Chapter Text
***
Day 1
He scooped up more of the dark brown paste he'd made and painted it onto his face and arms. This would be his first hunt in months. He certainly hoped that he hadn't grown soft while living in Atlantis; however this would be the test.
He didn't honestly think he'd lost his ability, but Atlantis wasn't like the forests he'd lived in before. The walls resounded with energy, there was someone at every turn, and, though the Ancestors attempted to make the city warm and comfortable, the metallic surroundings were strangely cold and impersonal.
It made the coming hunt more challenging than any he'd been on before.
Now it was time to begin.
Picking up his pack, he marched out of his quarters in search of his prey.
***
Rodney shoved another forkful of food into his mouth before speaking, "Have you seen Ronon lately? Because he seems to have disappeared since our last offworld mission."
Sheppard shrugged, slouching even further in his chair. In front of him, his meal was half eaten, and with the way McKay was inhaling his food, he had the sneaking suspicion that his own plate would soon migrate to the scientist's tray. "You know how Ronon is."
"Yes, but..." he took another bite. The rest of the sentence never came; instead, Rodney stared dumbly out the expansive window that ran along the mess hall.
"What?" John asked, turning to see what stunned Rodney to silence.
His answer came in the form of two brown leather boots suspended outside. Two boots that led up to two long, muscular legs encased in tight, dark leather.
Familiar leather.
John and Rodney turned back to each other, both mouths wide. And out of the corner of his eye, Sheppard could see Ronon lowering himself foot by foot until he was suspended halfway down the window and off to the side. If Dex moved just slightly to the right, he'd be hidden from view, though he would probably lose sight of whatever he was watching.
"What is he...?" McKay asked, his fork hanging loosely in his hand.
"I'm not quite sure, but I've got a feeling hunting season just started."
-tbc-