XXIX.
Riddick was still occupied with plucking twigs out of Hope's hair when Aereon finally reached them. "You've got the wrong hairdo for stunts like that. Should have thought of that before." he teased her.
Hope wasn't amused. "Look who's talking! Very well to say that for you with your style of haircut. But you are right; it's impractical and that's why it comes off as soon as we are back on the ship. It has to get much shorter."
That let him pause for a moment. "You are kidding me, right? I won't let you chop off your hair."
"And you have a say in that because?" Hope wasn't sure if she liked his demeanor. 'He can't really believe he dictates everything now!'
As always he knew what was on her mind; he hadn't intended to annoy her. He took her chin in his hand and gave her a quick kiss. "Coz I love the feeling of it on my bare skin. And I intend to feel it a lot. And I want to see what it looks like after showing you…."
That got him a hit from her. "Hey, Aereon can hear you!" Hope whispered. Her face had turned beet red.
It was so easy to embarrass her. With an evil grin he continued "And I like to tousle it until you look like the crazy scientist you are." With a barking laughter he avoided the punch that was supposed to hit his chest. "I'm done with your hairdo. No more twigs in it."
Aereon had slowly approached them. She had been worried when Hope and Riddick tumbled down the gorge. Thankfully it wasn't too cliffy; nothing on her home planet was, but that accident could have made all her plans useless. Instead it had knocked sense in two of the most stubborn people she'd ever seen.
Furyans actually seemed to be as indestructible as legends told. Nobody else would have gone out of that completely unharmed. And not only they were unharmed, they were occupied with each other in a manner that assured Aereon that they would be very impatient to get back to the ship.
For a moment she smiled thankfully. Both of them more than deserved to be happy. Especially Riddick. Fate had done awfully wrong with him. She remembered the moment on the ship when she had tried to talk to him. She had told him that the universe always looks for balance. That everything would turn out right for him. She had told him that he was worth being loved. She still could hear him. 'Love?' he had snorted. 'I don't even know what love is. Never been introduced. Mind your own business, Elemental.'
And he still blamed himself for that woman's - Kate's - death although it hasn't been his fault. She had to trust in Hope that she was able to finally free his soul. She held up her hand, blew softly at it. And smiled. The odds were good.
She knew she would have a hard time to keep them on track now and she was totally aware of the fact that she couldn't count on Hope's help this time. Even though she understood them they first had to agree to her plan before she could let them leave.
All along the remaining way Hope couldn't get that smile off her face. The landscape still was beautiful but it had lost some of its appeal. Riddick had kissed her! She still could feel his lips on hers. She had dreamed of that for a long time but had given up the hope that it ever would happen. It was unbelievable in her dreams but in reality it was even better. She'd never felt like that before. His touch had set her whole body on fire. His hands were calloused but had caressed her skin with delicate softness. And she knew she never would get enough of his lips. Soft and demanding at the same time. She involuntarily licked her bottom lip.
She wondered how his naked body would feel under her fingertips. How his skin would taste. How it would feel to … She crashed into a grinning Riddick.
"Hey, somebody at home in there? Wake up, sleeping beauty. We've arrived at Aereon's mysterious place." He didn't need to see her flushed face to know what she was thinking about, her scent already gave her away. It tortured him, called him. And his thoughts hadn't been so far apart from hers. Her lips were still slightly swollen from his kisses and he had to restrain himself not to crash his mouth on hers again and to continue where Aereon had interrupted them.
He fisted his hands and stepped back from her knowing he wouldn't be able to stop himself if he'd touch her now. His voice was even more husky than usual when he pointed at Aereon. "She's waiting for us."
Aereon had waited patiently for them at the entrance to the building. She had told them that in that building lots of artifacts were stored. It was like a gigantic museum of dead and nearly dead cultures. It was impressive, built of a white, glimmering stone. The stairs leading to the entrance were flanked with pillars, the entrance itself a big portal with thick wooden doors, decorated with the symbols of the four elements. The entrance-hall was big with a high ceiling. Sculptures lined the hallway that led inwards the building.
It was cool and silent inside. Hope shuddered but not because of the cold air. It felt as if the ghosts of uncountable fallen cultures lived there. It was sad and kind of eerie. Riddick had sensed her discomfort and laid his hand on the small of her back. Hope instantly felt better. Riddick close to her always seemed to have that effect.
They passed countless rooms on their way, each room filled with all kinds of objects until they reached a room in a side-wing of the building.
Aereon stood in the doorframe and looked at them. "In there," she explained "you'll find everything we could gather. You'll still find some artifacts on Furya but the most important things you'll find in here. Information about history, science, culture … nearly everything you can think of will be answered. However, information about the surviving Furyans you won't find. They are in a highly secure place and only Hope and I can open the vault; before bringing her to Aurelius I took her DNA and with that I encoded the lock.
Have a look, talk about it and then decide if you will enter into the heritage. I'll leave you alone for now and be back in a few hours." She stepped aside to let them enter the room and then turned around. She left them alone with the burden of a whole culture.
