A/N: Thanks again for your kind words and for sticking with me after my lengthy break. Ilovesg1: I think my muse and Rover had decided to take a summer vacation. I can't really blame them, there's a nice lake nearby that Rover would probably love to explore.
Chapter 31 – Skills
It was a beautiful morning for a hike. Jack and Sam kept a brisk pace while walking up the gentle slopes of the highest mountain within sight. Ok, by Colorado standards, this was really just a hill, but it was a tall hill and should afford them a good view of the surrounding countryside from the top. They walked mainly in companionable silence, occasionally pointing out interesting rock formations or watching Rover soaring overhead. They were just enjoying being together without the need to keep up a constant conversation.
Shortly after starting out after their lunch break, they came upon a rock face crossing their path, which extended out to their sides for as far as they could see.
"Peachy." Jack muttered as he looked at the craggy face reaching 15 feet into the air in front of him. As Rover landed next to him, he said to Sam, "Let's look for the easiest place to climb this. I don't want to strain your shoulder too much."
She nodded absently and started walking along the barrier examining possible routes to climb. Rover stared at Jack and then at the rock face and back again. He gave a short snort to get Jack's attention, which also made Sam turn her head. When Jack turned towards him, Rover again pointedly looked at the rock face and then Jack and then back again. He crouched low, took a leap upwards and with a beat of his wings was at the top looking down at them and snorted again, as if to say, 'Just jump up here.'
When Jack did nothing but stare at him, he leaped down, snorted at Jack, repeated the feat and was again looking down at them waiting for them to join him. Jack looked at Sam for a moment then turned back to Rover. "Sorry kiddo, we're not made like you. We can't jump and fly like that."
Rover leaped down to Jack's side again and looked at his legs, which were still longer than his own. Then he crouched down as if about to jump and snorted at Jack. Jack chuckled a little. "Are you trying to show me how to jump? Look, we don't have the same ability you do." And, to prove his point, Jack crouched down and jumped, a little half-heartedly as he didn't want to aggravate his knees. He cleared about a half a foot off the ground and Rover just stared at him for a moment. Then one side of his upper lip started to curl as if he were about to snarl. He gave a short cough, and a snort and continued to snort and cough. Jack started to step towards the dragon with his hand reaching out, concerned that he was choking on something when he realized Rover was laughing. At him. He, Jack O'Neill, was being laughed at by an adolescent dragon.
Jack immediately turned to Sam to confirm his suspicions. She put her hand to her mouth and turned away as soon as she saw him look at her, but her bobbing shoulders were enough proof for him.
"Yeah, well, laugh it up. Ha ha ha, you've got me there. But I can do things you can't, you know."
Rover had stopped laughing, but his tail was still wagging furiously and he was watching Jack as he looked at his hands and around the area looking for something he could do that the dragon couldn't.
"I know! Bet you can't juggle!"
Sam turned around at this point and watched the interaction as Rover continued to watch Jack. Jack reached down and picked up three fist sized rocks. "Watch this!" He started to juggle the rocks. After a couple of minutes, he started to do a couple of tricks by throwing one rock higher in the air and such. Rover was entranced. His head was bobbing up and down as he tried to watch all three objects along with Jack's hands at the same time.
When Jack stopped, Rover snorted and wagged his tale.
"?"
"That's it for playtime for now, kid. We'll do that again later, ok?"
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"I'll show you how later. Right now we've got to find a way up this wall. Ok?"
Rover wagged his tale again and sat down as Jack and Sam went back to the rock face to look for an easy way up. When they had decided on a spot and Jack started to climb it first, Sam curiously glanced over to see Rover picking up one of Jack's rocks in his mouth and throwing it up into the air. When it started to fall, he'd reach his snout out and try to knock it back upwards, which usually sent it off at an odd angle and he'd have to go bounding after it. He continued to play with his rock in that manner the whole time Jack and Sam were climbing up to their destination.
Once they were at the top, and had taken a water break, they turned to continue their hike. "Come on, Rover, we're moving on now!" Jack called out and started walking.
Sam watched as Rover picked up one of the rocks in his mouth and looked at the other two. He managed to get a second one in his mouth as well, but the third just wouldn't fit. He carefully grasped it with his front paw. Sam had noticed him grab things with his 'hands' before. They were surprisingly flexible for something he walked on and he could grasp sticks and things fairly easily, utilizing his curved claws and digits. Rock in hand, he leaped up and landed next to Sam. There he spit out the rocks at her feet and dropped the one in his paw and looked up at her, looked at her pack and looked back into her eyes. She understood his meaning and reached down to pick up the rocks. He picked up one of them in his mouth and watched as she put the other two in a side pocket of her pack.
Satisfied, he trotted off and took to flight to follow them in the air as Sam jogged to catch up to Jack.
