(no subject)
House of the Rising Sun
rated PG, no warnings, some slight "Conversion" spoilers
For ideal_girl at john_teyla_fic, who wanted Teyla and John on a diplomatic mission alone, and some discussion about what happened in "Conversion". (I kind of combined them.)
Thanks to: purple_cube for catching my mistakes, and havocthecat for being a great brainstorming partner.
“All right, it’s a two-man job. Ronon, Rodney, you head back to Atlantis; let Elizabeth know what’s going on. Teyla, you’re with me. Send another team if we’re not back by tomorrow this time. Got it?”
Rodney opens his mouth to protest, but Ronon is quicker. “Got it.”
“Good. See you tomorrow. Teyla, you set?”
“I am ready.”
“Let’s move out.”
They push back through the forest, ducking leafless branches, dry twigs breaking underneath their boots. Overhead, the first sun is starting to set, but the second is still at mid-afternoon.
The days are long here, and they had all been thrown off balance by it, even Teyla. She’s has become used to the twenty-eight hour Atlantis days, but here the day is thirty-two. Beside her, John stifles a yawn. “There are still eight hours of daylight before you can get any sleep,” she reminds him.
“This planet kind of sucks,” he grumbles.
“Are you not used to going long periods without sleep?” From what she understands of John’s military, sleep deprivation is common.
“Not since I was last in a combat zone.” Two small birds fly past, twittering, and they both duck. John frowns. “We’re going the right way, aren't we?”
“Yes.” She stops to listen to the woods around them, but there are only the normal sounds of nature, and she sees John's hands tighten on his P-90. They are strong, capable hands, and she is glad for his presence.
“You hear something I don’t?” he asks.
Teyla smiles. “I am certain we are the only people for quite some distance.”
*
“Can I ask you something?” he asks a little while later, when they’ve gotten to the creek, and Teyla nods. “I mean, I can’t believe I never thought to ask this before, but I’ve spent some time with a lot of the Athosians now, and so far you’re the only…” he trails off, the look on his face clearly saying that the word he wants to use would most likely be the wrong thing but he can’t think of anything else, so he doesn't even try, just gestures, and Teyla signals her understanding with a quick nod.
“When I was born,” she says, “there was a light in the sky. A sign from the Ancestors. The next day, a flock of red birds landed on our dwelling and stayed for hours. Rare is one warrior sign among my people, and two even rarer. So I have my path, and it is not quite the same as the rest of my people.”
John nods. Teyla can count on one hand the number of people she has told about the warrior signs, including him. Of all the things you might leave behind on your journey, her father had told her once, this is one of the most important to carry with you. Know that you were born to this, Teyla. He’d been taken in a culling soon after, and she’d been adrift for weeks, only finding solace in hours upon hours of training. Not even meditation with Charin could soothe her mind, not until after the harvest had come and passed, and winter had been nearly upon them.
“Each warrior is on a journey,” she tells John now. “They go where their fight against the Wraith take them. Mine brought me to Atlantis.”
*
"Mine brought me to Atlantis," Teyla explains to him, and he thinks on that for a while as they keep walking along the creek. Every warrior on a journey. He thinks maybe if Teyla had been born on Earth, she might have joined the military, and they might still have met somewhere along the way. He likes that idea.
"You're not still mad at me about the.. the you know, are you?" he asks, suddenly, and it comes out of his mouth all wrong and he thinks he might have to suffer through asking again.
But she gets it. "No, I am not mad at you. I was never mad at you, John. You merely caught me off guard - which does not happen often," and she smiles as she says it and John realizes this is her version of a joke. He can go along with that, no problem. "Perhaps I should explain something," Teyla continues, and he nods for her to keep talking.
"I feared you would find it silly and think us primitive," she says hesitantly, "but the warrior path does not provide room for me to pursue… romantic relationships, for lack of a better way to say it." She gives him that please tell me you understand look, and he does. "I have traded personal gains for the greater good of my people."
"I follow you," John says, nodding. "You could have explained this a long time ago, you know; I would've gotten it."
"It is not something I talk about often, or with people I do not know well."
"I think you know me pretty well by now."
"By now, yes," she says with a chuckle.
*
They reach the outskirts of the village just as the second sun finally starts to descent towards the horizon, making everything a brilliant gold splashed with flame orange and pink, and Teyla hands him one of the headscarves. As outsiders, they are required to wear the simple drapings of white linen-like cloth, and John throws his over his head without much thought. Teyla chuckles and reaches to rearrange it for him. "Here," she murmurs, "you should learn how to do this; there will be more places than this where you wll be asked to wear one."
He makes a face and lets her fix it, feeling a little stupid. The sunlights glows off of her face. "Hey," he whispers, touching her wrist. "Thanks. For, well, you know. Trusting me, I guess."
Teyla inclines her head and touches her forehead to his. John closes his eyes. They stand that way for a moment. "Come," she says finally, stepping back and adjusting her P-90, and he's momentarily thrown by the dichotomy of it all. "Let us not linger any longer. They are waiting for us."
rated PG, no warnings, some slight "Conversion" spoilers
For ideal_girl at john_teyla_fic, who wanted Teyla and John on a diplomatic mission alone, and some discussion about what happened in "Conversion". (I kind of combined them.)
Thanks to: purple_cube for catching my mistakes, and havocthecat for being a great brainstorming partner.
“All right, it’s a two-man job. Ronon, Rodney, you head back to Atlantis; let Elizabeth know what’s going on. Teyla, you’re with me. Send another team if we’re not back by tomorrow this time. Got it?”
Rodney opens his mouth to protest, but Ronon is quicker. “Got it.”
“Good. See you tomorrow. Teyla, you set?”
“I am ready.”
“Let’s move out.”
They push back through the forest, ducking leafless branches, dry twigs breaking underneath their boots. Overhead, the first sun is starting to set, but the second is still at mid-afternoon.
The days are long here, and they had all been thrown off balance by it, even Teyla. She’s has become used to the twenty-eight hour Atlantis days, but here the day is thirty-two. Beside her, John stifles a yawn. “There are still eight hours of daylight before you can get any sleep,” she reminds him.
“This planet kind of sucks,” he grumbles.
“Are you not used to going long periods without sleep?” From what she understands of John’s military, sleep deprivation is common.
“Not since I was last in a combat zone.” Two small birds fly past, twittering, and they both duck. John frowns. “We’re going the right way, aren't we?”
“Yes.” She stops to listen to the woods around them, but there are only the normal sounds of nature, and she sees John's hands tighten on his P-90. They are strong, capable hands, and she is glad for his presence.
“You hear something I don’t?” he asks.
Teyla smiles. “I am certain we are the only people for quite some distance.”
*
“Can I ask you something?” he asks a little while later, when they’ve gotten to the creek, and Teyla nods. “I mean, I can’t believe I never thought to ask this before, but I’ve spent some time with a lot of the Athosians now, and so far you’re the only…” he trails off, the look on his face clearly saying that the word he wants to use would most likely be the wrong thing but he can’t think of anything else, so he doesn't even try, just gestures, and Teyla signals her understanding with a quick nod.
“When I was born,” she says, “there was a light in the sky. A sign from the Ancestors. The next day, a flock of red birds landed on our dwelling and stayed for hours. Rare is one warrior sign among my people, and two even rarer. So I have my path, and it is not quite the same as the rest of my people.”
John nods. Teyla can count on one hand the number of people she has told about the warrior signs, including him. Of all the things you might leave behind on your journey, her father had told her once, this is one of the most important to carry with you. Know that you were born to this, Teyla. He’d been taken in a culling soon after, and she’d been adrift for weeks, only finding solace in hours upon hours of training. Not even meditation with Charin could soothe her mind, not until after the harvest had come and passed, and winter had been nearly upon them.
“Each warrior is on a journey,” she tells John now. “They go where their fight against the Wraith take them. Mine brought me to Atlantis.”
*
"Mine brought me to Atlantis," Teyla explains to him, and he thinks on that for a while as they keep walking along the creek. Every warrior on a journey. He thinks maybe if Teyla had been born on Earth, she might have joined the military, and they might still have met somewhere along the way. He likes that idea.
"You're not still mad at me about the.. the you know, are you?" he asks, suddenly, and it comes out of his mouth all wrong and he thinks he might have to suffer through asking again.
But she gets it. "No, I am not mad at you. I was never mad at you, John. You merely caught me off guard - which does not happen often," and she smiles as she says it and John realizes this is her version of a joke. He can go along with that, no problem. "Perhaps I should explain something," Teyla continues, and he nods for her to keep talking.
"I feared you would find it silly and think us primitive," she says hesitantly, "but the warrior path does not provide room for me to pursue… romantic relationships, for lack of a better way to say it." She gives him that please tell me you understand look, and he does. "I have traded personal gains for the greater good of my people."
"I follow you," John says, nodding. "You could have explained this a long time ago, you know; I would've gotten it."
"It is not something I talk about often, or with people I do not know well."
"I think you know me pretty well by now."
"By now, yes," she says with a chuckle.
*
They reach the outskirts of the village just as the second sun finally starts to descent towards the horizon, making everything a brilliant gold splashed with flame orange and pink, and Teyla hands him one of the headscarves. As outsiders, they are required to wear the simple drapings of white linen-like cloth, and John throws his over his head without much thought. Teyla chuckles and reaches to rearrange it for him. "Here," she murmurs, "you should learn how to do this; there will be more places than this where you wll be asked to wear one."
He makes a face and lets her fix it, feeling a little stupid. The sunlights glows off of her face. "Hey," he whispers, touching her wrist. "Thanks. For, well, you know. Trusting me, I guess."
Teyla inclines her head and touches her forehead to his. John closes his eyes. They stand that way for a moment. "Come," she says finally, stepping back and adjusting her P-90, and he's momentarily thrown by the dichotomy of it all. "Let us not linger any longer. They are waiting for us."