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

Todd's grip on her was about a minute long. After he was sure he'd given her enough, he let go with an ugly sucking sound, the bloody wound healing up almost immediately with no sign having been there at all.

"Any better?" he asked, then cocked his head, "What is it?" He realized something incredible had changed judging from her expression. He knew it felt good but even for someone who was starved for touch, the enzyme-especially the relatively small amount he'd given her-wasn't that pleasure-inducing. So what was it?

Rogue took a deep breath and leaned forward, lifting her hands and slowly removing her gloves. She flexed her fingers, stared at her own right palm for a few seconds, and then held her hand out to him.

"I turned it off," she told him, feeling like she was in a bit of a daze. "Touch me again. Please." She had to see if it still worked. She felt like it would, but she had to be certain.

If and when he touched her, there would be nothing but her skin on his. No powers, just her usual warmth.

Genuine surprised crossed his features, and, after a moment, he lifted his hand again, cupping her jaw instead of her hand, as she had his after the news of the queen killing the female.

Warm, soft skin greeted his finger tips with not even the slightest drain of energy.

He brought his other hand up to cup the other side of her face.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

He let go of her face and sat down beside Rogue on the bed to take her hand in both of his. Still nothing.

But how?...and could she flip the switch whenever she wanted...or was this a permanent fix?

Or worse, was this just a strange side-effect of the enzyme? Once the high of it wore off, would her ability come back to the way it was before?

Her eyes drifted closed as he set his hands against her face, and she sighed when the contact ceased. But then he was sitting beside her, taking her hand in his, and she nearly cried at how wonderful it was to simply have someone holding her hand and be able to enjoy it without the stress of worrying about hurting them.

She wrapped her other hand around his and clung to him like her life depended on it. In that moment, she felt like it might.

"I don't even have to think about it," she said softly, something akin to disbelief in her tone. "It's just... off."

Despite the very well known fact that wraith preferred little to no affectionate gestures, he was not going to slap her hands away. This was important, and it wasn't like she was going to run through the ship tomorrow bellowing at the top of her lungs "the commander held my hand!"

But he was the logical one.

Powers didn't just up and disappear for no reason.

"Can you turn it back on?" he asked. Perhaps the enzyme wasn't blocking her ability but just giving her the power to control the switch so to speak?

Rogue glanced up at him, her vision blurring slightly as tears filled her eyes for the second time that day. She very gently pulled her hands away from his, replacing the full touch with just a brush of fingertips.

It took nearly a full minute of concentration to track down that 'switch' within her, that place that just felt right, where her intuition said she would finally have control. Xavier had always said she'd be able to do it, they just had never been able to find a way. Maybe it was because of something to do with the enzyme, or her consistent exposure to wraith DNA, or... There were so many possibilities. She pulled in a tight breath as her power snapped on again, but with the same usual slow pull and not the agonizing pain Todd had felt at times. It was back on, and normal.

She lifted her fingers from him and set her hands in her lap, her gaze moving to his face. She'd done it. Finally. After all these years.

Todd chuffed, and smiled. "Well done" he praised.

But he wasn't ready to celebrate entirely just yet, the enzyme's side effects may be brief but the drug didn't dissolve in the system for several hours. Tomorrow morning, they'd know for sure if the switch she found within her could be activated at any time...or not.

He got up from the bed, "Get some sleep, you've earned it." he said.

She knew they still needed to be cautious, that she shouldn't get her hopes up when it might just be some weird sort of side effect from the enzyme. She just wished they could know now, either way.

Giving Todd a small, genuine smile, she told him, "So have you." He'd had an incredibly long and difficult day, and he'd come through the other side of surprisingly well, in her opinion. She was proud of the way he'd handled things after the initial despair and anger from the news of the young potential queen. "Sleep well, Commander."

"You as well, Rogue." he replied and left her be.

He returned to his quarters and laid down, watching the endless black and stars wheel through the window as they orbited a nearby planet.

It was a good day, and Todd slept well that night.

He woke later than usual but as they had to wait for the hull to regenerate before jumping back into sub-space, most of the crew could take the time to relax, including himself.

Todd watched the sky a bit longer before deciding to get up and go see Rogue. He knocked on her door. Moment of truth soon upon them. Had the enzyme helped or just given false hope?

Rogue was still asleep when Todd came knocking, and it took a few moments for her to realize what was happening. She'd been up for hours after he'd left the night before, first winding down from the slight high of the enzyme, and then alternately thinking over everything and remembering the way his hands had felt on her skin. When he'd held her face...

She rolled her off and stumbled to the door, running a hand through her sleep-messed hair and straightening the blue pajamas she wore. He got a smile when the door opened, though it would have been even bigger if he'd had a cup of coffee in his hand. Maybe in a perfect world.

"Come on in," she told him before moving to sit on the edge of the bed again. "I assume you want to try again." She certainly did.

Perhaps he ought to have waited before coming to her as she'd obviously just rolled out of bed.

No, this was better actually. If the enzyme hadn't been the key to her ability to switch her ability, then now, while she was barely awake without it in her system, was the best time to try.

"Indeed so." he said, following her over and standing in front of her.

This was it.

A moment, and then he held out his feeding hand for her to touch.

She took a deep breath and concentrated. It still took time to find that place, to flip the metaphorical switch in her mind, but barely a minute had passed before she reached out to wrap her hand around his.

Nothing. Not even a spark of her powers.

Rogue pressed the back of her free hand to her mouth. It worked. Still. It hadn't just been a side effect.

He'd prepared for the worst. Instead, she'd done it. All on her own now. Whatever had happened yesterday had kicked her down the right path to finding the so-called switch to her power.

Turning it on and off at the blink of an eye would take further practice, but Rogue had taken a monumental step. Everything else was the icing on the cake as the saying goes.

He grinned broadly. "Well done. Well done indeed."

Todd lifted his free hand and touched her jaw like yesterday. No residual draining, no tingling, nothing at all. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was as normal a human as they came. But she was better, she was an extraordinary human with an extraordinary power that she could finally control.

Edited 2015-12-21 05:09 (UTC)

She leaned into that touch, closing her eyes and letting her free hand fall into her lap. If only he would always touch her like that now. Even if it was all she ever received, it was more than she'd had before in her life, and that it was Todd made it that much better. More meaningful, more satisfying. Sensual, even.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she told him, looking up at him with an expression that was grateful and something more. "My Commander."

The wraith made a noise in the back of his throat, though still smiled. He did his part he supposed.

"My commander?" Todd repeated, taken aback by the possessive title she'd called him. But commented no further on it.

He patted her jaw and withdrew. "Come, get dressed so that you may eat and then we may spar." He'd been waiting for far too long to spar with her again thanks to her carelessness with fighting Ronon. And now that her ability was on a tighter leash, he wouldn't have to worry about suddenly feeling like he'd been hit by a truck.

He was her commander, in the purest sense of the phrase - the one on whose ship she resided, who she was loyal to. But she had also meant it in that possessive way. Her friend, her Commander. She was both pleased and grateful that he hadn't rejected her outright for it.

Rogue would claim him in any way he would allow.

A grin was the response to his order/invitation and the prospect of finally being able to spar with him again. She'd missed it more than words could express. Dressing took less than a minute, green shirt and jeans, and she spared a few seconds to pull her hair back to keep it out of the way when they fought.

"Let's go," she announced eagerly, practically bouncing out the door and leading the way.

They went to the kitchen and while she made her coffee, he worked on some scrambled eggs for her, as anything heavier right before a spar wasn't exactly the greatest idea.

He sat beside her as she ate and enjoyed her cup of Joe, looking over the list of the week's meals and thinking over who among his crew still could use a bit more practice in the kitchen.

When she finished and all was cleaned up, they headed down to the sparring arena. No surprise they weren't the only ones there but it was more crowded than usual, a good portion of the crew had turned up to watch or fight. The current spar was between two, with no weapons. Still, when wraith sparred they didn't hold anything back and the floor was already spotted with black blood from both their fight and a previous one or two.

Having breakfast with Todd, even when he wasn't eating anything himself, was one of Rogue's favorite things. She enjoyed the companionship of having him there beside her, and it was sweet when he made the eggs, even if he hadn't intended it to be so. Sweet and endearing, and something she wouldn't trade for anything.

Watching the other wraith in the arena was fascinating for her. Seeing the way they fought each other, the way those assembled watched as well. She drank in as much of it as she could, cataloguing each action between the two combatants in the hopes of learning something that might be of use in her own bouts with Todd.

After watching for a short while, she leaned in slightly closer to Todd and commented, "Think I'll ever be that good?" There was a smirk there to make sure he knew it wasn't a completely serious question.

He'd made the eggs for her to speed things up so that they could get to the arena, unaware it meant more to her than that.

While she observed trying to learn new moves and the movement of wraith in a fight in general, Todd was observing differently, seeing what needed practice and what the wraith was good with. He'd been about to tell her that unless she was okay with getting some more broken bones, a full out fight with a wraith was not the best of ideas, but quickly saw she was kidding and chuckled, chuffing in reply before turning his attention back on the fight.

Hand-to-hand combat might be rare these days, it was a skill set worth ensuring didn't go lax. Most of the moves the pair made in the fight were good, occasionally one slipped up and paid the price with a punch or a kick. Eventually, one dominated the other and when the loser dropped to his knees, the attacker stopped, helped his exhausted and defeated comrade to his feet and they went to go clean themselves up. Another wraith from the sidelines followed, perhaps to report what he saw as a spectator.

Kenny came in next, along with two other wraith. Like the fight Rogue had witnessed with Cody, this one had weapons.

They started without so much as a "go!" from anyone, the second in command flying forward with his sword and the clang of metal on metal filled the arena.

Edited 2015-12-21 06:25 (UTC)

Rogue had never had the chance to see Kenny fight before, and it gave her a new perspective on Todd's second in command. He had a definite skill with the blade, and like the others he never hesitated in his movements. But there was something that was uniquely him in his style, just a hint here and there that was different from the others.

"He's certainly deserving of being your second," she mentioned to Todd in an off-handed manner, much of her attention focused on the fight. "He's incredible." There might have been a bit of admiration in there - she'd never been very good with a blade, herself.

She tilted her head as she watched, completely transfixed by the proceedings as Kenny held his own against the other two wraith. That was definitely something she couldn't do with a blade, and likely not without either.

Kenny was what wraith referred to as a "flyer", or rather the term was never used but described when elaborating on another's techniques. Some wraith used their weight with a strike, others sometimes dropped to get under their opponents defenses. Then there were others, like Todd's second, jabbed quickly, remained light on their feet, even jumping often to put their strength behind a strike or to dodge a blow.

The second was quick, seemingly blocking blows from two different directions at once and rarely taking a hit.

"He is." Todd agreed. There were times when he was sure the other wraith would fight him for command over the hive, but he remained loyal and content with his current position, though he might gripe about things occasionally.

The fight was over. One wraith surrendered with a sword to his chest, the other had been knocked off his feet and had Kenny's boot on his throat. Kenny wasn't even winded, but he nodded to his commander and went with the other two wraith to wash up. Sometimes spars were quick one-round fights, just enough to get the blood moving. Others, like the match before, were full out exhausting.

It was a bit strange to see so many wraith gathered in the arena, where before there had only ever really been a handful when they'd visited. Strange, but nice in that Rogue had plenty to keep her attention. She made a mental note to mention to Kenny sometime her admiration of his fighting ability and style - she wasn't quite sure how the second would react to compliment, which made her even more determined to see the idea through.

It occurred to her while she was watching the trio exit the arena that she had never seen Todd fight with another wraith, only with Teyla, who had bested him many times. She wondered how different his style might be with another wraith, and what his favored tactics were with his own species. Things were always a little different when he fought with her, Rogue knew, since he didn't want to cause any permanent damage, but some part of her would love to see him in that real test of strength and prowess if given the chance.

"There are a lot of others here today," she remarked to Todd, gesturing slightly to those scattered around the room. "Is there any particular reason?"

The commander was actually considering jumping into the arena to fight his fellows, but he wanted to save himself for a spar with Rogue today.

As the next group entered the arena, another pair this time, Todd looked to her at the question.

"Hive ships have no shields, not like the Dadaelus anyway. Instead the hull is a very thick organic matter. As a result, after long periods in subspace, we have to stop and let the hull regenerate, otherwise the whole ship could be ripped apart. And thus, many are left with little to do on board with a ship simply in orbit. Sparring is a good way to burn off energy, renew bonds with fellow wraith on board, and in general pass the time. Our engineers are also working on upgrading our baths to showers so keeping the crew out of their quarters while they work is best."

Ah, that made sense then. The new information about the ship added to the list of things that fascinated her about the organic vessel, and the news of the showers was incredibly exciting. Baths were relaxing, but they did take a lot of time that could be devoted to other things.

That took her down another line of thinking entirely, contemplating something that had been on her mind for a while, since they left Atlantis and perhaps even before then. She was quiet for a moment, then glanced at Todd briefly, scanning his expression before turning back to the sparring duo.

"Commander, when we're done here, I have something I'd like to ask you," she informed him, her tone measured and even. "Something personal."

Edited 2015-12-21 07:40 (UTC)

"Hmm? Of course." he said, curious to what it could be, but far more eager for their spar.

Soon it was their turn, and several wraith still remained to watch the commander and the cook fight.

They kept to hand-to-hand, as now that Rogue no longer had to fight to keep control of her ability, they could be less touch-and-go with their strikes. Still, he avoided blows that could break bones.

It was good to be sparring again, especially with her.

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