"Very funny…"
"No levity was intended," he replied, sounding an awful lot like Teal'c. "It has been frequently told to me that not all sentient creatures appreciate having their bodies tampered with – even if it is intended to be helpful – without express permission. If I overstepped your desire, I will return the joint to its original condition."
"It's fine," Ian said. Actually, it was better than fine, really. The knee was easily in as good a condition as it ever had been, with the ache that he'd grown accustomed to over the last few months gone completely.
"Um… we're explorers," Daniel said into the silence. "From a planet called Earth. We came here to see if there was anyone here to meet and hopefully learn about."
The youth looked over at Daniel and then at Teal'c.
"And yet you travel with a Jaffa…"
"I am no danger to you," Teal'c replied, speaking for himself. "Nor to your people."
The Jaffa hadn't missed the fact that there were several dishes scattered around the room held warm food – food that had been abandoned quickly as people had no doubt gone into hiding upon his arrival.
"There is no such thing as a harmless Jaffa," the young man told him.
"You don't seem too worried about your safety," Jack pointed out. Indeed, the boy had been standing around them easily, not even watching Teal'c as one would watch someone he expected an attack from.
"I am not."
Meaning he felt he could take care of himself if the need arose.
"Good," Daniel said. "Because Teal'c isn't going to do anything."
Jaffer shifted, slightly, drawing the young man's attention.
"And these?" he asked, gesturing to Jack (the dog) and Jaffer. "What of them?"
"They're harmless," Jack told him. "More or less."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they won't do anything as long as you don't."
"Then I will not."
"My name is Daniel," Daniel said, trying to make a little progress in the conversation. "These are my friends. Jack, Teal'c and Ian."
"I am called Fisai."
Daniel smiled.
"We appreciate the help, Fisai," he told the youth. "It was looking pretty bad out there."
"It looks much worse, now, I assure you."
"He means it was a close call for us," Jack said. "And thanks for the help."
"You are welcomed. The storm will last several hours, at least. For that time, I'm afraid you'll be forced to remain here where it is safe."
Daniel nodded, looking around.
"This cave must have taken years to complete…"
"Yes."
Ian hid a smile, knowing that Daniel was trying to break the ice with the guy – and he wasn't really having a lot of luck. Apparently Fisai wasn't any more of a conversationalist than Ian himself was. Or he was still way too suspicious to allow himself to be engaged in a conversation. Which was fine with Ian, since he didn't want to gossip anyways, and aside from being curious if the guy was an Ancient, he didn't really care much about where they were. It was warm and out of the storm, and that was all he needed.
"Do you get storms like this often? Our probe didn't even see it coming."
"They form quickly."
The young man watched as Jaffer flopped down in front of the fire, followed immediately by Jack (the dog). The labs had decided that they didn't have any reason to mistrust Fisai, which meant they were free to enjoy the warmth of the closest fire after being so chilled only minutes before. Neither Jack or Teal'c had their weapons in any kind of defensive or offensive positions, which plainly showed that they were comfortable with the situation as well.
"We came through the Stargate," Daniel said, still trying to get a conversation going. "The round metal thing out-"
"The ring of the gods," the boy interrupted, nodding. "I know. I watched you arrive."
"Then you know that we're alone."
"Yes."
"We come in peace."
Ian rolled his eyes, amused, and waited for Daniel to tell Fisai to take them to his leaders.
"You carry weapons."
"Only for protection."
"A weapon will not protect you from a snowstorm, Daniel."
Ian snorted, turning it into a cough to cover the sound – although he didn't fool anyone.
"Well, no… but we run into a lot of hostile people."
"And you harm them?"
He certainly seemed to be trying to work them into a corner, Jack decided. Trying to get them to admit to being aggressive or worse, perhaps – or maybe just testing them to see how they would reply to the question. Whatever it was, Jack had had enough of the question and answer session – especially since they weren't getting any answers.
"Usually it's Jaffa," Jack said before Daniel could answer. "Teal'c here hasn't made any friends among his own people by turning on the system lords, and they're always hunting us and hoping to capture him. Or worse. As you might expect, he'd make quite a prize for any of the system lords. We don't mess with the local population of a planet if they tell us they don't want us there."
Fisai nodded, and looked over towards the far end of the cave where there was a break that Jack and the others had decided (separately) must lead off to another passageway or anther cave. The others followed his gaze and saw that there was a man standing there where there hadn't been before. Not even Teal'c had seen him move into position – although he hadn't really been watching that area specifically.
This man was much older than Fisai. He looked to be in his mid eighties or so, but Jack and the others all knew that looks could be deceiving. Look at Teal'c, after all. He looked no older than Jack, but was over a hundred. He walked over to the fireplace they were standing in front of and looked the group over carefully for a long moment before finally speaking.
"I am called Berag."
Daniel started to introduce them again, but the older man held up a hand.
"I heard your names. You are welcomed to stay with us until the weather clears, but then you must go."
"Go?" Daniel echoed. "But we want to learn more about your people. We just saw Fisai heal Ian here, and would like to know how he did it. We want to know what your people are like. What you-"
"You may stay until the storm is over," Berag repeated, interrupting. "Learn what you can until then, for you leave shortly after."
The old man turned, and made an odd noise in his throat – kind of a cross between what sounded like gagging and a yodel – and people started emerging from the passageway.