Authors Note: Written for the LFWS, round 3 on sgahcchallengers at livejournal.
Characters: Teyla, Zelenka, Lorne
Spoilers: None
Teyla looked out over the barren landscape, allowing the winter winds to buffet her. Charin had once told her that if she listened deeply she could hear the voices of the Ancestors who would teach her to walk in the ways of wisdom. Teyla had come to understand that listening required more than just her ears, and that, though possessed of great technology, the Ancestors were just as fallible as any other human.
Something cool and damp melted against her forehead. First one, and then another before a third settled in her eyelashes. The angry gray of the sky spoke, warning of an impending blizzard. Heavier precipitation would be upon them soon.
She looked over her shoulder at the two men sheltered beneath an evergreen tree. Lorne's eyes were half closed and hazed with pain. Yet, he still met her gaze and gave a barely perceptible nod indicating that he was ready to end their rest period. At least, that was what he wanted her to hear. Teyla also heard what he would not say - that he was not truly ready, but he would try anyway for the sake of their small team.
The survival blanket that encased Lorne's body made a soft sound as he attempted to move. Teyla did not miss his pained intake of breath, and neither did Zelenka who was settled, half asleep on Lorne's other side. His eyes, reddened by exhaustion, popped open, and he looked about himself, wanting to know what had happened.
Lorne made a joke in response that Teyla didn't completely understand, although she grasped its intent. She'd understood that much the first time Colonel Sheppard had said something similar to Dr. McKay when he had been injured during a mission. Gallows humor, Elizabeth had called it.
Getting Lorne to his feet took longer than it had during their previous breaks. When she pulled his shoulder across her back, she could feel the fine tremor that vibrated through his body. There was now no doubt that Lorne's fall into what they had thought to be an animal trap had caused other injuries that had not been immediately obvious.
It was Zelenka who had discovered that the trap was really a collapsed Ancestor facility. He had then rigged a system to allow the two of them to lift the major from the pit.
As they picked their way through the wilderness, first Zelenka and then she continued to talk to Lorne. She spoke of Charin's stories, of her father's stories, even a few of John and Rodney's stories, anything to keep them all going as the blizzard descended.
It was not until they almost stumbled over the DHD that she realized that they had made it. The explosion of blue was even more beautiful against the backdrop of whirling snow. IDC sent, Teyla listened, and heard the voices of her people calling them home.