insertmeathere | And if wishes were horses we'd all be eatin' steak.

[he's looking a little winded from all that running]

I think we finally lost them.

[ The Doctor, on the other hand, is looking annoyingly spry. Clearly he's more used to running than Daniel here. ]

Oh, I wouldn't be sure about that. Probably getting reinforcements. [ Cheerfully. He beckons for Daniel to join him in diving deeper into the forest.]

Ah, nothing like forests. Alien forests. Mind your step.

[oh great, that's a reassuring thought. They have a horde of angry natives after them and the worst part is that they have plenty of reason to be angry. That had been a beautiful solstice offering they'd accidentally smashed on their way here]

Terraformed actually. Well usually. I'm not so sure about this one.

[He catches up]

We're going the wrong way. The Stargate's back in the opposite direction.

[Correction: Daniel did the finishing touches on the smashing, after he landed on the Doctor.]

No sign of terraforming equipment but it could have been centuries. [The Doctor pulls up short, rounding on Daniel. By some stroke of luck, the human has kept that shapeless, rather boring hat perched squarely on his head, even when his glasses...well. Yeah. The Doctor absently reaches out to straighten Daniel's glasses for him]

Daniel, this is why you keep getting captured. It's called a roundabout approach. Or it's more of a decagon approach, actually. Semantics.

I'm sure they'd have something about it in their history or any folk tales. If they weren't trying to kill us.

[He nearly bangs into the Doctor. He's too startled to adjust his his glasses himself or stop the Doctor. He blinks]

I don't get captured that much- [how would he know, they just met]

Do you really know what you're doing here? Besides running.

[what he'd give for a certain Air Force colonel right now]

Me? Knowing what I'm doing? Of course I know what I'm doing! [He sounds borderline offended. If there's anything he's quite capable of, it's coming up with a decagon evasion plan. Or just plain retreating, but decagon sounds a bit better] Now, the plus is they don't have sniffer dogs on them. Not that they have dogs.

No, they could just have something similar or better.

[no, he's not very reassured here at all]

We can't keep running forever. They know this land better than we do.

[Shooting a look at Daniel.] It's a miracle you haven't made "prisoner" a permanent occupation with that attitude.

[Daniel's doing a really good fish impression right now for several seconds before he catches himself. He sputters, offended]

It's called having a better plan than just running and hoping they'll forget about us! They're not going to forgive us. We already showed unforgivable blasphemy against their Gods by breaking out rather than wait for their arrival. We also interrupted their solstice ceremony and desecrated their altar, and judging from the intricate detail put into that thing, the ceremony's kind of a big deal. They're not going to give up!

I wish you'd take this more seriously.

[ The Doctor is about two seconds away from pointing out that those "Gods" are the very same aliens Daniel wasn't too keen on waiting around to meet in the first place. He doesn't get a chance as a weird feeling settles over him, the Time Lord rocking back on his feet slightly. ]

Seriously? Seriously? Did you want me to tell you that your chances of survival are about this big? [ Holds up very tiny yay-high hands. ] With mine being slightly improved?

Also that hat has to be offensive on some planets. Rather surprised no one's told you.

[Daniel has a very impressive "O" face for a second there.}

That's not what I meant! My chances of survival are that low because I'm listening to your plans. You don't even have a plan, do you?

[he unconsciously touches the brim of his boonie]

And I like this hat! It makes a lot more sense than that bowtie!

Me? I already told you, I have a plan. It's a decagon. Like a circle but with angles. [He says it a little patronizing, as if having a circle with more angles will really increase Daniel's chances over yay-high. Enjoy your yay-high, Daniel. The Doctor looks forlorn standing under that huge tree. ] But you're right. No doubt you'll be shot five feet from the Stargate. It's how things go, you know.

I'd blame the hat and oi, lay off the bow tie!

[ Ooh, if he was a worse man, he would have left Daniel in the woods for the bow tie alone. The Doctor herds Daniel deeper into the forest, hearing the brush crashing in the distance. ]

Edited 2011-03-23 08:30 (UTC)

So what you really mean is still more running but in something that's not actually a circle. Where does 'getting back to Earth' happen or 'trying to sooth things over with the locals'? [he snorts a little rudely. It really is the Doctor's fault they're in this mess in the first place] We're going to get shot anyway at the rate you're going.

[he gets herded into the forest without quite realizing it.]

There's nothing wrong with the hat. It's functional, it's comfortable and it keeps the sun out of my eyes on digs!

They'll expect a circle, Daniel. Keep up! [ The Doctor scrambles over a fallen tree, legging it like he's a spider monkey. He's as annoyingly good at climbing as he is at running. ] Frankly, neither will probably happen, because you're right: we'll probably get shot.

Or taken as hosts, if what you said about the Goa'uld is correct. Lovely species, from the sound of it.

[ The Doctor clears the huge log, brushing off blue moss from his jacket. His eyes are just drawn in by that hat's general aura of ugh and blah, both at once. It's almost impressive. ]

It's also downright hideous.

[ It's no fez, that's for sure. He's not even sure if Daniel can pull off a fez. ]

Edited 2011-03-23 08:46 (UTC)

You don't know the half of it. I think I'd rather get shot.

[How does he make that look so effortless? Daniel leap-slides over the log in one motion. It's less graceful but it does the job.]

At least it's functional. That bowtie, it's just...it's just so--

[He can really only finish that with a pained look at the other man. Congratulations Doctor, you just rendered a linguist speechless with how awful that tie is. He can't even express how bad it is.]

If you really wanted to get shot, you wouldn't be following me, would you? So good. If we get this decagon right, you won't get shot. ~~Hopefully~~.

[ As for the clambering: it's a lifetime of pure, unadulterated skill. ]

Who says bow ties can't be functional? [ Sniffs at Daniel's narrow definition of functional. Clearly he's never had to use a bow-tie on a zip-line. Long story. ] Now. You must have a compass, dressed like that. Gimme, will you?

I'd rather avoid it all in the first place, but if it's that or being a host...

[This decagon isn't going to work. He digs into a pocket anyway. Then another, and another before finding a compass. He doesn't have that much on him. He wasn't packed to go through the Gate at all. It's lucky that he'd stayed late in partial uniform that he even has this much. Luck and the fact that he got so involved in a manuscript that he didn't quite get around to changing yet]

Here. Well, they aren't. They don't do much for shade or rain, right? I mean from a historical standpoint, I guess they're interesting. They have their origins with Croatian mercenaries during the 17th century but they weren't quite bowties back then, they were early cravats.

Actually they were more useful like that.

[okay, okay, try to think like Jack here because the Doctor's not going to. Right, he's finding it's a lot harder than it looks. A good part of him really does want to go back and try to apologize and work something out with the native population, but then there's that part where they worship a Goau'ld or two.]

Night's coming soon. What do we have between us in case of the wild life? [And the cold because it's starting to get chilly. And the oncoming villagers who will probably be scouring the forest for them]

Because all I have is a copy of the Book of Chilam Balam and an eraser.

For having such small pockets, Daniel seems to be taking awhile actually going through them, the Doctor fidgeting a little and looking around the forest as he waits. Waiting: not one of his strong points. 900 odd years and waiting's just harder than it was when he was centuries younger. He's had his fill of waiting. The Doctor is trying to pick out a bird of some kind chirping away above them with blood-curdling shrieks when Daniel starts to ramble.

"You guess they're interesting," The Doctor repeats. Now isn't the time or place to say that really, Daniel Jackson, chances were he was there himself during the 17th century.

Taking the compass, the Doctor holds it and watches it spin uncertainly. The magnetic field plays havoc with it, rendering the compass useless. Not the first time he's had to rely on his own sense of direction. The Doctor starts to absently pocket the compass as he turns on the spot, shading his eyes and peering up at the trees.

"What we have is right up there," the Doctor stabs a finger up at the sky. Well, tree. Or several, if Daniel wants to be picky. "Halgonic tree shelter. Provided there aren't giant tree snakes up there, we should be fine for the night."

That eraser might come in handy later, he suspects. And he wouldn't mind a look at the book, but he supposes shelter's more important right now.

"It's not nearly as interesting as the rediscovery of Pre-Columbian Maya, no," he explained defensively. Did the Doctor have to say it like that? It was hovering between sarcasm and condescension and he was doing it with the same barely restrained politeness that Jack sometimes did. The only reason Jack (sometimes) got away with it was because he was Jack. "But the evolution of clothing can tell us a lot about sociocultural changes and climes for a society or peoples, not to mention the needs the environment would have placed on them and how they adapted to such needs."

Daniel, in the mean time, was also watching the Doctor out of the corner of his eye as he fiddled with his compass. It was something he'd picked up from dealing with the Colonel. Jack would come by, touch things in his office, artifacts, files, pens, and sometimes forget he had them. Usually it was something harmless like a pen, because even Jack knew not to go waving artifacts around. Pens were a lot easier to replace. Except it started to add up and on some days, he'd find himself with nothing to write with if he didn't watch Jack.

So he watched the Doctor out of habit. Several times his compass got dangerously close to the Doctor's pockets. The Doctor didn't seem to find what he wanted from it and with a sinking feeling, Daniel watched it start to disappear into one of his pockets.

The archaeologist swooped in and plucked it out of his fingers with a meaningful look.

"Or there could be spiders or anything else venomous." Giant tree snakes? Thank you for putting that into his head. He was thinking overgrown anacondas that could climb. "I guess it's the best we're going to get."

Daniel started to reach for a branch and paused. "Halgonic tree shelter, Doctor?"

What was that for? Frowning at Daniel being so possessive about a compass -- which looked truly standard military grade to him and hardly sentimental -- the Doctor focused on Pre-Columbian Maya civilizations, Halgonic tree shelters and venomous spiders.

Wait. One of those didn't belong. See, this was what happened when he was with one of those chatty humans with unique interests. Pre-Columbian Maya civilizations, really now!

He probably would have been happy to talk about Mayans, pre-Columbian and otherwise, if they weren't trying to avoid the locals and the whole nasty "getting shot five feet from the Stargate" business, which was hardly helped along with Daniel being so yay-high on his survival odds. Tricky stuff, that. Did take a bit of concentration.

The Doctor in the meantime rolled up the sleeves of his jacket as Daniel tried to use his imagination about what could be up there in the trees.

"Style of shelter from Halgon (don't ever go there, take my word for it). Dull and incredibly stable. You'd probably like it."

The Doctor roamed about the base of the tree, gathering up countless sticks, creeper vines and moss as he circled about Daniel. Most of it went right into his pockets. Now, there could be tree snakes but if they run into anacondas, well -- he knew an anaconda here or there that could be on the friendly side. Or at least on the side not inclined to smother you in the night. Motioning for Daniel to follow him, the Doctor took a running leap at the tree and began scaling it. A few slabs of bark drifted down as he climbed.

Dull and incredibly stable? If he preferred that, he'd have remained back and kept to doing base jobs rather than go out on the field. There was something about new planets and new cultures that you couldn't get from reports and the only way to get that was to take the risk and go out with a team. He'd have wanted to go explore new worlds even without one but he couldn't think of a better team for it than SG-1.

Daniel couldn't help but wonder what they were doing just now. They were supposed to be on stand by for the next three days. Jack was probably taking it easy. Who knew exactly what Teal'c did when they weren't around. Sam was... well, Sam was a lot like he was, and if she wasn't on base still with her newest technological obsession, she was doing the same thing at home.

The compass safely back in his own pocket, Daniel watched the Doctor run a ring around the tree trunk several times, grabbing seemingly everything he could find. "There's nothing wrong with stable. I'd rather not fall out of a tree in the middle of the night."

And this was coming from the man in tweed and a bowtie. Daniel privately thought the Doctor looked both awkward and old in that tweed. The Doctor reminded him of a stooped Stanford professor in his eighties, who hadn't quite realized that tweed jackets and bowties had stopped being popular years and years ago.

Daniel shook his head. He'd only just met the man and he wasn't sure what to make of him. And passing judgment on him so quickly wasn't going to do either of them any favors and it wasn't fair to the Doctor. Besides, this was going to be the man he was trying to survive the next several hours with.

There wasn't much time for that anyway. They had to get moving. He started to climb up after the Doctor.

"If there's one thing good about Halgonic shelters," the Doctor grunted, as if it was irritating to have to admit this, "it's that you'd have to try to fall out of one."

Interesting trees, by the way. Call it a passing observation mid-climb -- well, more than mid-climb, he was almost at the first layer of branches -- but these were very wide leaves and branches, weren't they? Excellent cover. Reaching a suitable branch, the Doctor hauled himself up on it and peered back down at the human: said human was proving to be...maybe not the best climber, but capable enough, just a few minutes behind. The Doctor busied himself with assembling the shelter.

Out came all the sticks and twigs (the twigs were probably the most important part) and bits of moss.

The Doctor didn't climb the tree so much as he seemed to glide up it in a show of gangly limbs and tweed.

Daniel scaled the tree easily enough. If there was one good about not having the backpack on him, it was that it made climbing a lot easier without it weighing him down. Then again, that pack would have had all the supplies to weather out a few days. Their first priority was find some shelter but that didn't do much for water or food. Daniel could practically hear Jack drilling the survival training into him as if it had been yesterday. The first rule of thumb was to size up the situation, then get those three basics, with 'Don't offend the locals' and 'Don't get killed by the locals' somewhere in there.

They'd really only managed to do one so far, with the other one looking a lot less certain.

Daniel came up after the Doctor. "Well that's good, right?" He thought it was, but with the way the Doctor had said it, it was as if he'd just been told he needed a root canal. Daniel's curiosity was rearing its head again. He'd never heard of a Halgonic shelter. What was Halgon? How was it made and what lead up to its development? "How exactly do you make-"

He had just passed the first layer of branches when the locals came into sight under them. The archaeologist froze where he was. There was a large group of them directly below them, about twenty individuals. He could feel a splinter digging into a palm, and his glasses were starting to press into the left side of his face but he didn't dare move a muscle. They really didn't know how good their hearing was but why risk it by rustling a few branches.

Unless their hearing's so good they can catch me breathing, Daniel thought anyway, which wasn't helping. He held his breath. He was mostly hidden by the leaves, but a calf was still hanging below. He hadn't had a chance to pull it up in time. Maybe the combat boots would blend into the darkening leaves. That was a big maybe.

He just hoped they didn't look up.

Luckily for Daniel they didn't -- perhaps they didn't think him much of a climber.

With that hat, the Doctor couldn't fault them.

After a pause to discuss amongst themselves, their pursuers set off deeper into forest, their crystal globes bobbing away and turning eventually into pinpricks of light. The Doctor waited until even those were out of sight before he leaned over. Daniel clung to the tree like he was trying his very best to do his own spider-monkey impression and, surprisingly, he was rather good at it. The Doctor supposed he should reevaluate his opinion on that point at least, holding out his hand to help the human up onto his big branch. Big, big branch, easily able to hold the two of them. Like he said, Daniel would have to try and try hard to fall out. Grabbing at whatever of Daniel he could get hold of, he heaved and grunted until he could haul him up.

"Oof," said the Doctor in between grunts, "There you go, I got you!"

He gave one finally heave backward.

And if wishes were horses we'd all be eatin' steak.

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Switching to prose

Same here then

Re: Same here then

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