Everyone has been so kind to me. So patient and understanding, even when they had every right not to be.

-E-

"These are called bantos rods. My people use them in bantos fighting," Teyla handed two bantos rods to Eva. She accepted the cloth-wrapped bundle with great care.

"Thank you, Teyla." Eva was at a loss for words as she slowly unwrapped the rods. They felt sturdy, solid. Not liable to break under pressure.

"Hold them like this," the Athosian demonstrated, deftly moving Eva's hands to the proper grip. The rods settled in her fingers, feeling as if they were an extension of her limbs.

"Do you carry these with you when you go out on missions?" She swung the rods, twirling one between her fingers. It wasn't slippery, despite the finish. Good.

Teyla smiled. "Sometimes, yes. It is less about the rods and more about the skill."

Eva arched an eyebrow as she eyed the Athosian. "Isn't everything?"

Teyla's smiled widened. "A fair point." She paused. "May I ask you a personal question?"

Eva set the rods down and wrapped them back in the cloth before tilting her head to look at Teyla sitting across from her on the floor. Teyla's room was warm and inviting, which maybe had an effect on her disposition, because she wasn't used to sharing details of her life with others. Not that she had a lot of experience with that to begin with, considering the vast majority of her adult life had been spent alone.

She'd never been one to talk much about herself. "Uh... sure."

"The tattoo on your arm, does it signify something important?"

Eva twisted her arm so she could see the tattoo that was the mark of her birth. In the few weeks she'd been her, she'd managed to have clothes modified to approximate the Surian design of detached sleeves. To hide your clan tattoo was to be ashamed of your birth.

She was anything but ashamed.

Her father was the man who'd united her people in their last days. If only she'd known when he left that final time that it would be her last time ever seeing him again, she could have said goodbye properly. As harsh as it sounded, she wished fervently that he'd died fighting the war, not at the hands of the Wraith.

She slid a finger along the edges of the intricate design. "It's the tattoo of my clan: High Clan Vasir."

Teyla arched an eyebrow. "High Clan? That sounds... high."

A small laugh escaped Eva's lips. She supposed that did sound odd. Hell, it sounded a little odd to herself because it wasn't something she'd thought a lot about. Not much time to sit down and ruminate over your existence when you were focusing on continuing said existence.

She hadn't thought of her family in an even longer time, as if they'd become a footnote in the history of Eva Vasir. She'd expected to be filled with sadness, something to indicate that there was a void in her heart where they used to be. Instead she found herself ruminating fondly over them. Her father who always seemed to have the answers she needed (though she suspected now that he made half of them up); her sweet, yet firm mother; and her old brother, who'd annoyed the hell out of her, but had always been there when it mattered.

She couldn't really remember what they looked like anymore. Just vague impressions and warmth when she ran their names through her mind, as if they held a power that even the Wraith couldn't break.

She realized belatedly that the power might be love.

She also realized that her recent friends here at Atlantis were beginning to occupy the same barren wasteland in her heart. Perhaps it wasn't so barren after all.

"Yeah..." she replied lamely, not entirely sure how to broach the subject. How did one say, 'Hey, I'm the daughter to a High Elder. Probably one of the biggest things you can be short of actually being the High Elder. Did I mention that Vasir was the most prominent clan? 'Cause there's that, too.'?

Teyla's hand found hers, and she gave a soft squeeze of comfort. "Many of my people have been taken by the Wraith. I lost my father to a Wraith culling when I was a child. It is... hard."

Eva truly didn't know what to say to that, so she sufficed with simply squeezing Teyla's hand in return, letting the simple gesture speak for her.

"Ronon and I are both here, should you need to talk."

Ronon. He really would understand, wouldn't he? He'd lost everything to the Wraith just as she had. She didn't know the extent of his family - and she wouldn't inquire unless he told her it was ok - but she imagined that he'd lost many people close to him. Not to demean the loss of Teyla's father, because the loss of even one person to the Wraith was devastating enough... but it'd be easier for someone who'd lost their entire civilization to talk to someone else who had, as well.

She'd learned to shut too many things away, running from the Wraith. Now she had to learn how to open up.

"I... thank you."

Teyla gave her hand one last squeeze and released it.

Eva twisted a bit awkwardly on the floor as Teyla gathered up the equipment around her and started to rise. She expected vulnerability to feel unpleasant, and wasn't surprised that the urge to run and hide was there. But a greater desire kept her rooted to the spot: the desire for companionship. After so many years alone, she was surprised to see that the desire had taken root with a ferocity that would have terrified the wildest animal.

"Do you have time to go to the gym for some lessons in bantos fighting now?"

Eva stood up and replied, "Of course."

She was eager to learn.

"I believe John and Ronon are running today, so we should not have to fight them for the sparing mat."

She grinned, "What a shame."

-E-

AN: I apologize that this chapter took a bit longer than normal to come out. After a brief stretch of writer's block, I poured out words onto a notepad detailing the entire plot of NS. So if anyone was worried that this story might not go anywhere, worry no longer!

Also, the ME3 Extended Cut DLC came out, and that took precedence over everything. Thank you guys for reading. :)