-Men, we never knew what we'd be up against, some of the other mutants had abilities that meant we had to get pretty creative to stop them."

She winced a little at a particular tender spot and hoped the salve he'd given her would do as promised. Without some sort of treatment, her knee would probably be the size of a tennis ball in a few hours.

"What I used today was called Savate, or French kickboxing," she continued explaining. "It was what Remy used, the man I mentioned earlier. He taught me a bit, but having him in my head makes the movement come out more naturally. It's that way with most anyone up here who's loud enough and willing to share." She couldn't pull knowledge or skill know-how from the people in her head, but sometimes they could offer it to her just the same.

"Stop prodding it" he advised

It was a strange and fascinating ability she had. She took life, retained it, and used it, but in a way completely different from that of Wraith. When one fed upon a human, they only took their years and strength. They kept no consciousnesses in their heads, nor learned any new fighting techniques.

Todd leaned over and plucked the bar of soap up from the edge and lathered his hands to begin washing up.

The salve started to work on her injured knee, soothing the pain and the redness was disappearing as well.

"Instead of sparring tomorrow I'll bring a drone back here to try out your power on it." he said.

She did stop prodding her knee, but with a hint of a petulant look on her face. She knew how to handle wounds, thank you very much. Not everyone was able to heal broken bones within an hour, some of them had to deal with the damage and pain for months. It hadn't always been as bad for Rogue though, admittedly - whenever she'd been injured and Logan had been around, he'd practically forced her into absorbing enough of his healing abilities to set her on the mend. It had ensured she'd spent years with a craving for open spaces and a nice cold beer, as well as a good brawl every now and then.

Rogue acknowledged Todd's words with a nod. "Can I ask... Why are you helping me like this?" She glanced over at him, then looked back down at her section of the water. "I appreciate it, please don't think I don't. But I'm not Wraith, and you don't really know me. Even with that, you've gone out of your way so many times, letting me share your room, taking care of me, trusting me. I just wonder why?"

She worried a little over asking the question, one that had been at the back of her mind for days. And she hoped that he wasn't offended, that he truly comprehended how grateful she was for everything he'd done. As she learned more about his species, it became increasingly apparent how unique their arrangement was, and she'd just like to understand it a little better is all.

"I have a debt to pay to you." he answered. "While you might not have saved my life intentionally, it's still something I will repay."

He dipped his feeding arm under the water, the heat of it feeling good on the slit in his palm.

"And you're from a different dimension." he pointed out "Almost as different from humans as Wraith are, but just the same as well. I enjoy hearing about it. The good, and bad."

Cupping his hand, he rinsed the suds off his chest and then held out the soap bar to her. She had to get used to the possibility that she would touch others.

A debt to repay, and something of interest. He really was so very like Erik, it was a little comforting to have something familiar like that in her life again. Especially since he reasons made sense, she could understand them without having reason to doubt his motives. It had been a long time since she'd met someone like that.

Rogue held her breath as she reached out and took the soap from him, careful of where she placed her fingers. It was difficult with the soap being slippery, and she flinched when a fingertip touched his and a quick jolt of that sparking electric energy shot up her right arm.

"Shit," she muttered quietly, shifting the soap to her left hand, flexing her right and shaking it a little. "It stings a little, like live electricity," she explained, lathering up the soap as he had done and rubbing the suds along her arm and shoulder, over the burn scar, trying to soothe away that tingling sensation.

He was more surprised by her outburst at first, but then realized...

"I felt nothing that time" he said honestly. Just her finger. No shock, no pain, not even that annoying tingle.

It was too much to hope that things were changing already. Perhaps her ability still didn't know what to make of Todd, whether to attack him, warn him, or, in this case it seemed, turn in on itself.

That sent the boys chattering in her mind. Erik, Remy, Logan, Charles, a half dozen others. All of them at once, going on about the possibilities, arguing with each other over whether she should go through with this training or whether it would do more harm than good.

She squeezed her eyes shut tight, leaning forward and bowing her head, dark and light hair swinging into the water. It was so damn loud. "Would you all just shut up already?" she murmured, pressing her wet right hand to the side of her head. "You're giving me a headache."

The chattering ceased at that, the few insistent ones being shepherded back to the darker corners of her mind by the trio who always looked after her. But within the brief chaos, there had been something mentioned that might actually have merit. Glancing quickly over at Todd and then away again, she asked, "How different is the DNA of Wraith from that of humans?"

Todd watched as she struggled with herself. What was it like to have the...personalities?...of so many within you? Another reason why she ought not opt for a planet of her own. But that was her choice, should all else fail.

"I believe Doctor Beckett said that we may walk and talk like you, but we're far closer genetically to something called the iratus bug. Or rather its ancestor." he answered. "Why? Has one of those within you thought of something?"

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Excuse me while I die from the awesome.

<3

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