Tam Lin Revisited
Jan. 21st, 2007 09:26 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
dr-macgregor.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sga_flashficTitle: Tam Lin Revisited
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ravenlaughing
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None, it's in it's own little world.
Summary: Of course, Carson would know what to do…
Warnings: none that I can think of. Oblique sappy McBeck relationship reference? :)
Notes: Our dear Owleyes inspired me to base this on a Scottish Faery tale. It's a long, involved tale that I managed to condense into about a page and a quarter.
The Shining Host took Rodney on a Thursday.
OK, so no one called them that but Carson, and certainly never out loud, but he knew the truth of it. He knew from where the legends sprang. The official report was something to the effect of:
Blah blah stolen and adapted Ancient technology for their own needs blah blah combination of teleportation and cloaking functionality yada yada yada with cyclical interplanar transmissions, we may be able to track him as they transport yap yap yap finite opportunity window with their given molecular makeup....
They saw him twice, always on a Thursday, as the group flickered into sight on the planet and crossed the ruins in a heartbeat. Carson insisted on having himself and a medical team along for the retrieval. Surely a race so removed from human compassion, so callous of the city and team and family from which they'd snatched Rodney, were not likely to care if he berated them for weeks about citrus allergies and overwork and the lack of coffee.
The retrieval attempts were unsuccessful those first two Thursdays. They just weren't fast enough, weren't sly enough, weren't… something enough to catch the man with the bright, worried eyes as he was drawn past them. Rodney kept meeting Carson's looks with a silent plea. A plea to understand, a willing of him to know what it would take to save Rodney from the tall and cold shifting forms around him.
Third time's the charm, they say, and with good reason. The military team thought they were smart when they tried to block the passage of the beings. Carson let them. He simply stepped in front of Rodney, ignoring the shrieks of anger and frustration that had the Marines on their knees in pain. Strong arms embraced the scientist and held fast, one wrist gripped crushingly by the other hand around him as Carson held Rodney close. He closed his eyes as Rodney started to change. The sensations against his skin, his chest, made him shudder in dread.
Scales slithered against the hair on his arms. The cold smooth strength of the giant snake undulated nauseatingly. Shift... Feathers now, sharp scratchy edges rubbing red lines on flesh and nearly making him sneeze. Shift... Fur or hair, coarse and thick, a tail whipping upon his legs and a rough, gamey smell filling his nostrils to the point of gagging. Shift... A strange sense of mist and heat, of vague impermanence and the thickness of ghosts, of tendrils touching his mind with tiny hooks, as the shrieking came to a head and ended suddenly enough to leave their ears all ringing.
The ruins were empty. The beings were nowhere to be seen. The insects, the birds, all were hushed in anticipation around them as a very familiar and solid weight warmed Carson's embrace. He felt a large hand resting on his waist, and opened his eyes. Safe. Safe at last. Bright sapphire eyes stared into his own as Rodney's quirky smile greeted Carson's grin of delight. "I knew you could figure it out."
"Aye, Rodney. I just had ta hang on long enough."
Author:
ravenlaughingRating: PG-13
Spoilers: None, it's in it's own little world.
Summary: Of course, Carson would know what to do…
Warnings: none that I can think of. Oblique sappy McBeck relationship reference? :)
Notes: Our dear Owleyes inspired me to base this on a Scottish Faery tale. It's a long, involved tale that I managed to condense into about a page and a quarter.
The Shining Host took Rodney on a Thursday.
OK, so no one called them that but Carson, and certainly never out loud, but he knew the truth of it. He knew from where the legends sprang. The official report was something to the effect of:
Blah blah stolen and adapted Ancient technology for their own needs blah blah combination of teleportation and cloaking functionality yada yada yada with cyclical interplanar transmissions, we may be able to track him as they transport yap yap yap finite opportunity window with their given molecular makeup....
They saw him twice, always on a Thursday, as the group flickered into sight on the planet and crossed the ruins in a heartbeat. Carson insisted on having himself and a medical team along for the retrieval. Surely a race so removed from human compassion, so callous of the city and team and family from which they'd snatched Rodney, were not likely to care if he berated them for weeks about citrus allergies and overwork and the lack of coffee.
The retrieval attempts were unsuccessful those first two Thursdays. They just weren't fast enough, weren't sly enough, weren't… something enough to catch the man with the bright, worried eyes as he was drawn past them. Rodney kept meeting Carson's looks with a silent plea. A plea to understand, a willing of him to know what it would take to save Rodney from the tall and cold shifting forms around him.
Third time's the charm, they say, and with good reason. The military team thought they were smart when they tried to block the passage of the beings. Carson let them. He simply stepped in front of Rodney, ignoring the shrieks of anger and frustration that had the Marines on their knees in pain. Strong arms embraced the scientist and held fast, one wrist gripped crushingly by the other hand around him as Carson held Rodney close. He closed his eyes as Rodney started to change. The sensations against his skin, his chest, made him shudder in dread.
Scales slithered against the hair on his arms. The cold smooth strength of the giant snake undulated nauseatingly. Shift... Feathers now, sharp scratchy edges rubbing red lines on flesh and nearly making him sneeze. Shift... Fur or hair, coarse and thick, a tail whipping upon his legs and a rough, gamey smell filling his nostrils to the point of gagging. Shift... A strange sense of mist and heat, of vague impermanence and the thickness of ghosts, of tendrils touching his mind with tiny hooks, as the shrieking came to a head and ended suddenly enough to leave their ears all ringing.
The ruins were empty. The beings were nowhere to be seen. The insects, the birds, all were hushed in anticipation around them as a very familiar and solid weight warmed Carson's embrace. He felt a large hand resting on his waist, and opened his eyes. Safe. Safe at last. Bright sapphire eyes stared into his own as Rodney's quirky smile greeted Carson's grin of delight. "I knew you could figure it out."
"Aye, Rodney. I just had ta hang on long enough."
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-22 05:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-22 05:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-22 06:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-22 07:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-23 12:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-23 12:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-24 04:38 am (UTC)(Although, honestly, this isn't any more condensed than the version I'm most familiar with -- you went into a little more detail but left out the pregnancy part, so it all evens out.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-24 06:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 07:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-31 01:51 pm (UTC)