Review Responses:
White-Dragon-of-Hope – You are reading my mind! I'm glad you enjoy, watch out for the savory scenes of pack-goodness to come!
Silver Dragon c – Thanks! Sorry I made you wait so long, I'm trying to nail down that stupid time management skill people keep telling me about.
Forestreject – Aw, sorry! Glad I drew you into the moment of horror-it was a beast to write! This time around it seems as if Riddick will get his gore in the end. Hm.
– YAY! Thanks, it better have been with as long as my muses had me working on it!
Fallenstacieb – River and Riddick are definitely my favorite crossover couple, no contest. I'm glad you enjoy my story, I'll try to stay back this time, I miss writing!
ArtLightLove – Whoa, whoa, whoa! No reading my mind, only River can do that! Already I can tell the intro scenes of our lovely Firefly family to this new pack of River's shall be…interesting to say the very least. I'd tell you which direction I was going…but then I'd have to kill you, and where's the fun in that? I'm glad to know you're sticking around, sorry it took forever for the second part. Thank you so much for the advice, enjoy the story!
Rachet – Thanks!
Raven – Yes. Definitely doing tons more. I'm addicted.
HellgirlAngel – Thanks a lot!
So, lovely readers o' mine. How are you all?
It's been too long! Over two months since I first posted this great story…you cannot imagine all the ideas constantly swirling in my head for where to go with this story! And even the next installment! Whew!
I'm trying to regulate my schedule of writing but it seems I can only ever find the time to sit and write every few months, which is horrible! It's slowly killing me…which is why I'm back, all zombie-fied to write some chapters and come back to life!
Skiff Time: Two Hours
Riddick clenches his jaw as River's black panther thrashes in sleep. The woman in her merely clenches her jaw in sleep, seemingly used to the need for silence.
Riddick glances to the group of woman in the back of the skiff, all cuddled together and in a state of half awareness.
He moves slowly closer to his pet, conscious of the effect he'll have on his pack if he alerts them. He nearly freezes as he realizes the way his thoughts are going…his pack?
'You claim her, you claim them. It is what must be. Don't act too surprised, you've known you would claim your place as their alpha since you met her.'
Riddick growls in his head at the whispers of his hellhound.
River twitches in her sleep, he is refocused as he reaches for her good hand. He clenches his jaw as he tries to undo her tightly clenched fist, her nails digging in to her palm to draw rivulets of blood to the surface.
'Wa hua, I'm here. Relax, hellhound won't let no one hurt you.'
River's expression crosses from slightly tensed to terrified and Riddick scoots closer still, laying his forehead gently to her shoulder as he focuses his hellhound. He opens the connection their beasts share and images assault his mind, thoughts, River's internal screaming. He shifts through her mind, becoming submerged until he finds her subconscious dream world, he looks over her nightmares and feels his whole frame tense.
'Not real. They're not here. Come back to me wa hua. Step away from those dreams. Follow me, let me show you my dreams.'
River whimpers in her mind, the screaming stops as she tries to pull herself free from the blue hands, from images of death and experiments. She tries to extricate herself from visions of the raptors killing her pack, from images of Serenity being haled by Alliance and turned into mush by the newest blue hand recruits. In her dreams, Operatives destroy her home, in her nightmares everyone is killed and she must watch.
'They can't kill me River. And I won't let them kill our girls. If you think I'll let anyone get you away from me, you've lost the little sanity you've managed to find.'
Riddick clenches his jaw as he tries to summon River away from her nightmares. His hellhound pulls her black panther closer to him, projecting images that are nothing of the hell she is in now.
'Look how happy they are.' he whispers.
River's black panther stares at the sight of her girls together on the shores of a rim world. Riddick shows her the whole view, her beloved Serenity landed not too far away and the missing stars from their constellation walking to meet their women. She watches Riddick paint the picture of her pack together, watches him show them together, settled together under a shady oak tree as they watch over their pack.
'You have accepted them.' the black panther's voice drips with tenderness and River's face relaxes, her hand coming unclenched to turn into Riddick's.
'Don't act like you didn't know I would.' Though he growls it, the words are playful.
'We hoped. Will the Riddick stay?'
'Couldn't leave if I tried. Couldn't leave if you tried to make me. You had better realize wa hua, when I say you're mine I mean it. No way I can let you go now-no way I can let our girls go either.'
River's black panther purrs at his words and Riddick leans his head to nuzzle her neck, "Sleep peaceful with me. Let me show you my dreams."