"So…" Jack started awkwardly. "How's life?"
Sam raised an eyebrow at him. Thiswas going to turn out well. They had only just gotten into the dense forest surrounding the village and her heart was already sinking to her stomach.
"Um. Fine," she replied just as awkwardly. Jack grinned at her brightly.
"This is gonna turn out well, isn't it?" he asked, echoing her thoughts. Sam smiled back.
"Well, sir, you were the one who paired us together."
Jack shrugged. "True." There was a pause. "So…you seeing anyone?"
Sam rolled her eyes. "No."
Was it just Sam or did Jack seem to relax slightly?
"Got anyone in sight?" he asked, not looking her direction. Sam sighed. Oh, how she hate regs.
"If you mean am I waiting, yes."
Jack glanced back at her, giving her a short grin. "Do I know them?"
If it wouldn't completely have made the general's day, Sam would've stuck her tongue out him. He knew the answer to that.
"Yes, you do."
Jack's grin widened. He turned back to look where he was going and stopped short, Sam almost running into him.
"What is it?" she snapped, slightly irritated.
"Um. That," he replied, pointing in front of them. Sam looked and gasped.
"Wow," she breathed.
"I second that motion," Jack agreed. "That thing's big."
Right in front of the friends, partially hidden by the vast greenery, was an enormous stone dragon. It sat back on its hind legs on top a large platform, its front claws resting only two feet away from Jack and Sam. Looking up, they tried to see the head, but it was so far up that it was practically impossible. They looked back to the vicious claws before them.
"They're sheathed," Sam observed, surprised.
"They're big," Jack added. They were. If the claws were unsheathed, they'd probably be larger than two fully-grown men.
"Well. Maybe Daniel was wrong," Sam suggested. Jack frowned at her.
"This thing's stone, Carter. It didn't wipe out a village."
Sam shook her head. "I'm not quite sure, sir."
Jack rolled his eyes and sauntered to stand right next to the dragon. He reached up and rapped on the claw.
"See? Stone."
Sam only shook her head, frowning. Suddenly her eyes widened and she ran to Jack, pushing him aside. The general rolled to the grass and sat up immediately. Sam was gone, and the claws were unsheathed.
"Carter!" he bellowed, jumping up.
"Here, sir," came a muffled voice. Jack's panic dwindled to confusion.
"Where the hell are you?"
He heard an annoyed grunt and then:
"Behind the claw."
Jack's eyes widened and he peered between the platform and the claw to see Sam, trying desperately to flatten herself even further against the wall.
"I'm stuck," she informed him. He smiled.
"Yup. You are."
She glared at him. "And I'd like to get out."
Jack continued smiling and walked to the front of the claw. He frowned at it and slid his fingers under it, trying to push it up. Instead, the general fell back, landing on his butt hard. He crawled to talk to Sam again.
"Nope. Not gonna budge."
Sam continued to glare. He smiled again.
"Want me to ask Adria if she has any butter on her ship?"
Sam's glare intensified. Jack grinned, but then frowned, looking up and backing away from the wall.
"What?" Sam asked, trying to crane her neck to see what the general was doing. It wasn't working. Jack didn't answer but went farther out of Sam's line of vision. "Sir?" she called desperately. Finally Jack answered.
"I'm gonna climb."
XxXxX
A long while and a few pounds of sweat later, Jack finally hoisted himself up on the majestic dragon's snout. He lay where he was for a moment, catching his breath and gently massaging his sore arm and leg muscles before standing up and treading carefully to the edge. He glanced below and stepped back quickly. He was a little too high for comfort. Slowly, he turned around and almost fell backwards.
Only a few feet away from Jack's face were the gigantic eyes of the dragon. The entire statue was made a dull, grey stone… except the eyes. The eyes were titanic, bold rubies, the size of a teenage boy, lying on his side. Distantly, Jack wondered how much one could get from just one of the rubies, but focused more on not falling backwards. After composing himself, he crawled past the nerve-wracking eyes to look around.
He saw the back of a stone dragon. Nothing special.
With a sigh, he turned back to climb down, thinking he would ask Adria for some butter. Jack glanced at the large ear above his head, a somewhat ridiculous idea entering his head…he could even admit it was odd.
"Hey, dragon," he called. "Uh…I was wondering. Could you let Sam go? Cuz, y'know, she didn't really do anything."
He frowned at himself for a moment before starting back down. As soon as he did, he heard a loud grating sound below and shot a panicked glance down at Sam. After a second Jack could see her blonde hair, hurriedly backing away from the dragon. He grinned broadly and looked up to the stone ear.
"Thanks!"
A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!