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

He ran his tongue along her folds a few times before dipping past them to caress her clit. As the taste and scent of her filled his senses he wrapped his arms under her thighs so that her legs draped over his shoulders.

Pressing his tongue inside Rogue, Todd was careful of his teeth but also listened to each noise she made to determine how quick or slow he should move.

It was when his tongue touched her overly sensitive clit that she began to squirm, as much as she could with the way he held her, and her moans and gasps of pleasure really increased in volume. When his tongue entered her, her left hand snaked down to tangle in his hair, anchoring herself to him with that pressure he liked.

She needed this so badly after the recent days they'd had. A full release of the tension that hadn't really left her since they started toward that mysterious hive ship. But now - she was still here, in her home and in his life, and it didn't take him long at all to bring her to the edge.

"Todd," she breathed his name, that single syllable turned into a plea because all other words were beyond her.

The encouraging tug on his hair had him growl pleasantly against her and continue to work her closer and closer to her climax.

The breathy use of his human name had the wraith sliding his tongue from her and teasing just her clit again to bring her to the edge.

He wondered-very distantly-if his queen would enjoy this. Each queen was different in their want for attention. Perhaps she'd only want to mate and get it over with. Or draw out the foreplay as long as possible. Best put it out of his mind and keep his attention on Rogue.

That growl did as much for her pleasure as his tongue did, honestly, the sound one of the most sensual things she'd ever experienced. It helped to fan the fire in her veins, and her free hand moved to grip at the bedding beneath her as tightly as she held his hair.

Only a few more seconds passed before her climax hit, waves of sensation crashing over her as her body shook with the release, shuddering breaths and whimpers coming from her throat. All she could do was feel, coherent thought escaping her completely as she rode out the orgasm he'd given her.

It was in these moments that she felt the safest, even though she was really the most vulnerable. Never did she doubt Todd's intentions with her, nor feel threatened by him in any way. It was truly such a relief to have that level of trust with someone again.

Todd worked his tongue along her, lapping up her juices before managing to unhook her fingers from his hair and move up on the bed. Sitting beside her, he let her relax and come down from her high.

"Feeling better?" he asked with a smirk

It was still a bit of a struggle to form a complex sentence, so she just gave him a satisfied smile as she moved a bit further onto the bed. "Much. You're really good at that," she told him, proud of herself for having strung all those words together when she was still in the afterglow.

Reaching over to set a hand on his thigh, she smoothed her fingertips along his skin. On anyone else, that smirk would annoy the hell out of her, but he had earned it for a job very well done.

"I've had a little practice" he chuckled before moving further up the bed to lay down. Thus far his queen had been quiet, which meant either she was going to bug him soon or she was finally going to let him get some rest. So, with Rogue a little less stressed, he felt like he could sleep for a few hours at least.

He tugged the blankets up and let her relax against him, staring up at the blue haze and playing idly with her hair between his claws.

Being curled up against Todd and having him play with her hair took care of the remaining stress, letting her relax for the time being in a way she hadn't been able to before. It was a comforting feeling that he was giving her, whether he knew it or not.

"You take such good care of me," she told him quietly, her words a little fuzzy as she embraced that warm sleepiness that was falling over her.

He smiled and nodded. She was to him too.

After a few minutes, they both drifted off, content in their own ways.

He woke some hours later of his own accord. Finding it odd his queen had not disturbed him, he groggily reached out to her. She bid him good morning and told him she was with the engineers, being brought up to speed on the most recent battles the hive had endured.

Seemed like a lifetime ago they were in a fight.

Todd shifted and sat up, deciding he'd best get up regardless that his queen didn't need him at the moment.

It was some of the best sleep she'd had in a while, with how relaxed she was and Todd staying with her for so long. She was a little surprised herself that he wasn't called away sooner, and when he sat up she shifted, blinking at him groggily.

"Everything alright?" she asked quietly, worried that something might have happened, though he didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry. Lifting a hand, she ran it through her hair, stretching a little and trying to wake up more.

"No, but I believe I've slept enough." he grinned, getting up to locate his clothes.

"The queen will either be going into hibernation tonight or tomorrow, depending on how soon the ache to feed starts to return." he said. "I'd like to make sure she's ready for what's to happen when we arrive in Atlantis in a week. I'll also put forward the name you suggested, Victoria. By dinner she'll probably have decided if she wants it or not."

As he sat down again on the bed to pull on his boots he continued. "I'll send Cody in an hour, I think today you should start learning your way around the ship a bit better so that you have more freedom to roam around."

If there was one thing about having Rogue on the ship that was an inconvenience, as minor as it was, was leading her around all the time. If the drones were out of hibernation, it'd be one thing, sending one to her would not take away its time from sparring or work, and a transmitter could even be built for her to summon the drone when she wished. But as they were too hungry to be trusted around a human, that was not an option at this time.

Besides, she'd been on the hive for a few months now, getting to know her way around should be a priority.

Rogue listened to Todd's explanation as he dressed, moving to sit up against the pillows but staying covered with a blanket to keep warm. It was strange to think that they'd be back in Atlantis in just a week - it seemed like it had been years since their last trip there, and at the same time like it might have been just yesterday.

It was his suggestion that sobered her mood a little, though she still nodded her acknowledgement and agreement. She knew it was an inconvenience that she couldn't get around on her own like the others and had to have someone lead her around, usually Todd because they spent the most time together. But she knew it would be even more of an inconvenience if she went and got herself lost, which was why she hadn't tried venturing out on her own except when she was certain of her destination, like the kitchen. The only option to not be a burden was to learn her way around as he'd said, and so she would do it without hesitation or protest. Even if the drones had been an option, she still would have preferred to be able to navigate the ship herself; anything else would have made her feel rather useless.

"I'll do my best," she assured him, hoping that her best would be good enough to achieve the end result he was looking for.

"Good, see you at dinner then" he chuffed, getting up and heading out. He didn't expect her to learn overnight and there were places like the engine room and the like that she need not learn where they were. But the basics, those places she visited daily, finding the paths to those at least would help.

He left her to her own devices, catching up with his queen and then making his rounds, sending Cody off to talk to Rogue and help her for the day while he went about his duties.

He made a list of problems the hive was having. Nothing major or anything that could become major, but annoyances that ought to be fixed or updated or consulted about to McKay to be improved upon. He also considered ways that they could convince those on Atlantis to give their hive better hyperdrive power. Wraith were a patient race but this week or more lull in between getting from place to place was becoming tiresome, especially since this hive more than others travelled around far more often while others just patrolled their territories. They wouldn't go for it unless a failsafe of some sort was put in to ensure that they couldn't be allowed to make it to earth.

After Todd left, Rogue lounged in bed just a little longer before getting up and dressing. The time before Cody arrived was spent working on her skills with the Wraith language - the comment Todd had made before still stuck with her. She had been trying to study on her own as time allowed, but other concerns had usually taken precedence. Now, though, it was another priority for her, along with being able to walk around the ship on her own.

She spent a good deal of time walking the ship with Cody, trying to memorize the paths they took from one location to the other while they spoke. As a show of gratitude for his giving up his time to her, she agreed to answer any question he posed about her life. The Q&A session helped to pass the time for him while they essentially walked in circles, and she enjoyed telling him about her life before Pegasus, even the darker parts like her powers manifesting and the war between baseline humans and mutants. Some of his reactions were the same as Todd's had been, but every so often he surprised her with something new and different. The whole time though he was polite and didn't let it show if he was put out by having to play guide for her, which was very nice of him.

It was still a little while before dinner when she waved him off, deciding to head to the kitchen early. There wasn't much to prepare in advance of that evening's shift arriving, so instead she decided to straighten up the pantry a little, making sure everything was organized so they'd be able to tell if there was anything they might need to try acquiring on Atlantis.

Dinner time rolled around for the group eating tonight had arrived. They'd become fairly self-reliant in the kitchen now, only consulting with Rogue when they were trying something new or to double check something. However, their experimenting had depleted the pantry far quicker than it should have been. There was plenty of food to get them to Atlantis, but still, while encouraging a balance of meat versus vegetables and so on was good, the amount of food per sitting was perhaps best to be scaled back. For example instead of having four side dishes, only one or two.

Fortunately the fridge they had had only ingredients within it that needed to be kept chilled. Leftovers were consumed pretty much right away by the "breakfast" shift, so there hadn't been any waste of such yet.

The group had already begun working on the soup and bread bowls for the night's meal when Todd and the queen arrived.

She stood to the side and out of the way while her crew worked like a well-oiled machine getting the meal together, observing the techniques they used to undoubtedly question Todd or Rogue later about. Todd joined them as the last couple weeks he'd had little practice in the kitchen.

Rogue noted just how quickly they were going through their food stores and made a mental note to speak to each shift about their menus for the future. Now that they'd had a bit of time to experiment and really enjoy themselves, a bit of restraint in the process wouldn't hurt. If anything, it could be seen as an extra level of challenge to their regular preparations.

When Todd joined in with the others for the cooking, Rogue took leave of her station, washing her hands quickly to rid them of the residue from the onions she'd been helping chop for the soup before moving off to the side near the queen, bowing her head in respect as she did. It was nice to just stand back and watch the others work for a bit, see the way they interacted with each other seamlessly in the kitchen. Everyone knew what needed to be done and they did it with enjoyment, or at least without complaint.

A limitation on how many and what ingredients would be a challenge. And Wraith loved puzzles.

The first time they'd chopped onions, the wraith thought they were strange. Instead of making them tear up like humans did, it made them cough, like getting a hair stuck in the back of the mouth. Thus they had their doubts when Rogue had them add them to the meal. After being cooked however they found they were quite delicious in both flavor and texture and-like the tears-the coughing didn't return. Now they just muscled through it and held their breath until the effects wore off, and as Wraith could hold their breath longer than humans and they were quite good at chopping and dicing by now, it was a cinch.

The queen acknowledged her with a slight nod before returning her gaze upon her crew. A quiet fell over them as the group worked. "My commander says you chose a name for me" he said after a moment, and looked to Rogue again. "Victoria. A human queen on your home world. Tell me, what was her reign like?"

Rogue had actually been pretty terrified when the wraith had first dealt with onions and had their coughing fits. She'd worried that they might have some sort of allergy to the vegetable, some adverse reaction completely unique to their species, so it had been a complete relief when it turned out to be nothing serious. That worry had stayed as they tried new things that were foreign to the wraith, but so far nothing else had garnered such results.

"She was a young queen, barely considered an adult when she took the throne," she told the equally young queen beside her. "Her reign was the longest of all the queens of her empire, which spread across much of the planet and which she helped to grow and stabilize. Her time on the throne is referred to as the Victorian Era, and it's known for being one of the most peaceful and prosperous times in the history of her nation, as well as being a period of rapid growth in the economy and population."

Pausing for a moment, Rogue tucked her hair behind her ears in that nervous way she had, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious about her choice. "It's a strong name for people from Earth," she added quietly. "It's... refined and elegant, but it also gives the impression of someone powerful who shouldn't be messed with."

The queen listened to the explanation, perhaps trying to pry out any detection of lie to the tale. But it seemed genuine, and unlikely something the human would make up just to try and impress her.

"Humans eventually die." he stated. "How did she meet her end? Assassinated? Poison? Or merely her body failing her?" Wraith, for the most part, lived impossibly long lives, even taking the time spent in hibernation out of the equation. So any end for them was unnatural.

Still, it'd be nice to know how her name's predecessor had passed. In battle was the best way to die, but from what little she knew of human hierarchy, those of great position or wealth rarely put their own lives on the line for any reason.

It was true, humans had an incredibly short lifespan when compared to wraith. Thinking of Todd's age was mindboggling at times for Rogue, who couldn't even begin to comprehend what living that long would be like.

"She died of old age, her body failing her when she was 81 years old," she explained, using the phrasing the queen had used. "For that era, she lived a very long life. She outlived her husband by forty years, and her nine children married into the major royal houses of Europe, furthering her legacy."

Rogue watched the queen, trying to guess what she might be thinking and failing miserably. "If the name isn't to your liking, I can come up with other suggestions," she offered almost hesitantly. "Or I can leave it alone entirely."

The queen seemed satisfied with such an end to a reign. Sixty was about the average lifespan of a human not fed upon in Pegasus, a little longer if they took care of themselves, but eighty-one was quite a feat. Only worshipers lived so long and longer.

Outliving one's commander was usual, their rank carried a lot of power behind it with the added bonus of serving the queen directly. However, losing the current commander would mean a heavy loss. He was old for a male and had carried his rank for almost as long. His experience, patience, and strength had aided her much already. Still, every commander had his time, and she suspected as soon as they were in a good position regarding the war and the gene therapy, his rank would be challenged by someone more capable than the little underling.

She wondered if this partial-human would remain here should he die. How far did her loyalty extend? Just to him or to the crew...and to she, the queen? If the latter, she'd have to convince Rogue to remain on Atlantis. Commander deaths were not quick, very unpleasant, and humans were frail in the head. His demise might break her and render her useless.

"It is a good name. I will continue to consider it," she said. While the opinion of a female was higher than a male in wraith society, even outside species, she wanted to see what Colonel Sheppard had to say. He named three of the crew after all, best keep all options open.

Well, at least she hadn't offended her with the suggestion. That was the most she could have realistically hoped for without knowing more of this queen's personality. And she could understand the need to really think it over - whatever name she decided upon, the queen would be stuck with it for the duration of her dealings with humans, which might be a very long time. It was smart to take the time and weigh her options.

Nodding her understanding, Rogue was quiet for just a moment before carefully saying, "Thank you again for allowing me to stay. I know there were many factors in the decision, and I apologize if it seems repetitive or silly of me to bring it up again, but I truly am grateful. And if there is any way that I can be of assistance to you, in your dealings with Atlantis or otherwise, please do let me know."

She'd tried to phrase it in a way that didn't make it seem like she thought the queen needed help, but more simply offering her services. Rogue was an asset in the queen's arsenal, she just wanted to be sure the queen knew that and made use of her when possible. Not only to potentially make things easier, but also to ensure the success of all they were working toward.

She nodded, "I will keep that in mind." she said.

The crew finished making dinner and sat down, a spot at the table as usual left open for Rogue. The queen meanwhile left the kitchens, apparently having learned what she could for now.

Talk around the table mostly consisted of what everyone's jobs were to be between now and when they arrived in Atlantis. Also the fact that their queen would be going into hibernation so soon.

"She won't be gone." Todd pointed out "Just sleeping, and its for the best for both her and what awaits her on Atlantis."

"She's really going to be the first queen to try the serum?" asked one.

"Unfortunately she's the youngest in the alliance, which puts the choice out of our hands." Todd answered.

"Why not allow the queens to continue to feed on humans?" asked another.

"A variety of reasons. Mainly those on Atlantis would prefer not to have any more human casualties." the commander answered. "The fact that we fed Genii to her upon her arrival is enough. For another, any offspring produced would still likely need to take the serum at maturity which would mean we'd be dependent on the drug. The point of the gene therapy is to eliminate all need for reliance on humans and the drug itself."

He pushed his dish away and continued to speak.

"Our culture revolves primarily around feeding, culling, and fighting. But with the serum, we'll be able to explore, learn and make gains to our culture beyond anything we and our ancestors ever thought of. We'll have the time and resources to devote to anything and everything."

The others looked at one another around the table, apparently not having really considered the fact that once the alliance was on top and the need to fight for culling territory was no longer a problem, they'd need to find something else to do.

Rogue worried for the young queen and how her body might react to the gene therapy. There really was no telling what the side effects might be or if the therapy would even work, with all the physiological differences between males and females in their species. If anything happened to the queen, it would be a tremendous loss for the hive and the alliance as a whole. But as Todd pointed out, it had to be done for their species to evolve the way they were hoping.

With the conversation as it was, she decided to chime in. "There's really no end to the possibilities of what you could accomplish with this change" she commented. "Scientific advancements, exploring planets in ways you never have before, opening up channels for trade and commerce. In just a few hundred years, maybe even just a few decades your culture and way of life could be completely different from what it is now. You could create your own cities like Atlantis using Wraith technology, either based on planets or out in space. And with time and innovation, there's no telling what strides you could make in farming and agriculture."

She wondered about getting information on farming techniques and other such pursuits while on Atlantis. Todd was the only one who could read English as far as she knew, but if she worked on her Wraith she might be able to do some rough translations of things. It would give her something to do, and she thought it might prove rather useful later on down the line.

Discussion opened up around the table at the prospect of such possibilities, some vocal, a lot of it mental though.

Thus far, their efforts to raise livestock and grow food had been tedious and exhausting, and while, yes, the drones would eventually alleviate most of that, it would still pretty much set them back technology-wise to remain at such primitive levels. However, their ancestors had created the beaming technology that culled humans, they'd find a way to come up with just as efficient means of harvesting crops in good time.

As plates were scraped clean, the wraith began to clean up. They all had duties to get back to or to take their rest period.

Todd left Rogue to see what the queen was up to. They spoke for a long time, touching on the subject talked about at dinner as well as names again before she finally let him go take his rest. He returned to his quarters some time later.

Edited 2016-02-12 08:21 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject