The sky was overcast, gray and threatening a thunderstorm. The wind gradually picked up, and the demigod's long, black and gold overcoat flapped dramatically in the wind.
Ridgedog flew to Sipsco, a mischievous little plan forming in his head. He never got the chance to get back at the two idiot dirt traders after the incident on the Voltz testing site, and now that Sjin was at his farm, and Sips was on vacation, did he have the perfect opportunity to cause some 'harmless' mayhem.
He chuckled to himself as the dirt factory came into view. Several large buildings appeared through the thick fog, the most noticeable one being the Sipsco tower. He smiled to himself. No one was home, and today he had free reign.
Well, almost no one. As he touched down next to the pool, he heard someone tripping over machines and scattering equipment from a nearby building. Ridge didn't know the Sipsco buildings very well, so he had to rely on sound to navigate his way to the person. Fortunately, he or she was doing a wonderful job providing it.
Ridgedog found a clumsy Kim stumbling over broken pipes and tripping over open chests in what was obviously the company's tool shed. She looked like she was trying to find something among the numerous boxes, but she was having such a hard time that Ridge couldn't help but watch her fumble around for a couple of amusing minutes.
"Oops, ah. Um…" She slipped on a package of meat that was lying on the ground. "Oh, God!"
Ridge hid a snicker and finally spoke up to Kim. "Hey, you need a little help?"
Kim drew her ruby sword and pointed it at Ridge's heart the instant he spoke. The demigod raised an eyebrow at her, and she lowered her weapon. "Sorry, it's only you."
"Yes, it's me. What are you doing here?" He asked her. Nosing around other people's property was a bit suspicious, even if they happened to be stumbling around in it.
"The question is, what are you doing here?" Kim asked suspiciously. "I have permission to be here. I'm the new apprentice in Sipsco."
Ouch. She pinned you in a corner, Ridge, he thought.
"I was… uh. Just here to check if everything is alright," He stammered.
Great job. Real smooth.
Kim laughed, and Ridge smiled slightly. "Okay, Mr. Ridge," She said in mock respect. "You said you could help me? Can you help me find the pumpkin seeds then?"
Ridge raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Pumpkin seeds? Kim, please." With a snap of a finger, Ridgedog summoned a handful of pumpkin seeds into his hand. He poured the seeds into Kim's hand and chuckled slightly at her shocked face.
"You… you… You just made pumpkin seeds appear out of thin air!" She gasped. "That's so cool!"
"I keep on forgetting that you're fairly new to all this," Ridge commented. He was starting to like Kim more and more. "What are you going to do with all of these pumpkin seeds anyways?"
"Oh, these?" Kim looked at the yellowish seeds in her palm and stored them in an inside fold of her red dress. "I'm going to start a pumpkin patch somewhere in Sipsco. Since I'm going to be staying here for a while, I thought I should try to make myself at home."
"Ah… I see." Ridge mused. "So you like pumpkins?"
"Yep," Kim nodded. "Anyways, I'm going to go outside and plant these. Wanna come?"
Ridge shrugged. "I don't see why not."
For a while, the two worked under the stormy sky. Just as Kim was finishing covering the dirt over the seeds, Ridge felt tiny droplets of water fall onto his nose. The sprinkling quickly got heavier, until Ridgedog and Kim were both drenched.
"Hurry, let's go inside!" Kim shouted. By now, the overseer couldn't see a thing, so he let Kim take his hand and drag him into the nearest building. A soft glow was illuminating the area in front of Kim, and Ridge guessed that she lit a torch before the downpour really began.
They entered the tall Sipsco tower, their clothes dripping water on the polished wood floor. Kim winced like she knew that she was going to have to endure some sort of punishment for that later, but she blew out her hastily-made torch and dropped it in the bin.
"So," She finally said. "Why are you here? I'm pretty sure you aren't here to 'check if everything is alright.'"
"Um, I am here to check if everything is alright…" Ridge stammered. He didn't think that Kim would put him to the questioning again; she was pretty persistent. "It's not like I'm here for any other reason. I have things to do and places to see, you know."
"Hm," Kim replied, obviously not content with Ridgedog's answer. "Can't you change the weather and make it sunny again? I mean, if you could make pumpkin seeds appear out of thin air, then why can't you change the weather?"
"I can," Ridge rubbed the back of his head, "but I think it's best if nature runs its course. If I made it sunny every day, then all the plants would dry up. I can't abuse my power."
"Wait. Ridge, how did you get your powers?" Kim asked curiously. "Were you born with them? Or were they bestowed upon you by Notch or something?"
Now they were getting on a touchy subject. Ridgedog had an odd past, and it wasn't something that he enjoyed talking about. Only a few people knew about his past. Okay, it was mainly just Xephos and Honeydew, but that was still a few. A couple.
"Um…" He muttered, unsure of what to say. He sneezed suddenly, causing Kim to jump slightly.
"Oh, you're still soaking wet! Don't worry, you can take off your coat and I'll build a fire! Then you can tell me your story!" Kim pulled out a flint and steel from her bag, and before Ridge could react, she lit the wooden floor on fire.
Kim quickly realized her mistake, but it was already too late. The fire quickly spread along the dry, wooden ground and surrounded them in a wall of heat.
"Ah! Oh no! Um… It'll be alright! Uh… Oh, shoot!" Kim cried nervously. "Oh, Ridge, do something!"
Ridge snapped his fingers as Kim was panicking. A fountain of water appeared out of thin air and extinguished the blaze, leaving the floor badly burnt. He snapped his fingers again, and the wooden paneling was immediately repaired.
"Wow, uh. Thanks," Kim grinned sheepishly.
"No problem," Ridge smirked. "It was pretty funny, seeing you running around and panicking like that. My coat is dry too," he added. "So is your dress. We don't really need a fire now."
Kim's shoulders slumped. "I was looking forward to a campfire, but you can still tell me your story!"
"Er… I'm not very comfortable telling that to people, so…"
"Hey! Can you start a fire in your hand? That'll give us some of the campfire story feeling!" Kim bounced up and down excitedly, totally ignoring Ridge's answer.
He gave up. "Alright, let's get this over with." The demigod summoned a small flame from his hand and held it in his palm. The two sat down in a corner of the tower, their backs leaning on the fancy marble walls.
"I'm not going to tell you everything," Ridge warned. "If you want to know more about something that isn't me, go ask someone else."
Kim nodded silently, slightly rocking back and forth with her eyes intently on Ridge's face. Why was he doing this again?
Okay, he thought, here goes nothing.
A/N: New story, featuring Ridgedog! Cover art creds go to AJ Hateley.
Havs, out!