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trinityofone*sigh* I need to stop wangsting about this and just post it. I'm sorry it's not more exciting, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tardis80.
Comment fic the fourth:
Title: A Monologue for Two Voices
Prequel to: Dæmonology
Rating: PG
Length: ~950 words
Summary:tardis80 wanted something about Rodney and faith or Rodney and Tyk. This is both.
A/N: Will really make no sense unless you’ve read Dæmonology. Which you should do? [/pathetic attempt to self-pimp]
A Monologue for Two Voices
Tykallita was eating Cheerios; Rodney was thinking deep thoughts.
“Can I have some?” Rodney asked. Tyk rolled a couple Os in his direction, pushing with her nose. She wondered if she could come up with a more efficient way to move the Cheerios; maybe if she threaded them on her tail...?
They were in their room, on their bed: Rodney sprawled out on his back and Tyk beside him with her little pile of whole grain-goodness. It was the middle of the night and they were supposed to be sleeping, and if they were not sleeping, then they ought to be working. Instead they were caught in some sort of limbo state, restless and worried, heads too full and bellies not full enough.
It was their third night in Atlantis.
Tyk nibbled on a Cheerio. She could feel the anxiousness radiating off her human in waves, but she knew he would talk when he was ready. Or if need be, she would make him talk. But not yet. Not now.
Except suddenly he said, “I think I have to do it, Tyk.”
She stopped chewing, put the piece of cereal down. Her claws dug into the unfamiliar mattress as she scrambled the few inches over to Rodney, and into the hand he had waiting for her. He picked her up and placed her on his chest, pushing his shoulders back against the pillows so that he could get a proper view of her. The angle gave her a view directly up his nose, but she didn’t mind. She’d seen all sides of him by now.
Then her whiskers twitched, as she wondered if that were really true. There might be more to see, yet.
“I think I have to,” he said. “Carson says it’ll work, and...”
“Do you trust him?” Tykallita asked.
Rodney shifted uncomfortably. Tyk took a step forward and nudged his thumb with her nose, slipping under his fingers, encouraging him to stroke. He sighed: a long, slow release of breath. “Well, I don’t think he’s intentionally trying to kill me,” he said.
Tyk emitted a mousy snort. “Soelle is nervous all the time,” she said. “She’s so jumpy.”
“She’s a toad,” Rodney pointed out.
“I know,” Tyk said, like that explained everything. As far as she was concerned, it did.
“So,” Rodney said, following her, “you’re saying that Soelle isn’t convinced the gene therapy will work? Or that if it doesn’t, that it’ll at least be harmless?”
Tyk nodded. “Oh, great,” said Rodney. “That’s not what Carson said at all!”
In fairness, “He wasn’t trying to mislead you,” Tykallita admitted.
“I know!” Rodney said, pulling his hand away from Tyk’s back and running it over his hair. “If he were, that would be one thing, but...” The hand fell limply to his side. “Fuck.”
“You don’t know what to do,” Tyk said.
“You don’t know what to do,” Rodney replied.
“No.” She crept up his shoulder, nuzzled into his neck. Pressed against his jugular, she could feel the rapid beating of his heart: too fast, too fast.
“Sheppard,” he said suddenly.
Her nose twitched. “What?”
“You know, the Major. The one who made the chair light up”--this last said reverently.
“Oh,” said Tykallita. “You mean the one with the snake.”
“Yes!” said Rodney, and then, rather curiously: “What’s her name?”
“I don’t know,” said Tyk. Something about the snake dæmon frightened her.
Rodney snapped his fingers, a habit she’d never been able to break him of. “Find out for me.”
“Okay,” said Tyk; she had more important things to do, but maybe she’d get around to it eventually. “But what does Sheppard have to do with anything?”
“He has the gene." And there was that tone again. She wished she could be scornful, but she wanted it for him, too: so badly, almost as much as he wanted it for himself.
But she controlled herself. “Duh,” she said. “Did you have a point? At all?”
Rodney rolled his eyes. “He’s the reason I have to do it! I can’t have him outshining me, can I? With his ancient gene and his rescue operations and his ‘seven hundred and twenty.’ I have to level the playing field! Not that the playing field can ever really be level when you have an intellect like mine, but--”
“Rodney,” Tyk interrupted firmly.
“Yes? What?”
She sighed. “Jealousy is very unbecoming.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “So’s fear.”
There was nothing she could say to that. There was only one thing she could say to that. She padded back to his chest, crouched on her hind paws, looked him in the eye. “I think you should do it,” she said.
Rodney scooped her up, raised her to his face. “As you’ll recall, that’s what I said in the first place.”
He put her down, cleared the Cheerios away. She plopped down on the pillow and lay waiting for him. He crawled in next to her: slow movements, heavy sighs. “We should try to sleep,” he said, yawning. “Tomorrow, we’ll have to stop even more idiots from accidentally plunging us back into the ocean with their complete ignorance of the technology and their juvenile horsing around.”
“We will, though,” she said.
“Yes.”
“We’re smarter than all of them,” she said.
He grinned. “Yes.”
After a while, too long a time in which his breathing didn’t slow and neither did hers, she said, “You still don’t trust him, do you?”
Rodney let out a breath. “No,” he admitted. “But I trust you.”
Tykallita nodded, a tiny movement in the dark. It would have to be enough. For now, it would be enough.
*************
tardis80.Comment fic the fourth:
Title: A Monologue for Two Voices
Prequel to: Dæmonology
Rating: PG
Length: ~950 words
Summary:
tardis80 wanted something about Rodney and faith or Rodney and Tyk. This is both.A/N: Will really make no sense unless you’ve read Dæmonology. Which you should do? [/pathetic attempt to self-pimp]
A Monologue for Two Voices
Tykallita was eating Cheerios; Rodney was thinking deep thoughts.
“Can I have some?” Rodney asked. Tyk rolled a couple Os in his direction, pushing with her nose. She wondered if she could come up with a more efficient way to move the Cheerios; maybe if she threaded them on her tail...?
They were in their room, on their bed: Rodney sprawled out on his back and Tyk beside him with her little pile of whole grain-goodness. It was the middle of the night and they were supposed to be sleeping, and if they were not sleeping, then they ought to be working. Instead they were caught in some sort of limbo state, restless and worried, heads too full and bellies not full enough.
It was their third night in Atlantis.
Tyk nibbled on a Cheerio. She could feel the anxiousness radiating off her human in waves, but she knew he would talk when he was ready. Or if need be, she would make him talk. But not yet. Not now.
Except suddenly he said, “I think I have to do it, Tyk.”
She stopped chewing, put the piece of cereal down. Her claws dug into the unfamiliar mattress as she scrambled the few inches over to Rodney, and into the hand he had waiting for her. He picked her up and placed her on his chest, pushing his shoulders back against the pillows so that he could get a proper view of her. The angle gave her a view directly up his nose, but she didn’t mind. She’d seen all sides of him by now.
Then her whiskers twitched, as she wondered if that were really true. There might be more to see, yet.
“I think I have to,” he said. “Carson says it’ll work, and...”
“Do you trust him?” Tykallita asked.
Rodney shifted uncomfortably. Tyk took a step forward and nudged his thumb with her nose, slipping under his fingers, encouraging him to stroke. He sighed: a long, slow release of breath. “Well, I don’t think he’s intentionally trying to kill me,” he said.
Tyk emitted a mousy snort. “Soelle is nervous all the time,” she said. “She’s so jumpy.”
“She’s a toad,” Rodney pointed out.
“I know,” Tyk said, like that explained everything. As far as she was concerned, it did.
“So,” Rodney said, following her, “you’re saying that Soelle isn’t convinced the gene therapy will work? Or that if it doesn’t, that it’ll at least be harmless?”
Tyk nodded. “Oh, great,” said Rodney. “That’s not what Carson said at all!”
In fairness, “He wasn’t trying to mislead you,” Tykallita admitted.
“I know!” Rodney said, pulling his hand away from Tyk’s back and running it over his hair. “If he were, that would be one thing, but...” The hand fell limply to his side. “Fuck.”
“You don’t know what to do,” Tyk said.
“You don’t know what to do,” Rodney replied.
“No.” She crept up his shoulder, nuzzled into his neck. Pressed against his jugular, she could feel the rapid beating of his heart: too fast, too fast.
“Sheppard,” he said suddenly.
Her nose twitched. “What?”
“You know, the Major. The one who made the chair light up”--this last said reverently.
“Oh,” said Tykallita. “You mean the one with the snake.”
“Yes!” said Rodney, and then, rather curiously: “What’s her name?”
“I don’t know,” said Tyk. Something about the snake dæmon frightened her.
Rodney snapped his fingers, a habit she’d never been able to break him of. “Find out for me.”
“Okay,” said Tyk; she had more important things to do, but maybe she’d get around to it eventually. “But what does Sheppard have to do with anything?”
“He has the gene." And there was that tone again. She wished she could be scornful, but she wanted it for him, too: so badly, almost as much as he wanted it for himself.
But she controlled herself. “Duh,” she said. “Did you have a point? At all?”
Rodney rolled his eyes. “He’s the reason I have to do it! I can’t have him outshining me, can I? With his ancient gene and his rescue operations and his ‘seven hundred and twenty.’ I have to level the playing field! Not that the playing field can ever really be level when you have an intellect like mine, but--”
“Rodney,” Tyk interrupted firmly.
“Yes? What?”
She sighed. “Jealousy is very unbecoming.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “So’s fear.”
There was nothing she could say to that. There was only one thing she could say to that. She padded back to his chest, crouched on her hind paws, looked him in the eye. “I think you should do it,” she said.
Rodney scooped her up, raised her to his face. “As you’ll recall, that’s what I said in the first place.”
He put her down, cleared the Cheerios away. She plopped down on the pillow and lay waiting for him. He crawled in next to her: slow movements, heavy sighs. “We should try to sleep,” he said, yawning. “Tomorrow, we’ll have to stop even more idiots from accidentally plunging us back into the ocean with their complete ignorance of the technology and their juvenile horsing around.”
“We will, though,” she said.
“Yes.”
“We’re smarter than all of them,” she said.
He grinned. “Yes.”
After a while, too long a time in which his breathing didn’t slow and neither did hers, she said, “You still don’t trust him, do you?”
Rodney let out a breath. “No,” he admitted. “But I trust you.”
Tykallita nodded, a tiny movement in the dark. It would have to be enough. For now, it would be enough.
*************
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 05:27 pm (UTC)in conclusion, yay! If I could pick a crossover 'verse to live in, this would so be it. I love your daemons and your characters and your everything. you're a rockstar.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 09:03 pm (UTC)What she said.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 08:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 05:33 pm (UTC)Who needs 'excitement' when they can get a good character piece?
And I really enjoyed this story. First, because I find this AU absolutely fascinating, and I'll jump at any chance to see more of what you do with it. I really enjoyed the interaction between Rodney and Tyk. It's been awhile since I've read Daemonology , --and it's funny that I thought about that story last night in the context of re-reading it and investigating the source material--but I think Tyk is more fleshed out in this one. I like what you've shown of her personality and the relationship between her and Rodney. I also like the peek into Rodney's head that you've given me--his uncertainty and fear, combined with some of his arrogance. Thanks.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 05:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 05:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 05:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:05 pm (UTC)And I remaint totally in awe at your writing, and think it's totally unfair you manage to be this prolific and that good. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:06 pm (UTC)Hey, what kind of animal is Tyk? I keep thinking cat, then I think, no.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 08:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 10:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:06 pm (UTC)but that wouldn't be enough. You've introduced me to a new series of books (which is like, a GODLIKE ability in my world)..and written a fic that I find beautiful, mysterious, and somehow perfect.
thank you isn't enough.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:35 pm (UTC)This is a lovely little character piece. I adore Tyk. And Rodney, of course, but that goes without saying. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:44 pm (UTC)Now I must go and reread the original story for the squillionth time.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 06:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 07:03 pm (UTC)“We’re smarter than all of them,” she said.
He grinned. “Yes.”
Heh, best lines ever.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 08:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 08:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 10:09 pm (UTC)And by the way, thanks for the book rec! I'm in the middle of the first book of the His Dark Materials series and I'm liking it quite a bit! (I actually liked Dæmonology more, because you know, Rodney and Sheppard, but the book's good, too!)
I hope you'll write more of these. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 11:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-09 11:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 12:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 01:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 07:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 12:29 pm (UTC)I thought this was a lovely, clever little story. I like how you've entwined a decision that would have been difficult for Rodney to make, with your established demon character, and also the hint of 'at the beginning' Sheppard.
But, seriously, anything you want to put the mouse in, I'm gonna love. That mouse has caught my heart, utterly.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-10 04:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-11 09:34 pm (UTC)I like this little prologue because to me it points up just *how* strange it is, to have a daemon, how much difference it has made.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-13 07:08 am (UTC)The angle gave her a view directly up his nose, but she didn’t mind. She’d seen all sides of him by now.
Then her whiskers twitched, as she wondered if that were really true. There might be more to see, yet.
and i like that something about nioke frightens tyk; is rodney frightened by something in john? is it the same thing? so many subtleties and possibilities in this world. oh, and i did end up checking out his dark materials and promptly fell in LOVE. i'm trying to linger over the third book, but most likely i'll inhale it at the next available opportunity. you ought to be working on commission for pullman, honestly.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-11 06:18 am (UTC)GUH!
*died from the cute*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-12-01 05:49 am (UTC)