✕⎮ Kindly get out of your god's face.

       ❝ he’s probably wondering if i’ve been ABDUCTED again…which i suppose in a way, i have…or at least my phone has. i’m not usually so FORWARD, especially when we’re in one of our OFF periods. ❞

       ❝ i don’t…YOU CAN’T JUST.. ❞ a heavy sigh. ❝ did he actually BELIEVE it was me ? ❞

                         “ Well, SOMEONE had to... The poor boy looks like he’s about to burst! I merely took pity on the lad. ”

                Well. This certainly wasn’t going according to plan. Vala held up her hands innocently ( or at least as innocently as she could manage ).  “ Why, YES -- as a matter of fact I do know how this looks. ”  She quickly shifted into doing what she did best: talking her way out of sticky situations.  “ But, if I might make a teeny suggestion... I’d recommend viewing it not as thievery, but as a SERVICE. Believe me, you do not want to have this little trinket in your midst. ”  Had her motive been to help? No. But was what she said a lie? Not exactly.  “ Well -- unless you want to have every warlord in this system on your tail, that is..... but of course, it’s your decision! ”  she added with a grin.

            “ Yes, Vala, there’s some conspiracy going on, because I’m not dressing up for pizza with Cam, Daniel, and Teal’c. And since when does casual mean unflattering? “

PROTECTOR/PROTECTEE | @vastnight

“ Of course! I’m nothing if not careful. ”  She flashed the other woman a wide, knowing grin. Now -- it was true that ideas of what exactly careful meant varied widely... For her part, Vala had never really been particularly strict about the definition. For example, some people might consider it reckless to stroll into a hostile village armed only with a few scraps of information cobbled together from a few less-than-reputable smuggling contacts... But for Vala, it might as well be an average Tuesday.

            “ We’re talking about team night here, Vala. The guys aren’t going to care what color my sweater is. “

            Keen blue eyes catch the shift in Vala’s demeanor, eyebrows furrowing in concern. Truthfully the brush off could mean anything, coming from her teammate, but Sam knows better than to believe the blithe exterior she tends to hide behind - she’s no more unfeeling than the rest of them. They need to canvas the village and question its occupants, but perhaps she can needle the truth out of Vala as well? The alien keeps far too many secrets for one person.

            Sam affords the ghost of a smile and clears her throat, hand settled comfortably against the P-90 strapped to her chest as she keeps pace with Vala. Into the deep end she goes.        “ So do you know this place, or…? “

         Vala resists the urge to let out a frustrated sigh. PLEASE let it go, Samantha... But perhaps she ought to have known better by now. Nosing around in the business of others was really the calling card of SG-1, wasn’t it? Yes, they helped people and blah blah blah.... But at the moment, she wasn’t inclined to feel especially charitable.

         She blinks at the other woman, feigning her best look of confusion.  “ Hmmm? No! What makes you think that? I mean, it’s possible, I suppose. I have been all over... But nothing particular springs to mind... ”  It’s a bold-faced lie, and she has little doubt that her friend will see through it. But she intends to stall her as long as she can get away with it...