Title: The Little Atlantean Humpback That Could
Author: Snow'sLuckyCat (Me!)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in SGA, though you guys DID underuse that whale, shown briefly in 2x14, horribly.
Category: Gen/Angst mainly
Rating: T (for adult language only)
Spoilers: vague-ish onesthrough 2x15 "The Tower."
Summary: A sentient whale tells of the two counts of human interaction that change his life for good.
Note: Italicized words are the whale's inner thoughts (unless they're part of human dialogue) or outer actions.
Note 2: An ex-challenge fic, written over at the atlantisbasics LJ community earlier this year, for Cedara…who desired the following: The sea creature from 'Grace under Pressure' helping the Athosians in some way...
Note 3: In this story's latter half, conversational thought-sentences are preceded by this () for the whale and two of them (()) for his mystery dialogue partner. You'll see who it is once you read the whole thing.
XXXXXX
"Squeeeee oop wheee!" What is that?
I wonder where it came from. It doesn't come from here, that's for sure. It looks like it belongs in the world above, the land of the Hunters. But they are unused to technology it seems. So, maybe it belongs to the inhabitants of the Sea City? The two people who followed me down here to get their friend must never have come back for it…
It's so lonely down here. I miss my kind, but I kinda like having the water world to myself too. I never really have had interaction with the new humans living here, at least so it was, until the day this very vessel came down to my level, somewhere I'm pretty sure it didn't belong.
Naturally, I felt intruded upon at first. But then, I realized they were in trouble, so I went to the mainland first, thinking they had sent the vessel. They hadn't. No one was living by the water anymore and had moved farther inland. I could no longer even see their huts amongst the tree cover. That meant it had to be the Sea City's ship… When I was younger and my mother was still around, I was forbidden to go there, because my mother had witnessed much activity in its vicinity and didn't want me to get hurt. I obeyed her of course, but I think the Great Storm confused me one night and I wound up being right under the Great Sea City. I could not remember being around it ever before, and so I cried for hours. Lost. Now though, looking back, I'm quite surprised none of the humans living above heard me or chose to investigate all the foreign noises. Maybe they had more important things to do than venture into the churning waters. Maybe they had no way to do it, even if they wanted to.
Luckily though, my mother checked under the City first. Somehow, I guess she knew what had probably happened. And when she found me she didn't scold. Instead, she just freed me and led me away to calmer waters…
But, now, she wasn't around to help me anymore.
So, let's hope these humans aren't out for whale blood.
Slowly, I ascend, floating up to the surface near what appears to be a strip of land, long and then, but not made of loose dirt. It's something harder. I nose it curiously, but it doesn't give at all, at least not that I can tell. All I know is that it's much colder than the water I'm swimming in, no small feat.
That's when I hear it. A human shout of warning, just as I break the surface to investigate…
"Watch out, McKay!"
Then, there's a loud splash. I know it's not me though. It's not THAT loud.
Ducking back down under the white caps, I look around sharply. Sure enough, almost immediately, through the frothy murkiness, I see a much smaller body sinking deeper and deeper into my domain. It's a human of course, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't the one I heard talking. For one, this man's mouth is shut tighter than a clamshell. Also, apparently, this one can't swim.
His body though is covered by the familiar colors of a familiar uniform. His short, dark, wet hair looks familiar too…
I wonder…
Could it be the same human that was in that peculiar vessel still at the bottom of the ocean half a world away about thirty suns ago? The one that I led the two wild-haired men to, in what I guess would be considered a successful rescue attempt? Just as I have decided it has got to be the same guy, and that I should try and get him before he drifts any further down, I hear another, yet muted, splash from above.
This one however, I can tell was purposeful. This guy knows how to swim. He's like he's some sort of half dolphin, half-human or something, though I can't see any visible gills or blowholes. The way he jackknifes through the depths is like nothing I've ever seen. None of the settlers I used to see on the Big Land were particularly interested in the water either, just the shoreline.
More than once, I'd seen groups dressed in dull sandy tans and earth browns come to the edge, but never venture any further. In fact, they never once even sensed or seemed to sense me observing them. It was all very peculiar. Or maybe they sensed me, but they just didn't want to meet me on my turf. Maybe they're vegetarian too…
But, now wasn't the time to continually reminisce on things that wouldn't help me a whale lick now.
Focusing on the two men down below me and to my left some, I see them tangled up in each other, a ball of entwined arms and legs and no fins. They're a little shallower then when the first man was sinking down by himself, but they're no longer moving as fast as they were.
The second man's eyes are closed and he's blindly paddling with one arm. The movements are fast, but they're not fast enough. I know they're not. He needs a little push in the right direction…
Putting myself at risk, as my mother always used to tell me not to do, I get closer to the men. Hoping they know that I mean them no harm, I get up under them. I see the first man open his eyes for the first time during our whole encounter. He starts trying to break free of Dolphin's grip and scrambles for something carried on the back of the darker-haired man. That's when I finally fully realize that it is the man I led the other with the messy head hairs to thirty moons and suns ago.
With a jerk from the other man, however, he goes still again, though he keeps his blue eyes open and staring at me this time. I find that I have developed an even deeper kinship with Dolphin Man, as he seems to know what I'm about to try, that I'm about to help them back up into their no doubt wondrous world and away from my mysterious deep.
Knowing they're too big to fit between the baleen in my mouth, even just temporarily, I do the next best thing, a kind of trick my mother taught me, using large reef pieces on the ocean floor or fallen rubble that got in our way.
I get my nose just behind the darker one's back and push upward and forward as fast as possible. Despite this new aid, and only halfway back up, he goes just about completely limp against my nose and starts to slide off. Not caring who might be waiting for me back on the cold land any longer, I speed up, the quicker momentum keeping the human couple from slipping any further away from me.
We break the surface at such a high velocity that the two bodies wind up flying through the air to land with a sickening thud on what must be some very unforgiving and hard ground. For a moment, all is silent. And I fear I was too slow in my climb. Too tardy in my attempt to save both, as the tan-skinned one had tried to save the man named "McKay."
But then I'm finally rewarded by long deep coughs sounding from each man, as they slowly relearn how to breathe air. Twisting my body up a little more so I can see more of the scene before me, I blow out a tiny puff of spray in relief. Though they still aren't moving as much as I would like, I see them slowly roll off of each other.
"Sheppard? What the hell happened! One minute you guys were on the pier. Then…POOF! Gone. What is that thing? You two all right? I thought for sure that thing had you guys and was long gone. I'm going to put a bull…"
The one called Sheppard, the dolphin-like one, abruptly sits up, reacting to this new voice in the same manner that I had acted out when I got too close to an electric eel the couple of times that curiosity overtook my wisdom. "…Belay that sidearm, Lorne! It's a friend of ours. Right, McKay?"
"Uh. Yes. I guess. Considering it didn't try to make a meal of me this time either."
"Besides, I don't think it has teeth. So, even if it wanted to, it wouldn't have been able to make either of us its food."
I nod my head vigorously.
"See? Even the whale agrees with me too, doncha boy?"
I nod again, smiling too, I think.
"Sheppard" reaches out to me with a hesitant, though completely empty, hand. Still hesitant, I back away completely into the water once more. I've never been purposely touched by humans before. The prospect somewhat scares me, because I'd always been taught to stay out of their sights, out of reach of their weapons and selves. And yet, I again get a sixth sense that he means me no harm. He might not have any food, but I think his outstretched hand is a gesture of gratitude. Guiding my head along the pier edge within his reach, I receive a couple of pats from it on the place right above my eye and then a rub on my nose for good measure.
Then the hand retracts and I see his face clearly for only the second time. This close up, I can see that his eyes are bright and green, the color of the seaweed covering my home. He turns sideways, while still petting me, to continue the conversation with the pale one and the new one who I only hear from my present angle and have yet to see clearly.
"Well, I bet his…uh…mother's missing him…" the pale one says semi-blithely, although he doesn't even know the true fate of my mother.
Only wish I could actually tell him that.
"Probably she does, Doctor. Thanks again, little man. They're all right now and in good hands. You can go now."
Go? Go where? I was definitely alone now, after the recent ravine suddenly opened up more, with newly loose and falling boulder finishing the job the shock had started. I really had no home to go back too…
Trying to focus on anything but her final moments with me, I slightly shake my head, clearing it of the unwanted reverie. Sheppard is still talking to the other, unseen man, but my slight movement has caused most of his attention and body language to shift back onto me.
"Hey, Lorne, maybe he's trying to tell us something…" he says.
"Pardon me for saying so, sir, but you guys just had one helluva swim…and I seriously doubt your name is Timmy. And while I'm at it this here whale is actually some aquatic Lassie or something? Hate to break it to you, sir, but I think this here fish just wants a playmate," the third, disembodied voice hazards.
"Look, Lorne, you watch too much damned TV," my newest friend counters.
"I'm just sayin'…"
"And I'm just sayin' don't you have to oversee the rest of the supply unloading process from the last Daedalus run?"
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
"Apology accepted."
"I think I swallowed some sea water."
"McKay, you actually want Carson to come all the way down here to this pier just for that though? Think about it…"
"On second thought, I believe you're right. I really hate needles…"
"Too late."
"Huh? What'd you say? I think I'm going deaf. Did you just say something?"
"Lorne, is this your revenge?"
"For wha…? No, sir. Haven't touched my radio."
"How'd you boys bloody wind up in the water? And why the bloody hell are you lads still soppin' wet…especially at this ungodly early hour? Come along wit me the lot of yah. Let's get yah both warm and dry and looked over."
A fourth voice, this one vastly different from the rest in both tone and accent. It's higher and lighter in cadence too. Even more foreign than the Land's settlers or the other men here…It's a pleasing, soothing sound compared to the high-pitched squeal of the pale one, McKay, and not as gruff as the man named Lorne's, or as raspy and drawling as Sheppard's…
The four men all leave then to go into a place that I can never tread. Again, I am alone. Hoping they'll come back soon, I wait. But, soon, I realize they're not coming back and so I move on.
XXXX
Soon, I'm back near the Land. Someone is nearing the waterline. Only this one's doing so purposely. Someone very upset. Someone taller than most. Someone with very long hair. It looks like he's searching for something…or someone in the water.
Before I can get any closer, another human pops out from the nearby tree cover. I assume this one is like I am. Younger and wilder. He has shorter, darker hair too, but not as dark as Sheppard's.
I duck just under the water, so as not to scare the searchers. Even under the water, I can still hear them very clearly.
"…And where was he, Wex? Where did you last see him?" a deeper voice calls, probably belonging to the taller man.
A lighter, though seemingly more harried, voice answers "I dunno. We were paying on shore and then this giant wave…well, it was pretty big…came up and he disappeared under the white. I would have gone in after him, but I never learned how to swim. I'm actually scared of water…Can you swim?"
"No." The older voice answers the child's ramble shortly, but his own inflection sounds only slightly distraught, a condition that is directly conflicting both the way he's peering at the deeper waters and his jerky movements.
"Then, what're we going to do, Halling? I'm scared. Jinto's already dead, isn't he? Isn't he!"
"Fear not, young one. All we need to do is find him."
"How?"
"Our ancestors will send us a sign…"
"What? When? Where?"
That's it! All this gabbing is making me anxious. I'm going to volunteer my rescue services if he doesn't do anything other than talk more.
Sure enough…"It should be here any minute now…Have faith."
How about a whale tail for a sign? How about a whale being your faith?
Quickly diving further I vaguely feel my tail flip up out if the water and give the surface a mighty slap.
I hear the boy shout out with wonder. "What was THAT?"
And everything else said is lost in the rushing of the water pressing into the ears as I continue my dive.
About halfway to the ground, I hear a boy's voice. "Is anyone up there? Help!"
At first, this new voice surprises me. How can a mere boy hold his breath as long as the boy they call Jinto has been a resident of my domain? That's when I see the boy. His eyes are closed as is his mouth, but still I hear a voice. In. My. Head. And it's not my own. While this should weird me out beyond belief, I try to reassure him.
It may only sound like a bunch of squeaks and squeaks and sighs to the common person, but what I'm saying is "I'm a friend. I've come to help."
And though I really don't think it'll work, I send the message non-verbally as well.
The boy's eyes fly open and go wide as saucers when he sees me.
Never seen a whale before, eh Jinto?
He seems to hear that too, though I didn't say anything at all this time. His eyes shrink to normal again and he relaxes.
() So, what's happened?
(()) My foot got caught and I can't get free.
() What's it caught in?
(()) I think it's some sort of weed, but I lost my knife when I first got caught up in that wave that knocked me down. Where are your teeth, great watery one?
() Okay then. Let's see what we can do about getting you back to Halling. And please just call me Sheppard. And to answer your question, I don't have any teeth.
(()) Sheppard…as in John Sheppard? He's my friend from the Great City across the Waters, Atlantis. You know him?
() Let's just say that we've met a couple times…
(()) How is he? I haven't seen him in so long…
() He was very, very wet, but otherwise he was fine the last time I saw him…which is exactly what you're going to be.
(()) Thanks again…Sheppard.
Thus ends our first contact. Jinto goes rigid again and floats there, silently waiting as if dead. Quickly, I get down by his ankles and see for myself what's got him. It's not a plant at all. Octopi tentacles are the actual things wrapping tightly around his ankle and foot! I've seen only two in my life. Both times they wanted to try and make me a meal. But, I'm bigger now. Stronger. Louder.
I yell really loud at it in my whale burp voice. And that gets his attention. He looks at me with beady eyes, as if to say that Jinto is his meal and that I should go eat some more krill someplace else. And then he tugs Jinto further down towards him. It also tells the story of Jinto getting a bit too curious and accidentally invading its home. A likely story. Not.
Wishing I now had teeth more than ever, I look up into Jinto's face. It could just be me, but it looks like his nose and lips are just starting to take on a bluish tint. Man oh man, that boy sure can hold his breath. He'd give me a run for my flippers. I wonder if Halling taught him that…
Flippers! That's it! I'll just knock that old mean body snatching bottom feeder into next week…
Whack! Whack! WHAAACK!
Three thorough hits over its crown are all it takes.
The lone and ugly octopus gives me a final evil eye and vanishes in a cloud of putrid black ooze, leaving in its wake a half-drowned kid named Jinto and a newly self-named whale called Sheppard, me.
And for the second time that day alone I guide another human, this one being of the Land Hunters, back to his home.
XXXX
Once we break the surface, Jinto resting safely on my back right in front of my dorsal fin, the man from before wades out to meet us, tears now flowing steadily from his eyes.
And then, a huge cry goes up from a big crowd now gathered back up on the shore.
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!"
So much for being people shy or making a quick, unnoticed escape back into the deep blue. All of a sudden, everyone's braving the water and coming out to greet us. At first, I think they're coming to skewer me for a feast, but then Jinto opens his dark blue eyes and thinks at me from within the grasp of his father's steady arms, as he is carried back to solid ground.
(()) Don't worry. They're coming to thank you, not cook you! We don't even like fish.
He grins and I snort loudly back. Then, after another mild gasp of surprise at my chuckle, there are pats everywhere.
And it's definitely disconcerting.
Never have so many human hands touched me.
And, before earlier today, none had ever done so.
And yet, the touching feels good too.
I feel good too.
It feels nice to be wanted and loved again…
After the pat-fest is mostly over, I look around again. To say my farewell to these people, but especially to Jinto, my strange, new friend.
And there he is…just sitting on the shore, near to where I first saw Halling and Wex, beaming at me. And there's someone else that I didn't notice before, sitting next to him.
The new arrival's wearing a sleek black shirt with long sleeves and a jacket and his darker-than-night hair is damp and unruly, looking like a sea urchin's shell…. I'd remember him anywhere now.
It's Dolphin Man…I mean Sheppard…the real one…from earlier.
(()) Mister John likes you, Sheppard. And is honored that your name and his shall be one and the same.
() Tell him I say that I'm glad he and you will both be all right.
(()) I will. But, I do have a favor to ask of you.
() Anything that doesn't involve me as winter food is fine.
(()) I don't know how to swim. Neither does Wex. Can you teach us how?
This seems like an odd request. Why does he want to be in a world as dangerous as mine when his seems so much quieter and safer?
As if he's read my mind, Jinto's in my head again.
(()) Because I don't want to be afraid of the water anymore. Wex and me are like brothers too.
() But…
(()) And I want to see you again. Maybe this is my gift, like Teyla's is sensing Wraith and Mister John's is turning on the Ancestor machines of Atlantis…I want to be helpful. I'm sick of being just a child. I want to be worth something other than trouble.
Isn't that the truth? Those would have been my exact words to my mother about this time last year, especially if she'd just tried to coddle me excessively.
And though I don't know who Teyla is, I know who John is and living up to him is a feat that Jinto plans on accomplishing, with or without my help, at least in the swimming part of the task.
So, what do I do?
Help once and leave for good or help my friend and his people indefinitely and stay (in the vicinity)?
() Can I think about it?
(()) Of course!
() Good. I'll let you know in three suns from now.
Jinto nods his agreement from the shore. And being careful not to squash any of the remaining humans by my side, I wave a flipper at them all before going back into the deep waters.
I'm so happy though that I don't stay down for long. A buoyant sprit has caught my heart in its arms and flown up into the sky. Breaching up through the now glassy surface, I catch the mischievous creature right before victoriously splashing down with a mighty KAWOOOOSSHHHH!
I hear an uproarious clapping sound and other weird human noises that sound similar to my own whale song, only not as pretty, off in the distance. But, this time, I don't look back…
XXXX
And three suns later, I'm back.
Back for good.
Back for Jinto and Wex.
Back with no regrets whatsoever.
And I'm happy.
Happier than I've been in a long, long while.
And then, I see that my secret little swimming group for three has grown greatly.
Dozens of kids are awaiting my return.
And there, front and center of the vast crowd stands my first real friend, Jinto, smiling widely.
He's the only human who has ever fully understood me. And I'm glad it was him.
I have a new extended family.
And I have a new brother…in spirit, anyway, if not in body.
And I am at last truly home.
XXXXXXX
THE END!
XXXXXXX
Some End Notes: I know. I know. Telepathy with a whale! WTF? Right? Really though, I think every Athosian child probably has some special kind of gift. They just go away with age, unless properly nurtured. Teyla's Wraith-sense couldn't go away, because the Wraith werealways around her. With Jinto though, I decided he should have a slightly different gift. Rather than being able to sense nearby Wraith or enter their minds, he can enter the minds of all animals and vice-versa. And he'll be becoming a strict vegetarian because of this new discovery too. And, oh, woe be the father-son angst, cuz Halling himself seems like he would have had the gift too, what with all his spreading of calm and lovely mastery of various breathing techniques, although he might have lost the actual speaking-to-animals part...