WINTER WONDERLAND
By NotTasha

CHAPTER 2: KABOBS AND SLIVOVITZ

The night was spent in quiet, cheerful light. The Ekukian's proved to be warmhearted people. The great hall filled with the citizens of the warren city, all of them eager to hear the visitors, wanting to know what was happening on the other worlds. It was a tight fit, with about seventy or eighty people in total, but nobody seemed to mind the crush – except for a couple of the temperamental visitors.

Soldotna and some of the other women had opened the crate of trading goods as soon as it had arrived in the room, and had nearly swooned over the contents – samples of the produce grown by the Athosians and some of the other trading partners. "Oopha!" Soldotna exclaimed, holding up a pear-like fruit. "Oh, how I've longed for it."

A quite murmur of conversation filled the night, as women, men and well-behaved children sat together, sharing a meal. Everyone seemed to speak in a quiet whisper that could be heard only by the closest neighbors. Thin strips of meat were served on long sticks, and seared over the fire at the central stove. A thick chimney sprouted from the top of the device, disappearing into the ceiling. From time to time, everyone would draw back and a dark brick would be added to the grate, keeping the fire going.

The cooked meat was dipped into a variety of sauces – from sweet to sour to salty to spicy. After a tepid start, McKay discovered the wonders of the Ekukian satay, and soon several of the women sat near him, tempting him with their own personal dipping sauces.

A bottle was passed around, filled with a clear liquid that could take the paint from any surface. The native people were cheery and generous. The visitors did their best to show their appreciation. Some needed more coaxing than others. And they made at least a pretext of sipping the strong solution.

It made the Ekukians laugh uproariously when McKay choked on a swallow. They laughed even harder when Ford did the same. Teyla gamely took a gulp and was rather quiet afterward.

As McKay finished his last tapa-kabob, he watched a young Ekukian carefully add another brick to the fire. "What is that?" he asked, pointing with the empty stick. "Some sort of concentrated fuel source?"

"It's a tapa-blossum," the boy told him.

"Tapa blossom?" McKay repeated, glancing to the others.

Akhiok faltered, trying to come up with the right words, so it was Soldotna that explained, "It is the dung of the tapa. The blossom is collected from the snowfields, and stored for the cold months. We compress it and let it dry. It is a good fuel."

McKay looked at his stick uneasily, and set it down by the fire. He exchanged a worried glance with Sheppard, who suddenly found the need end his feast. Ford lifted a lip in disgust, and edged back from the fire, while Teyla simply closed her eyes.

When the meal was finished, Akhiok brought the visitors in a huddle around him, and drew in his wife and brother. Another woman sat close to the brother, saying nothing, but clinging to the big man as only a wife should. She was introduced as Kenai, newly wed to Karluk.

The other Ekukians kept close, pressing in to hear – but not entering the conversation. They kept up a constant quiet litany with the others in the room – either repeating what they'd heard from the visitors, or offering commentary on it. It was disconcerting to the newcomers to hear their conversation echoed and interpreted almost as soon as the words had been spoken.

They were a private people, Teyla had told them earlier, who lived in a very public, tight community. They created their privacy where they could. While indoors, voices were usually kept low, but it was known that others were always nearby -- listening. Words were always overhead. One had to ignore another when one wanted to be alone. It was the pretense of privacy, and it was all that they had when winter kept them captive.

"So few visitors come our way," Akhiok said quietly as they sat in a half-circle near the fire. "We are happy to have newcomers to enjoy our nightly feast. We are glad to trade with anyone who comes to us and we are pleased with you. It fills us with joy that you have come to trade."

Karluk looked unhappy as he stated, "Few come anymore."

"Can't imagine why that is," Sheppard stated, remembering the frying pan in the face when he stepped onto the planet.

Catching the sarcastic tint of John's statement, McKay responded, "Oh, pooh-pooh. A little cold won't kill you, Major. When properly suited up…" he pointed to his Maple Leafs sweater, "…it's a lovely planet." Behind him, a woman sidled closer, peering over his shoulder – and the scientist looked lost, not knowing if he should be annoyed or gratified to have a woman pressed so close to him. Annoyance was winning out.

"Yes, yes, it's lovely," Akhiok went on. "Yet so few visit. It's been a long time since we had such things." Akhiok gestured to the fruit in his wife's hands. "We can grow some grains in the warm months, and there are the everlast berries, but what you bring to us will be treasured."

"It is well known that if no one comes to you," Teyla said helpfully, "You must travel to find the items you seek. One must, at least… try."

Karluk leaned close to her and explained, "We used to travel when our supplies were short."

Akhiok added, "Once or twice a year, perhaps. Little more."

"And not at all for this past year," Soldotna added petulantly, still holding the oopha fruit as if it was a precious gem.

"It is unsafe," Akhiok placated, resting one hand on his wife's shoulder. "And we have been fine without travel. It is unnecessary."

"Gate travel is perfectly safe," McKay interjected. "We do it all the time." And he smiled broadly. "If you want, I can maybe give a little talk on how the gate technology works. Really, if you think it would help." His hands fluttered about as he talked. "I'd be more than happy to explain it."

Sheppard gave him a glare, but Akhiok spoke, "We are happy for your offer, but it would be unnecessary." He sighed. "My people are uncomfortable within other cultures. They are – strange to us. We prefer to stay near the comforts of our homes." And he spread his arms wide to indicate the cozy room. "How could we leave?"

"Yeah," Sheppard stated, wrinkling his nose against the strong odors, which had become stronger as Akhiok lifted his arms, "I can tell." Behind him, one of the onlookers leaned heavily against him, jabbing an arm into his back, and Sheppard had to hold back to keep from flinging the young man away.

"But the reason we have stopped our travel, is …" Karluk started and paused, looking to his brother. "Naknek." The people around them drew in their breaths, and Karluk waited for Akhiok to continue for him.

"Naknek?" John repeated the word to ensure that he'd heard it correctly.

Akhiok nodded, and turned toward the visitors. "Naknek would travel through the gate. He would take his family and they would barter. He knew how to bring the Ring to life. He knew where to go. He was not afraid. One day, they went in search of fruit and new game, and never came back."

The constant nattering around them stopped. Finally, Ford spoke. "Maybe they just ended up someplace nice and warm," he tried. "You know. Maybe they didn't want to come back. Could be his family just got tired of being cold."

"It wouldn't be like him," Soldotna whispered.

"We tried to find him," Karluk added. "Ugashik tried." He nodded to one of the faces in the crowd, a boy. "Ugashik knew where he had gone and how to find him, but the Ring would not open." Karluk sighed in defeat.

"Wouldn't open?" McKay commented. "That doesn't make sense. The boy got the sequence wrong. Kid, ah… Ugh-a-sick?"

"Ugashik," Akhiok corrected congenially, and gestured the boy into their midst. McKay questioned the kid, trying to discover the address dialed, the sequence of keys pressed, but the boy couldn't clearly describe the symbols. The boy stated that he had tested another known address and made a connection – but no matter how he tried, he could not reach the location where Naknek had disappeared.

"He probably just dialed it wrong," McKay concluded, after hearing the boy's wishy-washing description. "He obviously can't tell one chevron from another. A pity. I might have been able to help you track down this Nick-nack and his family."

"Naknek," Akhiok gently corrected.

The evening went on –bottles were passed about and others opened. Teyla gamely tried to keep up with the natives, but her eyes were soon closing and she leaned against Sheppard. The major sighed wearily. He figured he could put up with Teyla, but he gave both Ford and McKay a sharp look, letting them know they weren't going to be using him as a bolster any time soon.

Finally, it was time for everyone to 'go to their skins'. Families broke off, disappearing as the conversation continued until only Akhiok and his family remained with the visitors.

"It pleases me to spend the night in talk," Akhiok declared. "But tomorrow is the hunt, and we must sleep to refresh ourselves."

Their host took them on a quick tour of the warren. Akhiok pointed out the tapestries as they moved past. The ornamental hangings were woven with bits of fur and wool, filled with festive and active scenes. He pointed out the elephant-sized animals again. "Tapas!" he cried joyfully and continued forward. Ford followed, half-supporting Teyla. McKay and Sheppard lingered a moment at the tapestry.

McKay pressed a finger to his lip as he squinted at the image. "We'll be hunting those things? Wooly mammoths?"

"No trunk… no tusks," Sheppard replied. "Can't be that bad."

"Well, what would you call that nose?"

"A nose," Sheppard tried.

McKay frowned at the image – not quite a trunk – not just a simple muzzle. "Snout," he decided as he examined the image of the long-nosed creatures. "Snoot? Snazzola?"

"Sure… fine," Sheppard said with a yawn, not caring.

"Look at the size of them," McKay hissed. "Look at the little people poking at them with pointed sticks. You can't think that going on the 'hunt' is a good idea."

Sheppard shrugged. "They seem to know what they're doing," he tried.

"Tapas…" McKay said and sighed. "You know, tapas are those little appetizers, those snacks. I used to go to this great Spanish place. They made the best tapas. Those kabob things we had weren't half bad. They'd go pretty good with beer, wine…"

"…or whatever that stuff was that they were passing around," Sheppard tried. "That was some stiff vodka, or was it gasoline?"

"Reminded me a more of slivovitz," McKay commented.

"You get some of that in Russia?" Sheppard asked.

Rodney's face twitched for a second at the mention of the place. "They had me go on vacation once. Went to Croatia."

The others had moved on, and it had become obvious that they'd been lagging. Akhiok called for them, and they hurried to catch up. They moved back toward the main room, past the hole-in-the-walls that lined the hallway. Within, the Ekukians were preparing for the night, crawling into their furs.

"If you wish, you may sleep with Soldotna and myself, with our children," Akhiok offered. "Or with Karluk and his bride, Kenai."

Inside one hole, a pile of children filled one corner, looking messy and possibly sticky. McKay's face grew red when looked into the other hole. The woman who'd been leaning on Karluk earlier was stripped to nothing in the dimness and was in the process of crawling beneath a set of furs with her hairy husband. The low light from the passage made her body seem to glow and the physicist stumbled into Sheppard in his haste to avert his eyes.

"How 'bout we sleep in the great hall?" the major quickly requested.

Akhiok seemed amenable to that solution, so at least they could sleep in relative peace, and awaken for the adventure in the morning. They parted from their host and headed to the hall.

"Why don't these people have doors?" McKay whispered as he messed with some of the furs that were left for their bedding.

"Guess they don't have the issues that you do," Sheppard told him. "What do you think, Teyla?" he asked the Athosian.

Teyla had found a spot along the sitting platform and wrapped herself in one of the furs. She looked at Sheppard, her eyes unfocused, her mouth pursed as if she was considering answering him.

"Go to sleep, Teyla," John said thoughtfully.

The woman nodded, and slowly, she lay down in the fur and curled up in a ball.

"Time we all turned in," Sheppard declared. The rest of them found spaces on the platform and tried to find someplace comfortable.

"I know I'm going to be sore in the morning," McKay muttered as he messed about with his furs. "Probably won't get a minute of sleep." He looked up when both Sheppard and Ford rolled their eyes. "I'm just giving you fair warning! Don't expect much out of me tomorrow morning," he declared, and then turned his back to them as he tried to relax without his special-order mattress.

Ford threw his commander a grin, shaking his head – and the two of them settled in for the night as well.

TBC