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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"Mostly to hold me back from ripping Mister Woolsey's throat out" she said, her tone suggesting she might just do it if given the chance.

"Also filling me in when and where possible about the people here, and general company. It's unlikely I'll be allowed to roam Atlantis even under guard so your presence in the room would be pleasant than being alone. And we'll likely continue speaking to Mister Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard about what's to come and what we hope they will agree to regarding the hive."

Rogue would likely be as tired as Todd currently felt by the time the queen was done with her and he'd returned, but this solid time together would help their slowly blooming companionship immensely.

It took a hell of a lot of effort on Rogue's part to not burst out laughing at the first part, but it seemed a wise decision considering who was saying it. Still, she couldn't stop the smirk that crept out at the words.

"I think I can handle all of that without too much trouble," she told the queen with a lightness to her tone that hadn't been there before. Honestly, it might be nice to spend some time getting to better know the young queen who was now in charge of them all. Rogue's mind was already buzzing with the things she could teach the queen during their down time, since wraith seemed to enjoy learning and being presented with conquerable challenges. How to read English and play chess were at the top of her list of possibilities. "Except for the things involving Mister Woolsey - he's always trouble, but I'll manage."

She nodded then looked to Beckett, who was hovering nearby, a queue that it was time to go so that the patient could eat and rest.

"We will take our leave. Come to my quarters when you're ready." she said and started to leave.

Todd remained behind a moment longer. "I'll see you in a week. Don't get up to too much trouble." he warned with a grin before leaving too.

A few silent words to his queen and they went their separate ways, she returning to their quarters, and he being brought back to the Puddlejumper bay to be flown back to the mainland.

It was going to be a long week without her commander around, but Rogue was actually looking forward to spending time with the queen. Sure, she'd had plans to spend some time with Sheppard's crew, but she could catch up with them a bit during meals and have more quality time with Teyla and the colonel once Todd returned. Getting to know the queen would be worth it.

That evening, Rogue had a talk with Doctor Beckett about the sort of protocol he should probably try to follow when working with the queen, and she promised the Scot that she would also explain a few things about humans and the way things worked on Atlantis - namely that, while Woolsey might be in charge, Doctors Beckett and Keller also held plenty of power in their positions as physicians. When the queen was in the hospital, she wouldn't be a ruler trying to exert her power, she would be a patient expected to listen to her doctor; it was something that transcended species and rank.

She also asked Beckett if he could help her procure a few things to help with her time keeping the queen company, and that was why when she left the hospital beight and early the next day, she showed up at the wraith's assigned quarters with a boxed chess set, three paperback books, and a pen and pad of paper.

Todd returned to the hive and to the pods, he and the rest of those affected by the insomnia stepped within to rest. Kenny was in charge while he slept. After he got out, he'd take his turn. It was best not to put both the commander and second in command in the pods at the same time. Quite quickly, he fell into that pleasant darkness, and there he would stay until the week was out.

After spending nearly all her waking time with the commander, it was strange for the queen to be on her own again, doubly so since she was on Atlantis.

But she didn't let her loneliness get to her in the least. She saved her energy, settling into a sort of meditative state for the night, snapping out of it when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Rogue looking far better, and carrying a few items of interest.

The guard looked to Rogue and the queen but seemed to realize the wraith would do her no harm on her hive so why here, and so left them be.

The door closed and the queen resumed her seat on the couch, "Come, sit. What have you brought?" She asked interested.

Rogue was grateful when the guard decided not to make a big deal out of her visit. She still didn't do very well around the armed Marines, but she wouldn't hesitate to put her foot down on the matter if needed.

Moving further into the room, she took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, placing the items in the space between them. "I thought you might like to learn how to read English, the language spoken around Atlantis," she explained, indicating the pad of paper. "When I first started learning to read Wraith, the commander wrote out a key for me, and I can do the same for you. The books are for practice, and I can also read them aloud to you if you'd like, that's something the commander and I have done to pass the time. And this is chess," she said, lifting the lid of the box. "It's a game that has fairly simple rules but involves complex strategy. The commander enjoyed playing it when we were here last. I thought that if you learned how, the two of you could play when he returns."

Edited 2016-03-23 05:21 (UTC)

The queen listened and watched quietly as Rogue explained what she'd brought.

Learning to read and write English would give her a leg up here instead of going through her commander or constantly asking what things said. So she agreed to learning it. She picked up one of the books Rogue had brought, even more fascinated with it than Todd had been as she'd only seen books a couple of times prior to her mother's death. It would be interesting to learn from such primitive means. Chess was something her commander had mentioned was a good game for wraith to learn as it required thinking ahead in ways card games and even sparring in the arena rarely exercised.

Her time together with Rogue would be an interesting one, full of learning on her part. And, the queen supposed, Rogue would learn from her too.

Wanting to get started, they worked on the key and the basics of the ABCs of English.

While Rogue went to eat lunch with Sheppard and his team, the queen remained her room, content to learn on her own.

"So, word is you're teaching the queen." Sheppard said to Rogue as they sat down to eat.

It had been an interesting morning, to say the least. She'd never taught anyone how to read before, not completely from scratch, but the queen was as good a student as the crew had been in the kitchen. Still, it was nice to have a bit of a break, and she was pleased to see Sheppard and the others.

Rogue nodded, taking a sip of her iced tea before answering. "Word gets around pretty fast, I see," she commented with a smirk. "It's true, I'm teaching her how to read English. I was taught how to read Wraith, so it seemed only fair. And the queen's an excellent student. I'm going to teach her how to play Chess, as well."

Ronon stared at her as she spoke, in that almost blank but calculating way, then asked, "You sure that's a good idea?"

Giving a little shrug, Rogue answered, "I think it's a great idea. But she's my queen, so of course I want to help her in whatever way I can."

There was a brief silence at that phrase "my queen". But Rodney, always one to butt-in and question or give his opinion, didn't let it linger too long.

"Well Todd already knows English and during his last visit he somehow coaxed Zelenka into playing with him so eventually if Rogue didn't teach her, he would." he stated in between bites of his food.

"Todd's been on Atlantis more times than any other wraith" Sheppard added when Ronon seemed about to ask how Todd had learned all of the mentioned in such a short time. "And he's clever. Not too surprising he picked up on the language. And wraith enjoy games."

During their talk so far, Teyla had been relatively quiet. She'd eyed Rogue's hair a lot in the beginning, very much noticing the change. Perhaps even knowing or at least suspecting what it might mean. But she said nothing of it. Rogue's life on the hive was clearly a pleasant one, despite the sunlight deficiency. No need to put her nose into her personal life like McKay did. Mercifully, the men were oblivious.

"Still think its a bad idea" Ronon grunted.

Sheppard didn't try to persuade him otherwise. The guy disliked anything that meant the Wraith were becoming more friendly or learning human things. And it was unlikely this would ever change.

Rogue noticed the way Teyla watched her, the looks she'd given the braid in her hair that was purely decorative and served no discernable purpose. But it wasn't hard to see that the other woman had put something together in her mind about it - Rogue was just grateful that she hadn't said anything thus far. Though, really, in retrospect she shouldn't have worried about it. Teyla had more tact than the rest of the team put together, and Rogue doubted that she would say anything unless they were alone, and likely only if she was worried about it.

Which brought Rogue to something she'd been hoping to have the chance to say.

"I know you don't trust them," she said to the table in a low but easy voice. "I don't blame you for that - I understand it, I really do. But I swear to you, they're not going to be the ones to mess this up. Toss and the queen both want what is best for their people, and right now that's putting an end to the civil war and learning how to survive with the gene therapy."

She didn't come right out and say that the wraith wouldn't hesitate to act if Atlantis did anything to provoke or betray them, of course, but the words were right there between the lines.

"This new queen, what is your opinion of her?" Teyla asked, broaching the subject with careful consideration as she did all things.

"She's young, but she's strong," Rogue evaluated, choosing her words carefully so as to not leave room for misinterpretation. "She's a good match for Todd and the hive's crew - unconventional enough to accept this new way of life and take the opportunities being presented by it. But just because she's willing to negotiate on some matters doesn't mean she'll be a pushover, far from it. She's a survivor." Glancing over at Sheppard, she smiled slightly as she added, "And I think she'd like to have a name like Todd and Kenny and the others. I suggested Victoria, but you're the one who's been naming everyone so far."

Sheppard knew that Beckett and Keller had been hoping for an older queen to test the gene therapy on as the farther a wraith was from their previous diet the better chances of finding out if there was anything that could go wrong. But they had little choice, they were lucky to get one at all.

But he supposed Todd would have wanted a young queen anyway if given the choice. The wraith liked things his way and an older queen set in her ways would only complicate whatever plans the commander had.

Judging from Rogue's description, the new queen was less likely to cause trouble than a older one. Perhaps better all around, though time would tell.

At the naming bit, Sheppard's spoon of jell-o paused halfway to his mouth. "Really? She wants a name?" he smiled, then took in the spoonful, thinking over the name Rogue had come up with. "Good pick. Victoria or Vicky it is"

McKay audibly groaned and Teyla hid her smile behind her glass as she drank.

Rogue wasn't entirely sure how the queen would react to the suggestion of 'Vicky', but anything was possible. The female wraith had certainly been full of surprises in the short time Rogue had known her, and she wasn't about to put anything past her.

"You should definitely bring it up next time you meet with her," she advised Sheppard, her smile brightening. "I think it'll help build a good rapport between the two of you, especially since her commander thinks so highly of you."

And really, the team could use all the help they could get in ensuring things went well with the queen. They were used to dealing with Todd alone, but now their plans and negotiations would all have to involve the queen in some way because of wraith social hierarchy. She was the top of their food chain, and what she said would go. They were really quite lucky that this particular queen was willing to consider other ideas than her own. Things could have gone very differently had it been the mother who survived on the missing hive and not the daughter.

Sheppard shrugged and returned to his lunch, thinking over Rogue's suggestion.

By the time Rogue returned to the queen's quarters, she'd already begun to read one of the books the other had left, pausing only occasionally to translate a word, but otherwise picking up on the language extraordinarily fast. Thanks to their telepathy, languages were little barrier for Wraith, and during her time with her commander, the queen had already learned a bit here and there.

She set the book down, wanting to learn chess next.

It wasn't at all surprising that the queen was a quick study, but then Rogue had nothing to compare it to. She hadn't been around when Todd had taught himself to read English, but she had seen how quickly the crew had taken to learning things in the kitchen. At this rate, she'd have to find a stack of books to help keep the queen occupied when Rogue had to do things like eat or sleep.

Chess, though - that would be an excellent way to pass the time. The Erik and Charles in her mind thrilled at the prospect, and their influence over her love for the game was as inescapable as it had been for the past decade. She started by explaining the goals of the game before moving onto the physical construction with the board setup and the various pieces. Considering who she was teaching, Rogue had to admit to finding some humor in explaining that the queen was the most powerful piece on the board.

After explaining each of the pieces and the types of movements allowed, she shifted to outlining the endgame and various popular strategies. It was a lot of information to throw at someone, but she wasn't going to underestimate the queen's capabilities, and it wasn't long before Rogue suggested playing a game to cement the other female's understanding, while still encouraging her to ask any questions she might have.

The queen agreed to try a game and see how things went. Little surprise, Rogue beat her the first round, though she did put up quite a fight.

They played again and again until it was time for Rogue to go to dinner and check up with Beckett. Before she left however, the queen asked, "What does Colonel Sheppard think of the name you suggested for me?"

Seeing the queen's skill with the game grow with each round was actually quite gratifying. Rogue had never had to 'learn' how to play chess - she'd never played it before having Erik in her head, and then the knowledge had just been there, along with strategic ability with it. She hadn't had much opportunity for practice in the last few years, so it was exciting to see the way the queen was growing into a formidable opponent. Watching the queen play against her commander when he returned would be a real treat.

"He actually liked it," she told the other female with a smile. "He seemed a little surprised that you would be interested in having a name, but I think he was pleased, too. He approved of Victoria, and also suggested Vicky, which is a popular shortened version of Victoria - but whether you choose to answer to it is completely up to you, of course."

"I will consider both" she answered before dismissing her and returning to the book she'd been working through.

The week passed in a series of flurries and extreme boredom all around. The queen took some time to talk with Sheppard and the others again about what was to happen. Surprisingly, they'd agreed to some of the upgrades they'd asked for as the risk the queen was taking was a big one and a ship that could outrun their enemies but not themselves would be useful on the front lines.

McKay, looking for something to do with his team grounded for the time being, took a crew over to the hive and consulted with a few of the engineers and scientists about what they could accomplish.

Teyla gladly took up sparring with Rogue again. With Torren on New Athos, her time on Atlantis was fairly free and could be devoted to such, along with meditation and even talking with the new queen on one occasion.

Ronon was torn between disliking staying in one place all the time and wanting to be on hand in the event the wraith double-crossed them. Eventually he joined Teyla and Rogue in their sparring matches and even a bit of meditation.

The queen took to chess wonderfully and by the end of the week had all but mastered the English language. Though, like Todd for awhile, did not understand why humans made up stories like The Count of Monte Cristo when they had such culture and history already. Tomorrow, Todd would come out of his pod, and they'd begin the gene therapy that afternoon. For now however, the queen set up the board again for one more round before Rogue had to sleep.

[Finally started a new thread over here.]

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

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