Title : Animus Amicus
Disclaimer : I own nothing but the idea. STARGATE SG-1, STARGATE: ATLANTIS, Relic Hunter, The Sentinel, SeaQuest, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The Highlander (TV show) are owned by a bunch of other people, none of whom I am related to.
Rated : K+ (PG) to be on the safe side.
Author's Note : This is the sequel to "Anmchara" – yes, you do have to read it in order to understand this story.

So, I have moved it into it's own story. Thank you to my loyal readers. I hadn't realized that there were more national military cemeteries in the US, thank you so much for letting me know. Uhm, as for Jack's kid, that gets addressed later on.

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It was a glorious chilly pre-dawn morning Emrys emerged into as she emerged from the cairn she called home. As she yawned and walked barefoot across the rocky, dewy ground, she pulled her long, silvery white hair back, out of the way. For today she would be making the first of the tools of her craft, a small harp.

Next to her voice, the harp would be the most valuable tool she had.

On she walked, up the craggy cliffs towards the forest. Knowing that somewhere within, a grove of rosewood trees resided. The closer she got to the opening, the easier it was to make out the features of the tall, broad shouldered man waiting for her.

Dyfas. The older man's face had no expression on it, though his grey eyes held a hint of warmth and welcome. His body was thickening out, yet remained strong from his years of walking the length and breadth of their realm. Over his shoulder, his harp of holly was slung.

This was the only acknowledgment of his trade that he carried. For this morning was about crafting and he wore the green robe of the carver. Blending in easily with the surroundings, she almost lost sight of him. As it was, her simple grey acolyte robe allowed her to partially blend in with the morning's fog. As it dissipated, she would have to use other means to camouflage herself.

Bowing low, her hands danced gracefully in greeting. There were no words, not because it was early in the morn but because this was a sacred time of preparation. No words would be spoken until after the task was accomplished.

Dyfas returned the greeting and began to walk further into the interior. Pausing once, he gestured for her to put on the thick soled cloth shoes that rested on the tree stump. Following him, she listened to the trees, feeling their heartbeat and welcome.

If there had been neither feeling, she knew that it was not the time to ask for a bit of their life force and would need to return another time.

A shrill cry pierced the air and she turned, startled by the sound that shattered her peace, that made the trees darken. The ground beneath her shod feet felt hard and unyielding, full of anger. Such a sound of bloodlust and pain had never before sounded in their valley. Hidden deep within the hollow hills of Eriu, they were known to none in the outer world.

Dyfas rested his hand upon her arm and she recognized his message. As the Chosen Bard, the one to leave the valley and serve the greater world, she was to hide away. In her mind were all the legends and knowledge of the people, she could not fall into enemy hands.

Though she wished to stand with her tribe, it was neither her place nor her time.

With profound reluctance, she accepted his knife and slid into the shadows, making her way up farther into the hills. Stopping only once upon hearing the heartbeat of her tree, she asked and received permission to take a limb from it. Then, she disappeared into the morning as if she had never been there.

In the cairn of solitude that was beyond the valley's perimeter, she waited. And as she did, she crafted a harp from the rosewood branch. For strings, she used strands of her hair.

In silence, she carved and waited for it to harden into the familiar curved shape.

In silence, she braided and strung the strands through the wood, testing to make sure it was perfect.

In silence, when there was nothing left to do, she waited.

In silence, she dreamed.

In dreams, she was with someone she did not know. He stood, proud and tall, with skin a color she knew was sun blessed in a way her own people did not have. His eyes were a startling color – the blue of an egg brought into existence by the bird who heralded the coming of the warming months.

Around him were others of his coloring, some darker and some lighter. All stood, straight and tall, with dark hair and eyes. In skirts of white, they stood, facing the rising disc of the sun. The sound of wind blowing rasped in the distance. Before them, a man emerged from a building, walking down the stairs. He was dressed in a full robe of some kind of spotted animal, a necklace of a bird with wings outstretched, glinted in the brightening light

But it was the man beside her who held her gaze. He captured her whole attention, though he seemed to be barely aware of her presence. The man looked in her direction, really looked at her, and she felt that this was right. This was the way things were supposed to be.

The bark of fierce hounds had her awake. In the entrance, several shadowed men stood. Their faces a mixture of reverence and annoyance for all they had gone through to find her. Gwalmai stepped forward, "Forgive me for my offence but they will have you in exchange for sparing our people."

"You traitorous, faithless son," she spat out, rising to meet him. As it ever was, the people she served came first – and he knew it. "You will walk the world in shame forever until you have righted this great wrong. And may your mother disavow you for what you have done to her name and honor."

Gwalmai flinched, knowing the curse to be a powerful one – and one not lightly uttered.

Far from cowed by the men who grabbed hold of her, who jerked her about, tying her arms behind her, Emrys marched out with her head held high.

Adam sighed, glancing at Emrys in the pale watery light of the morning. Within him, he felt the strong desire to take his newly born friend and flee. Leave behind Daniel and the SGC with all of their entangling knots, knowing that he could not, Emrys would leave and find a way back to Daniel.

It was just what Emrys did.

He had barely been able to convince Emrys to become whole and more human looking. Well, as human looking as one with more Furling blood than Ancient could look – the ears revealed that less than human blood within. With a new life spread out before Emrys, Adam thought it only fitting that his friend had returned to first form – the one he best remembered for it was the one he'd met Emrys in.

And it was the one in which he had taught Emrys all there was to know about surviving as an immortal.

Emrys was his student again, so it was only appropriate that she was back. He knew she recalled something from before and not just Daniel. There were definite signs that she remembered her native tongue, her baldric abilities, and knew enough of him to trust him.

Yet, the things that she should know intimately – like hiding her abilities that had nothing to do with her immortal status – escaped her grasp. In her youth, she had been trained to blend in with everything unless the situation called for it to be otherwise. That was gone, Emrys seemed to be uncomfortable in her skin and it showed.

To all appearances, even with some signs to the contrary, the warrior bard of Eriu was dead.

Making the required turn, he shook his head. Hopefully, in the confines of the cabin in Minnesota – a place similar to her natal environment – it would all return. For it was the warrior they needed, the innocent child was only a danger to them.

Emrys started out the window, colorless eyes blind to the beauty of the majestic trees. There was some acknowledgement of them as they drove into the deepening thickness. The green welcomed her back into familiar territory. Rolling the window down, she leaned out just a little and inhaled the fresh scent of pine and living things. Something was familiar about this place, this scent.

Pulling up in front of the cabin, Adam waited to see what she would do. As each hour crawled by, he feared that he'd lost her to the contemplative prison of her mind. The sun reached its zenith, a greenish golden glow touched the earth. Then, it started its trek down behind the hills, deepening the shadows to purple and chilling the air.

Emrys blinked slowly and moved, opening the door and unwinding herself from the position she'd held since entering the car after their last stop. Standing up, she approached the lake and turned, arms extended wide in welcome. A small bow and a benediction of welcome passed her lips before she sank to the ground, lost in her own mind again.

Getting out of the car, Adam unlocked the door and shivered as cold and stale air from inside the house rushed out. Glancing about, he noted that, although dusty and obviously not visited recently, it was ready for visitors. A welcoming sight of stacked logs by the fireplace was all the invite he needed to begin opening the house up to them.

Once the fire was going, he took a torch out to the fire pit and put it down in a hole so that it rested securely there between two medium sized rocks. Walking back to the car, he opened the trunk and shook his head. The body was there, resting in perfect condition – a high class summoning indeed.

Emrys reached in and grabbed half of the body, startling him. Regaining his composure when he realized that she was looking at him expectantly, he picked up the other half. Together, they carried the body to the pit, lighting a fire to properly dispose of it. Emrys produced sweet smelling rosewood and willow to toss into the fire. Adam made a conscious choice not to question her. The new smells mingled and neutralized the scent of burning flesh.

"Cliodna, protect this land from the poison of this summoning's burial. Guide him with thy birds to where he must dwell," Emrys' soft voice spoke the words. Not in Latin, as Adam had expected, but in her native tongue.

It rather shocked him but he shook it off and guided her inside once the last of the smoke has dissipated into the night. With that distasteful business finished, he began to teach Emrys of the new world that awaited her and how to live in it with her gifts.