Hunger and Fury

by Darling Drusilla

It's the same damn Pitch Black rewrite that we've all done and read, but…full of sex? And uncovering big, scary, government secrets? Sure. Lets go with that. And the deaths are out of order. Post Miranda, semi-sane River. Going to be mostly in the Riddick verse after they get off of Hades. All Done!

1. Chapter 1

This was not how I intended for things to go at ALL. Trust me on this! But...they did? So...this is really just a series of smut I guess? It happens every time I write a story focused on these two, Every Single Time. Part of the reason I focused the other one on Jack and Jayne; they still managed to sneak some sexin' in if you noticed. So I decided one very simple thing. This was just going to be an indulgent series of smutty chapters with a heavy dose of death and violence. So...vacation? That's Riv's original intent after all. I haven't decided if it'll be much more than just sex though. Like, how long will it take them to actually become something beyond partners?

~!~!~!~

~!~!~

~!~

She had to get out of here.

There was too much going on inside of her head. Too many ideas of what she was and what she should and shouldn't be. All of it clashing and ill fitting as it bounced back and forth from brain to brain. Too many, too much, too far from a truth she couldn't even see. Not a little girl and not a woman. Not enough space to be herself in either capacity.

River had to go away.

When though? When could she leave without drawing attention? When could she leave without drawing attention to the crew? She knew How she'd do it. The semantics ere simple enough and while Simon had tried many a time to be placed in charge of her finances, Zoe had put her foot down. River would forever thank the warrior woman for that. For allowing her freedom in some capacity. Allowing her to dress herself in items of her own choosing or eat her own foods or even to roll around in it on her bed. She'd use it now to find passage to some place further off. A small bag of gear and spare clothing was all she would need until she found some place to settle down. Someplace rimside or maybe some place in the middle where she could tell fortunes. She'd always pretended that when she was young. Her deeply secret fantasy to be a mind reader...had come true.

Who was she? Who was River Marie Tam going to be when she found a place of her own and grew into something new? Not who she was now. Not even the same name could follow her to this new life. River yes, but the other two would be something new, something of her own choosing. Nothing too unreal though. Nothing too well known either. Stark was her mother's family and known for wealth while father's family was full of Tams.

"You're looking a bit like a fairy up there Riv."

Kaylee's sunshine voice rang up to where she lay upon the frame of the docking bay's door. A vision explained the sentiment. Gauzy white cotton was floating in the breeze as a farawy look covered her face. The noon day heat brought sweat and made her skin glisten like a fairy.

"I just might be." River turned and smiled at Kaylee. "Not yet though."

Soon she would become a Fey.

She'd been practicing her writing. Seeing how easy it would be to become Robin Fey for her documents and practicing the name on her tongue once everyone had gone to sleep. It was very simple to put on the face of Robin when the crew wasn't looking. She liked being Robin but she knew without doubt that Robin could only be in charge sometimes. The little bird would have to sleep each night while the river flowed else it would drown when the mask cracked and shattered.

"Fly away home," River hummed from her perch. After several near heart attacks, River had been granted permission to sit atop the door as much as she liked until she cracked her head open. It was more for Simon's benefit than her own. Daddy knew he couldn't stop her if she truly wanted.

He never did want to stop her.

He might now though. River knew exactly the ship she would take once they reached Beumonde. A long distance freighter that would get her out to the tangiers system. A rougher and more uncouth part of the Rim that Mal tended to avoid. Slavers and pirates and all sorts of dreadful things lay on that side, but River had no intention of staying there. Another freighter to Mesotec then Sidhe space until she could grab up a bit more coin to keep herself comfortable on a planet she could make roots on.

Grandmother was out there some place.

The oh so shameful woman Regan had blamed everything for.

River was not her grandmother, thank goodness, nor was she Robin, but both could help her find herself.

"Wanna get down from there Tross?" the captain called. "Wash is ready to lift off and we can't do that with you roosting up there."

"I will fly away," River smiled and hopped down.

"Just make sure you don't break your neck and it's all the same," Mal gave her a look.

He reached over to the comm and gave Wash the go ahead before closing the bay doors. River waited patiently beside him; they would head up to the kitchen once he was done and Simon had not seen her newest dress. Mal had not seen much of it either, mind filled with badgers and all sorts of cold thoughts. The door closed and River made note that it would be the last time she saw it close from this side. Then the captains mind turned towards her and it was filled with all sorts of colors.

"Wuh de ma! Tross, what are you wearin?"

"She is wearing clothes that fit." River gave a twirl and lace came up around her. "Wearing a slip beneath."

"Not much of one," Mal scowled at her. "You wear that out onto the docks?"

"Worries too much," River waved it away. "Can easily incapacitate any untoward advances and the dress covers all that needs be."

"Not rightly sure I agree on that," he scowled at her. It wasn't at her. It was at himself and time and realizing she wasn't the seventeen year old girl who'd come on board. She was nearing nineteen and would soon look for all those thing nineteen year old girls look for. "Get on up to the mess, may as well let your brother squawk now."

Logic dictated that he would.

Inara's mind jolted when River followed the captain in. Only just returning from long days of work, mind exhausted and looking for Serenity. Looking for sunshine and mei mei and finding only one. One melded into two and River smiled at her in return.

"You look beautiful River." Inara held out her arms and smiled when River twirled into them. "Men across the verse would fall at your feet." She smiled. "One way or another."

"That is something a father does not want to hear about," Mal cut in from the counter. He was pouring himself coffee for the night's watch. Zoe was entering from the bridge and upon seeing River, smiled. She'd been there when the girl chose to grow up. The dress she now wore was one Zoe had found for her based on the choices River was making.

"Teen aged rebel girl," River sang at him. "Not wearing anything that gives me away as being from Core."

"She's right Mal." Zoe took her seat at the table, calling up to her husband that he aught to hurry along. "Took her to my places, if anything she'll look to be station born."

"What?" Mal turned on her. "My own crew, working to take me out."

There was always joy to be found with Kaylee when lace was near. Praise and joy and just a little bit of envy at seeing the delicate dress River wore. There was surprise at seeing the girl known as River for the first time as well instead of seeing Simon's idea at who she was and could have been. Jayne was behind her, admiring the new petals but fully aware of all her thorns as well. Aware that a knife could hide just as easy in a dress and a bit interested in where she planned to hide hers.

"Shiny!" Kaylee grinned, looking her up and down. "Fits you so well too! Kinda teasin' too, what with just a slip between you and all that lace."

"It is in her size," River answered conspiratorially. "Simon should never pick clothing for anyone. He forgets what I wore back on Osiris."

He disagreed with that idea very loudly. He stopped dead in the hall when he saw her, colors and images filling his head and arguing until the cracked and shattered all around her feet. Kaylee was the one to speak up, asking what he thought of 'River's pretty new dress' and summoning the words he'd been trying to figure out.

"River, what are you wearing? It's indecent." He came closer and scowled at it. "There's nothing...this isn't something to wear about in public."

"Not for gege to decide," River scowled right back at him. "No longer a lady of standing," she cut his next words off "nor is she engaged or wish to become so. Made her own choice."

"With Zoe's help no doubt," He scoffed. "River you're not well enough adjusted to the outside world-"

"And will never become so if she does not go outside in clothing of her own choosing."

Mal called for everyone to sit down and most everyone did. Simon remained standing, barring River from her seat until he was sure she understood and agreed to let him choose for her.

"River, it's indecent, only a...a rim born floosey or a call girl would wear something like that!"

River turned hard eyes onto him just as everyone else did.

"Have seen Kaylee walking about in less and forgets that she was nearly a companion," River scowled. "Does not look at the women of home or of the Rim, does not see how fashion lives and dies within the span of a few months." River held up a hand. "She will not change to suit you, already tried and failed. I am nearly twenty and fully capable of looking into modern trends and adapting them to Rim life."

"You were almost a companion?" Jayne's voice broke into the conversation and River took the moment to duck around her brother and sit.

Mal was glowering at Jayne and guessing at thoughts the man might be having. Having them he was, but nearly always ending with him bleeding or shot. Not entirely impossible given their living situation. He was sitting to her right as always, though this time Zoe was to her left. There was a seat between them but they knew it would be Wash's.

"I was," River nodded. "It seemed too dull and I was much too smart for my fellows and any possible clients. Regretting it now."

"The koto lessons were pretty bad," Inara teased.

"Would have made You look bad," River shook her finger as she waited fro Mal to start passing things around. He was still mulling it over in his brain; half of him wished she'd gone into whoring while the other half was appalled by the idea of it. "Makes an effort not to."

"Thank you," Inara laughed.

"She's also not a companion," Simon cut in from his side. "She's barely an adult and-"

"Doc, you wanna fill that mouth of yours with something else?" Mal leaned onto the table. "Something that don't make me wanna hit you? River's got herself something fanciful to flutter about the ship in. Nothin' wrong with that." Mal took a sip from his coffee. "Not like she's able to go walking through Evesdown docks whenever she likes. Hell, you barely let her out of her room when we do touch dirt."

River was thankful and bitter all at once. Simon's guardianship was intense, overbearing, cloying in its misplaced sweetness and a good enough deterrent for now. A reminder that no one save the crew would see her and they'd seen her at her worst.

"But-"

"Nothing Wrong," Mal emphasized once again. "Iffin you got issues, go on down to the infirmary and make yourself busy until you don't."

Grudgingly, Simon continued on with his meal and River ignored the barbed thoughts he couldn't or wouldn't control. Bright orange and spilling out, boiling into dark gray hues until his thoughts were cracked and burnt, cinders flying through the air and catching fire to the others around them. Not psychic, not like she was, but aware of body language and pre-established thoughts. Knew his scent on a subconscious and primitive level, even if it didn't register in the now.

"Ooh, a princess!" Wash came further into the kitchen and took the empty seat between Zoe and River. Bright salmon colored and teal in both clothing and mind. His joy put out the sparks and cinders welling up in the others and River felt beautiful once more. "And a queen! I feel incredibly underdressed."

Yes. River would have to fly away soon, before things got too intense. Before Everyone got too taken in by Simon to let her go without releasing the hounds.

"I got itchy feet," River leaned against the door. Mal was taking up watch while most of the others either slept of wandered about. She had another new look on, something that was neither Robin nor River. Loose and lightweight cotton that swayed when she walked, long in the back and short in the front in case she needed to run. Not designed for such, but useful enough and suitable for both core and rim. Read well with both heavy boots and sandals as she wore now.

"This some kind of metaphor?" Mal asked. He didn't turn towards her but he did gesture for her to come closer.

"It is. Heard it once, during a movie, or in a book, used to convey the desire to travel. To move on and away." Mal looked at her then. "Can't keep listening to Simon obsess over a child who never was. Was never the girl he remembers, can't become her either."

"Noticed a fair bit of that," Mal nodded. "Suggestions are always welcome if you got some place in mind. Every place needs somethin' shipped to someplace else and I'm fair to certain we can keep Simon busy if you want to explore some."

"The girl who Was wanted to become an explorer. Wanted to go to New Mecca to see the batiks and the snake charmers or to find her roots in Sidhe System." River looked into his eyes and her heart broke to see him realize what she wanted. "Will always come home. Promise to always come home to Daddy and Serenity, even to her idiot brother."

"You keep sayin' how much it is you want to leave, off to place we don't even have connections..." Mal put his hand on his fist and thought on it. "Then again...River, this thing you're talkin' on, it's a helluva journey girl. Know you been better since Miranda, but you're known to go a bit wooly when things don't exactly go to plan."

"Not for the last year and a half," River shook her head. "And that was almost seven months after the whispers stopped. She was not wrong either!"

"Make you a deal then," Mal looked her in the eyes with complete seriousness. "Seem like you've been planning this a while, in fact, you seem to be ready to bolt soon as we touchdown on Beumonde. I'l let you go, deal with the fallout here, but you gotta wave us every time you touch foot in a new place, dong ma?" He wagged a finger when she began to grin. "And! The first one you send out is to Simon."

~!~

Daddy was dealing with no small amount of fallout, she knew that for a surety, she'd send a wave to Wash before take-off though. Everything was going according to plan. Her first wave had been sent off while she was in transit to the long haul shipyards. By the time it reached Simon, she would be deep in cryo and out of the system. Slower than Serenity for short jaunts, but faster for shipping lanes and cross galaxy treks.

"You wanna put that damn thing away?" A blue eyed devil shouted at her. "He's a con, not an animal at a damn petting zoo!" Nor was he a lawman. Had the badge and a close approximation of a uniform, but his brain was wrong for it and his medals of station were done up wrong.

"Sorry," she apologized, waving. "Documenting my trip for the family."

"Yeah, well get out of the way."

River sidestepped away from the angry devil and tried not to make a face at him. She wasn't the only one waiting for takeoff outside of the ship. A man and his three wards were praying off in a corner while a core bred gentleman was standing to the side arguing with the captain. She knew that man. River readjusted her sunglasses and moved on, approximating everyone until boarding. They were all so boring. One of them though...one of them she couldn't find. Not the girl, River had found her long ago, but someone else. Something else.

Something animal.

"I'm sorry I couldn't wave you when we first touched down," River's voice floated across the image of scarred sand and wreckage. A single woman was picked out from the rest of the group. "She's not a leaf on the wind. Very far from it." The view switched to River's face, covered in annoyance and displeasure. "More of a rock in a lake."

River didn't like waking up from cryo the second time any more than she liked waking up the first. The first time had people and then comfort and cold steel. This one had fire and fear and melting ship all around her. She wasn't the only one waking either. All around her people were dying in their sleep or suffocating in glass caskets. Screaming like Reavers trapped inside of her skull. All of them extinguishing as they were dropped like stones in a lake by the pilot. Except the animal from before. He was neither waking nor dying. He was as he'd been before. Awake, calm, collected. River jerked the emergency release of her cryo before kicking it loose and hopping out. Others were falling out, tumbling and coughing or dying from an overload of drugs in the system. Not important. Not needed or necessary. Not the Beast.

Dangerous Criminal

Danger

Warning

Do Not Release

Hardly. River slammed the heel of her hand against the release and climbed in, pulling the door shut behind her and praying to god her calculations and instincts were correct. For this she would pray to Him. For life and the hope that she would live one more day. The beast shifted behind her, smelling her hair and River knew she hadn't taken enough of him into consideration. His cryo was the best enforced and most likely to survive if the crash ripped through the container.

"Apologize," she murmured. The ship rocked and she nearly fell from his lap. Had his leg not risen just enough she might have injured herself quite a bit. "Best seat in the house."

"First time I've heard that," he smiled against her shoulder. There was not as much room as she'd anticipated; his mass was not so small as the glass led her to believe.

"Reinforced glass, sturdier frame, in case of fire will fill with foam and in the event of crash a separate kind to prevent broken bones." River grabbed onto him when the ship began to plummet. "Shitty pilot."

"Whatever you say Beautiful."

She turned and gave him a look to which he only raised a brow. A challenge and an invitation all in one to which she only answered part. She turned to face him fully, arms grabbing him tighter when they began to skid along the planet's surface. The Beast was breathing her in deeper then, muscles flexing and blood rising as she held tight to him. Crimson and indigo filled his mind as curves pulled her in. The things he would do and the things he would let her do to him were bouncing around inside of the capsule they were in, making her breath catch and her body react before she could stop it.

"The girl is a genius and heard exactly what you did. Don't pull that lever." The ship was diving too fast and River reached over to grab the device that would keep their bones from breaking. Her movement allowed a part of him to stand and shift beneath her, impeding her movements when she shifted once more. "Not conductive."

"Not much else for me to do," he grinned at her. "Got a beautiful woman in my lap, full of desire to live and smellin' good enough to eat." A shuddering breath escape her as his mind flickered with all the ideas he had in mind and damn him if he hadn't figured out what she was from that. "I'll stop until you get use squared away. Johns is out for at least an hour, and if we survive, I'll see about finding some way to celebrate."

"Thanatos combining with Morphine, near to deadly." She breathed against his neck. "She is yet as Artemis, as Diana. Unsullied by the hands of men, ever searching."

His teeth grazed against her skin and River gasped when his lips began to move. "Hurry up Beautiful."

Not designed for convicts, she decided as she leaned up to grab the breathing tube. She sat down more fully and held the breather in her mouth before kissing him and hitting the trigger for the impact foam. The ground came before they were fully enveloped and his cuffs released as a safety precaution. Hands on skin and visions of red and the scent of sex and sweat combined with his attack on her form. Freezing as the chamber filled completely and the ship fell apart around them. Fell apart as her mind did with every twitch of his fingers against her skin. He was breathing her in as his tongue found her own, lapping at her with as much force as he could muster in their sterile prison.

He'd picked her scent out almost as soon as Johns had him sealed up and in the ship. Civilian transport ship heading out to the Tangiers sector. Probably towards Guinee, a triple max joint he hadn't been to yet; not to say he hadn't heard a lot about it. Her scent was different than the others though, beautiful was the only word for it as a whole. If he broke it down there was the scent of her soap, cucumbers and something kind of like raw pumpkins, a bit of vanilla mixed in just like every other women's hygiene product. The clothes had a bit of a scent too, some kind of herb or other. No perfume, he liked that, didn't burn his nose like the other women milling around. And there was her. The scent of Beautiful was crisp, clean, sweet in that subtle way and kind of watery. Not like rain or the ocean though. Nah, this was more like grapes. Fresh green grapes and God knew that confused the fuck out of him. Made him want it too. Made him want to know just how much of that translated over; how sweet was her skin, how plump were her breasts, how mouthwatering was she?

Made him a little upset, knowing he'd never know. She'd head off to wherever it was girls like her went and he'd head off to a new slam for a few days. Even if he tried to find her, he didn't have a damn clue what she looked like or where she'd go.

Imagine his surprise when she climbed into his cryo. Right on his lap, smelling like grapes and covered in clothing that looked about as delicate as she did. Dark hair was falling around her face and apologizing for filling the already cramped space. Joking even. He couldn't help keeping her from falling off. She had some kind of plan working behind those eyes of hers and she'd come to his space for a reason. Same reason he'd been okay with having a separate unit. Survival. He was okay with that just as he was okay with having her wiggling about on his lap, skirt riding higher and her scent filling the cryo. If she'd have come into the unit a few minutes ago, maybe an hour or two ago, they could have had some real fun.

Cept she started reacting to his thoughts and pheromones. Every time he'd think on something, like her riding him with all that hair tickling his thighs or her being turned around and on her knees, her breath would hitch. Her heartbeat would pick up and she'd be just as turned on as he was, pushing the animal further until he was damn sure he might break the shackles to get to her. And she was scolding him for it. Not for thinking it or lifting his hips to meet hers, but for distracting her from her plan for their survival. Wasn't rejecting him or disgusted, just annoyed.

Perfectly willing and virginal on top of it. Goddamn but didn't that take the cake; he'd known it too. She didn't have the smell of another man in her own, didn't have the smell mothers had or the awareness of her body to show she'd been with a man before. Didn't make sense though. Sweet little virgin girls didn't run around in lace the way she did. They didn't climb in with cons and survive the way she did. Then again, he'd never met anyone who smelled like grapes. His cuffs released as they began to crash and when he kissed her, hard and now, she responded just like her scent did.

He knew when the ship stopped moving. The impact foam was starting to crumble and turn to featherlight dust. Beautiful was moving against him with such featherlight and slow shifts he thought he might go feral again. He kissed her harder when the foam flaked away to the bottom of the cryo. His arms went around her and she moaned loud into his mouth.

"Must stop," she breathed out. Her pulse was racing and he knew the idea of something more than a tease was too good to be true. "Must escape before the devil comes to the surface."

She was talking about Johns. Riddick hit the release and kicked the door open.

"Need you to stand if we're going to get out of here."

The glower she gave him was worth it he decided. She grumbled in some language he hadn't bothered with and slowly pulled herself back, shaking the whole while as light colored cotton followed her out. Her was going to taint her if she didn't run now. No more virgin goddess to flutter around and tease him with the idea of belief.

"He has one hour before Johns wakes," she breathed out. She looked up at him with a challenge in her eyes. "She would understand if he requires more time."

"Writing checks and you don't even know what you're buying." Riddick swept her up over his shoulder and carried her out of the chamber, ignoring the people who were on the ground as he made he way further back. His fingers slid up under her skirt, and Richard grinned when he didn't feel a barrier between her thighs to keep him from teasing the slick folds there. The sounds she made as she trembled from the whisper of a touch. "We make it out of here, I'm going to fuck you silly."

They'd made it far enough. Riddick let her slide far enough down to pin her against the wall with his hips. His hands were free to explore the endless amount of baby soft skin. His mouth was able to latch onto more than just her neck, but her chest and even the breasts that he'd freed from their lacy confines.

Delicate fingers latched onto his shoulders and he bent to suckle upon one. Not too much, not enough time to play. Her legs stayed up, resting on his shoulders as he dropped down in front of her. The scent of her arousal had been driving him mad, something indescribable and gripping enough to make his eyes roll back and a groan to escape his lips when he ducked under her skirt. Slick with honey and begging him for release she'd dreamt of. Her nails dug into his skin when he laved a trail from bottom to top of the feast in front of him. Slowly, oh so slowly, he did it again, pausing to dip his tongue into her and twirl before moving up and suckling. A breathy moan came from above him, rising in pitch as he sped up. He went deeper, suckled harder and faster as she quivered and moaned above him. Whispered curses mixed with long wails until Riddick felt her legs tense around his head and a scream erupted from her throat.

She slid down the wall and into his lap with shaking limbs. She was smiling at him while hooded eyes took him in. She hadn't actually seen him before, nor had he seen all of her. They'd have time to amend that later. Right now he wanted to watch her in the after glow; he didn't doubt that Johns would wake up in the middle of his turn. His luck she'd be halfway down his shaft, ass in the air when the bastard came in.

"She will endeavor to make it up when his jailor has gone far from them," she hummed lazily. "Would be better if she were on her knees than bent over him." Riddick narrowed his eyes at her and she scoffed at the action. "He is loud and she is not, in her normal state of being," She began to blush hard in his lap and looked away for a moment. Her scent started picking up again and when Riddick started to weigh how bad it would be for Johns to catch him getting head, she turned and swatted at him. Feisty little thing hidden away under all that lace. "Heard the Beast above all others. Calm and cool in the fire and death, mind wasn't screaming but growling in his chains and calculating the time until impact. Knew he would not take unless offered freely..." she paused and worried her lip for a moment, eyes flickering back and forth for a second as her brain worked out new calculations. "Was not entirely aware of the particulars, or of what the strength of mind would mean if he chose to think on other things."

"Reader," he rumbled, sliding a hand up her leg and pulling her against him. He'd heard of Readers, met a few in the slam who went astray and a couple others who went to law enforcement instead. None of them like her though. She had a holster strapped to her thigh with a small gun nestled away and spare ammo on the other one. When he ran his hands along her legs he could feel the knives in her boots and he was increasingly turned on whenever he thought of her using one.

"She is quite talented and will loan him one later." She darted forward and kissed him softly. "Johns is waking. Run, before he pulls the big gauge and thinks to act the hero."

Not a second after she'd spoken, he could hear Johns' heartbeat picking up. The other survivors too, some waking after the came and others following more gently. She lifted herself form him slowly, legs still twitchy, and started checking for anything to clean herself with. Not much was around, but she found something and Riddick watched as she did it.

"Might wanna hurry girl," he rumbled. "Lookin' to pick a fight with the law man."

She snorted and gave him a look.

"Has run from enough to know that he is a liar." She smoothed her dress down and adjusted her hair to look more tousled. "What is his name?"

"Whose?"

"His," she gestured at him. "Trouble with pronouns, has a difficult time getting them straight in her brain and tenses go astray. Learned to ignore them for the most part."

"Riddick," he answered, wondering if he'd found the crazy one. Well, she found him. He extended his hand to her and gave his full name. "Richard B. Riddick."

"No alias?" she asked, taking it into her own, much daintier one. "Robin Fey." She was lying. It pissed him off to know she was lying to him after... "He may call her River when they are alone."

"River." Cool and without walls or end. Raging one minute and lazing the next. "Go on and be Robin then, the shaken girl who got separated and finally found her way back to the nest."

She gave him a cocky little salute and turned to leave. "Don't get shot," he heard her sing at him. "Need to get off the island."

~!~

There was sand all around them save for a tiny trail of wreckage and destroyed corpses behind them. Black and bruised, the ship had died and parasites ran about its corpse. Corpses in a corpse on a corpse. The suns were high in the sky, yellow and white as the oxygen burned away and clung to the low ground. The River didn't flow here and the Robin didn't fly. She stayed in the shade with the others as they took toll of what the had and what they didn't have. Who lived and who had died and who would perish in the time between.

Others were waking up now, Johns still on the ground as he tried to force himself to wake fully. The Girl's leg didn't work right, still shaking with the sensations the Beast had brought her. She wasn't River to him, certainly not the Robin, but something she'd never been before. Called and recognized as such, but never identified as an embodiment of Beautiful. Something off about it. Logic of the girl that was and the family behind and the family around told her it was hollow. It was sweet nothings spoken by men to gain her trust and body. He wasn't a man though. He was a Beast and half mad from living inside of his own head for years inside of cryo. Madness inside of his head; madness invading hers.

"We're all mad here."

River looked down at the waking girl beside her. Fourteen years to her mind and too many names. No identity of her choosing and a simple one abandoned for adventure. Adventure on a planet full of whispers. Whispers of men and women turned beast and monster deep within the earth. Locked under silica and granite dust, under stone and fossil by Helios and Sunna. Locked by who? Not Alliance, not Blue Sun, not anything she knew but something she could have known. River reached over to help the younger girl sit up. Young and feigning masculinity to travel with ease in a rough system. Not old enough to belong to someone and not strong enough to fight off slavers. Cryo drugs were still new to her, still something to worry about as you struggled for lucidity. The struggle was always trouble.

"The girl in boys' clothing," she smiled kindly. The Girl and the girl had a moment before the others came too and bright fear flickered all around the younger. "Don't fret. Secrets all around and keys for just a few. She carries the keys to many, but hasn't a care for what's behind door number 3."

"I'm Jack," the other girl finally introduced herself. "I ran away, all by myself too."

"Boring back home?" River asked. "Know a man named Jayne, ventured out for work to escape a chaotic home." She gave Jack a look. "Best tracker in the Anglo-Sino sector."

"A merc?" Jack asked. The blue eyed devil was awake now, collecting his bearings before bolting after his bounty. She certainly hoped he wouldn't be shot.

"Hired gun, not a bounty hunter. Daddy wouldn't dare let a hunter on board."

River rose up and swayed ever so slightly. The screams were louder the further up in the air she was. Distracted earlier by crimson and clover and the Beast's wicked tongue, too low to the ground to hear them float through the air before. River focused on Jack. On the simple mind and the faith she had in the elder girl in front of her. Faith was a strong emotion and a dependable anchor no matter what it was based on. It gave the river a filter to adapt and judge the world by. Troublesome if it was the wrong filter. Too many variables to add and adjustments to make.

"Shall we see who else is alive?" River asked. She extended her hand to the girl with a boy's name.

"Why not," Jack shrugged. She hesitated before accepting the offered kindness but she followed behind as dutifully as any child.

River did not want to hear the Beast bite and snap at his would-be tamer. Did not want to hear the crunch of bone or the sound of bruises blossoming. Would rather pick through the glass in search of a single breath or whisper for help.

"There's someone," Jack pointed out.

"Dead." River dismissed it and tilted her head before finding someone still trapped in their container. "Paris P. Ogilve. Blackmarket antiquities dealer." She moved closer tot he scowling man who knew without a doubt who she was now. "Be careful, likes to look upon young boys. Used make Simon frown." She looked back at the tank and hit a small button on the side and the door began to swing open. "We will go now and he will die for coming too close."

"What on earth are you talking about R-"

The faith gleamed brighter in the Jack as Robin pulled her gun on the man.

"Miss Robin Fey," she spoke as she released the safety. "This is Jack Fey, and she swears by her pretty floral dress that one step towards us will get your head redecorating the cabin."

"I see," Paris stepped back.

"Good thing, red's not so much your color anyhow." River put the safety back on and began to usher Jack along through the cabin, past the dead and up to where a prospecting couple were sitting on the edges of their cryo. Hadn't seen much, hadn't heard much, hadn't much else to focus on either.

"Core boy givin' ya a hard time?" The man was from New Melbourne, known for desert and beaches and exotic wildlife. Known for survival of the cleverest and luckiest.

"She knows him from much further back in her history than she'd care to think upon." River swatted at Jack's hand when the younger girl tried to peek to see if there was anything else hidden. "Quit it. Will give you a knife if you are very good. Daddy wouldn't like it much either way."

"Not my dad," Jack defended. She crossed her arms and left it alone though. "Doesn't seem like your dad and that creep hung around the same circles though."

"Paris was an acquaintance of her father's and tormentor of her brother." River leaned against a broken and empty cryo tube. The body had fallen out upon impact and the soul had left in the beginning. "New family now. New daddy who likes to say the war is over but cannot escape Serenity Valley. Da bianhua coming since Miranda though. "

"Your dad fought in the Unification War?" The woman was asking now. Serenity Valley was blooming in both of their minds; sloughing through the mud and the blood and knowing that this couldn't be much worse. Brown coats had been turned into tool belts and boots, short jackets for hotter days. Always keeping it with them even if they tried to leave it behind.

"Sargent Malcolm Reynolds," River told them proudly. "Reynolds's Rougnecks."

"Jing tsai!" the man crowed. "Zeke Ledger, former corporal for that lucky bastard. How is he?"

"Just a captain now," River held up her hands. "There are whispers though. Always whispers of war and growing louder every night."

"Probably won't be Sarge ever again," the woman admitted. "More likely to become General when this all comes to a head again. Bigger numbers this time, more people involved, worse things goin' on under all that primp and polish." She extended her hand to River. "Shazza, I was daft enough to marry this fool."

"What would Zoe think?" River teased. "Oh, she forgets, Zoe is still second in command. Married the pilot Daddy hired against all wishes otherwise. Politely told him chiu se and is now expecting." River paused. "Would have the girl in very deep trouble for forgetting what she was doing. Must find others, see who is still living and make a plan."

"We could probably start on the foraging," Zeke agreed. "Course, might be better to take the fallen and bury them."

"No sense in it," River waved her hand. "No rocks to place atop them and nothing to keep the sand from blowing away. Best to erect a pallet for a sky funeral of earth that was."

"Could give them a Hunter's Death," Shazza suggested. "Might be someone could see the smoke...I'll look around for some kind of welder or cutting torch. See if you can bully that poncey bastard into helping you clear out dear."

The four of them broke apart and went about their tasks. River was just fine with Zeke threatening violence against Paris. Thought the Grecian idea of younger male lovers was fine, River thought so as well, but force was not permitted in ancient times or in modern; the ponce often ignored that. Ahead of her was a father. Not a father of cloth, though very devout while not against other beliefs. Had faith in his mind and heart and River felt another filter slide into her scope. Respect and concern for some, if not all, the right reasons. His sons followed him, worrying and waiting for a word that they would be safe.

Too many whispers to know.

"The dude from the core is a child molester," Jack blurted out. Not to the father but to the boys. A warning to build camaraderie. "Robin had to pull a gun on him."

"Ai ya tien ah," she sighed to the Jack. "Tact and patience must be taught to the little brother. Do not listen to ge-ge or he will make your skills worse. That is Jack, she is as was called."

"I am Imam, and That sounds nearly impossible," the man of faith admitted. "I hate to ask what happened to your brother before you rescued him."

"Didn't. Jack was not old enough, nor was she, when he slipped into Simon's room." River watched as Jack spoke with the boys. They knew. Knew as well as any animal that the creature in front of them was different. Knew it was female and just hiding. Knew many girls back home who did the same for an education. "Hasn't changed. Will never change. Wants everything shining with value."

"I thank you for the warning," Imam bowed.

He offered her blessing in his actions. Reverence for the spirit within herself as it existed. River bowed in return, no longer miming the action she'd copied as Inara's assistant. The spirit within her honored the spirit within him and respect was born between them. Foolish ideals in a book that made less sense than the shepherd's, but ideals he offered only to those who might want them and apologized when they were denied. He would always pray for those who did not though. Wished joy and good tiding for everyone, much as Inara did...usually.

"Are there any other's alive?" Imam asked.

"Five. The Beast and the would-be officer, Paris, Zeke and Shazza." River paused. "There may be others in the front of the cabin. Zeke would need help in moving the dead to the sky."

"A Tibetan sky funeral?" Imam asked. "My sister had one after converting. For a climate such as this, it is most prudent." He glanced over at his boys and then back at River.

"She can watch the youngest if he feels the need to assist. Jack will be a better choice in three years, perhaps even seven."

"Thank you. The elder boys often forget he is so small and quick to tire." He called the youngest over. Ali, as the thief of legend is quicker than most might think though willing to make bonds with those who would aid him. "I thank you, Robin. Be safe, for there are many loose wires."

"You as well." River offered her hand to the young boy and smiled when it slid into hers. "If you feel upset, do not seek to hide it. Overcome it. Fear can cut deeper than swords, and causes only chaos in the mind and soul."

The little boy did not calm himself, but he did work to ignore what he saw. Remembered that the girl was armed and his brothers would not be alone. His father would make everything right. Not Allah, but Imam. He had no faith in the book or the man in the sky, but a man of flesh and blood; did anyone ever have faith in a hypothetical creative deity?

"Came for adventure," River hummed as she lifted the younger boy over a fallen beam. Too high for him to climb over with ease and not low enough for them to crawl under. His weight alone caused it to creak. "Wanted to see the verse outside of Daddy's ship. Stuck in a sandbox now."

"Perhaps it will rain, and we can build sandcastles," Ali spoke up. "I practice whenever I am able. When I am grown, I should like to build many things. People will look upon them and say 'That was built by Ali for the children of New Mecca' and inside there will be food and clothing." River hoisted herself over the beam and helped Ali off when it began to slide down with a quickness. "Thank you. There will be warm beds as well."

"Every bit the gentleman," River smiled at him. His desire to do such a thing was strong, nearly so strong as the thoughts that had flashed through the mind of the Beast as she was held by him.

"Are you alright Miss Robin?"

"Mei wen ti. She is tired, wu toh wu now, and the air is thinner here than she is used to." It was not a lie, but an omission of the truth. Could not tell the boy that she swayed from the lustful thoughts of a Beast in chains. Chains. "Come, not too much further to look."

River covered his eyes when she happened upon someone. The docking pilot was weeping beside him as he mumbled in his delerium. A piece of the ship had gone through his chest and he was stuck between a collapsing ceiling and sand. The whispers from below were stronger now. A murmur of dreams and nightmares created by gloves of a different color.

"Could grant him a quick death," River offered to the still weeping pilot. Wept for the man's idiocy. Should have let her drop the load; would have lived to shout at her, to shake her, to fuck her against a wall before going back to his wife and buying his coworker's silence. "Would end the suffering he did not deserve."

"Wha? Who the hell are you?"

"Yeh lu jwo duo luhjwohn whei jian guay, they are living ghosts," she answered. "Saw the door jam before we crashed. Shall she shoot him for you? Wouldn't need to touch a thing, handle included."

"What the fuck are you talking about! He's not an animal!" the woman shouted. "You can't just-"

"Very well. Ali, let us find another way back to the others. I fear the beam wouldn't like to have us climb over it again."

Ali let her steer him and avoided the sight of the suffering man. He'd seen the man once and when she'd offered a bullet to the brainpan, he'd prayed the pilot would take it.

There was a hole just big enough for the both of them to squeeze out and into the planet of the dead and the dying. Ali's brothers ran past with Jack and to the right she could hear a welding torch going. A trail of blood was streaked across the sand to a platform. A rope and pulley treated the dead with as much respect as conveniance allowed. They were joined by someone new. Someone had taken Paris's place in the work force while the other sat in the shade and watched.

"Robin!"

She looked over to where Shazza stood by the ship. Leading Ali along behind her, River went closer, the worry had come along on the breeze but the reason was only clear when she could see the wet earth below the ship.

"Didn't get much saved, maybe enough for a day or so, should have been enough for a month."

"Will have to send out search parties," River agreed. Ali squirmed in her hand and looked at the wet sand with longing eyes. "Build." Ali went down to the sand immediately and began to build his model home. "Has she discovered anything?"

Shazza paused for the barest of seconds before shaking her head.

"Nothing much. Paris has a couple crates of wine and whiskey, but Imam can't drink that and I've never fancied a drink on an empty stomach." Shazza moved her foot when Ali tapped it. "Sorry Mr. Architect. Can't find anything to eat yet. Saw the water leaking and went to it."

"We can look. The front has a grieving pilot and a dying man. Denied a quick death and left before we could be screamed at. There are other containers we haven't checked yet. "

"Bout that," Shazza waved her to the side. River followed her a few paces away. They'd seen the scorched earth behind them at it worried the family. Rightfully so, but more than needs be. "Not to mention, Officer Johns has a convict locked up in the third compartment."

"If he is a cop then Daddy is a purple belly," River snorted. "Have been chased by more than enough to know when when I see and hear them."

"And somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

"The somehow is being Daddy's favorite daughter."

Shazza laughed and went back to her new job. She had decided to see to the mourning woman in the front and keep an eye on the curiously absent Paris. He was getting drunk in the shade, too hot to give chase or pick a fight with River Tam. Soon he would not care. The wine would run hot in his veins and he would look for whomever he could muscle down. She could not take care of him though, not without getting attention from the blue eyed devil and mistrust from the pilot. Soon they would have the family believing their words; she would be Sarge's little girl and worth protecting more than listening to.

"That is where the criminal is," Ali argued as she led him to their next destination.

"He is chained and will not harm children," River assured him. "With any luck, he may decide to kill Paris first and foremost out of all of us."

"That is not comforting miss Robin," he argued.

"He is still chained and still refuses to harm children," River crouched down in front of the boy. The beast was listening to them, thinking the thoughts of a protector over those of her bent in front of him. "If he is scared, we can return to Shazza and the pilot."

"No." he shook his head. "I am not scared. I will not let fear into my soul."

"Good."

He was still trembling as they walked into the container. He tried desperately to hide it to stamp the fear down and think of joyful things. Of the curtains he would put into his children's home and of the nice bed he had awaiting him at his own home. He thought of his brothers and how they might tease him and of Miss Robin and how displeased she would be if he were scared.

"Brave thing, coming in here," the Beasts' voice rumbled through the dim light.

"Not the first time she has ventured into his territory," River waved it away. "Glad you were not shot though. The blue eyed devil is busy loading the dead onto a palette and wondering how much longer he must play at the hero."

Ali wasn't hiding behind her so much, but listening and paying very close attention to what was going on.

"He'll get twitchy soon enough, find a quiet corner to dose up in and have himself a nice little breather." The Beast tilted his head in a shrug. "Might decide to play the good guy a bit longer. You could let me loose you know. Might save my shoulders some pain while I escaped."

"She could also suggest Johns go on a search party for water while she watches the children." River began to walk closer to a pile of crates and motioned for Ali to help her lift the lid from one. He was small, but his effort was admirable. Nothing but blankets within, destined for a rim planet. Perhaps one had protein or a saline solution. "Will try to talk them into taking Paris. Can he be patient?"

"Beautiful, I am made of patience."

"Are you lovers?" Ali asked. It was so sudden and blunt that neither of them answered. "You speak as though you have been close, and there is teasing in your words. Like my teachers at school."

"You bet we are kid," Riddick answered before River could. A simple answer to a simple question. Enough to silence further questions. "Can't tell anyone though. Law man out there's likely to slave her out if he found out."

"Or turn her in," River agreed. "Nearly as much as the Beast is in her home sector. Acts of violence against the government. Stole medicine for Rim planets and takes part in honest thieving to help the poor."

"Like Robin Hood!" Ali realized. "I will not tell. Does Jack know?"

"No, only you." River patted his head. "Help her with this crate now?"

With pride in his forbidden knowledge and a need to impress the two adults, he helped River open every crate they could manage until Johns came in with an odd look. His odd happiness quickly turned to annoyance and impatience at the sight of them. Lust began to creep in as he saw her bent over the edge of a crate, digging for the last few protein packs. Lust from both men, for sex and blood in different measure from different people.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Johns asked. "Bringing a kid in here with him?"

"Better in here with him than out there with a molester," River waved him off. She handed another protein pack to Ali and righted herself. "No water, but enough food for a year. Vegan and otherwise. Thought it best to find out what we had before looking for that which we need."

"Yeah... Frye thinks we need to send out some search parties. Can't do that if you're planning to just run around a killer though."

"Has food now. No reason to be in here any longer." Imam could be heard calling for Ali and River began to go out with the child. Johns stepped into her way. "Must escort the boy. Know Paris for the vile creature he is."

"I'll take him," Johns shook his head. "I'm going to see if there's some water further out in the world. Saw some trees earlier, Imam reckons its a good sign."

He was all smiles and charm now. Turning on the smolder and looking a fool for it. Knew Riddick could hear and see and would suffer for it even as the Devil's own mind turned over the different ways to talk her into losing the purity. If he could not, he would crush it. Jack as well once he found out.

"She thanks him. Will be waiting with baited breath, for she does not partake of libations. It isn't Christian."

The temptation was stronger now. The need to break her increased and the images becoming more detailed and varied. The Beast was going mad with rage and jealousy that the Devil would take what wasn't his. River had to hold fast to the mind of the little boy and focus on being Robin. Johns stepped aside and let her go first, acting the gentleman Ali was. She went, trying not to sway overly much as she went. There was food to give and prayers to be made and soon the devil would be far away.

~!~

Riddick heard her as she slipped back in a half hour later. A crack in the blindfold told him just enough. River was still swaying in the heat and from the assault she must've caught from Johns. Picking up on Riddick's mind, simple as it was, was easy for her. Animal's minds didn't think much beyond feeding, fighting, and fucking. Man's mind though, he knew the evil in there.

"Knows only one sort of evil here," River hummed as she came closer to him. There was something in her hands. Part of a protein cake and a jar of water. "Not from the devil's mind either. Something older, colder, something left for dead when the vials broke and turned everyone into something sleeping in the dark and screaming in the nightmares." She took a shaking breath and came closer to him. "The heat is catching up and her lungs are not adapting quickly enough. Leaves her breathless. Keeps her from going too wooly."

"Very christian of you, bringing food and water to the criminals."

The look her got made him laugh out loud. Part offense and part disgust, knowing he was teasing her and still lifting the biscuit to his mouth. He was gentler than usual when he bit down, catching just the edge of her finger with his teeth before letting his lips rest on her skin. She jumped when her broke the chunk off and thought of what he might do when she let him loose. She swayed again and leaned against him for support.

"Can I catch a drink?" he asked. He wasn't close enough to purr the question into her ear but she still shuddered with the sensation.

"Will have to, she may drop it soon."

She lifted it to his lips and he'd never been so glad to drink stale water. Aside from being alive after a shitty landing, he had a way to get loose and Beautiful was attending him like some kind of priestess. Tending to children and hardened criminals like it wasn't anyone's business but her own and theirs. Kinder than most he'd met and smart enough to fall behind and into the mask when she needed to.

"You really got a bounty?" he asked after he'd finished.

"Ten Million less than his," she nodded. "Escaped that which did not exist and killed a doctor who was already dead. Knives into her skull and needles into her eyes. Asking what she sees and giving her secrets she never wanted. Government trained assassin, was broken and loosed before training was completed."

The scent of madness was creeping in. Not strong enough he had to worry and she was catching herself much quicker than a lot of guys he'd met. Going wooly was a good way to describe it.

"Killed the secretary general with a pen. Wanted to know if she'd been trained in seduction yet, so she gave him an example."

"A pen? I'll have to remember that one." She offered him another drink and he shook his head. There would be plenty of time for that later. A breathy sigh came from her lips and he wanted out now. "How you going to do this? Ain't got his keys and you're pretty keen on keeping me from hurting myself."

He could smell that look again. The one that told him he was being an idiot and she knew what she was doing if he'd stop distracting her. Soon enough he'd stop, after he got a real bearing on the situation and knew what he had to work with. Different governments and different training came to the same end.

"Learned to pick locks when she was seven. Simon taught her." She went around behind him and pulled something over for her to stand on. He had at least a foot on her and his arms were up even higher. She wasn't climbing all the way up though. Her footsteps stopped and thin arms began to wrap around his waist. "Knows he would rather be the one behind. She will come when he needs it, but for now, want to feel him without distraction."

A healthy respect for the animal and needs of her own raised her just another step up. He'd never been very good at picking locks though. Not quite delicate enough for it. Wasn't alive and moving under him or slipping soft hands under his shirt like she was now. Smooth skin traced his muscles and when he jumped he could smell the wicked amusement. Her fingers traced his ribs again, ever so lightly before moving up as she stood. His shirt was moving up with her until she left to move her hands along his arms. Up his biceps, lingering in the middle before fingertips traced all the way up to his own. Exploring what she had in front of her and every moment growing more satisfied with what she saw. Still hadn't seen all of her. Probably wouldn't for a while either.

There was something innocent about it all. The way she touched his skin, explored the feel of a man's body; the feel of his body under her fingertips. Like he was something she'd never even thought of seeing before. The thought sobered him up enough to make her pause and allow worry into their scent. Readers always were confused by thoughts. Couldn't make sense of them without solid explanations. She hadn't lifted her hands though, hadn't leaned away from where she was taking in the smell of him; base scent that almost every person could pick up.

"Ever seen a naked man before?" He asked. "I ain't talkin' on catching your brothers walking out of the shower, or maybe daddy wasn't quick enough to hide it all."

"Not a one of them would have," she spoke against his skin. Reading the reactions her breath had on his physical and mental state. "Proud of their looks and achievements. She has seen, but never seen one of her choosing."

"Never been chosen before," Riddick chuckled. "That why you ran away from home? Nothin' to look on?"

The sigh of annoyance came first. Then there was the sensation of her swinging around to the front of him, landing on cat feet despite the boots she wore, and surrounding him with her scent. Still carried the lust from earlier, some dirt from her ventures. Other passengers mixed in and out of it.

"Did not run. She finally had the ability to explore and find herself. Shattered at the Academy, not enough of a baseline to remember and figure herself out." There was a movement in front of him and she was lifting up his blindfold. Silicone straps came into contact with his head and soon enough he was looking at her through uv tint. "Remembered who she saw herself as instead of the masks sewn to her skin. Ripped them off at Miranda and revels in the sunlight upon her skin. Daddy let her go, but she must wave on every new planet."

"Heard about Miranda. Got access to a data port back on Athena, read up on the other systems."

"Have your own right here," she hummed. River leaned forward and her forehead came into contact with his chest. Breath trickled across the skin still bared from before. Something primal about it. Innocent and primal all at once. "Can't go to ground. She needs him to live and they wait beneath the earth."

"Whatever you say Beautiful." All he got was stay above ground and some kind of idea about experiments. She was making that face at him. "Not a reader. Not gonna bend you over that crate over there either." Her look and scent filled with confusion. "You're not ready. Honored you'd think i'm the one to go to, but-"

"Didn't come to him because he was the best available," She swatted his chest. "She had ample opportunity in her own system to find a big scary hun dhan to rut. Not because he is trained either or because of the crash." she looked him over and struggled for the next words. "It is his scent. The sound his mind makes. A scent of something she can not describe, doesn't have words for it, but knows it's something that is his. The Beast and no one else."

"Alright then." He went to jiggle his cuffs and was just surprised enough when the chains fell away. Quick little thing, wasn't she? She was nearly preening from his musings and he grinned at it. "How long you think we got?"

"Talk of putting together a search party, for water or food, for living souls." Her hands slid along his skin again and his arms came around her waist. "Halfway to an agreement, soon the devil will come for your soul. Time doesn't work here, nothing to judge by and no clocks around... She has one hour."

"One hour to let you have your way with me," Riddick tried not to think how much more fun it would be to have her lips around his shaft only a few feet from Johns. Loved taunting that fucker.

"If he saw, the images in her head would scream and her skin would burn from them," She whispered. There was fear in her scent and the need to kill Johns increased. "Can not kill him yet, his life is still yours until the family learns to trust him."

"Dying breaths then," Riddick offered. "Let him know before I cut out his heart."

"Only if he offers it as a gift," she teased.

For a moment, both simply enjoyed the touch of the other. A woman in his arms who took comfort in his killing. Saw into his mind and didn't run screaming. Probably because she was already crazy, but he wasn't going to complain. River knew his scent and his skin; she was all but purring in his arms for the both of them.

"You're a strange girl," he settled on saying. He pulled her closer and her heartbeat picked up as the trickle of her own lust came into being. Not like before when it was his need filling her and spilling out. Nah, this one was different. Had that desire for the unknown and for him in particular. He didn't bend her over the crate, but her did pull her over to it. Let her decide to climb onto his lap before he buried his face in the pile of curls and let his lips ghost across her skin. He hasn't had to hold back and summon a response in a long time, not since Madripoor and that wasn't this.

"He likes the strange things," she breathed out. "Likes to think of her lips around his cock as death surrounds them." She gasped when his teeth grasped a bit harder than he meant to. Talkin' about two of his very favorite things as she writhed in his lap tended to distract him. Made it hard to focus on keeping himself in check and his hands on the outside of her clothes. "Would feel his hands on her skin as his lips dance along her neck."

"Makin' more sense than we've got time for," he growled into her ear. "Someone's coming along soon." She stilled in his lap and tried to focus on what was coming for them. "Woman, prospector. Tool belt and boots made from the same hide."

"Shazza. Daddy's officer during the war." River's scent was full of all kinds of things. Upset and worried, no shame in there, but a good dose of wanting the woman to respect her. The other's he was getting used to. "Lies will be spun soon, will make her seem the delicate flower of Sarge's garden instead of the daughter they know he would have."

"Giving in to a convict wouldn't be very helpful to your cause." Riddick leaned back just enough to look her in the eyes. Couldn't look at them directly. The room was brighter than he'd hoped and she'd taken advantage of what she could get. "Less of course you could get her to be sympathetic to mine."

"Would involve long stories, details he would need to know as well. May be able to work something out though." River's hands came to rest on her thighs, edging her skirt up a bit higher and giving the both of them one last reminder of what there was only a moment past. "There will be a time when he must stick close to her. The pilot will soon demand a burial and lives will be lost to the hunger resting below. Will blame the closest available monster instead of the one under the bed."

"You can hear that?"

"Heard the beginnings of the thought as she left the debate. Will demand them for her crew if no one else." River stretched over him like a cat and her top drifted up. Gauzy cotton that barely hid the bra she wore. "Wears a bra because it is easier to run in. Knickers laugh at her, so they are burned."

"Not complaining." He looked around for a minute before asking if her suitcase survived. "Might be helpful if someone got distracted while I made a run for it. I'll hand you his liver for it."

"Her carry on is in the front," she agreed. "Will drink in the sunlight as she has been without for too long."

~!~

"Do you smell coconuts?" Frye hadn't been able to shake the scent of it since Shazza came back in. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Nah, probably little Miss Robin Fey."

Johns pointed to a white spot on the sand outside of the container and Caroline strained her eyes to get a better look. Sure enough, someone was laying out in the sun and stripped down to her nothings. A soft sound was coming through the air, music from some little gizmo she'd managed to find in her things. Zeke and Shazza had left the discussion about fifteen minutes ago and were now sitting in the shade. They'd introduced Robin to the rest of everyone while she kept the youngest of Imam's kids busy. She was barely a kid herself and her brother couldn't have been more than a year younger, more likely he was older.

Caroline left the container to go talk to Robin. She'd left after a mention of boredom, Jack following along behind her, and Johns had been getting twitchy ever since. Johns paused for a minute behind Frye, watching and waiting before he went straight to where he had Riddick strung up. Frye ignored the alter for the dead as she made her way to the sunbathing teen. Owens was with them now, looking directly at her as she walked into camp. Watching with rheumy eyes as she walked and talked.

"You know this isn't a vacation, right?" Frye asked of the girl on the sand. If it were, she'd be offering the man in the back container a drink and wanting her own blanket in the sand. The smell of coconut was stronger now, mixed with the smell of cocoa butter and something that just escaped her. Something that made her want to spread out in the sand and ignore everything.

"Perhaps not for you, but I paid my fare," Robin waved her off. "Was headed for sandy beaches and sun, received as such...perhaps not the exact white sand, and certainly less surf than imagined." The girl raised a brow and stared at Caroline from behind an undoubtedly expensive pair of sunglasses. "Why shouldn't she take advantage of an even tan?" Robin turned to lay on her stomach. The girl reached over into the bag next to her and collection of lily white scars were standing out against fair skin. All along her spine was a trail of track marks and surgical scars. Jack didn't look at them; he looked away and off towards where Johns and Riddick were. "Would be better if she didn't have to worry over offending Crislam senses; must write Zoe a thank you for talking her into packing a bikini. Planned for nude beaches on Crete, not deserts full of lao bahn law men and wei shian dohn woo cons."

The idea of a tweenie running around without panties made Frye twitch just a bit more than when Robin fell into that choppy fucking language. She didn't have anything against other languages as a rule, but couldn't she use something other people could understand? It was rude and Caroline wanted as far away from the little girl as she could get. Robin came back with that frilly white skirt and shimmied her way into it before slipping a belt around her waist and hooking herself into her gear.

"Have you just been walking around with a pistol strapped to your thigh this whole time?" Caroline asked. Seemed a more appropriate subject than asking who'd cut into her or why she was allowed to run wild. Also made her wonder if this girl was half of what she said she was. "It's illegal to have guns without permit."

"Daddy made sure she got her permits. 'Captain's daughter aught to have something to keep her pretty and safe'." Her voice took on a western twang, different than the one Johns had and more relaxed. "Got it for her birthday two years ago."

"How old are you?" Caroline demanded. She couldn't be much older than Jack, tiny as she was, and that third person thing...

"Twenty and one when May Day comes to Osiris."

Not a kid, just dainty and delicate in that way Core girls were supposed to be. Osiris meant money too, so it was more likely her scars were something to help and going without drawers was something core folk just did. Caroline walked away from the Fey, realizing just how apt the name was for the both of them. One always getting into trouble and making problems while the other looked like she belonged on a wine label and might break if a gust of wind came by. She paused part way to the rest of the group; she could see Imam and his boys praying but that wasn't what made her stop. A glance back to Robin and Jack made her think. Robin had said something earlier while Owens lay dying. Something cold and at odds with the girl in the sun. Entirely business and hardly even human.

"Sarge's girl giving you trouble?" Shazza asked from a small distance away. "Surprised she's out of his sight to be honest."

"Sarge?"

"Yeah," Zeke nodded. "Her daddy used to lead us through hell and out the other end during the war. Helluva man. Jing tian dwohn di on the field."

"Damn pretty too," Shazza laughed.

"She offered to shoot Owens in the head for me." Neither of them seemed shocked to hear it. "Her daddy ever offer that?"

"Sometimes he wouldn't have to." Zeke stood up and stretched out his muscles. Ali had run to join Robin on her blanket and Jack decided to rejoin the other boys in their exploration. "So, we decided which direction we want to search in?"

"Towards the trees. Might be some people or some kind of settlement we can try to find." She looked at Zeke before he walked away. "If it's not too much trouble, do you think you can bury him? Owens always wanted a tombstone."

He made a face and shifted for a minute before agreeing. He'd go drag Paris with him to keep the kids safe. Caroline had no idea what the hell that meant but she kept hearing everyone talk about the man like he was some kind of plague. Everything about this situation was seven kinds of fucked up. Browncoats on one side, Law one another, convicts and core girls on another still. She stepped back when a pack of boys ran in front of her. Fucking kids were everywhere.

Johns rejoined her a few seconds later. He was watching Robin and her brother and Frye felt less disgusted by his leers now. He wasn't watching some kid, but a full grown woman. Made it less disgusting somehow. Johns hadn't given her those looks, maybe a few considering glances, but never the kind of thing he gave her. Maybe it was a guy thing. The need to fuck something untouched. Then again, maybe the girl was actually quite popular in her home sector.

"Our favorite con still locked tight?"

"Tighter than a nuns twat," Johns nodded. "You're welcome to go look for yourself."

"Just worried. I don't want to deal with anymore surprises." She glanced over at him and his baby blues were focused on her. Ignoring Fey completely as she spoke. Good. She could get used to that. "I don't feel like dealing with two predators."

"Paris? Yeah, got a few words about him from the holy man. Figured we'd leave him here while we looked for water, take the kids with us."

"Like a family picnic?" Frye asked. "Let's make sure the dog's locked up first."

"Fine," Johns sighed. "We'll go look together, okay?"

"Gone like the shadow he is," River laughed as she watched Johns lead Frye to the empty container.

"What is gone Miss Robin?" Ali asked from beside her. He'd been drawing in the sand; elaborate puzzles and mazes surrounded them and while River had solved each, they would have given many pause and stumped even more. He was a clever boy, but not so confident or reckless as to taunt or tease the people around them. Not like Jack who yearned for attention.

"Richard," she hummed, laying back on her elbows. "Prowling about the land like a beast."

Ali made a small noise and erased one of his early puzzles before starting again. The Academy would take him, Richard's as well. Take him and use him for their own means. Instead of cities, he would plan wars. Fortresses instead of foundling homes.

Frye ran out of the shuttle while Johns roared from inside. Into the middle of the group and shouting that Riddick had escaped. Her stone mind raced now, the lust inside of her nearly gone and replaced instead with fear and forbidden desire. A desire that he'd come for Caroline in the middle of the night, dark skin desirous of blonde hair; it wouldn't be the first time. There was fear though. Locked up, he wasn't a threat. She could think of him as less than herself. Now he was free and more. The boogey man.

"The Beast," River hummed. He was on the other side of her dune, listening for the barest of moments. "The hunter thinks he is prowling through the jungles and all around watering holes. Zeke is knocking on the door and soon an answer will come. Home is where the heart is and the body rests."

He was sliding down the dune now, off towards the trees that weren't trees and away from the crash. Away from civilization and the shining beacons that were Paris and Johns. He'd double back though, give just enough of a trail.

"Do you know if Crete worships bulls?" Ali asked. His question was so simple. "I have tried to learn, but my teachers always scold me for looking into other beliefs."

"She doesn't know," River apologized. "Not from this sector and the Alliance blocks out information on other governments."

"Perhaps you could write me from there, if we survive this."

"Promise to write him," River smiled. "If he will write her in return. Come. They will search for water now, and she thinks there will be luck."

Luck with water and a private dwelling to make a mess of. The whispered dreams were creeping up, louder and louder as the blood above them stirred their hunger. River stood from her blanket and gathered it up. They would depart sooner than Beast would like, but it couldn't be helped. The Devil and the stone pilot were gathering everyone about them and Ali ran back to his guardian. River was slower to join them. Robin would meander over, stretch and distract to give him time to hide and plan.

"Kicking on?" she asked as she came to the group.

"Seems so," Shazza nodded. "Zeke and I are staying here, got some more holes to patch up and figured out some kind of ventilation method to keep the ship cool."

"Idle hands," River hummed. "Saw another container half league that way. Might be some who need help, or some who don't."

"I'll check it out," Jack offered. "I mean, whats the worst that could happen?"

"Don't know if you heard, but Riddick escaped," Johns scowled at her.

"Yeah, but he's gone," Frye dismissed it. "Why would he come back now that he's free?"

"Maybe just to mess with us. Maybe he'd rather have a bit of real protein instead of packaged. Maybe just to skullfuck you in your sleep." Johns was staring at River while he answered the question. There was a silence and River tried to shove the images away from her mind. Willed her body to stop cringing and her skin to stop crawling.

"Sounds like a real charmer," Shazza spoke up.

"Sounds like Monty," River corrected. Shazza looked at her with confusion and Zeke started to chuckle at that.

"Bloody hell, if we're dealing with Monty then I'll make an effort to stay as far from him as I can. Ripped my skin off when I bumped into his desk."

"Thought we'd need to go to Alliance medics," Shazza agreed. She was still looking a bit confused but no one seemed to question it. No one but Johns who looked all too interested and Frye who kept staring with disbelief. "Bout killed him, I know he would have if Sarge hadn't come in."

"No wonder you lost the damn war," Johns snorted. "Alright then, everyone staying, stay, everyone going, lets go."

River stayed where she was. It wasn't wise to follow the Stone and the Devil right now. More important things to do with Zeke and Shazza. Stories to tell and rooms to clear away and reinforce. The whispers were for the stage now. Reminding them of lines forgotten and the next act. Never ending stories of war and suffering. War stories.

"Robin, mind helping me clear some stuff up?"

"Clear like crystal," River followed Shazza and Zeke towards their container. Jack had already gone off towards the scout party instead of the wreckage and Paris was much too wilted and frightened to risk his neck over young flesh.

"Mind explaining why you'd compare Monty to Riddick?" the woman asked. Her arms were crossed and she looked mighty insulted by the whole thing. Her husband was waiting behind her with his own scowl but a genuine worry that Riddick could be a more violent version of Monty.

"Wasn't Daddy's at first," River hummed. "Was someone else, someone secreted away beneath stone and glass, trained to take out those who'd disagree with the light of civilization. All because she was a reader." Zeke's face turned white as tales of witchcraft and hoodoo fluttered up from his grandmother's memories. "Tried to hone her, sharper, quicker...never taught her witchcraft. No such thing." Shazza's eyes narrowed for a second and the thought of an orange tabby cat came up. "Lasagna is not for cats. And Riddick is not...well, technically speaking he is as much a murderer as any soldier or assassin. Bit the hand and was sent to face execution."

"Sayin' you weren't Mal's at first, said you had another family before him, they know about all this?" Zeke asked.

"The progenitors knew she was different, odd, too much like her grandmother to fit into high society or become a country club socialite." River leaned against a steel wall. "Were glad when she was selected by the Academy. Never cared to know, not like Simon."

"Your brother."

"Yes. He came in, set of a bomb in the directors office," she giggled at the thought of it. "Got out and found ourselves on Serenity."

"So, you're a government experiment who happens to be a smuggler and commits acts of terrorism?" Shazza asked. "Sounds like Sarge."

"And Riddick is as Monty," River pushed. "She swears it, would swear it to her grave. Can see what others can not and hear intent from a mile off."

"Yeah, well," Zeke pushed off. "I better get to digging for that silly wench."

"Unless you bully Paris into it," River suggested innocently. She stared at her nails before looking just past them to Zeke. "Will thank her at the end of it."

~!~

"Keep on digging," Zeke snorted from under the umbrella. The pitiful whine of the rich man came from beneath a tarp and the Rim born browncoat ignored it in favor of a cigar and his glass of port.

Clever girl, keeping them occupied while he wandered around. He'd heard the words she'd given to Zeke and Shazza. Smelled the discomfort as she listened to Johns glorify his own thoughts. Heard Jackie and the elder woman start welding the container back together while River headed towards a lone container a half league off. Might be she'd need some help, then again, she might not be too opposed to having some fun. She ducked behind the container he'd been held captive in less than an hour before and he went after her. Maybe she didn't exactly feel like walking.

"Walking is dull," she hummed when he came into sight. Her white blanket was laid out again and she was in just enough to be clothed. Boots were off and the socks are following suit, rumpled around her knees before she breathes in and reaches over into her bag. "Apologizes, she has always loved lazy afternoons."

"Can't say I disagree," he came to kneel down in front of her.

A slim leg is lifted ever so slightly, offerings to the Beast as she calls him. Her skin is cool compared to the rest of the world, even through the knit cotton he's peeling off of her. Exposing damp skin to his touch and to the sun before he moves to the other one and repeats the process. He doesn't let go of her leg once he's done though. Beautiful is staring at him with a smile on her lips, hiding secrets in her eyes and waiting for him to make a move.

"You could be a real bad influence on me," she hums before leaning back on her elbows. "Miles to go, and hours in which to play under the sun. Become king of the sandbox. Slay the dragon, win the princess."

"Dragons aren't my thing," Riddick grinned, moving so he was between those long legs. Firm and soft on his sides as he leans down so his lips meet hers. Barely touching as he speaks his next words. "More of a Beast looking for Beauty."

Her skin is still smelling of exotic fruit and warmth and her mouth is soft. The oasis in the desert is right in front of him, laying beneath him while limbs wrap around his waist and shoulders. Slow and playful for the both of them. She's never been touched and he's never let himself forget about the rest of the world. Not to say he isn't keeping his ears open, but those here know and ignore.

There's a nip to his ear and a growl comes up from his chest as a giggle comes from hers.

"Distracting thoughts. Hard to focus on the feel of it when he thinks only of steel bars."

"You don't think of the same?" He asked.

"Not when I can help it. Easy to think on other things when there is a man's breath drifting across her skin and lips following close behind." There was a kiss on his jaw and even though he could see the knives and the gun sitting just there, he felt at ease with her so close to his neck. "Not when she could explore his skin as she did before. Would see him, his scars, his skin, like for like."

"Ain't got a bikini to hide myself under," Riddick turned to lay on the blanket. She sun was bright above him and the shape of River didn't do much to block the light out. Not until he shifted just enough to be in the shadow of the ship. Let him see her glowing under the light and watch as her hair shifted and fell when she moved to sit in his lap. "Like seein' you there."

"Best seat in the house," she agreed. Her fingers were moving to the edge of his shirt before they hooked and she started to pull it off of him. Like for like would have left him still dressed; Seemed reasonable to let her have a bit more. "Wants the boost to his ego. Wants to revel in being the first body she has witnessed as a woman."

"It's a guy thing," he answered. As her hands explored him, Riddick let his hands slid up her thighs and curl around the soft flesh of her ass. Her breath came quick and her nails scraped his skin as her hands curled into fists. "Can't help myself sometimes."

"Appreciates the honesty," She breathed. River leaned down and her hair tickled his skin as lips found his chest. "The honesty of Richard Beathan Riddick."

He was trying very hard not to give in to the nature of things. Trying not to be a beast who would take what he wanted. Assert his dominance and his place as her alpha male. With every kiss she laid upon his skin, his need strengthened and lessened. Content to let her sit in his lap and worship each scar and stretch of skin. Content and wanting more than the dancing nerves she gave him. Wanted more than just the weight of her on his lap. River kissed up along his chest before kissing her way back down. Knew she would get more than she gave, It was the way of things on this day.

"You know what you're doing?"

"Quick study," she kissed along his stomach. Deft hands went to work at the button of his pants and her lips travelled lower. "Lived with a companion for three years." Another kiss and a spark of interest in his brain as she pulled at the zipper. "Many things were learned."

Including the right way to tease a man. Study could rarely beat experience though, so when Richard lifted his hips to let her reveal the rest of his form, she paused. She paused out of surprise, out of curiousity, out of the sensation of pride he had and the unreasonable worry that entered her mind. She knew something like that, while not average in size, would fit, but to see it standing in front of her and to know the girth of it in comparison to the...

"You alright?" He was trying to keep his pride in check as he asked. Genuinely concerned as the worry that she really wasn't ready came into his head.

"She is...at a loss for words." She shifted to sit between his legs. "Bigger than was expected. Bigger than average." The pride grew and the worry settled into a steady thrum until she began to reach for it, slim fingers coming into contact with something so different from herself. Soft, not as velvet, but suede, and warm and pulsing beneath her fingertips as she caressed it. A bead of moisture leaked out from the tip as theory came into her mind. River leaned forward, knowing without knowing that the image of herself bending down to taste him made the muscles tighten even more. The feeling her hands on his thighs and of hot breath on his skin made him fight to keep his hands at his sides rather than fisting in her hair.

The lust she felt was not fed to her, but her own, fueled by the scent and the feel of him. Her tongue traced along his skin and the taste was another layer. A primal layer that made the girl that truly was come to the surface and taste more. Let her revel in the sounds he made and take pride when he finally did reach his hands into her hair. Slipping a hand beneath the cotton to feel her own moisture, River switched hands and gasped when his grip went too tight. Richard was growling now, purring as her tongue swirled and her essence mixed into his skin where her mouth could not reach.

"Fucking hell," he grit out. Too close to finishing and much too far from where he wanted to be. River climbed back into his lap and kissed him hard, hand still on him as his own dipped into her bottoms and set her alight. His hips were moving against hers as their kiss became wild and reason was abandoned. There was here and now, and only the end mattered. An end brought on only by the other.

The was color, brilliant and blue, white hot in her mind and soul as he let out a roar. A roar followed close by a scream from her lips that had everything to do with joy and pleasure. There was no pain in the light he brought to her, nor she to him. The blinding blue faded as her muscles gave out and she fell slack against him. The second time was much better than the first. The blue much better than the white.

"Beautiful, I'm seein' stars."

"Liar. Saw only one. Just as she did." His laugh was slow and lazy as she put her arms around his neck and shoulders. "Won't think less of him for enjoying the feel of a woman's body in his arms."

The Beast didn't reply with words. He pulled her against his body and fell just shy of cuddling. Hands were softer in her hair and gentler when a tangle was caught. It was the two of them beneath three suns and seeing only one that didn't exist. There were no words between them; none were needed. Not until the gunshot went off by the graves. Both snapped from the haze and River shimmed back into her skirt while the Beast zipped and grabbed his shirt. To be thrown on as they ran to investigate. Screaming now, of Shazza and of Jack as both tried and hesitated to go into the pit that was dug.

"Help them!" River called as she dove to grab the elder woman. Jack began to help her pull Shazza back while Riddick went to grab whomever he could. There was blood and hunger in the pit as Riddick grabbed the only one living. Only fractions of seconds passed before two men came back out, one with a hand that was not his.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Shazza screamed as she dove for her husband. He was shaking, staring at the hand as the Valley came back to him. Shazza was trying to ignore it, trying to focus on her husband and on the creature that had devoured the predator.

"Wasn't fucking human," Riddick growled out as he too sat on the ground and stared at the pit. Footsteps and shouts were coming, the sound of gunshots ringing as Johns fired the big gauge in their direction.

All of them dodged and only through the actions of the Stone pilot did Johns stop shooting at them all. It didn't stop him from giving chase, didn't stop him from backhanding River and pushing Shazza nearly into the pit as he dove at the Beast. River swayed from the force and the pain of the sunlight in their eyes as Johns beat the man. Too loud, too many voice and the whispers were whispers no longer. The dreams were waking with the scent of blood and flesh not their own. New flesh, flesh they no longer had and wanted so desperately. The brains were the best. Carried the memories into the one who devoured and made them Crave more.

River passed out onto the sand, hot earth and cold whispers meeting her as fury and Furya floated above.

~!~!~!~

~!~!~

Holy fuckin' shit. I wrote most of this in like, one night. 30 pages yo! So, ya know. There's some continuity errors, I'm sure, but, altered deaths, so...no continuity errors? Whatever. Also, made ya care about little Ali, didn't I? Hehehehe, won't you all be crushed?

Beathan is a Scots Gaelic name meaning "Life" making Riddick the King of Life.