Title: Full Moon Rising
Disclaimer: Any characters, concepts and names you recognise don't belong to me. The plot line was thought up by someone long ago, I'm sure, but for the purposes of this fic, it's mine
Rating: T
Notes/warnings: Set during the first and early second seasons of SGA. Spoilers in this chapter for 'Rising' only.
More notes: I have done research on this animal, but I've also twisted things around to suit my purposes. Sorry, any zoologists out there!!
John isn't exactly human, and hiding it in the Pegasus galaxy isn't going to be the easiest thing in the world.
The fourth time it happened, he was off-world and not expecting it. He was always aware, when they were off-world overnight, of the lunar cycle. He'd had a few close calls, but this time when the moon rose it was full and bright and he could feel the change prickling under his skin.
He stumbled to his feet and backed away from the campfire. Ford rose, Teyla asked if he was alright, but all he knew was that he had to get away.
The moon above mocked him as he ran through the ruins they were studying – there were some energy readings that McKay thought merited investigation, and it was an uninhabited planet so Elizabeth and John had both agreed that his team could stay for a few days. Now John was regretting this decision.
His nails were lengthening, thickening and becoming claws. His bones changed shape, first his hands and then arms, legs, his spine and organs. Fur grew rapidly, covering his body. His face altered, his ears moved upwards and his pupils changed shape. Whiskers sprouted, a tail formed and lengthened, clothes fell away from him.
He shook himself, letting his new skin settle around him. He yawned, revealing every one of his sharp teeth, and then he lifted his head, alert suddenly. A moment was all it took to climb up the nearest ruin. He pressed himself flat against the building, and watched as his human team-mates searched for him.
"Major Sheppard! Major!"
The calls echoed around the ruins, and the creature-that-was-John fought control with the human mind. He wanted to go to these people, these beings that he trusted. He knew their scents, knew their behaviour.
"John!"
That was Teyla, her voice higher and lighter.
"John! Major Sheppard?"
His tail flicked as the lights from the P-90s trailed over the ruins. They were searching for him.
The moon made his blood throb in his veins. He opened his mouth and let out a screech.
"There! That's what I heard the other night!" Rodney said at once. "Like a woman screaming."
"There are no Wraith here, I am sure of it," Teyla said. "And we detected no life signs…"
"Could it be Major Sheppard?" Ford wanted to know.
"Unlikely," Rodney said disparagingly. "Last time he was nowhere…around…" He trailed off.
"We do not know where Major Sheppard was last time this sound was heard," Teyla said softly.
"It sounded like a panther," Ford muttered, shining his light over the ruins on his far left. "They scream like that."
"A panther?" Teyla questioned, not taking her eyes from the ruins.
"It's a big feline," Rodney said, clearly nervous. "Like the cat I showed you on my laptop? Only a lot bigger, and not a pet."
"They're black, very fast, and very deadly," Ford added. "But we haven't found any feline mammals in Pegasus, have we?"
"No. Canines, but no felines." Rodney paused and gripped Ford's arm. "What's that?"
John's ears pricked up and he looked where Rodney was pointing; out of the darkness of the ruins was creeping a large animal.
Predator, his mind identified. Danger.
"It is a Jelarian wolf," Teyla said in a low voice. "They are found on many worlds. They will kill and eat a child easily."
Ford raised his P-90, but the move proved pointless because even as the wolf prepared to spring at them, another animal came leaping out of the darkness, eyes flashing and teeth bared.
It was over in moments, and the humans were left to gaze, shocked, at the creature who was feasting on the wolf.
"It's a feline," Rodney said faintly. "A big one."
"Very big," Teyla agreed. It was over two metres long, including the tail, and was nearly a metre tall when its head was down. The tail swished lazily from side to side, and then the feline turned to face them.
"It's a panther," Rodney said, panicking. "Oh god, we're gonna die."
The panther's jaws opened wide in a yawn, and then it padded silently towards them. Ford and Teyla aimed their guns at it, and it stopped. It sat back on its haunches, looking like nothing so much as an overgrown cat, and watched them.
"That's what I saw," Rodney whispered hurriedly. "Kill it now, please."
"You can't have seen it on Atlantis," Ford tried to reason. "I mean…it can't be the same one…"
The panther dipped its head. Teyla frowned at it; she was sure it was laughing at them.
"Are these…panthers intelligent?" she asked, still watching it.
"Not really," Rodney said. "Why?" He looked properly at the panther, and then he was frowning too. "I see what you mean, though."
"It's waiting for us," Ford realised. "It wants us to do something. Maybe it knows where the Major is?"
Teyla could have sworn the panther rolled its eyes at that. Instead it rose and padded to one of the ruins. She followed, ignoring Ford's words of caution, and found herself looking down at Major Sheppard's uniform and weapons.
"His things are here," she told the others. The panther rubbed against her leg and then pawed at the pile of clothing. The major's dog tags were revealed; Teyla bent and picked them up as Ford and Rodney came closer. "I have a very odd feeling about this," she said.
"We'd better get back to the Stargate," Ford said after a moment. "Come back when it's light with a search team." He reached down to gather John's belongings, but with a snarl the panther lifted a paw and pulled the clothes away.
"I don't think it wants you to do that," Rodney pointed out, ever-helpful. "Hang on – this thing is intelligent?"
The panther bared its teeth in what might be termed a grin, then it carefully took the dog tags in its mouth and headed in the direction of their camp.
John wasn't sure exactly what he was doing, but he'd had no choice but to reveal himself when the other creature had appeared. His instinct to protect his team was purely human – panthers in the wild had no familial bonds, and his people were scarcely different. Had his animal mind held sway, the wolf-like creature would be dead and his team on their way back to Atlantis by now.
John Sheppard had never been a man to follow normal logic.
He stretched out next to the fire, eyelids half-closed, eyes twitching with the sounds made by the humans as they returned. He looked relaxed, but he was ready to disappear at a moment's notice.
He ignored what they were saying – or the argument between Ford and Rodney. He could understand speech in this form, but generally he found it easier to focus on actions and tone of voice.
One eye opened fully as Teyla crouched beside him, a hesitant hand reaching out to touch his shoulder. She stroked him gently, and he found himself relaxing almost instantly. It had been years since anyone had touched him in this form – years since he had revealed himself to anyone as a panther. He'd been lucky – very lucky, and he knew it. Nobody had discovered him in Afghanistan or Antarctica, or while he'd been training. The last time he'd been with another during his transformation had been during his last relationship with one of his kind.
Teyla's strokes were sure and regular, her hand running from his neck down to his tail. He found himself purring; his eyes closed and his tail stilled. The argument faded into the background, all he could concentrate on were the hands petting him.
Then she started speaking, in a low voice that soothed him even as her words alarmed him.
"You are a very beautiful animal," she murmured. "But I think you know that. Very handsome. I think you are protective as well, are you not? Very brave, to take on the wolf by yourself. Brave to the point of foolishness. But if you are what I think you are, that is not so very surprising."
His eyes opened; he lifted his head to look at her. She smiled warmly.
"Am I right?" she asked. "Are you John?"
John gave a hiss, pulled himself away from her, and started grooming himself.
"What the hell?" Rodney approached them and crouched down in front of the panther, looking understandably worried. "John? This can't be Sheppard." The panther gave Rodney a look that the scientist would recognise anywhere – a John Sheppard patented expression that was part amused, part annoyed and partly dripping sex. Rodney tended to think everything John did dripped sex, so perhaps that part was just him.
"You're Sheppard," he nodded dazedly. "How the hell did you end up as a panther?"
John gave a cat-shrug and settled down by the fire again. He looked at Teyla unblinkingly until she resumed stroking him.
"And he's still an attention whore," Rodney muttered. "Fantastic. We'd better get back to Atlantis."
To be continued.