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

Todd was woken by his second's voice within his head.

They were within range of their sensors, which meant they'd be here within an hour or so.

He got up, made himself presentable and then went over to Rogue, who was still asleep. She had enough food on the tray to last her the day. After negotiations were done the final repairs ought to be finished so a well-deserved hot meal for everyone was hopefully on the menu tonight.

The wraith decided to wake her so that she could move to the bed if she so chose. He gave her shoulder a shake.

Rogue wasn't used to people touching her. It wasn't part of her everyday life, hadn't been for over a decade except for a select few people, and with the war, well. It wasn't a surprise that she jerked away from Todd's touch, confused and absolutely terrified that the soldiers had come, the Sentinels had found them, they were being taken away.

It was only because she instinctively recognized Todd as something else that she didn't react by attacking him, though her gloved hands did still come up defensively. When the confusion passed after a few moments, she visibly relaxed into the chair.

"Please don't ever do that if I'm not wearing my gloves," she half-pleaded, half-cautioned, rubbing her hands over her face while her heartbeat slowly began to return to a normal rate. "I don't want to hurt you."

He let out an annoyed growl when she jumped.

Panicky thing wasn't she?

Then again...was he not the same after escaping the Genii prison? Every noise, every scent, or touch made him uneasy for a long time after that.

Todd nodded with a grunt. Though perhaps it best she got used to others touching her unexpectedly. How was she going to learn to contain her ability to only be used when she wanted to?

He said nothing of it though. "The others will be here soon, I'll return later when we're on our way again" he said and headed for the door.

"Good luck," she offered as he left, unsure if he actually heard her or would appreciate the sentiment. She genuinely wanted this meeting to go well for him, for the entire cause to succeed. It certainly seemed like the best option for this galaxy.

She did move to the bed, curling up among the blankets, though it was a long while before she fell back to sleep. This time she did dream, dark dreams that didn't allow her any proper rest, and so eventually she gave up and returned to perusing the book from the night before. She thought she might have figured out which symbols represented numbers, but there was no way to confirm it.

There was more than just the one locker of books, another, perhaps loose, opened when the books in the other were jingled around a bit. There were actually several of these bookshelves within the walls. Some were in good condition, but none of them new and many were very old.

The eldest and most battered among the collection was a translation text of a more blocky text into the thin Wraith style, and then again into the blocky wording, like an English to Spanish dictionary. But without a key to some text more Earthly, there was no deciphering it.

There were other books, many with illustrations which told the reader what the book was about. One image kept cropping up in various texts, that of a city on water.

One by one, the other hive ships arrived and single pilot dart ships flew over. Todd greeted each fellow commander and led him to the chamber where they would all talk together.

First, he discussed how his meeting with the new hive had gone. Disappointment rippled through the others. They could use all the allies they could get. Two commanders also had poor luck, though they'd not been given quite the same send off Todd had been given. However, there was good news for him. The young female was indeed not related to him, which meant he was first in line to become her commander when she matured. And the good news kept coming, three commanders had managed to convince their queens that more females were needed to strengthen the species and that traditional means of producing them-only for honor-needed to be set aside for a time.

Todd handed over the rest of the serum he had for inoculations of the gene therapy among the other hives before they left. The remainder of his crew could wait until they reached Atlantis.

When Rogue's hitchhikers had tired of the first book, she'd replaced it and discovered the additional hidden shelves, including the books with that particular recurring illustration. It had to be Atlantis, the city that sank beneath the waves as Todd had described. The city that held the humans who might be able to help her get home, or might be able to offer her a home if she were stuck in this dimension for good.

Three of the books were spread across the desk, one of them in particularly poor shape, but all of them containing versions of that illustration as well as others. Each image gave her new clues to this strange galaxy and the city that was their next destination, but it also offered up new questions. She wished desperately that she could read at least one of the writing systems, whether it be the blocky text, the thin script, or the characters that looked vaguely similar to Earth's Arabic. None of it was even close to English or French though, or any of the languages that Erik had learned in his long life, so all she could do was turn the pages and wade deeper into the images etched into the paper. It was all a little frustrating, truth be told, but it wasn't like she had many other options.

After the meeting and the commanders had returned to their ships, one by one, the hives went their separate ways, jumping to hyperspace back to their territories.

Repairs by now had been completed at long last so the worshiper kitchens were opened. There was just one problem.

No one knew how to cook.

All those that had been living on real food had had it raw and simple on the hive after the MREs Atlantis gave them ran out. And they'd long since done away with the worshipers themselves. True they had enough to last them to Atlantis but...most were already sick of bread and cheese.

They'd just jumped back into hyperspace, headed for Atlantis, when Todd returned to his chambers.

"We have a...bit of a problem" he said through a smile "Do you know how to cook?"

[ooc: Best. Idea. Ever. :D ]

Rogue looked up from the books she'd been studying and tilted her head in confusion. "Yeah, of course," she replied, then paused, comprehension dawning. "But you don't."

It made sense. Todd had said that Wraith didn't need to eat normal food after the early years of their life, so why would they need to know how to cook it? And if the kitchens had been damaged for some time, at least since they'd had the gene therapy, then this was likely the first time this issue had come up.

Standing, she smirked and went to stand before him. "Well, at least I can finally do something useful around here. I used to help in the kitchens at the mansion; I've kinda missed it."

Hopefully they at least had some of the basics besides fruit and cheese, or she'd have to get pretty damn creative. But she really had missed being in a kitchen, so it wasn't the worst way to spend her time.

Todd chuffed and nodded before leading the way to the kitchens.

The walk was not a long one, about the same as the arena, though in a different direction.

The place was simple but obviously had very much belonged to humans. The stove and sink were man-made, attached to the wall and bolted to the floor, same with the island in the middle, the cabinets, and the beat-up wooden table and chairs.

There were four other wraith there and two more showed up including the second in command after Todd opened the pantry, located just before the entrance of the kitchens, for Rogue to have a look.

It was more like a walk-in fridge than a pantry. Crates of fruit and vegetables, some familiar, some very foreign. There was goat meat hanging from the ceiling, cheese and bread on the shelves, a small sack of beans, and butter. There were also several small glass jars in a box that were labeled herbs and spices, left over from their worshipers most likely.

When they came out of the pantry, the audience had grown by three more.

"I can tell them to leave if you want." Todd said, unsure if the large company of hungry wraith might make her nervous, even though it wasn't she they wanted.

Rogue shrugged, well aware that the group was more likely to attack the food than her. She'd spent years around hungry, hormonal teenagers with superpowers - she could handle a few Wraith, easy. "They can stay if they're willing to be put to work," she offered, not sure if any of them might actually volunteer for such a task. "But otherwise, a crowd will just slow things down." And none of them were likely to want that.

She didn't wait to see who might decide to stick around. Returning to the pantry, she started with the spices, the necessity for any successful cooking venture. One jar was open, sniffed, and then another. They smelled familiar, maybe a little different from what was on Earth, but fairly similar to oregano and marjoram. Excellent.

"I can work with this," she said to herself with a nod and a growing smile. "How many servings do we need?" she called a little louder, grabbing a few things to carry out to the island. Some of the vegetables, the butter, the meat. Todd hadn't eaten much before, so these supplies could easily be stretched to last them the trip.

"Ten, including myself." Todd answered.

His second and two others remained, the other six would have made too many in the kitchen so they'd learn next time and for now stayed in the "dining room", quietly conversing with one another.

Pots and pans were under the island, plates and bowls in the cabinets, there was a drawer of utensils of various kinds from wooden to tarnished silver, and another drawer of knives.

The second and other two stood opposite Rogue, Todd to her left but gave her some room so that he wasn't in her way. The whole situation was quite a sight, but wraith liked to learn, and this was a skill-set they needed to be knowledgeable of if they didn't want to spend the rest of their days eating plain raw food.

If someone had told her even a week ago that she'd be giving cooking lessons to a bunch of aliens, well, stranger things had happened in her life, but it was still a completely surreal experience.

It was an easy atmosphere once they began, any nervousness she might have felt disappearing as her old teacher persona kicked in. She explained about washing the ingredients not only for safety but to preserve taste, about which knife was best for cutting which type of food, and how different degrees of cooking would change the taste. They might have a finite number of ingredients to work with, but there could be plenty of variation if they mixed up the spices and combinations.

Each of her 'students' was given a task, one chopping the vegetables, one slicing the meat, one melting butter in a set of pans, another measuring out the spices they'd need. After the prep work was done, she showed them how to actually cook each thing - how to tell when the meat was fully cooked through to avoid illness (but pointing out that each type of meat tended to be different), how to keep the vegetables from getting mushy, and when to begin adding the spices for tasting.

By the end of the lesson, they had a somewhat Mediterranean style meal, though the flavor of the vegetables made it a little more Turkish than the Greek she'd been going for. Not that they would understand any of that. The portions that were served on the plates were kept small but filling, and she loaded them up with the plates and utensils and sent them out to their companions in the dining room, staying behind to start on the cleanup.

The wraith did as they were directed, those chopping and slicing were especially good at their jobs, but then again they all knew their way around a knife.

"Fine work" Todd praised Rogue as the last of his underlings joined the table with their portions. He stood at the island with her to eat his own. The meal was hot and far more rich than the MREs had been, and, needles to say, quite good. But he wasn't just praising her for the meal, but also grabbing the attention of his underlings in a way that perhaps even he couldn't. Rogue was the only female on board directing them about.The only difference between her and a queen was species really.

"I think between this and sparring in the arena you shouldn't find yourself too bored." he chuckled

Rogue smiled at his praise, understanding that it wasn't just for the quality of the meal. She'd noticed the way the others had responded to her instruction, following without question and giving her their full attention, and she wondered if that was how they were with the Queen of the Hive, when there was one. She had been firm in her direction, but hadn't spoken down to any of them, as that would have been a slight to their obvious intelligence, and if they were with Todd's Hive, she had no doubt that they were highly capable.

"I'm glad of it," she told him, gathering up the dirtied dishes, pans, and knives and depositing them in the sink in between bites of her own portion of the meal. "I've always enjoyed cooking. I helped out at the mansion because I enjoyed it, but it also gave me a good excuse to get rid of my gloves for a while. There weren't usually many others in the kitchen, so I didn't have to worry about hurting anyone on accident."

Since she'd been mostly giving brief demonstration and then instructing the others, she'd kept her gloves on for the cooking, not wanting to take any chances with his crew's safety. Now, though, she tugged them off and left them beside her plate so she could continue cleaning.

The wraith at the table talked quietly among themselves, discussing the meal and how this new diet wasn't so bad at all.

Todd listened to both his crew and Rogue. A shame she'd be leaving, but he doubted she'd want this as a full time job. Besides, she'd jump at the chance to return to her world if Atlantis can provide.

"Well, we're fast learners, I expect you'll have the whole crew trained before we reach Atlantis, if you're up to the challenge of course."

If it came down to it, doing this full time wouldn't be so bad for Rogue. A relatively safe place with people who could appreciate at least some of her skills. But the idea wasn't on the table, so she didn't even consider it.

The smile she'd been wearing faded at his words, her demeanor noticeably changing like a shadow had fallen over her in the dim light of the ship. She went very still for a moment, a well of sadness threatening to overwhelm her despite the strong presence in her mind trying to push through it. A deep breath and she forced a smile to return, turning fully toward the sink so she didn't have to keep up the façade for long.

"I love a good challenge," she informed him over her shoulder, and it was true that she looked forward to doing this again in the days to come. It was just that his phrasing had brought up terrible memories of a grief she still hadn't come to accept.

Todd wasn't sure what had brought about this sudden change, but then again, humans could be very emotional. She was probably homesick.

"Good, also we can try sparring together again tomorrow." he said before he joined his crew near the table to let her have a moment to herself, and to talk to them about what he and the other commanders had discussed.

She was grateful for the space, even if she couldn't say it. The time was spent washing the dishes, using as little water as possible because he'd essentially said there wasn't much on the ship, and putting things away. Dishes were returned to their cupboard, knives to their drawer, spices to the pantry. It was methodical, easy, and gave her time to pull herself together.

She lingered a little at the spices, investigating the ones she hadn't tried earlier. Some she didn't recognize, some where identical to spices from Earth, including... cinnamon. Wonderful, pure cinnamon, sweet like candy with a familiar aroma that made her eyes sting with tears she refused to let fall.

Remy had loved cinnamon. He'd always been sneaking it into her baking, their coffee, anything he could get away with. She shut the jar tight, clutching it between her hands, and whispered to the air, "God, I miss you, sugar." Whispered it to the echo in her mind, the one that was him and wasn't, that was both a comfort and a painful reminder of just how much the war had cost her.

When she stepped out of the pantry and closed it up behind her, Rogue was fine again, as fine as she ever was. Her heartache had been pushed back to where it was normally kept, and she finished her meal amid what she could hear of the conversation from the other room.

As she was eating, several of the wraith had already finished, so when the rest were done, they took them to the sink. But instead of dumping them on her to clean up, they washed and put everything away, perhaps having watched her do it.

After their commander finished elaborating upon what had been discussed, the group broke up, several nodding to Rogue as they left, in thanks.

When it was just the two of them, he said, "I think you've won them over" he grinned.

Edited 2015-11-26 01:14 (UTC)

She answered his grin with one of her own, "Well, that's nice to hear. I wasn't sure what they'd think of me, being human and all." Even if she wasn't entirely human, as he'd put it, she wasn't Wraith, and from what she'd seen, that meant something.

"I like them," she told him, speaking truthfully. "Your second in command, especially. He handles himself well."

The whole group had been wonderful to deal with, much better than a bunch of rowdy teenagers. That they'd cleaned up after themselves had earned them all gold stars in her book, and she was already planning a way to thank them for it. Dessert was going to be part of the next meal; they'd be finding out soon whether Wraith had a sweet tooth among those sharp ones.

"They've been on the new diet awhile, so their view of you is somewhat less of that of a meal. We'll see how things are when the rest of the crew are given the serum."

He put the last of the dried utensils away and chuckled at that.

"Yes, he's still young, follows protocols a little too strictly for my liking, but he'll be a great commander one day." he said, then added. "Sheppard gave him the name Kenny."

"Kenny?" she repeated with a laugh. "I'm kinda looking forward to meeting this Sheppard, he seems like a very... unique person."

She was worried about going to Atlantis though. About what they would think of her. Something gave her the impression that winning over the Wraith was going to prove leaps and bounds easier than winning over the people of Atlantis.

Crossing her arms, she chewed on her lip for a moment, considering and then finally asking, "What will happen to me if Atlantis doesn't want me there?"

"Either they'll take you or they'll contact some of their allies. Or perhaps even allow you to stay on Earth." he reasoned. "I highly doubt they'll reject you entirely. They're not that sort. Except when it comes to Wraith." he added.

They left the kitchens and headed back to his chambers.

But what if they did say no entirely?

In a few years the new queen will be old enough to settle into the hive, and he'd no longer be able to keep an eye on Rogue, perhaps the queen would even kill her for being too much of a hazard.

"But I can be as deadly as the Wraith," she reminded him softly as they walked. "And while Wraith can control it, I can't."

She tugged her gloves back on, shaking her head in frustration. "If there aren't mutants in this dimension, there's no way I can go to Earth. Someone would lock me away in a lab, there'd be no avoiding it. It's just what humans do." Especially when they were afraid.

When they reached his quarters, she stepped inside and then turned to face him, her expression somber, serious. "If they do reject me, could you find me somewhere to go? A planet somewhere, without other people?"

He had star charts, he knew this galaxy. There had to be somewhere habitable, maybe somewhere with elements just a little too harsh to comfortably host a human settlement, but where she could find a way to exist.

Edited 2015-11-26 03:05 (UTC)

Yes, she could indeed.

And no, she couldn't control it, but perhaps with time and patience, she could.

A planet to herself. She'd die from lack of any social contact before running out of supplies most likely. There were several worlds uninhabited, largely thanks to the wraith culling everyone there, so finding a suitable one wouldn't be too difficult. If that was her choice...

He nodded with a chuff, "If that is how you wish to live the rest of your days, then so be it."

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lol seemed logical

logical and hilarious! <3

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