AN: Recommended Soundtrack: Things we lost in the Fire, Bastille
4 – Recovery
Adria frowned when a snake like creature surfaced from the puddle, one of the jackals had been approaching, then a second one and finally a third. What the fuck was that? Adria clamped her hands over her mouth and stared in horror when the creature that had surfaced first, attacked the jackal and locked it's jaws in it's hind leg. Apparently the surfacing part of the scary creature's body hadn't been the head but rather the tail. A scorpion like tail for fuck's sake! It only took seconds before the jackal's muscles twitched one last time and the beast lay dead on the ground. The hunter had easily become prey…
Adria looked back in Riddick's direction and saw him turning around to face another of the scorpion-creatures. Oh holy shit! When the creature pounced, Riddick could stop it only shortly before it sunk it's teeth into his flesh by slamming a giant bone between them. Adria acted on pure instinct, calling to her Elemental-half and pulling the daggers from her back-harness. She went flying, severing the tail of the creature off it's body with one blade while the other sunk into the creature's flesh right behind his head where Adria assumed was the spine.
She missed… or rather the spine was not essential for the creature, because it was still alive. While it screamed in agony, the woman came to land next to Riddick, pulling him to his feet with her. "C'mon, let's go!" They only stopped, when they stepped out into the sun again.
"Fuck!", Adria screamed. "Are we on the menu of everything on this goddamn planet?!"
Now she was sure she heard Riddick chuckle. "Seems so, sweetheart." He was leaning against a rock, breathing heavily. By his stance Adria could tell he was in pain – and that badly.
"We need to find cover for the night, see that we get you back to strength…", she stated eventually and stepped next to her fellow castaway. "A nice, fancy hotel wouldn't be available, what do you think?"
ooo
Their hotel turned out to be a cave, or rather a former home in a cave like structure in what seemed to be a former settlement. Abandoned for decades if not centuries or longer. The carvings and cave paintings on the walls and the scattered bowls and mugs fit into that picture. Most of the old dishes were broken but some had remained intact. Could come in handy, Adria thought as she studied the paintings.
She turned abruptly when the massive granite block, that had marked the centre of the room only seconds before, crashed down on the ground behind her back. "Goddamnit, Riddick!", Adria exclaimed when she realized he had knocked the stone over. "A warning would have been nice!"
"No time for warnings, sweetheart", he simply stated before climbing up the last steps to where the block had crashed down over what seemed to have been some kind of a fireplace at some point.
Realization dawned in Adria. "You are planning to rest under that damn stone?", she asked disbelieving.
"Where else, darling? Need a place that's at least semi-safe. You can stay up there on the ledge, but I'd rather not try to climb up there right now." Riddick pointed at the ledge that circled the room a few meters above and lay in the shadow of the ceiling. True, it would be perfect for her to rest and still be covered by darkness, should she need to hide.
Shrugging Adria had to admit he had a point. "Well, then at least let me see if I have something to jumpstart your healing in here." She clipped the emergency pack from her harness and opened it. As small as it was it still contained some essentials that would help them to survive. Or in Riddick's case heal faster than he usually would.
"What are you? Some kind of boy scout?", he asked and leaned against the rock he had just wanted to vanish beneath.
Adria smiled. "Nah… not quite", she replied and pulled out a small zip bag about one square inch in size. "Old habits just die hard…" the young woman looked up at him. "Have you ever taken Zihx?"
Riddick shook his head. He had heard of the potent drug that would start healing major injuries within seconds and would accelerate one's healing ability but he had never gotten his hand on it. Damn, that would have come in handy sometimes. "That's some quite illegal stuff you have there", he pointed out as Adria handed him the small bag with the white powder in it.
She just smiled. "Doesn't mean you don't need it right now. It was a gift from Aereon. You need to pour it into your mouth… should start to work right away."
"What else do you have in your magic pack, sweetheart." He eyed the white powder warily before pouring it into his mouth. A strange sweet taste spread on his tongue immediately.
Her mood dropped. "Not as much as I'd like…", she answered. "No transmitter or anything to call for help. Just handful bags of Zihx, antiseptic salve and bandages for minor injuries, chemicals to decontaminate water and a sewing kit." It was frustrating. Had she planned this expedition better, they would not have travelled with the Necros alone but also an Elemental-guard… They would not be hiding in a goddamn cave…
"Better than nothing, sweetheart…" Riddick's voice slurred, making Adria look up at him. "Damn… that shit works fast…"
She was next to him a second later. "You should rest now. I'll keep an eye on the area as long as you are out…" He needed to get down under the stone by himself – what wouldn't be possible for long from now on – there was no way that Adria could get him into hiding, Riddick was far too heavy for her.
"Out…?", Riddick growled out while slipping under the rock. "For how long?"
Adria swallowed. "A day? Or two, possibly more…"
"What the…" He didn't finish. Riddick had fallen asleep the moment his body had touched the sandy ground.
"Crap…", Adria hissed pushed her hands into her hair. This was bad… this whole situation had gotten out of control…
ooo
Riddick dreamed. And if that wasn't unusual enough, it was the strangest dream he had ever had. It didn't take him long to realise he was in de midst of a vision. Shit… that explained the nausea that had gotten hold of him…
He stood in a giant ballroom, hidden behind the columns of an archway. On one side of the room a giant waterfall cascaded down from the ceiling into a pool and further down through the open railing of the balcony on the other side. A handful of steps beneath Riddick lay the dance floor, where people swayed to the sound of soft music. But what truly caught Riddick's eye was the couple at the other side of the room. Two thrones were positioned on a slightly raised platform at the pool. The male stood next to the throne, the female sat on, his hand resting on her shoulder as he watched the people move in front of them. The eyes of those two were what kept Riddick staring. Both had the same eyeshine as he himself and as his gaze wandered over the people in front of him, he became aware of the fact, that many of them shared the same trait.
"What the fuck…?", Riddick growled and turned abruptly when a female stepped next to him. A female, he knew very well by now. "What the hell is this and what am I doing here?!"
"Nice to see you too, Riddick", Shirah stated evenly and kept her gaze on the crowd. The petite female, he knew by now was a Furyan spirit, didn't look as if she was about to answer his question anytime soon.
"Listen, lady…", Riddick said shortly from loosing his temper. "…I've had my share of evasive females by now. Start talking or let me get back and out of this damn vision or dream or whatever this shit is!"
She just raised an eyebrow and turned towards Riddick, staring him in the eyes. "What do you think this is, boy?" She didn't give him the chance to answer before she went on – and by the way… he hated it when she called him a boy… he was thirty-one years old for God's sake! "This was Furya…" Shirah raised her arms, including everything in her gesture. "The royal house of the Furyan Regis-family."
The Furyan male frowned. "Regis-family? My ass…!" His gaze went back to the couple by the thrones. "You mean those two?"
"Exactly", Shirah stated. "Derrick and Elssbett of the royal house of the Dragos-Clan. They are the Alpha-pair that leads all Furyans." Her gaze too rested on the couple. A sad look had spread on her face. "They didn't survive the attack of the Necromongers… both died only weeks after this celebration…"
Riddick stood completely still as he took in the Regis-pair. The male was massive, about his own size, broad shouldered and had shaved his head but left a good week's growth of stubble on his face. He was a warrior that much Riddick could tell even if the male hadn't been clad in armour and carried a broadsword strapped to his back. The female on the other hand seemed petit compared to her mate. A mass of dark curls framed her face, tamed only by two thin ropes of what seemed to be gold. Her skin was slightly darker than her mate's but that only gave her appearance an exotic touch. It was her face that captured Riddick's attention completely. Her features bore an eerie familiarity… And there was the fact that she was heavily pregnant… Her gown couldn't hide the fact that she was about to give birth soon.
"Damn…", Riddick exclaimed quietly. It was like a block of ice had formed in his chest. This was simply impossible! A slight panic spread inside him. "Whose memory is this?" He turned to Shirah abruptly. "This is a memory, right?! Whose!"
The spirit just raised her gaze to his. "So, you have finally understood?", she murmured quietly.
Riddick had reached the end of his patience. There was only so much he could take from this female. Before he even had registered what he was doing, he had Shirah by her throat and pressed her against the pillar next to them. "Answer me!"
Surprise reached her eyes as she grabbed his wrist, trying to loosen his grip. "Not mine", she whispered and glanced past him to the entrance of the ballroom.
As Riddick followed her view he stopped dead in his tracks and let go of Shirah immediately. He recognised the female who now entered the ballroom right away. Never could he have mistaken her movements or the way her blond locks fell loosely over her shoulders, disregarding the dark eyes with the gleaming orbs in their centres. But those were about the only resemblances this Adria shared with the woman he had come to know.
She was practically glowing, wearing a gown similar to that of the Alpha-female. Not one of her Elemental cloaks or the battle-gear he had seen her wear frequently. Her hair was loose, except of the thin braids artfully worked into the mass of blond tresses. There were no weapons strapped to her back or thighs, just the flowing fabric of the dress on her body. And a male arm, wrapped around her back.
Riddick's gaze focused on the male next to Adria who had his arm wrapped possessively around her. She didn't seem to mind his presence for that matter. It was rather that she leaned into his touch. A heavy pang of jealousy echoed through Riddick's body unexpectedly. The male was tall too, with his hair cut military short, his eyes had the same glow as those of most of the other Furyans. He held himself like the high rank military he was, judging by his heavily decorated uniform and armour. "Who is he?", Riddick asked without looking at Shirah, who stood next to him again.
"Caden, Adria's mate."
The word mate made Riddick growl and the fact that Adria had wrapped one of her own arms around her swollen belly while the male swung her around on the dance floor, didn't make things any better. She too was expecting a child – and that soon. Love and happiness were practically radiating from her in waves. "What happened to him? To them?"
Shirah swallowed audibly. "Caden was not on the planet when the Necros attacked and you know what they did to Adria, as for her son… that is for her to tell…"
Riddick stared at the spirit. "Are you telling me he left his pregnant mate alone?"
But instead of answering him, the female was already fading. "It's time for you to wake up now, Riddick."
"What?! Are you fucking kiddin' me!? No!", Riddick called after her, but there was no use. Shirah was already gone and he too felt the world around him start to spin. God! How he hated those damn visions…
ooo
Adria was just returning from a little trip to the sulfur-ponds with a nice catch in her hands when she heard Riddick groan. Within seconds she had left the fish discarded on the floor and pushed against the granite block covering his den. That groan was the first sign of life he had shown since more than two days ago – what spoke of the severity of his injuries. She had actually tried to check his pulse more than once in the meantime – no easy task since she could hardly reach him with her fingertips.
It took her some minutes to shove the stone out of the way, even with Riddick's help from beneath it, and get him out from under there. He was leaning against the outside of the fireplace, stretching his stiff legs when she went to get some water for him from the ancient pitcher she had used to get the water from the scorpion-creatures-cave earlier. Something she hadn't looked forward to but that had become a necessary routine these last days.
"How long was I out?", she heard Riddick murmur behind her, his voice raspy from lack of use and liquids.
"A little more than two days…" Crouching down beside him and handing a smaller mug filled with water to Riddick she took in his injuries. The gash on his face had faded to a thin line. It was still slightly open but far away from the nasty cut it had been. As for his leg… they would have to remove the armour-splint to see how far the healing had progressed.
"So… sleeping beauty…", she started eventually, after Riddick had emptied two mugs of water. "How are you feeling? Shall we remove the splint and check your leg?"
Riddick just stared at her for some seconds. "I need to ask you something…", he finally said quietly, making her frown.
"Hmm?" Adria raised her eyebrows in question. "Well… shoot…"
It seemed to take him a moment to form his question or rather he debated if he really should ask – Adria couldn't say for sure. "What happened to your family… to your mate and your child?"
Every last bit of colour drained from Adria's face…
"I need a moment…", she breathed when she felt able to get up from her crouch and stumbled blindly out of the cave, hand pressed to her mouth…