Kitsune and Lies

Posted on Sat Mar 9th, 2019 @ 8:02pm by Civillian Shae & Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Corvus

Mission: Aftermath
Location: Shae's quarters

Shae had a wonderful day playing in the snow with her new Tau'ri friends! She could barely remember playing as a child, but she had been so young when she was taken from her carefree life, and what few memories she had left felt so far away. But that made today's lesson in fun no less sweet, and she had enjoyed herself and their time together immensely. After the incident with the bear and they were recalled back through the Chappa'ai, she went back to her little hut to get some things to make the Tau'ri base feel more like home. She only grabbed what she could fit into a single bag, so all of her furnishings and winter provisions she left there (she would always have access to food while on Earth, anyway) as well as her futon and a sleeping robe so she would always have somewhere to sleep when she returned, but her teapot and teas, her clothes, a few other odds and ends, and some fabric along with sewing and leather-working supplies found their way into her bag, and Jake grabbed all of her newly crafted arrows.

After a shower to help her warm up from the snow, Shae was dressed in a lavender kimono with dragonfly woodblock prints, and draped over her shoulders was a haori covered in a maple leaf design in stunning autumn colors and with each leaf lined with gold thread. Her hair and tail were still damp from the shower, but were otherwise combed and tidy, and she sat/knelt at a little table with a thin journal opened up and an ink stone beside it. Jake had found a low coffee table from an office and brought it down for Shae to work at in the same manner as the little table in her house, as well as a cushion to sit on so she wouldn't ruin her knees on the hard concrete floor, and she had the table neatly organized with her journal and writing supplies. The brush in her hand was deftly drawing out the characters, a mix of Japanese Kanji, Chinese Han, and a few other languages mixed in, to detail her observations of the Tau'ri; her thoughts centered around the Earth's culture and population, pondering the future of all worlds and if they would ever know a future free of the Goa'uld, and most importantly, was the risk worth it to the humans, for they could incur the wrath of these false gods. The humans had fought off a Goa'uld assault once years ago, but could they do it again now? Though these thoughts were important to her, she kept pausing and smiling; she really did have fun, and she was looking forward to seeing what other fun things her new human friends would teach her, and that too went into her journal.

Dear Mom and Dad Jeremy wrote on the tablet, writing out the letter before copying it over to the email. Like he suspected many of the others, he returned from Letheun chilled, wet and ready for a hot shower and a change into fresh clothing. He sat on the bed, the television on. Something from Netflix was playing but it was just something he chose at random, just to have the noise. That was something he wasn't getting used to at this assignment, the quiet of his quarters. He was used to bunking in a tent with five others, connected to tents surrounding him that also had six people each. No matter the time, though, people were coming and going and there was a constant buzz. But here, with the thick walls, the mountain above them, it was very quiet. So, he found himself turning the television on just so he could sleep. He grabbed the thermos of hot cocoa - Mama had everything he could ever ask for! - and took another careful drink, though it went from hot to warm some time back.

Today was a total blast! The General ordered us to go out and do some 'teambuilding'. Yeah, yeah, Dad, I see you rolling your eyes, and trust me, I did the same when I heard about it. But it wasn't those stupid 'trust exercises' or things like that. It was pretty much just a day of running around, building snowmen and igloo forts, snowball fights (yep, I pegged the General a couple times - and for an old guy he can still throw a mean snowball!). this makes two days in a row of having fun in the snow, with yesterday's ski trip.

Yes, Mom, I dressed warmly. No, the General wasn't mad that I got him with snowballs.

He stopped there and stretched, amazed that he was warm in just shorts and a t-shirt while it was freezing just outside. One of the best parts of the day was that I got a chance to talk to that teammate. The one I told you about? The exchange soldier? It looks like maybe we're going to be okay now because she said she accepted my apology. It's funny how things turn out sometimes. Jeremy lay the tablet in his lap while he looked over at his bag. Then he looked at his watch. He wondered how much Shae liked the infirmary? He definitely didn't like being there and he understood it. Seeing how Shae lived, he could see how Earth was big and loud and frightening. And all she saw was Cheyenne Mountain. Judging from "Big and Round" - there was no way he could pronounce its actual name - she wouldn't know much about modern civilization.

Big and Round. He remembered then that he had Shae's qian coins. She showed the coins to them and then heck broke loose and he dropped them into his pocket and hadn't had a chance to give them back yet. That decided it. He sat up and slipped into his pants and boots, he wouldn't need his blouse, the t-shirt would be fine. Grabbing his pack, he left his quarters and went to the main hallway, then turned a few corridors down from his and made his way to Shae's.

They really needed a doorbell on these things, he though as he rapped on the door with his knuckles.

Shae's ears stood upright and she turned to look back at the door. Setting her brush down, Shae rose to her paws to answer the door.

"Oh, hello," Shae said softly once she saw Corvus standing in the hall. She was silent for a moment, briefly forgetting what she was supposed to do next. "Oh, right, would you like to enter?" she asked, stepping back with a gesture of her hand to welcome him into her quarters.

He stepped just inside, after seeing the way she was dressed. He looked around the room, at everything but at her. Specifically not at her. She was wearing a Japanese robe, which meant he was catching her in her pajamas. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said, still looking away, "but I took a chance that you didn't return to the infirmary to have your bandages changed." Suddenly he realized he was in a woman's quarters while she wasn't fully dressed.

"It must have slipped my mind," Shae replied. "I-I had some fresh linens and re-wrapped my leg after I bathed but-" Shae stopped, finding it difficult to ignore the fact that he was avoiding looking at her, which was making her quite uneasy. "I-is something the matter? Have I got ink on my kimono?" she asked as she looked down at the plain, simple silk she wore. It was nothing fancy, it had been all she could afford at the time she bought it, but it was in good condition and she was careful to keep that way! "Or is it me that you find abhorrent?" she asked with a saddening realization, reaching up to tug at one of her own furry ears; the Wolf General had said it was okay for her to have the ears and the tail on the base, just so long as she didn't show them out in public, but perhaps Corvus simply could not stand the sight of her this way?

"No, ma'am," he said, instantly, though, in reality he hadn't noticed because she was in her pajamas. Now that he did though, it did bother him a little bit. Not that he was going to say that, though. Not after she was nice to him today. "No, it's just, well, it's not proper for me to be in a young lady's quarters when she's in her night clothes and without a chaperone. I'm trying to be decent, but...linen?" he asked, catching that. "Where did you find linen? We don't use linen in the infirmary." He was used to it, of course, he'd seen all sorts of things used as bandages during his previous tours and...the saddest part was that there were times when they were re-used. Oh, yeah, the Afghani always said they boiled them to sterilize them but...he'd seen too many infections worsen that way. "Do you mind if I take a look? It's purely professional and I can call security over, to act as a chaperone if you're worried about my intentions."

"Chaperone?" Shae repeated this unfamiliar term a couple of times as she sat on the bed and pulled up her kimono enough for Jeremy to see her bandages. The narrow strip of sun-bleached linen was clean from a fresh roll, and she had bound her leg well, not too loose, not too tight. "So, you thought I was in clothes to sleep, and this was somehow inappropriate?" she asked curiously. "I would not sleep in this! This is for the day, I made this in the same style my mother used to wear. I prefer this kind of clothes over what I usually wear, but this is not good for hunting," she explained awkwardly.

"A chaperone is a person who makes sure that others act appropriately," Jeremy said as he knelt down to check the wrap. Things looked good, so that was good. "Looks like I made a mistake again, cause that looks like some of the robes my mother would wear over her night robes. Well, her's aren't as nice and usually just a single color. But, I figured being somewhat Japanese related it was just a Japanese version of it." He sat back and closed up his bag.

"Oh! I'm forgetting," he reached into the front pocket of the pack and retrieved her coins. "I've had these since you were letting us see them." He handed the coins to her. "But, I was wondering, what could I do to earn some of that money? And then, maybe, if you'd do me the favor of getting some more of those dim sum buns?"

"I have another of these for sleeping. It is white and made of cotton," Shae said so he would know the difference. As she was readjusting her kimono to smooth it out, he was handing the coins back to her, and she held them in her hand for a long while just staring at them. Her heart ached at the thought of the people of Hen Da Ye Huihe, the suffering they must be enduring at this moment, and it made her feel guilty that their day had been so fun and care free... "I do not think there will be food from Hen Da Ye Huihe for a very long time..." Shae said sadly as she closed her fingers around the coins and held her hand to her heart. Then she rose from the bed and knelt by her table to put the coins into her coin purse.

"Well, of course, I imagine things will be chaotic for a couple days or so," Jeremy said, securing his pack, "But when they start to get back to the process of living their lives, there should be. The vendor has to make a living, right?"

Shae said nothing. What could she say? That she'd lied to him while on Hen Da ye Huihe? Her logic at the time was that if he had to ask if the village would be okay, that he wasn't ready for the answer; she thought she was doing him a kindness, but now it just felt cruel. "I don't want to talk about this," Shae finally said, picking up her brush to continue writing.

"Okay," Jeremy said frowning as he slung his pack on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just, they were so good and it would be nice to get more. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next time we go and try to barter myself. I'm sorry I asked something that upset you." He turned to leave, shaking his head. He should have known better.

Shae sighed; this was indeed cruel, and at heart she was not a cruel person, so she took a breath to steady herself and then slowly let it out. "'Next time' will likely only confirm the usual pattern for the Goa'uld, that they destroy everything they can't control," Shae said softly. "Assuming there are any survivors, they will not want to have anything to do with us."

"What?" he asked, half turning. "Assuming there are any survivors? What's that-" He shook his head, staring at her. "No," he muttered. "No, nobody could be that cruel! Nobody could be that heartless! There were women and children there!" he said. "People just trying to live their lives! Nobody would just go in and slaughter a whole village for no reason!"

"The Goa'uld are that heartless," Shae said sadly. She paused in her writing, again setting her brush aside. She turned to face the medic, but was unable to meet his gaze when she looked at him. "I am sorry that I lied to you over there, but this is the truth of it; the Goa'uld are monsters, they have no care for the lives of their slaves, and even less for the slaves of their fellow Goa'uld. The would inflict pain for no other reason than to watch their captives scream."

"No," Jeremy said, shaking his head more vigorously. "No! That can't be true! You're wrong!" he said. "I'll show you that you're wrong!" He turned, headed back for his quarters. It only took a few minutes to gear up and head for the Gate room.

The way he stormed out, Shae knew she had to follow him, and she caught up to him just as he was leaving his room all geared up. "I can't let you do this!" Shae said as she put herself in his path. She didn't know if he would even be allowed through the Chappa'ai, she was still learning the rules and regulations, but she couldn't take that chance. "You won't be able to help them... All you will do is get yourself killed," she implored.

"How?" Jeremy asked, brushing past the smaller woman. "According to you they destroyed everything two days ago, what's left to threaten me?" he asked, checking that he had ammo for his rifle in his vest. "I'll just take a quick jaunt there, see for myself that you can't be right about this. Look, it's okay, Shae, you've been on the run for a long time and these guys seem like real monsters. But nobody. NOBODY can be that cruel!"

"You don't understand!" Shae said as she grabbed at the arm of his jacket. "You don't... you can't... can't understand until you've seen it, but I promise you that once you do see, you'll wish you hadn't! I wish... oh do I wish I hadn't seen for myself..."

"I know the feeling," Jeremy said, "I've seen atrocities before, it'll be okay. And I'll see if I can't find some way to bring you back some of those soup buns."

Couldn't he hear her? There wouldn't be any buns!

"Is there nothing I can say that can convince you not to go?" Shae asked softly, letting go of his jacket sleeve and allowing her hand fall at her side. It felt hopeless, maybe he did need to see...

Jeremy smiled, "You've already told me that the village was safe, it's okay. Don't worry, I may not be as sly as a fox but I'm no slouch when it comes to sneaking around either. And we've said we need to make contact, start small, build rapport. Win hearts and minds. I'll be back in a bit. Then we can all help you further the goals of ending the rule of the System Lords."

"But it's not safe!" Shae belted out as loud as she could. "It's not safe, it never was! When you asked me if the village would be okay, I lied because I didn't have the heart to tell you the truth," she continued in her normal tone. "You were so excited about seeing another world, I didn't want that to be your first lesson in how cruel the Goa'uld could be..." she added meekly.

"Lying doesn't suit you, ma'am, don't try practicing it now," he continued as he walked away. He should be angry at her, wasn't that her stated problem with him? He lied to her about banishment? But his was the result of bad information. Maybe because she was scared for him? Well, he was a PJ, trained to take care of himself and others. Surely, if she could survive for years, he could survive a little scouting trip. He passed by a Senior AF as he rounded the corner and thought nothing of his presence or what he was doing. He had his own personal mission.

It was hopeless, Corvus was simply not listening, and if he would not listen then there was nothing more that she could do, so when the Senior AF came around to escort Shae to the General's office for a meeting, she followed along, glancing back to where Corvus once stood with a wistful sigh.