Julian Carax: Thanks :D
Celticicegoddess: Hope your story is coming along well :D and that my pm helped.
Hotagainstawall: LOL girlie…hope this makes you happy too. Good luck with the story can't wait to read it!
Mononokewarrior: Thanks :D…the effort require to repress my inner fangirl and restrain the urge for vows of loyalty and devotion has been exhausting lol. Glad it's worth it
Sabrina1204: I know poor Simon… I've tried to be nice to him… he's just such a boob. You'll see in Shindig a shift of Kaylee's attentions. I saw the opportunity and I dove in head first, hopefully it doesn't seem weird. K/J is weird for me 'cause before R/R I was strictly a Rayne shipper. But what the hell right? I did push off the heavier interlude for now; this one focuses on moving them from a tentative understanding to an uneasy one. Hope you enjoy. Much luv momma and thanks for support :D
ArtLightLove: Never apologize for opinions lol. I took your criticism in the spirit in which it was given and gave it some serious thought. Giving Riddick a southern drawl wasn't the original attention, I was going for more of a Rim World slang, but as my boyfriend pointed out as well though Riddick was educated in the penal system he is generally well spoken and I made a point of mentioning he read a lot when he was alone out in the black. As for the use of the word mayhap… it's more of a my word thing than a regional word. For some odd reason I get stuck on words like mayhap and phrases like by the by, not just in my stories but in real life as well. I will attempt to tone it down a bit. :D thanks ever so much for your honest and kind review. Hope you enjoy.
Chibiboku: :D thanks much!
On a side note, still on the hunt for a Beta.
For an author's note: I really hope you guys like this one, it took forever to write but I think it flows well from where we left off our psychotic deadly duo at the end of Bushwhacked.
That being said…. Ain't anyone of the characters mine….neither is most of the dialogue, however there is creative rearrangement and hopefully a smattering of witty dialogue which is mine… for which I still ain't makin' a gorraam cred.
Riddick sat alone in the semi darkness of the common room. Serenity was well into her night cycle and the only distinct noises were the quiet hum of her engines and the faint heartbeats of the crew. When he was young he didn't realize he was so different from the other kids in the home; he thought that his senses were the standard human package. They were instinctive, one never overly thought on their instincts. It wasn't until he got a bit older and The Company noticed his special talents that he realized he was different. They'd talked to him about evolution and modified genetics thanks to terraforming and he bought it; hell everybody had bought it.
And then a naked crazy girl pops out of a box and calls him Furyan and the nightmares he suffered from as a kid come back stronger and more vivid than ever. He'd done a bit of research on 'Furyan' in the Cortex and there wasn't much; no answers just more questions. The Cortex listed Furyans as an extinct sub human race; the docs had been right about terraforming gases affecting the DNA of settlers, but that was about it. Their home world of Fury had been destroyed and left uninhabitable after some kind of war or something; some two decades before the formation of the Alliance, and that was it. Less than two paragraphs to sum up an entire race's history and within those two paragraphs it was nothing but generic copy and paste text. No details on the actually genetic mutation, on the war, the population, the culture or even the gorraam terrain.
He hated being fucking idle; idleness left you nothing but time to think, and thinking on the shit he was, wasn't getting him anywhere; except pissed, and right quick too. What in the gorraam hell was he doing sitting in the dark anyway? He was waiting and he didn't want to admit it, but he was. He'd been up for hours and usually Crazy would have put in her appearance by now. That was kinda pissin' him off too.
It didn't make any kinda sense at all; that he was pissed because Crazy wasn't up to aggravate and annoy him. Among the myriad of other things he didn't want to admit to himself was the plain and simple fact he'd gotten used to the girl following him around, used to the way that she talked, and even worse that he was beginning to like listening to her nonsense; which really wasn't nonsense when you started to pay attention. You just had to learn to break down her sentences and decipher the separate parts, and usually the harder it was to figure out the more shit they were in. Go fuckin' figure.
He could smell her too which wasn't helping matters; her scent was everywhere; fucking recycled air. In the bay, the engine room, the common areas, even in his own bunk, the faint trace of her coated everything; burnt sage and something infinitely more brittle that he could not name. The fragility of it alone should not have allowed it to linger; but there it was; more distinct to him them any other; and here he was, inhaling it like a goddamn junkie scraping his bags clean 'til he could get the fresh hit. He wasn't sure what it was that fascinated him so much about the girl; but he was undeniably so, ever since the moment she'd popped outta that box.
Then she'd started on about the secrets, wasn't anything he liked better than secrets, secrets were power; they were also a death sentence, depending on whose you held. There was that little genius brain of hers too, something was special about that girl. She'd felt the Reavers coming before they even show'd up on the scanners, felt Crow and his boys coming before he'd smelt them, knew that kid they yanked off the ship was completely fucked before they even found him, even knew about that goddamn prick Harkin on their tails, and just what the fuck was the incident right before he'd choked out her brother, where she started talking all crazy in different voices? That kind of secret could be useful; real fucking useful, if only she could get her brain straight enough to make sense of it all.
Sooner or later he'd be jumping ship again, he knew that; was only a matter of time. Be real useful to have the girl along, she'd know which rocks were safe, which jobs were solid, and who was just itchin' to be paid by trying to nab his ass. Girl already had sixteen kills under her belt to, the first with a fucking pen, yet another skill of hers he found incredibly useful; a little bit of a turn on to the more he thought about it.
He wanted to see it though; girl moved like a fighter. He'd been watching her real close as of late, and she moved just like her name implied; like liquid. Every step was fluid and graceful; every movement flowed into the next without hesitation. Well unless she was having a spell, but even then he could see it; it just wasn't a smoothly following river anymore, was more like water moving over rapids then; jagged and violent. Absently he mulled over her possible styles, probably some kind of kung fu kick boxing hybrid, something with a lot of kicks and spins. She was a tiny little thing after all; she'd need to rely on speed and momentum. They were the trickiest fucks to fight, them tiny quick ones. You'd think you got a good hold on them and they'd slip right out and drop your ass before you could blink.
Riddick had also noticed the way her eyes never missed anything, he wondered if they had been hoping to use her for recon, either that or the quiet kills; assassinations that looked like suicides and accidents, or public ones meant to make a statement but never be traced. Girl would have been ideal for that kinda shit. She was unassuming and nonthreatening; hell he woulda look right past her if even if she had been sitting in a dark alleyway with a gorraam rifle strapped to her back.
The more he thought about it the more the idea of taking her along pleased him. He was sure her brother wouldn't let her go without a fight though. That would be an issue. He wondered if he could kill him and get away with it if it came down to it. Girl prob'ly wouldn't like it much though; she'd stopped him from killing him once. Which brought up another matter entirely; why the fuck did he stop when she'd asked? Jack didn't even have that kind of effect on him. She begged him to not kill that dock worker; but he'd seen that look of recognition in his eyes. Boy had sealed his own fate. Riddick withdrew his boot shiv and the whetstone from his pocket; it didn't need to be sharpened, but the repetitive motion was familiar and soothing to his running mind; the shriek of metal comforting. Better than sitting in the fucking dark waiting on the girl like a gorraam stalker.
What was it about the fucking girl besides that smell and the secrets? Girl was cute, wasn't no denying that, he'd seen her naked; though the effect was lost a bit once she started screaming. She wasn't afraid of him either. Jack hadn't been afraid, but her trust had been blind hero worship; he wasn't an idiot, he knew that. Jack had no idea what he was really capable of, another reason he'd left her when he did; he didn't want to see her face when she found out.
River-girl on the other hand, she knew it all, and apparently more than he did. Girl had literally stared right into his darkness, felt that thing which crawled beneath his skin, and still she was not afraid. That was something he thought. She called him shi li (strength), and he had to admit his ego kinda appreciated that. He'd been called a lotta things, strength was never one of them. Kinda made him like the rock to the river; sure a small enough rock would get tossed around and carried away by her, but a big enough rock; a boulder, could force the path of the River in the direction he wanted it.
He paused mid pass across the whetstone; a sudden smirk spreading across his face. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get the girl to jump ship, but was that what she meant by it? Did she really think he could control the flow of the River? And if that were the case, could he really? Did he really want to? If he could teach her to focus it there wouldn't be a power in the 'verse that could stop them, and that idea was all sorts of interesting. It couldn't be any more different then teaching himself to use his senses.
"The River is not the only variable in the equation to be affected." Riddick repressed the urge to growl; he been so caught up in his own head he'd stopped paying attention to what was going on around him and that was unacceptable. "The River smooths the Rock as time passes," she continued as she entered the common room and curled herself up on the opposite end of the couch. "He learns grace and humility as she moves around him, through him. Stone is porous, he may guide her but he is shaped by her, he absorbs her."
A part of him told him he should be pissed or at least embarrassed that she had caught his thoughts, but he wasn't; wasn't no changing the fact she was a reader; just accept it and move on, use it to your advantage.
"They all want to use her." She said sadly.
"Ain't how I was thinking it," He defended.
"Wasn't it?" She asked. There was no hurt in her voice. The question was vague and opened ended, an accusation and an acknowledgement of the truth. He had been thinking along those lines, all the things she could do for him.
Riddick choose to ignore it. "You're late."
"He was waiting."
"So?" Wasn't any real point in lying to her, she'd see the truth in his head anyway.
"His assumption is correct; we are beyond petty concealment and half formed truths. We have discussed this already. Repetition is irksome." She yawned and rubbed her temples.
"Didn't say it aloud girl, not my fault you read it twice outta my head."
"It is sometimes difficult to decipher spoken thought from thought thought."
Riddick focused on her for the first time since she had come strolling in. Her eyes were puffy and swollen with dark purple bruises beneath them and her hands trembled as she ran them through her hair. "Nightmares?" He asked.
"It is inconsequential."
"If you say so." He shrugged as he put down the shiv he had been working on and leaned back.
They sat in silence for awhile, it was not uncomfortable; in fact it was decidedly the opposite. Riddick visibly relaxed and pushed up his goggles. He had his boots propped up on the table and rested his head against the couch; his eyes closed as he inhaled deeply through his nose. In the company of others he would never had let down his guard; having River around lessened his need to do so, girl felt trouble coming long before he could sense it anyhow. River soaked up his ease and let it wash over her; after awhile the trembling of her hands ceased and the last vestiges of her dreams dissipated. She hummed softly as she idly braided and unbraided her hair.
Neither felt compelled to speak; the quiet acceptance of one another for what they were was enough. She was a slightly psychotic reader; he did not try to conceal his thoughts nor apologize for what they were; he did not dismiss her ramblings, though his interpretation was often wrong, he validated them none the less. He was a sociopathic convict; she was not afraid, she was not suspicious; his past meant nothing to her, she knew the truth; concealment and evasiveness were not necessary. There was nothing for him to hide from her, she knew it all already.
"Five minutes, forty three seconds, aim for the man in green." River said absently as she rose and turned to her dorm.
Riddick quirked an eyebrow at her turned back, but she made no further comment. Less than a minute later a familiar thud echoed through the ship as Serenity shifted into her day cycle.
*0*
"What the hell was that for?" Mal demanded when the dust settled. "We got our coin, deal was done."
Riddick toed over the dead body of a man wearing a dusty green button up. The minute he'd seen the shirt he'd started counting. Exactly five minutes and forty three seconds later he fired. It started a hell of a shoot out that was for sure; six men were dead and Jayne was cussing up a shit storm over a graze he'd taken to his leg. He leaned down and ripped open the button up, a smug smirk spread across his face. "Deal was a set up Mal."
"What?"
Zoe was already crouching down beside Riddick. "Alliance issued body armor." She confirmed.
"What's that in his hand?" Jayne had stopped swearing long enough to ask the question.
Zoe unfurled the man's fist. "It's a tracer."
The foursome were back on their feet and on their guard once more in less than a breath.
"He get a chance to activate it?" Mal asked through gritted teeth as his eyes scanned the horizon.
"Woulda been on us by now if he did," Riddick rumbled.
"Looks like Riddick took him out right before he got the chance." Zoe said.
"Back to the ship," Mal ordered. "Zoe you get on the horn and have them fire her up, I ain't waitin' to find out."
"How in the gorraam hell did you see 'im pull that thing?" Jayne asked. "You wasn't even lookin'. Ya just spun and shot."
"Had a feeling is all." Riddick answered without elaboration.
"You get any more of them feelin's you go right on ahead and act on 'em." Mal said as they climbed aboard the mule.
*0*
Riddick followed Jayne into the Infirmary, not out of any real concern for the merc, but cause he knew that's where Crazy would be. He was disappointed. "Where's the Crazy bit at Doc?" He asked offhandedly as he feigned interested in a few instruments lying out on the counter.
"Today's a bad day, she's resting. Not that it's any concern of yours." Simon answered.
Riddick shot the doctor a look; much of its effect was lost behind the goggles, but he took the hint and went to work on Jayne's leg.
"Can't blame this one on the Captain Cobb," Riddick chuckled as he exited, "I told your ass to get down."
"The hell I can't, he's the ruttin' ben dan (idiot) who made the deal." Jayne shot back.
*0*
"You always see the future?" Riddick asked without looking up from his magazine as River entered the common room. He had smelt her coming this time; though the fact he couldn't hear her steps was still a bit of a sore spot for him. Girl's heartbeat was louder than her gorraam foot step.
"No. It is inconsistent." She shook her head and puddled into a cross legged position in front of him on the small table.
He looked up from the gun magazine. "Then what was this morning about? Guess I don't have to tell you what happened."
"The Captain had made his deal previously, nothing changed the fact he made it with one of them." She spat out the last word as if it was dirty; and quite honestly Riddick agreed with the sentiment. "It was inevitable, she foresaw nothing; she calculated the probability."
"Is that what it was?" He arched his eyebrow skeptically.
"There was a possibility it would have been the man in brown." She shrugged. "However the statistical probability of a wearer of brown being a lead man is significantly less than that of a man in green."
"That so?"
"Quite."
"Huh."
"There is no need to thank her." She said with bitter sarcasm.
Riddick chuckled, but offered no verbal acknowledgment of gratitude. River scowled at him. "Face'll get stuck like that." He said causally as he went back to his magazine.
"Despite the common held belief it is a physical impossibility." She huffed.
"If you say so," he answered with poorly concealed humor.
"You are irritating this evening." She said flatly.
"And you are generally so on a daily basis, don't see why you're complaining."
River crossed her arms and stared at him petulantly.
"Need something girl?" He asked after a few moments of her staring.
"He is ungrateful."
Riddick smirked as he tossed down his magazine and leaned himself forward so their faces were less than a foot apart. "Not in the least."
"He is being combative."
"Not in the least." His smirk grew. "For once."
River tilted her head to the side and studied him. "He is waiting. He is waiting for her to tell him why it was a bad day. He thinks it means something is coming."
"Well?" He waited.
"Not what he thinks." She shook her head.
"Then?" He waited for her to elaborate.
"He tried a new medicine today," she paused and pulled at her hands, her eyes everywhere but his.
"And?"
"It was not successful."
"You need meds girl? You really crazy or are you just confused? 'Cause see I'm thinking you just might not be as crazy as everybody thinks. I think you know exactly what's going on. I think it's just too much to think about. I think it doesn't all fit so it gets all confused and when it gets confused it shorts you out. 'Cause at night, when it's just you and me there ain't no spells or gibberish. It's when everybody else's heads get in the mix that things get all muddled."
"She doesn't know."
"That's bullshit River." He said with a smile as he leaned back. "I think you're just too scared to try to control it. Being crazy is easier, it's safer, nobody pays no mind to the crazy girl in the corner, she makes them uncomfortable."
"You speak like you know truths, but you don't!" River snapped violently. The change in her personality so abrupt Riddick was actually startled by it. "He doesn't even know himself, how can he know her? Won't face his own past, how dare he make her face hers! He runs, he runs just as she runs but he looks to her to keep from looking at himself!" She scoffed at him and rose from her perch on the table. "He wants her for himself just like the rest! Wants to make her sing and dance for him." Her eyes locked cruelly onto his. "I see your sins Richard B. Riddick, shall I name them?"
"Know them just as well as you do girl, I lived them." He said easily; unfazed by her outburst. She was infuriated by his apathy. "You're the one that wanted me to see River," he said as he rose and walked past her. "Can't get pissed that I'm starting to." He paused in the doorway to the dorms, "For what's its worth I don't think you need the meds, I think you're stronger than that. How many came before you at the Academy girl? How many were left alive at the end? You're like me; a survivor, ain't meant to run."
Endnote: Hope I didn't screw it up. The interludes are difficult to write. I honestly thought writing River in them would be easier for me than Riddick, but it turns out to be the exact opposite. I really like this version of him; this Riddick is actually making an attempt to rejoin the human race. The events of T2 had a profound effect on this man. Anyhoos Shindig is pretty much completed just need to run the final edit on it so hopefully you'll see it in the next few hours, the east coast is buried under snow so I'm trapped in doors anyhow. Much luv ya'll
Til After Now.