John insisted that it didn't matter who could see in the dark, everyone, alien or not, was to get back to the jumper for the night. The dead people were not going to get up and leave before morning. What he didn't say was that he trusted Todd in the jumper with them while everyone slept. Whether this was because he didn't' think Todd was dumb enough to kill them and essentially lock himself in an airtight container her couldn't open the doors to or if John cared about the wraith he also kept secret.
John blinked awake and yawned, realizing the noise nearby wasn't from his dream. "Hey!"
Todd was standing next to him, staring out the window and blocking his view of the scource of the noise outside.
"What's—" Rodney asked as he woke up and Daniel came into the cabin.
"Shh!" John said, shoving Todd back in order to see.
Outside was a wraith. He was scantily dressed in a colorful loincloth; he even had a brightly colored ribbon in its hair. He was heavily decorated with woven and beaded jewelry and lacked any true Wraith decoration. His skin was bare of tattoos and his hair fell over his face and covered one eye… presumably. The head of a large nail that had been jammed upwards poked out between the ragged locks. Four more nails jutted from the front of his skull, two beyond the hairline and two along his forehead.
The wraith raised a blade, bolted to his wrist, and brought it down as hard as he could against the ship, the strike knocking him back a pace. He stepped forward and swung his other arm striking the ship with a large spike attached to a chain that was connected to a contraption that held his wrist still, preventing him from feeding. He repeated the motions over and over, almost mechanically.
"Can he see us?" Rodney whispered.
"He can't hear us, either," John said. "We're cloaked. He must've wandered into us."
No one moved as they watched the wraith continue to fight his invisible foe. No one knew what to say. Soon everyone had ceased blinking, mesmerized by the gruesome ebb and flow of the wraith's motions until he was interrupted.
A woman, almost as scantily clad and just as colorfully as the wraith, ran up to it as she hurled a sizable rock in his direction. The wraith turned, earning itself a rock in the face as she scolded him until she saw the rock bounce off the ship.
"Looks like we've got company," John said, as the woman threw another rock at the ship to make sure something was there. "They're gonna keep that up until they break the jumper."
"I hate this planet." Rodney said.
"Stay here," he told Todd as he uncloaked the jumper. "Rodney, I need you in case we need another gun; Daniel, I need you so we don't." He signaled to Rodney to open the hatch and strode out with a tight grip on his weapon.
The woman had been joined by three other humans, all male, armed with what looked to be nail guns turned into offensive weaponry. The wraith stood by her like a loyal dog, showing no emotion as it watched the new comers.
The strange people were simply and barely dressed, though there was evidence that, like their weapons, they were not primitive. Unlike the usual pale natives of other planets, their skin was dark and ruddy. Their hair was sleek and black, coarser than those usually found on the other end of the Pegasus Galaxy. This was not altogether unnerving, as many races had already been found; likely these were distant kin of Ronan or Teyla.
Before John could even crack a smile, the weapons were aimed at him and his cohorts.
"Waste not to reward the thing," the woman said, violently shoving the wraith.
They suddenly went quiet and the three Tau'ri turned to see Todd stepping out of the jumper behind them. The woman's harsh glare suddenly melted away and she began to laugh heartily as the men lowered their weapons. Although the wraith's expression didn't change, it seemed disappointed.
"I thought I told you to stay in there," John scolded.
Todd turned to Daniel for a second before heading back into the jumper.
Rodney, even thought he'd been distracted by the lack of covering on her chest, was the first and pick up on her change in attitude. "Uh… bad wraith! Bad! Shoo! You're on time-out!"
The woman shooed the men and the wraith away. "We had no idea there were others who had crossed Tlillan-Tlapallan," she said. "We were afraid huitznanuna had come from Coyolxauhqi, tricking us into destroying a false cenote.
"We are from Yacatecuhtli," Daniel said, hoping he understood enough. "From the other side of Tlillan-Tlapallan."
"I can definitely see that," she said, her voice both friendly and in awe. "Your teotl is quite submissive; such power has never been recorded on The World of The Fifth Sun. No one has ever had such favors of Tezcatlipoca."
By now Rodney and John had no idea what was going on or even if the woman was speaking a language they could.
"Has the toeotl ever disobeyed?"
That they understood, wishing she'd go back to talking about unpronounceable gibberish.
"He… doesn't get a cookie," Rodney said, hoping it was answer enough. The rest he could do was hope John didn't mention how free-willed Todd actually was trying to get into the woman's lack of pants.
"You have never been to Tlalocan before, have you?" she asked.
"Uh, no…" Daniel said. "Really bad storms stopped us until now."
"Really, really bad," John said, wishing he could actually join the conversation. 'For a guy who was constantly threatened by interstellar women, he sure was hogging this one,' John though.
"My name is Cualli,; I oversee the settlement of the paradise of the teotl," she said, taking both of Daniel's hands. "Let me be the first of the The People of Aztlan to welcome you to the purified land of Tlalocan. "
"How much of Tlalocan have you claimed?" Daniel asked. The last thing they needed was 'your spaceship is one my lawn.'
"You aren't here to settle, are you?' she said cheekily, crossing her arms and proud of her deduction.
"We merely came to explore," Daniel said cautiously.
"You are sure?" Cualli asked, suddenly suspicious. "We also value knowledge and our people never forgot about the last time those from the Land of the Fleshless came from Thirteenth Heaven."
"I'm hoping not to do any of that, either," Rodney said. He wondered if he had a sign saying 'kick me' that only people from other galaxies could see.
"You help make sure we don't…do that?" John asked. Now he was getting somewhere.
"You are smart," She said, her mood returning to friendly as she chuckled. "I wil have you watched. If you show me you mean no harm, I could even take you to Aztlan; we are always seeking the wisdom of the stars."
"Sounds like a date," John said. Finally. Besides, a lady who could pronounce words like that had to have a skilled tongue.
Daniel put his face in his hand and Rodney rolled his eyes.
"Wonderful!" she exclaimed, and immediately turned away to give a harsh whistle. "We are laying the foundations for our new city there," she said, pointing to the blank horizon. "If it returns and the city is unharmed, then I will gladly take you to our home."
"John, what'd you do?" Rodney asked, wincing.
Cualli's wraith made it's way towards the jumper as she turned to them. "I am in charge of overseeing the new city; I should return to my work." She began to walk away as her wraith approached them. "It may need more primitive discipline that you're used to."
"Can you give us a minute?" Daniel asked the wraith, unsure as to whether it understood anything short of rocks at all.