Week #4 Orange: Under Her Fingers by esteefee (Teyla, gen)

[esteefee]

Title: Under Her Fingers
Author: esteefee
Category: gen
Words: 295
Summary: Set during the Siege. Teyla is here for a reason.


Under Her Fingers

by esteefee


The fires of the Wraith weapons bloom over Atlantis' shield like the petals of fardas in full fruiting, gold and red and deep, deep orange, just as deadly as the poisonous but beautiful flowers that so fascinated Teyla in her youth. Her mother always had to warn her tiny hands away.

But now Teyla stares up and wonders at this sight, equally fascinated, but for a different reason, because though the minds of the Wraith both draw and repel her, it is the cool blue sizzle of the Ancient technology holding back the orange fire that pulls her. It drew her to this City, and to the Lanteans—the promise so forbidden for so many centuries by the dictates of the elders who put away higher learning and sealed away all technological knowledge.

For the good of the people, so we might survive, it was always said every time Teyla asked, returning from one of her illicit trips to the ruins, the pieces of some broken, rusted thing secreted in her clothing, and she would bear her punishment in silence and hide in her tent and rub the orange rust from the metal and wonder to herself, What did this do? trying to fit the pieces together again and see if she could perceive its purpose from their motion. Curious, always curious, and wishing, and wondering.

And now she stands tall and does not regret joining the Lanteans, though tomorrow or the next day or the next might mean her future's end, because she has beheld wonders, and killed many Wraith, made hive ships burn, and seen clever human hands do unbelievable things.

Teyla lifts her fingers to the farda's bloom, the gold and red and orange dying against a shield of clear blue.



End.

Comments

[stella-pegasi.livejournal.com]

I just logged to LJ and saw you had posted.

This is lovely...quiet, understated, and very lyrical, a nice tribute to Teyla's resolve to protect her people.

well done...

[esteefee]

thank you! I love her so...

[trystings.livejournal.com]

This is so very beautiful.

[esteefee]

<3 thank you!

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

that was lovely! And I can't help but wonder if it's a hint at a universe in which Teyla gives in to that thirst for knowledge and learns. She has so many great teachers on Atlantis!

I really liked the descriptions in this, and the natural curiosity of Teyla as a child, even her emerging leadership qualities: curiosity, exploration, and acceptance of the consequences...

[esteefee]

She would've been a real handful. :))))

And yes! I would love to see that universe!

[jerusha]

This was just gorgeous.

[esteefee]

thank you so much! <3

[em_kellesvig]

This is the Teyla I wish they'd have shown us. Thank you!

[esteefee]

oh, me too! thank you.

[mezzo-cammin.livejournal.com]

I love this glimpse into her childhood, and the curiosity that drove her. Really beautiful writing, here!

[esteefee]

eee! ^-^ thank you, mezzo! that means a lot.

[juniperphoenix]

Yes, of course. This side of Teyla is too often neglected, but it's right there in "Rising" when she says, "I believe" the cullings happen over and over again, as if to suggest that she's been pondering it in a different way than those around her.

*wishes I had my "Teyla in a space suit" icon uploaded for use*

[esteefee]

*wants*

oh, yay! you know she's thought about it a great deal, our Teyla, and yearned for solutions she could provide. she was so ready when she met John.

[runpunkrun]

Teyla! I love the thought of her crawling through the ruins and searching for technology, being punished for it, and still so curious about the pieces she's found.

[esteefee]

\o/ wee Teyla!!

[tielan]

AWESOME. Love this small insight into Teyla!

[esteefee]

thank you! that's our girl. :)

[lilyfarfalla.livejournal.com]

Ok, first, this is gorgeous and I'm going to reread when I'm working on more sleep because I love the petals of fardas and the orange of broken ancient technology and she has beheld wonders, and killed many wraith, made hive ships burn is just asd';lsad good.

And I love that we you took one of my favorite images from all of SGA and made it about Teyla and the contrast of the blue of Atlantis and orange of weapons fire because that is TOTALLY what I was thinking and hoping for when I thought up this prompt (well, that and citrus angst, but you know), and you just made it so gorgeous and wonderful.

[esteefee]

I DID IT BECAUSE YOU SAID!!! <3

and yes, because it's always Rodney and John under the light show, and I wanted it to be Teyla. :)))

[lilyfarfalla.livejournal.com]

*SO PROUD* to have helped inspire this story.

[lilyfarfalla.livejournal.com]

And yes, on re-read, this is the Teyla I love: smart and brave and curious and so full of the glory of life. So good.

[mific.livejournal.com]

A wonderful Teyla vignette. Love the contrasting blue and orange imagery.

[esteefee]

thank you...it's one of my favorite scenes from the show, visually. so horrifyingly beautiful.

Help!!

[scarlettandblue.livejournal.com]

Sorry to leave my comment here but I didn't know where else to put it,
I am about a page away from being ready to post my orange story..plus a read thru to check it's okay, maybe 40 minutes will i be too late?

Re: Help!!

[esteefee]

hey: sorry, I just got this. Obviously, you weren't too late. :))) We don't close the prompt until noon pacific time...which is UTC-7 at this point. But if you ever are in a bind, please feel free to email me (my email is in my profile) and we'll work something out, okay?

Re: Help!!

[scarlettandblue.livejournal.com]

I'm a dunce when it comes to working out the time differencem, for some reason I always get it muddled up in my head. thank you though, for the email advice, of course the best thing would be if I got the darned thing written on time, but that's me always giving myself a hard time by doing things at the last minute! But I sqeaked in under the wire, again! so Yay!!!

Re: Help!!

[esteefee]

well...8pm in London. how's that? :)

I'm always, *always* doing things at last minute, but for some reason I prepped the links last night, so this time my only excuse for being a half hour late was I was reading neevebrody's contribution. :D

Re: Help!!

[scarlettandblue.livejournal.com]

And now on to the more important message.
Oh My God
this was just so damned beautiful, and a gorgeous take on Teyla and the Athosians. Their denial of technology, and her interest in it. And maybe that's why she adapted to earth style weapons and tech so very quickly. I like this way better. Because up 'til now I thought it was someone like Bates, making it a rule that gate teams all dress in fatigues!

Re: Help!!

[esteefee]

I thought it was someone like Bates

ack! heh.

Yeah, I totally see Teyla being practical about that (the fatigues); but more importantly, about the weapons, I remember reading a story once where I think John started to show her how to use a P-90 or something and she just figured it out on the fly based on other automatic weapons she'd used, making him all flustered.

If I didn't read it, I'd like to. :)))) It was a total remix of the Ronon ep, of course, but with Teyla.

[saphirablue]

Wow! This is beautiful!

Thank you!

[esteefee]

Thank you! and for the rec!

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

This was so well written it was poetic. Loved it so, so much.

Thank you.

[esteefee]

thank you!

[chkc.livejournal.com]

Teyla! It's so lovely to see her point of view. <333

[esteefee]

thanks, it was refreshing to write from it. I don't know why I tend to be more masculine in my perspective, but there you go. :)

[2bluaeryn.livejournal.com]

This is so wonderfully done!

The connection to Teyla's past and her future though the color of the theme was well done. You spoke to the heart of who Teyla was and is.

[esteefee]

thank you for the kind words!

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

That is amazing: such sharp word pictures, so evocative, and so very Teyla.

DragonLady

[esteefee]

thank you, dear dragonlady!

[leesa_perrie]

Oh, this is lovely! I particularly love the idea of young Teyla going into the city to find technology and bringing it back to try and fit it all together - and I love your use of the farda bloom too!

[esteefee]

thank you! I can just see her so smart and inquisitive...the same drive that brought her to Atlantis.

[hoktauri]

Such beauty in so few words! I loved this, always love Teyla's perspective, and especially the idea of curious!Teyla. I love the comparisons of the colors against the shield to the poisonous flower from her youth, as well as her stealing away to the old city to nab little pieces of Ancient wonder. For some reason, I just really love that one bit, made hive ships burn. So good!