Averted
Older Kids
Genre: Het (Daniel/Vala), Angst, Challenge, Drama
Episodes: Season Ten or later
Warnings: None
Synopsis: Ensnare, to capture by means of a snare. Sometimes the prey starves to death or suffocates before the hunter arrives, while at other times it fights its way free.
Notes: Written for my "A-to-Z Stargate" challenge; eilidh17 requested a Daniel/Vala story with the prompt "resticula"
Status: Completed July 17, 2010

Averted

Red against white, sharp lines against smooth curves, the marks stand out as a reminder of what once was there, but no longer is. There is a pattern to them, a steady swirl of slanted lines and shallow indentations that mimics designs found in nature, but are too regular to have been anything but man-made. It compares to that of a particularly pointed seashell, or a narwhal tusk, or perhaps even the traditional depiction of a unicorn's horn. In all cases, the pattern diminishes and tapers, but in the given instance, it remains steady, unbroken.

Resticulated, he decides, testing the word out in his head. It's not a proper English word, but as a philologist, he knows the origins of words, and sometimes new words must be created from old ones. Resticula, from Latin, which itself derives from another Latin word, restis, meaning rope or cord. Resticula means a thin rope, and he's always assumed the second term exists to differentiate between the thickness of mooring lines and smaller lines for the making of nets or snares.

Snare: to catch or hold, especially with a loop. Ensnare, to capture by means of snare. Such a word suggests a deliberate intent to trap or capture, leaving the prey to wait on the hunter to decide its fate. Sometimes the prey starves to death or suffocates before the hunter arrives, while at other times it fights its way free. The rope may be chewed off, or in the cases of a trapped paw, anecdotal evidence suggests a desperate animal will self-amputate the limb to get free.

Such was not possible here. The hunters were waiting on the prey, and when she fell into their trap, they seized her up and carried her off to meet a pre-determined fate. There was no chance to fight her way free, no avenue of escape her captors left unattended. She was not alone in the woods when the trap was sprung, and though her companions could do nothing to aid her when she was abducted, they would not leave without her. Soon, the hunters became the hunted.

They found her as one of her worst nightmares—and his—was beginning to unfold. He tried words first, attempting to make them see they were wrong, that though she wore the same face, she was not the hateful creature who had ruled over them with a cruel hand. Words went unheeded, so action was taken and blood was spilled, though he and his companions did their best to not harm the innocent.

As the last of the ropes falls away, he gathers her to him, soothing her abused, resticulated skin with his fingertips. Tears are brushed away with gentle caresses, and her head is cradled against his chest. He knows they should leave this would-be pyre behind, but he is lost in the moment, as is she, and they need this brief affirmation that she is alive and well, and in his arms where she belongs.

Finally, she speaks: "Take me home, Daniel."

And he does.