This story takes place when the Wraith are first introduced to the galaxy and are not as evil and uncaring as they are now. It has been a while and the first wave of Wraith has dispersed. Human populations are recovering and trying not to attract the attention of the Wraith, for fear of Tribulation. One planet in particular has its people evolving to become more advanced than other populations and have developed both physical and mental abilities. Although it is not specified, these people die out over time and are dead long before the Atlantis Expedition is formed. Meant to be a 'what if' and to make you wonder whether there is more to Wraith than appearances suggest.
oOo
She doesn't know where she is.
Everything else she knows. Her parents. Her brother. Her best friend. Her boyfriend. Her home. A happy childhood… Then a fire. Flames creeping along the floorboards and licking up the walls. The roof caving in. Running as far as she can as fast as she can. Seeing the active Ring. Running through it.
It was her first time through the Ring. She had no idea how to use it or any other places she could go. She was completely, irrevocably lost. She didn't know where her parents were. Or her brother. Or her best friend. Or her boyfriend. Or her home. She found herself wandering amongst the mountains of this planet, not going anywhere, not thinking. Just existing.
There was no purpose to this. Every day was a painful chore. She wondered why she was still there. Surely she should have curled up and died by now. She used to care about her appearance – so much so that she'd gotten a tattoo on her face and her ears pierced. Now her skin was burnt, twisted and tortured. There was no point caring. There was no one around to see anyway. One of the first things she ascertained was that she was alone.
It was such a stupid mistake. She could have run anywhere. The mountains. The river. Instead, she'd run through the Ring. Her people were discouraged from going through it. Her parents said that if anyone did, the Wraith would come and bring Tribulation upon them. Then, after Tribulation, her people would lose their gifts.
No one in her village was of the Old People. They all had one special ability or another, whether it was mental or physical. The village Proctor, or leader, had two points on his ears and the ability to make people see things. Other people had different abilities. They had tails, flaming hair, six toes, forked tongues, claws and many more physical abilities. They had the abilities to shield themselves, become invisible, see the past, change perception, read minds, control weather and many more mental abilities.
She looked like one of the Old People, except for the tail that protruded from the top of her butt and the ability to shield herself. She could think it, and her shield would form to protect her. It would sap her strength and was used as a last resort. She was tall, with dark blemished skin, curly brown hair and her tail. All she wore was a leather wrap over her waist and a feathered necklace that fell down to cover her chest. Her tail was made from her skin and branched out into hair the same colour as her head hair.
Living wherever she could find shelter, her existence was miserable. She fashioned a sling and used it to catch food. She drank water when she could find it. She found crystals and experimented with spiritual healing.
Why couldn't she hurry up and die?
oOo
He stirred from unconsciousness feebly, trying to move. Thinking hard, he tried to remember what had been going on.
His ship was under attack. He piloted a Dart that was shot down on the nearest planet. The Stargate on this planet had been destroyed years ago so there was no hope to escape. He listened for his brothers but they were gone. They had left orbit and he was alone.
It had been several weeks since he had fed. He was hungry but he doubted that there would be food on this planet. It seemed that he was fated to die in this miserable place.
oOo
The sight of another living thing, even though it was a Wraith, came as a surprise to her.
Her tail flicked in agitation and she dropped a stone in her sling, readying to spin it and put the poor creature out of its misery. Indeed, it was wandering in circles, muttering to itself. She could see that it was quite insane. Her knowledge of Wraith was limited, but she understood that helping it would bring Tribulation upon her and it would kill her as certain as the sun would rise tomorrow. There was no choice but to kill it.
She spun her sling around, but its head shot up at the slight ringing sound. It saw her and snarled, leaping towards her, knocking her to the ground. Her mind screamed and her shield activated, protecting her in its green bubble. Her mind began to cloud and the creatures attacks eased off. Blood dripped from her nose and she saw its eyes roll into its head and it fell forward. Her shield dissipated and her own mind went black.
oOo
Hours later, she woke wrapped in its arms. She revelled in its warmth and snuggled closer, not caring that it was a deadly creature. Her own boyfriend had never held her in a lovers' embrace like this. Her relationship with him had never been physical, but intellectual. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she saw its feeding hand only centimetres from her chest. She panicked, sliding over the ground away from it. But it didn't stir. Its breathing was shallow and she realised that it was going to die. How was this possible? Wraith lived forever.
Her fingers slipped into the leather pouch tied to her waist that held her crystals and she debated spiritual healing. Surely anyone, even a creature such as this, had an injured spirit that needed to be cured.
She placed one crystal on each side of him – left, right, up and down – and knelt beside his head, pulling it into her lap. She closed her eyes and began to chant in the tongue of the Old People through her mind. She'd forgotten how to speak.
oOo
Something was happening to him. He woke again to the sensation of his strength being restored. The need to feed, which had filled his very being, slowly ebbed away and he was left with a feeling of complete contentment.
He opened his eyes and looked up into the face of the human woman who held him. She was clearly wild, with a scarred face and coarse skin. He wondered how long she'd been on this planet and guessed her age to be about thirty. Something tickled his hand and he looked down and saw the end of a tail gently caressing the skin of his hand. This time he looked up at her with fear. A human woman with a tail? Surely she was not then human.
She opened her eyes and stared down at him. He lost himself in the sight of those golden eyes and knew that she wasn't human. She had the eyes of a Wraith Queen, yet she had no shred of Wraith within her. The way she held him assured of that.
He was able to get to his feet and was unsure. He could not speak with words, relying only on telepathy with his brothers to communicate. But it seemed that this woman didn't use speaking words to communicate. She filled him with smiles and he saw the crystals, realising that she'd done something to feed him and he had not killed her.
oOo
She lived with him for a long time. When he needed feeding she could see it in the dullness of his eyes. Once she healed him the light returned and he was her Wraith again. They never spoke, but adopted gentle caresses and touches to communicate. He fed her and took care of her and in return she healed him and cared for him. Eventually they stopped wandering and made a home high up in a tree.
She knew that Wraith did not couple with humans, even non-humans like her, but she couldn't help but hope. Never before had she been touched by the opposite gender in a way befitting attraction and she longed for it. This Wraith was the best she was going to get.
So she changed her approach around him. Instead of simply being brief in her touches she lingered on his skin. She would stop to watch him and the way he moved. Long ago he had forgotten his Wraith attire and now wore a loincloth around his waist like her, leaving the rest of his body bare. She could see his strength and danger and she wanted it all. Her body was untouched and she wanted to feel the emotions that her mother had once explained to her, decades ago.
However he remained blissfully ignorant, not noticing her offers. Sometimes he would look up and their eyes would meet, and she would blush and look away. Did Wraith ever harbour feelings for women? Even Wraith women?
Then his approached changed. He began to play with her tail and she would wrap it around him as they slept together. He would obsess over it and she would enjoy his touch. He would gaze at her differently and fill her body with nerves. She began to catch herself imagining being loved by him. Long ago she'd learnt about that special someone, as it had been put, and she'd never given it much thought.
Until now.
Could he be that someone? She longed for him, but she didn't know if he longed for her.
oOo
He watches her sleep from across the fire, her hair falling across her face and her breasts bared into the night. Privately, he thinks she's magnificent – a warrior goddess. He marvels at her shield and tail, her abilities that surpassed that of any normal human. By human standards she is not pretty, but he does not understand human standards.
While she sleeps, he watches over her and plays with her tail. It will always fascinate him, he knows, and he does not mind. In fact, he believes he would like a tail.
Yesterday she healed him. He is full of energy. He looks down at her aged body, about forty-years-old, and understands that human strength does, in fact, give out. She is old for someone who has been through as much as she has. He wishes that he could do something about it.
Then he remembers the Gift of Life. He doesn't know if it will change her abilities, but he believes he must try it. The knowledge that he would not survive on this planet without her tears at him and he places his hand to her chest gently.
He focusses on the flow of energy between the two of them. He imagines his own strength flowing into her, making her twenty years younger. In his mind he can see her body becoming younger and the glow of youth filling her cheeks.
She wakes in a panic just as he finishes and rips herself from his arms. He expected that. She is ready to fight, but he gestures for her to look down. She looks down, and sees the lines that had wrapped around her body were gone. Now she's just as young and unblemished as she was when she got to this planet.
Her eyes fill with tears as she looks up at him. His own body is exhausted from the Gift and she heals him to his full strength. When she is done, and he has control of himself, he leans in and kisses her, knowing he must love her with his body, mind and self.
They meld together – the Wraith and his non-human. He caresses her tail and she caresses his feeding slit. They learn about each other and what they like best. He knows how much she needs this. She has been alone for close to fifteen years. It had been a long five years and finally he'd established their relationship. He was ecstatic that now she was his and he had claim to her. She tried to communicate to him about that special someone, but he did not understand. Wraith did not couple and it was as new for him as it was for her.
Now they live in their tree for eternity, never speaking but loving each other just the same. It is a mutual understanding and there is nothing to stop them from being together.
He treasures her more than anything he's ever treasured before. He admires her and cares for her. She is his feeding partner – the one whom he is destined to be with forever. Normally in Wraith society the feeding partner is a brother that is treasured before all others, but she is his now. He has never had one before.
oOo
Today is a special day. She wakes and gathers enough animal skin to make a warm shirt for him to wear. When he wakes she gifts it to him. He smiles, never tiring of her thoughtfulness and caring. She knows he is her special someone. They have been together for so long that they cannot imagine life without each other. She doesn't know if she would even be alive today if it wasn't for him.
They spend their day up in the mountains then return to their tree and love each other for hours. He is her one, the mate of her soul. She is his feeding partner, the one whom is treasured above all others.
Today is a special day. They have been together for one hundred thousand years.
