torchwoodteaboy | [RL WITH SULU][backdated to 03-20] Shoreleave: Part 2

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[RL WITH SULU][backdated to 03-20] Shoreleave: Part 2

Ianto had thought that one day on the planet had been exciting enough, but the prospect of another, when Sulu had mentioned it, had been too good to pass up. They'd had such a nice time on the beach, after all. It was only fair that they do a little exploring, let Sulu look for the alien plants that he would want to and get to watch the other man geek out about something for a while. Ianto himself had been embarrassingly excited about the planet and the beach and all the previous day, after all. It would be nice to be able to be the one to sit back and watch the excitement on someone else for a change, reverse roles from the previous day.

They hadn't gotten too early of a start. After all, this was a vacation for the pair of them, and it wouldn't do to have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning (if there were such a thing in space, Ianto didn't really even know). But they gave themselves the better part of the day, and after having a bite to eat (Ianto wasn't sure he would ever get enough of being fascinated with the replicators), and a quick stop by Ianto's flat for more clothes for him (he needed long pants if they might be venturing into the jungle, after all, it was only practical) they found themselves beaming down to the planet again, Sulu with his kit and Ianto with...well. The clothes on his back, really. He didn't really have anything to bring along himself, since they were mostly going to be exploring inland this time.

Ianto looked up at the clear blue sky above him, and smiled at the fact that even the weather seemed to have adjusted so that it was cool enough for him to be comfortable in jeans, but not too cool that it wasn't still pretty warm. "...god," he said. "It's like this place is gorgeous every day." He shot a smile sideways at Sulu. "Better not let me visit for many more days, I might want to stay," he joked.

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Ianto nodded, smiling at the other man, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, alright. Let's see what we can find, then," he said, with a nod toward the jungle, before the pair of them started on their way towards the trees and the jungle itself. It was exciting to go exploring the planet, but Ianto was actually sort of nervous about it at the same time. Experience told him that there was always something that could go wrong, especially with field work, like this. Even if they were on a break, of sorts, this was still field work, after all.

"So..." he said, as they walked. "Let me get this straight. The wildlife on this planet. You said that there were fish, yeah? And flowers. Is... Is that it? I mean, have any of the crew seen anything else at all, d'you know?" He tried to be nonchalant as he asked, so that it wouldn't sound too much like he was trying to reassure himself.

Sulu was already considering the trees around them as they walked - he was interested in them, but since he couldn't exactly grow full-sized trees in his lab, he would have to simply examine them in the field and take as many notes as possible. He stops to enter in a few comments about the species of tree that seems to be predominant this far into the jungle's terrain, glancing up at Ianto's question.

"I heard from some of the ensigns that there are... sort of gazelle-like creatures, some relatively large birds and already a hundred different types of insects, but nothing very big. There are no doubt a lot of different kinds of animals, and probably at least a dozen predators, but with the size of the animals we've seen it's unlikely that they're much bigger than the size of a large dog." He tucked his PADD into a pocket of his kit and smiled at Ianto. "So, no worries. We'll be fine."

Ianto smiled and nodded at Sulu's reassurances, needing them despite having heard them briefly already a couple of times (albeit answering different questions, not the same as the one he'd just posed this time). "Yeah, alright," he said, "nothing too big. That sounds reasonable. I mean. It'd be kind of difficult to miss anything bigger. I feel like...if the ensigns haven't noticed anything more than that, then there probably won't be too much more."

He watched Sulu jotting down notes, although he wasn't sure if they were about the tree or what, though it looked like it might be, with the way that Sulu had been glancing at it. "So..." he said, as casually as he could, "what are you looking for down here, then? I mean. What is it that's going to catch your eye?"

"Honestly, I'm not looking for anything in particular," Sulu replied, trudging further into the jungle - it was only barely starting to get dense, now, with thick, spongy grass and low-growing shrubs. "I really just keep an eye out for anything really unusual - I'm trying to catalogue the rarer types of flora, rather than more common divergences. The grass, for example - it's a lot more like iceplant, I guess you could say, right? But there are lots of planets with groundcovering like that, and I don't want to focus too intensely on things we've already found."

He realized that, honestly, Ianto could probably help him find things that were unusual and more striking than the norm. He was somewhat used to alien plantlife, after all. "So, you know," he said, "If you see something that looks weird as all get out, that's most likely what I'm looking for. Admittedly, the more unusual things are in denser parts of jungle-like terrain, but still."

Ianto nodded as Sulu spoke, following along alongside him, although not really following what he had to say aloud very fast at all. He wasn't sure exactly what iceplant was, but it was alright that he didn't, he figured. Sulu would probably point out anything dangerous (because let's be honest here, Sulu and Jack were still that protective or him, even after all this time since everything had gone wrong).

"Anything that looks 'weird as all get out'," he said, repeating Sulu's words with a smile and a nod. "Alright. I think I can do that. I mean. It shouldn't be too hard, especially if it really is going to be just a matter of noticing plants that are fundamentally different from anything that I'm used to at the Hub in Owen's old hot house." Some of the plants from which had been saved from the blast. Others, the more finicky ones, weren't as lucky, Ianto was afraid, but it was no matter. They'd get other ones to fill in the missing spaces, and Sulu could even help figure out how to keep them alive, and then Ianto wouldn't feel half as bad about losing them in the first place.

There were very few worries Sulu had about this planet, but if anything became too dangerous to either one of them, he would deal with it. Ianto was a guest of his - among other things - and Sulu wouldn't let anything hurt him while he was visiting an alien planet.

"Pretty much." As they proceeded deeper into the brush, Sulu continued, "If it's weirder than anything that had been in the Hub, it could be just what I'm looking for. Of course, though, if you see something you just want to look at - doesn't matter if it's a new species or an old variant, just let me know." He gave Ianto a preemptive apologetic grin, "I can get kind of distracted by this stuff, so I might not notice if you don't speak up or anything."

Ianto smiled at the other man's apologetic grin. "Don't worry, I'll speak up if I see anything that demands to be looked into or anything like that," he said, with a smile of his own back. "At least we're the only ones here, yeah? Hard to lose each other when we're the only ones around. Wouldn't want that to happen again, alien jungle and all. Don't think I get mobile reception, if we end up getting separated while we're here, or anything like that."

Ianto only vaguely remembered the happenings from the virus that implanted memories into their past. He knew it happened, and he knew the community had something to do with it, but it wasn't like a memory that had faded over time. It was different, vaguer, like a memory from long ago that really hadn't ever been anything to begin with. Still, it bared mentioning. They hadn't really talked about it yet, after all.

Sulu laughed and shook his head. It was strange for him to consider the memory he had of Ianto showing up in his room - he could remember it fairly well, but it was literally the only memory he had of the community before he'd joined as an adult. Which was strange, because he remembered knowing the community during that time - he didn't want to think too much about that, though.

"Don't worry, I'm definitely not going to lose you in a forest. I won't be too embarrassed to call your name, anyway, so even if you do wander off again, I'll be able to find you." Ianto was right, though - his phone probably wouldn't get reception out here. Maybe if he used it to post to the community, though... "C'mon. Let's head deeper - I remember seeing something about a river running through the jungle, and I haven't investigated any riverside plants in a while." Well, that had been because there hadn't been rivers during his last few away missions. He would make up for lost time, though.

Ianto smiled at the other man's suggestion, but nodded in agreement with him. "Yeah, alright. Let's see if we can't find this river then. I don't think you'll have to worry about me wandering off again, though," he said, with another smile as they started off further into the trees. "I'm not used to jungles, living in wales. It wouldn't do to wander off too far and get lost. Much as I'm sure that you would enjoy the excitement of rescuing me, I'd really rather not have to be rescued in the first place," he said, with a sideways smile at Sulu.

"So," he said, speaking up and changing the subject to their new topic at hand. "Riverside plants. What's the difference between them and the others? I mean, is there anything particularly interesting about riverside plants as opposed to other sorts of forest or jungle plants that might be particularly fascinating to you?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets and strolling along with Sulu. As much as he could, given the fact that they were moving through a forest on an uninhabited planet, and as such had to dodge trees and undergrowth and such in the process of walking.

"I'm still waiting for the community to put you in a high tower where Jack and I need to rescue you," Sulu replied with a grin, "You know. Armor and all. We could get some from Merlin, probably." He knew that even mentioning it once was enough to jinx it, but twice - he was just asking for trouble, that way. Not that he minded. Ianto in a dress would be hilarious.

"And, honestly - plants from wet areas, like by rivers or lakes, usually evolve on a different path than those in areas like jungles. Imagine the difference between a lily pad and an actual lily. They're adapted to live in much marshier, wetter terrain than the plants you see around you." Then again, Sulu was starting to notice that all the plants looked a bit like they were adapted for heavy rainfalls or vast amounts of water. "Well... All right, that's not the greatest example, since it looks like the jungle itself is kind of a wet climate. But I just never get to spend time cataloging water plants, since we usually don't wind up near water."

Ianto shot a look at the other man at the mention of a tower and armor and Jack and Sulu needing to rescue him. "Don't," he warned. "Don't even think about it. I can tell that the word 'dress' in the context of me wearing it is going through your head, and you can stop that right there, thank you." There were some things that Ianto would never agree to, and one was the concept of dressing like a woman when he wasn't one.

He nodded in response to Sulu's flower explanation, though. "Yeah, alright," he said. "That makes sense. I mean, the explanation of the difference between them and all. Despite the fact that this place is a wet climate and all. I mean. That should be all the better for you then, right? If you're looking for wet climate plants, well then. I guess that you've found yourself in the right place to find some of those, then, wouldn't you say?" he asked, shooting a smile sideways at Sulu.

Sulu laughed at that - he was apparently pretty transparent, if Ianto could see where his mind was going with that comment about fairy tales. Sulu wasn't about to deny it though - he had absolutely no poker face whatsoever. He didn't bother to point out the fact that Ianto could probably pull off a dress if he really wanted to, since he really didn't want to get into an argument over that at this particular moment.

Instead, he just nodded at what Ianto said about the plants, stopping to look at a low-growing shrub with tiny white flowers. "Yeah, exactly. I'm honestly glad that we came across this planet - it's got everything. Beaches, blue skies and tons of plants I've never seen before." He grinned at Ianto, crouching briefly to take some readings of vine-like plants hidden beneath the shrub, "I just hope you can handle it if I find something really exciting."

Ianto watched Sulu taking measurements and readings from the plants, wondering not only what sorts of things he might have been measuring and recording, but also at what sort of device he was recording and measuring with. He'd never been formally introduced to what a tricorder was, after all, and even though he'd heard mention of the name and seen them around, he hadn't the faintest idea what they were or what they did.

Of course, any question of that nature was put on the back-burner as Sulu spoke up with that last sentence. "'If you find something really exciting,' huh?" Ianto asked, raising an eyebrow and quirking a smile. "Tell me then," he said, standing back and smirking down at the other man. "What sorts of things should I be looking out for, if such a thing were to happen. Finding something really exciting and all..."

It was probably a good thing that Ianto didn't ask about the tricorder - Sulu could probably talk his ear off over it and all the things it could do, if he was so inclined. Instead, he just shrugged and grinned, taking a clipping of the shrub and the plants growing beneath it and tucking them into one of the compartments in his kit.

"Anything that might eat us, for one," he said with a wink, moving forward, "Or. Well, you know. Plants that are in no way Earth-like in structure or composition. They're not likely to show up on this planet, and all, given that the planet's basic environment is so close to Earth's, but still. Seriously though, I don't want to completely geek out around you and make you realize how bad I can get about this kind of stuff," he added, grinning.

Ianto shook his head, laughing at the other man. "I'm not sure that I should be pointing out anything that might eat us to you. After all, you've got one for a pet, a meat-eating plant and all. Maybe I should just pretend not to notice and steer you around it. Then again." He quirked a smile at Sulu, sticking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. "Maybe I should. The idea of you completely geeking out about something around me is more than slightly intriguing. It'd help me feel better about completely freaking out on you the day before, and all..."

Ianto wasn't all that self-conscious about the fact that he'd been pretty much the opposite of cool, the day before, when Sulu had been showing him the planet and the ship in that little shuttle craft. Or, to put it in better terms, scaring him with his daredevil piloting skills, rather. He did feel slightly silly for it, because he knew Sulu and he trusted him not to kill him in a crash, or anything like that, but he'd always feel safer when his feet were on solid ground and not moving quite as fast as they had been in that shuttlecraft.

"Hey." Sulu pointed a finger at Ianto, grinning, "You said you wanted a little excitement. I was just trying to make you happy!" And, okay, maybe he had wanted to tease Ianto about it just a little as well. Freaking him out was fun when he knew there was no danger in what they were doing. "And also, Audrey III hasn't eaten anybody. I still have her on a strict insect-only diet." Even though that was, well. Sort of starting to have its effects on it. He knew the plant was going to need meat sooner or later... But, that was a worry for another time.

"C'mon," he said finally, reaching out to grab Ianto's hand and move towards the distant sound of running water, "Let's go find something for me to freak out about then, huh? Since it's so intriguing."

"I said," Ianto said, shooting Sulu a smile and a look that said he was just being difficult back for the sake of being difficult, "that it was a shame that you didn't have an obstacle course to show off on. I never said anything else about any sort of death-defying speeds or pretending to crash into the ship or anything like that."

He laughed as Sulu took his hand, though, letting himself be pulled along for a moment before stepping up his pace to walk beside Sulu as the two of them picked their way through the underbrush of the jungle. "Yeah, alright, let's. It is rather intriguing, after all. I enjoy the idea that I'm not the only one embarrassing myself, or anything." Even though he really wasn't embarrassed, nor would Sulu be entirely embarrassed for geeking over plants. They trusted each other too much for that.

"I think I hear the river that you were looking for," he remarked casually, as they made their way in the direction of the sound of running water. "Shouldn't be too far off, not when we can hear it like that, yeah?"

"Nah, not too far. It's a large river, but not so large that we could hear it miles away." Sulu squeezed Ianto's hand briefly, grinning as he moved alien fronds out of their path towards the riverbank. "Probably only a few hundred yards at most. Just over those hills, you know?"

He continued to try and clear their path as they walked; he had no interest in cutting away the overgrowth - that was a little too adventure-story for him, and he didn't want to be that kind of guy in front of Ianto. Well, okay, maybe he did, but he still was sort of embarrassed by how much fun he could have tromping around a forest, looking for rare and alien plants. It definitely altered his cool, put-together image, that was for sure, and even if Ianto knew he was a complete nerd, that didn't mean he wanted to completely show it off. So, no Treasure Island, cutting a path out for them antics here. "And by the way? I wasn't even close to pretending to crash into the ship."

Ianto wouldn't have really thought any less of Sulu if he were to have started up with the whole cutting them a path through the underbrush with a machete, Indiana Jones style that he had sort of expected for a place like this one, but it was probably for the best that that wasn't an option there, or anything.

And the mention of the flying from the previous day, Ianto shook his head, chuckling. "If you weren't even close to pretending to crash into the ship, then what were you doing to start off with? Speeding towards it only to pull back at the last minute and fly us all around the outside of it. Because, near as I can see it, generally when you go towards something and then pull back away from it again, that's sort of like playing chicken and, yes, pretending to crash into the ship, as far as I'm concerned," he said, good-naturedly.

Sulu laughed and shook his head. "Nah, that's not chicken. It'd be different if we'd been flying towards another shuttle and I'd pulled up like that." Which... wasn't out of the question. "Not that I'd ever do that," he clarified, winking at Ianto because - that was exactly the kind of thing he would do.

Pushing away the leaves of a large, spineless sort of aloe looking plant, Sulu spotted the riverbank only a dozen or so yards beyond. The plants growing out along the river's edge were tall, wavy things that looked a bit like cattails, only with budding purple flowers and dark blue stalks. "See, that's what I'm looking for," he said, grinning and letting go of Ianto's hand to move forward and examine them. He looked at the river and his grin widened more, waving for Ianto to come look. "See?" he said, gesturing to the crystal clear river and the large group of fish that looked more like feathery eels than anything, only - well, more friendly, he supposed. "Fish. They're probably the biggest things on the planet," he added, noticing that some of them were almost the size of a medium sized dog.

Ianto shook his head at that wink, raising an eyebrow. "Remind me never to let you anywhere near other shuttles, if you ever get me out in one of those shuttles ever again," Ianto said, making a bit of a face. Even though...of course he'd go out with Sulu in a shuttle whenever the other man wanted him to. He'd honestly really enjoyed the shuttle ride the day before, and would never pass up an opportunity to get a view like that again, so long as it was Sulu that was piloting it.

Ianto smiled as Sulu all but skipped ahead of him to look at the plants, pointing out the fish in the river, at which Ianto had to do a double take. "...oh my god, they're enormous," Ianto said, stepping forward to get a better look at the fish in question, making sure that he was staying safely out of the way in case...who knows, he were to fall into the river or in case they jumped out and...something else happened. Ianto was nothing if not practical, even when visiting and exploring new and exciting places such as this one.

Sulu apparently knew that Ianto would gladly join him on the shuttles any time, since instead of replying he simply laughed and shook his head. "Promise I won't get into any games of chicken with other shuttles when you're around," he said, pulling out his tricorder, measuring various stats with it in one hand as he gently pulled and prodded the plant itself.

"And yeah - they're definitely the biggest thing we've seen on the planet so far. I bet they'd be great for barbequing," he said with a grin. Actually, that was pretty tempting - maybe they could catch one and have an old-fashioned roast later. Of course, he'd have to check them and make sure they weren't poisonous, but he sincerely doubted it. They probably tasted like catfish.

He was so busy contemplating just how the fish would taste roasted over a fire and checking the readings of his tricorder that he didn't notice the soft noise of something moving in the trees across the river. Even if he had - it was probably nothing.

Ianto watched as Sulu took measurements about the plant, readings and statuses and the likes, before stepping off to the side to examine the fish more closely. From the size that they were, honestly, Ianto was having a hard time trying to come up with just how they would catch one and then lug it back to somewhere where there was enough open space to roast it or do any sort of barbequing whatsoever. It was sort of intriguing, though, the idea that they could do something like that. Definitely more adventure than Ianto ever got up to there. On a normal camping trip, that was.

But then something rustled in the trees along the river, and though it was soft, it was definitely the sound of something other than the wind. Ianto, standing closer to the other side and less preoccupied than the other man, heard it quite clearly. He took a step back, a step closer to Sulu, because really. He'd heard what birds sounded like, and they didn't sound like that, and Sulu'd insisted that there were only birds and fish there, and fish didn't move in the leaves, so. "...did you hear that?" he asked, cautiously, his eyes not leaving the treeline where he'd heard the rustling even as he inched his way back to where Sulu was.

Sulu looked up from his tricorder and raised an eyebrow at Ianto, looking back over the river at the treeline. "Hear... what?" He paused, listening for any noise, but there didn't seem to be anything going on over on the other side of the river. That didn't mean he didn't believe Ianto, though - the man was cautious, but he knew what he was doing. If he heard something, it was unlikely to be the other man's imagination.

Then, the trees rustled again, the bushes by the riverside visibly shaking as something moved about them. Sulu paused, not as worried about it as Ianto was but still a bit cautious. "It might be one of the antelope-type things the ensigns have seen," he offered tentatively, because while it was the most likely explanation, saying it was just a deer was usually the first part of things going horribly wrong in these situations.

Ianto tried not to make it more obvious that he was coming to stand directly next to Sulu to be supportive and be supported in case this turned out to be something horrible, even as he did exactly that. Suddenly, he wished that he'd thought to bring his automatic. Or that he'd insisted that Sulu bring his phaser, even though Sulu had reassured the pair of them that the biggest thing that they would find on the planet would be deer.

Speaking of deer...the trees rustled another time, and a creature stepped out of the underbrush and into view, a creature that was vaguely antelope-like in looks. Ianto breathed a sigh of relief, letting himself relax a little bit as he did so. He turned to Sulu, looking slightly apologetic as he did so. "Sorry," he said. "Guess you were right. It's hard not to be a little jumpy, when you've got a job like Torchwood. Obviously I'm just paranoid though, I'm sorry about that." He turned to look back at the deer-like creature in question, as it slowly eased it's way out of the brush towards the bank of the riverway.

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