Chapter 2

tabula rasa [ˈˌtäb(y)o͝olə ˈräzə]
NOUN
-an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate.
-the human mind, especially at birth, viewed as having no innate ideas.

She'd only meant to practice. And then Rick had come down to the cargo bay and filled the cavernous space with his presence, forcing her to adjust a leap to a fall and a roll she'd become so distracted.

Something about that gaze of his, like tarnished silver, edges of arousal in his thoughts as he watched her with her sword and axe. Polite inquiries, short conversation, and a touch of flirting, covered her disquiet and she'd begun another kata with her knives.

Her concentration required more effort with him watching, fragments of thought about her colored with desire and he'd gone before she had to break off the practice completely. She'd been right about his interest in blades though. Seeing her practice with her axe and sword practically had lust boiling off him until he got it under control.

Of course, he'd been unsettling her for days. Each morning she'd come out of her room to find him doing pullups in the door of what she guessed was his workshop. A semi-courteous grunt that might have been a good morning had been his greeting before he'd finished his set and changed his angle. Pushups afterwards, then something that looked like hanging sit-ups, his knees hooked over a bar attached in the doorway, at a nearly dizzying pace before he was done.

And all of this activity without a shirt. His muscles were…distracting to say the least. He barely seemed winded when he'd finished his exercises. The first time she'd simply stared. Not even Jayne had been this…defined.

And Jayne had hair, on his chest, on his arms, under his arms, legs, back, feet…everywhere really. It wasn't a bad thing but dark hair, matted with sweat against pale skin… Like a trained ape without the training (as Simon had once described Jayne). It wasn't a pleasing visual. Not in her eyes at least.

Rick had body hair, true, but he didn't look…hirsute. Somehow when Rick's skin became moist with sweat, to her eyes, he gleamed. The light scattering of hair on his chest darkened and led down his stomach as if to draw her eyes to his groin. It accentuated the definition of his muscles and more than once she'd gotten so distracted watching him she'd stood and stared.

And he was huge. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen muscles before. Again, Jayne, Mal, Wash, even Simon had gotten some bulk to his arms and shoulders. But Rick was so tall, taller than Jayne and Jayne had at least two inches on Mal, who wasn't exactly short himself. If Rick had been tall but skinny, she'd have no trouble keeping her composure. If he were short and muscular, again, no difficulties.

But Rick was tall, with the shoulder width and muscle to match his huge frame and moved fifty kilo crates as if they were a bag of flour. He wasn't thick about the waist either, that chest tapered down to lean hips and powerful legs without an ounce of fat. And he constantly walked around with most of his body exposed. If he wasn't shirtless he wore a what Jayne had called a tǔ lǎo mào undershirt. No sleeves, precious little shoulder, and a wide deep neck. It left half his chest, most of his shoulders and all of his arms uncovered.

Thank Buddha and Book's dear and fluffy Lord for the manners her mother had drilled into her from an early age. In the culture she'd been raised there was a proper response for everything. And thank them doubly for the skills she'd perfected at the Academy. If it weren't for that… Rick would have figured out long ago that he could fuck her silly and she'd be nothing but grateful (and begging for more) despite the formality of her language.

Riddick growled as he set the autopilot and left the bridge, heading straight for his quarters. He'd taken a teasing little witch as a passenger. Somehow, she knew just what buttons to push, what to say or do to make his diǎo behave like he was some rutting teenager. Her face was always perfectly innocent, except for a tiny little quiver in her lips. And her voice was sweet and soft. All it did was make him want to fuck her until she couldn't walk. Make her scream for him until her voice went hoarse with bliss.

Those manners of hers confounded him some. She was so polite. It was like everything he said or did was something she'd seen before. She always had a response, sometimes with a smile, occasionally a nod of her head, and she never smelt as if she was offended by anything he said. If he hadn't seen her practicing with those blades he might've made the mistake of thinking her a proper Core lady (or a Love-bot) who'd never had an honest emotion in her life.

But she wasn't. He hadn't. This girl, woman really, itched at him like a bug bite between his shoulder blades. Dark eyes, dark hair, pale skin and damn could she move. Even when he'd seen her practicing there was something more than a simple martial arts exercise. Everything about her…controlled.

That was the word. Control. As if every reaction, every word, each expression was calculated and assessed before initiating action. He'd never met anyone like that. Not outside of some really (did not bear mentioning in polite and even impolite company) screwed up environments.

He adjusted himself as he sat down to do the books. He didn't think it was completely deliberate. After all he'd started the game, watching her, teasing her with double meanings to his words and looking at her as if she was a particularly tasty sweetmeat. His own damn fault if he couldn't take what he dished out.

If she was obvious, swaying her hips deliberately, smelling like she was taunting him, walking around half dressed then he'd figure he was well within his rights to make a pass. But she didn't do any of those things. Rarely, he'd get a hint of her scent that suggested she was teasing him. Gently, turning his words back on him. But she wasn't acting like most of the women he knew.

He invaded her space, crowding her to the counter or through doorways, and she simply smiled up at him politely and excused herself as if she were at fault. He made remarks in a tone of voice that might have gotten him slapped in the face and she ignored the innuendo and simply responded to what he'd said. Now she could be completely innocent, not understanding the double-meaning in his words, but he didn't think that was it. Now and then her lips quivered as if restraining a smile. Or her heart would skip a beat before resuming its normal pace. Very rarely he'd inhale and catch the warm scent of desire.

Hell, half the reason he didn't take passengers much was he got bored of the women and he wanted to kill half the men. People just rubbed him the wrong way. All he wanted was a quick fuck and a good meal most of the time.

He groaned as scents crept under his door. His little passenger could cook, that was for damn sure. If she wasn't working with protein he'd have to let out the waist in his pants. But she could make even protein taste like Core food. She'd gone out before they left Eavesdown and brought back a box of what she called 'necessities for ship life'. He'd thought his nose would go into overload at the scent of the spices. He'd never eaten so well in his life. Not even when he'd been on the Necro ships.

Riddick growled and forced himself to work rather than sit at the galley table and watch her pretty little assmove around the kitchen. God fucking help him if she wore her gunbelt while she was cooking. He might as well just fall to his knees and surrender.

River concentrated on the meal she was cooking. Rick had almost fallen down in worship the first time she'd cooked for him. He'd taken one bite, gotten up and started going through the cabinets of the galley. Finally, he'd given in and asked her where she'd gotten real food. Apparently, he hadn't ever had a decent meal. She was no chef but during her crazy days she'd watched Kaylee, Jayne and Book. When she'd gotten her mind back, Kaylee and Jayne had taught her everything she needed to know about making protein taste decent. It took spices and some staples but now she could make good food out of almost anything.

When she'd smiled and told Rick to shut up and eat (phrased more politely of course) he'd done so with a willingness that told her no one had ever bothered to take care of him. When he'd devoured everything on his plate and all the leftovers he'd offered her a deal. She'd cook two meals out of three each day and he'd clean up after them. If she wanted to cook all the meals he'd clean up all the time.

"I'll keep cooking all the meals," She'd shaken her head, lips twitching humorously, and finished her own food. "I can't have the captain wasting away can I?"

She could have sworn she'd heard him growl but when she looked at him he'd just been grinning at her like New Years, Christmas and his birthday had come early. And she'd had the hope that she could sail with him comfortably until she found Serenity. Despite the teasing. With him, his thoughts didn't fly at her across the boat. For some reason his dreams never invaded hers and his emotions were kept tightly contained. It wasn't like Serenity where she could be so easily overwhelmed with what everyone else was feeling. Maybe he would actually enjoy her company beyond teasing and flirting. Maybe he could become a friend. Maybe she could relax a bit and not have to work so hard at keeping thoughts out the way she did with everyone else.

Of course, that had been one of the last times they'd had an accord. He'd done his best to get under her skin and she, with her advantages, had turned his game back on Rick. It hadn't even required her to work at it. She Read people all the time, the same way anyone did, body language, tone of voice, all the tiny variations in behavior most people had to work to see or understand. But she didn't have to concentrate or even really think about that. She didn't need to hear his thoughts, though that wasn't hard either, not when he thought of, or concentrated on, her. Not easy like some folks, but not overly difficult. All she had to do was watch him, let her brain work at its normal speed and then control her own reactions.

That was the hard part, and not always achievable. The man was disturbingly sexual. It was like watching a panther or some other feline predator walk through the ship. She could tell he didn't even think about it, his potential effect on her. This was how he was, how he always was. The teasing and veiled flirting were for her benefit but everything else was just his baseline. Disturbing, this unreasonable attraction. He would be so bad for her.

Morally she'd be in a tenuous position if she succumbed. What could be excused because of madness could not be overlooked when she was sane. Osiris had strict codes of conduct. And being his lover…she'd be tempted to throw away control, dive into emotions and sensation, discipline tossed by the wayside. Ignore all the courtesies and training and etiquette and be herself the way she'd been on Serenity. She couldn't of course. The cost would be too high when it ended.

If there was one thing she'd learned, one thing that remained true, regardless of where she was or who she associated with, it was that men didn't like her for very long. Men didn't like girls who could out do them. For all that Badger flirted, after a couple months she made him uncomfortable. Boys she'd known before the Academy hadn't even had the patience for a week of her company. Men she'd flirted with in bars during her time of sanity on Serenity had liked how she could move but didn't really want to talk to her. A warm body was all they wanted.

Jayne had liked her well enough but for all that Simon thought he'd been looking at her, she'd intimidated him. He would never have asked her out. And Mal…hadn't even seen her as an adult. Even when her sanity had been regained, Mal treated her as if she were still a child. Someone to be sent off to play when her presence grew to be too much. Her father was the same, not liking that his daughter exceeded him in every field. Simon had been the only exception to the rule.

River sighed and took a deep breath. Without the Academy training her, torturing her really, so that she could control her own physicality she'd have been sunk. Rick would have for sure won their little game. From the way he inhaled as he walked into a room she guessed his sense of smell was acute. She guessed he'd never been on the receiving end of anything like her training or he'd have realized what she was capable of long ago.

Finishing the meal was done on autopilot as she thought about Rick. Sooner or later she'd have to give him a reaction or get off the boat. Several months' worth of this had left her nerves stripped bare. It wasn't natural for anyone to control herself the way she did. And it wasn't healthy.

"Rick, dinner's ready," She called out quietly and began to pour them both some tea. He didn't care for coffee and water was for washing. They drank juice or tea with their meals generally. By the time she was done pouring he was sitting at the table, watching her with those dark silver eyes. Another thing that reminded her of a predator. But his eyes were honest at least. They didn't pretend they were harmless or innocent.

"You're from the Core, Osiris, right?" His conversation opener was direct and for once, not filled with innuendo.

River was surprised into a half smile, "Yes. I didn't realize you could tell from my accent." Since he was asking, she could relax her behavior slightly, indulge in a bit more expression. It wasn't strictly polite to do so unless a personal query had been made, expressing an interest in a genuine response.

He shrugged. "Most people probably couldn't. I got sensitive ears you could say." He studied her and River fought the urge to squirm under that penetrating gaze. "Guess Core ladies, they get all sortsa training in how to behave?"

"Lessons in etiquette, yes," She nodded. "The Core has rules for nearly every situation they can conceive of. No young person of good family would be allowed in society without being fully prepared. Osiris in particular is very strict about certain things." River nearly rolled her eyes in irritation and was surprised when he grinned, open and boyish.

"Guess you don't hold with that much?"

She shook her head and sighed, "Dì yù no. Though there are times it's…helpful." Then she had to grin herself at his expression. "Not used to women cursing?"

"Not used to curses in a Core accent," He retorted with a shake of his head. "Not used to Core passengers for that matter."

River shrugged and offered, "The happiest time of my life was the year and more I spent on an old Firefly. We went from Persephone to Haven and everywhere in between. Even made a stop on Ariel so our Companion could renew her license."

"Companion?" Rick looked at her thoughtfully. "Well that'd explain a lot. You apprentice to her?"

River couldn't help herself; she started laughing at the idea. Oops…she'd begun to treat him like a friend rather than an acquaintance. Better school her expression to polite incredulity, "Me? A Companion? Do I look like a Companion? Act like one?"

"Never met one, just figured they'd have training to be like you." Rick shrugged and she could see the irritation in his expression. "You don't react to anything."

River sighed and shook her head. "Trust me, if I was a Companion, I could have you panting after me. I could talk you into taking me straight to Sihnon and back without even batting my eyelashes." She smiled slightly. "You've never seen a Companion or you'd know I couldn't possibly be one. A Companion is... the most graceful, most beautiful, elegant person. The center of attention in every room. Always."

He stared at her, eyeing her up and down and nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm... Still can't see how you don't qualify."

River startled herself by blushing. The compliment was made even more sincere by his obvious lack of pretense. "Well thank you. But I promise you, the Companion I traveled with made me look like...a guttersnipe."

His slow smile was disturbingly erotic, like he was picturing her under him, writhing. "Sorry. Just don't see how that's possible."

"Cap'n Rick, are we stopping on Beaumonde?" The sweet question set his teeth on edge.

He'd thought they were actually communicating. Christ he'd gotten her to blush. Not with a salty or sexual remark, but a compliment. It hadn't been calculated to get a reaction, he'd meant it honestly enough. He'd teased her, flirted but it was more habit than a game at that point. They'd spent the meal talking, mostly about the ship she'd sailed on, the crew and how like a family they were. She'd laughed, been more open than all her time on the ship prior. There'd been things she hadn't said, he could tell where those secrets had been skipped over, but still. It had been the most enjoyable meal he'd spent with her.

Afterwards she'd shown him a capture of the crew, including the Companion, one Inara Serra. He'd whistled when he saw the Companion and commented that now he understood what she'd meant about Companions.

The Companion was...glossy. Slick. She looked perfect. Looked like if he touched her he'd mess her up and she'd spend the rest of the night fretting about her hair. She'd never blush or giggle (and look so surprised and chagrinned that she'd given in and laughed), or give him a look that said she knew what he was up to but she'd play with him anyway.

River had nodded and given him a tiny, cool, smile and retreated to her room. If looks could kill he'd be dead on the floor. Since that day she'd been scrupulously polite. It was like living with an icicle.

"Hadn't planned on it. Entire planet smells like furnace fumes," He told her flatly. "Why? You got business there?"

"I understand your reluctance to spend time in that atmosphere." Her nod couldn't have been more regal if she'd been the queen of Londinium complete with the fancy hat. "My business can wait until we reach a more... hospitable planet."

"We could stop on Victoria or Newhall," Riddick offered. "Either of those do? We're headed for Aberdeen. Newhall isn't much out of the way."

"No," She shook her head. "Aberdeen will do nicely thank you."

The growl that burst out of his throat had startled her into staring at him in shock. He'd stood up from his chair in a rush that tumbled the seat backwards, "What in the gorram hell'd I do to piss you off?"

Her face was almost expressionless, "You didn't do anything Rick." Her voice was perfectly level and polite. "I'm sorry I'm not playing your little game anymore. I thought this would be simpler for the both of us. I'll be departing on Aberdeen."

"My little game?" Riddick repeated coldly.

She nodded, moving mechanically about the kitchen, colder than any winter or machine he'd ever seen. "All your little remarks. Clever quips. Flirting. Trying to make me react. I'm sorry but I'm not going to play anymore." She looked at him, "That is why you agreed to take me as a passenger. So, you could see how easy it was to get under my skin. 'How fast can I make the Core girl blush and stammer? How easily can I get her heart to beat faster?' How quickly will she fall into bed with me?" Her smile was humorless. "Well you made me blush. And laugh. I'd just as soon skip the last challenge given your motives. So… you win. Game over."

"That wasn't why." He was still growling, the animal infuriated with her lack of understanding. "Yeah you made me curious. But that ain't why I took you on."

"You are lying," Her pretty face sneered the words and he nearly snarled at the accusation. "Don't insult my intelligence. You just wanted to see how long it would take before I broke."

"I took you on because I thought it'd be fun." He stalked towards her, cat-footed, "You weren't afraid of me. You know how rare that is? Most people take a look at me and they're quakin' in their boots."

Her expression was adorably confused. "Afraid? Of you?"

Now he was rolling his eyes, "Yes." He began to clean up the mess (not that she ever made much of one) from making the meal. Not that she ever left much of a mess really. "Most folks see my eyes and get just more than a little disturbed. Then there's the fact that I'm not exactly a social animal. You didn't seem to mind that. So I was curious how long before you did mind. Flirting with you to get a reaction yeah, wondered how you'd behave. But you just let everything roll off your back. It was tiān shā de frustrating as hell but it was fun too."

He threw the pans in the washer and retreated. "We'll be on Aberdeen in two days. Don't worry about cooking for me anymore." At least he'd gotten an honest reaction out of her, that chilly mask of manners had broken for a minute anyway.

River stared after him in confusion and wondered exactly what he meant when he said people were afraid of him. Granted he was abnormally strong, moved like a cat and just as quietly, and she was willing to bet he could see in the dark. He moved as if only using a quarter of his abilities, bored with the everyday. But plenty of people had surgically altered or upgraded their natural abilities. Unless you were a bèn dàn like kidnapping hill folk on Jiangyin there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Shéi zhī dào how many blighted fools he's dealt with." River ate her portion and placed his in a container to keep in cold storage. "But how anyone could be afraid of him?"

She was aware of the fact that she was talking to herself. But it was hardly as if Rick would pay any attention to her now. "Women overcome with lust, and men with jealousy, now that I can see. But it's hardly as if he's è guàn mǎn yíng."

She sighed and put her plate in the washer before retreating to her room.

Aberdeen was a pretty enough planet. Not as industrialized as Beaumonde but with fewer oceans than Newhall. But something about it made her skin crawl. Something was wrong. Very terribly wrong.

Rick was deliberately ignoring her as he set the cargo out for pickup. He dealt with his contact and watched as the man wheeled his crates away. When she lingered in the shadow of his ship he nearly snarled at her.

That more than anything pushed her to leave the comfort of The Cutter and walk towards the town past the docks.

She'd just passed a bar that smelt of day-old skunked ale and very questionable whiskey, ignoring the catcalls she received, when the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

The Purplebellies at the end of the street weren't unusual but the way they stood set her instincts screaming. A casual scan of their minds showed her that they were awaiting orders. Orders from the men with the blue body armor. Blue Sun's special operations team. Contract killers, wetworks specialists, retrieval experts.

Casually examining the goods at a street-stall and buying several used books was an excellent way to look around and change direction. A stop in another shop to pick up more spices and supplies, secreting them away in her bags gave her a good look at the opposite end of the thoroughfare. Another gathering of Purplebellies there.

And almost dead center between them, The Cutter. River began to walk purposefully back to the ship, her mind open for the dead almost blank feeling of the Blue Hands.

She was nearly at the ship's berth when she felt them and it was all she could do to keep moving through the terror that gripped her. Rick sneered when she stumbled up the ramp, "What'd you forget?"

Courtesy, etiquette, social codes…every standard of behavior failed her. "Feds, Purplebellies, Blue Hands," River grabbed hold of his wrist. "We have to go. We have to leave. Now. Please Rick. They'll take me back. I can't go back."

To her surprise, Rick seemed just as alarmed, shaking off her grip like she was a kitten playing and hitting the controls to shut the ramp. "What would they want with you? They'll take me back to Slamcity." He growled at her. "Get to the upper deck and strap in. We're out of here in less than five minutes."

She was shaking but she managed to do what he said. Bypassing his keycode and getting onto the bridge was child's play, though it was a very nicely complex algorithm, and she was warming up the engines when she heard him cursing from the stairs. "Gorramit woman, the rules didn't change just 'cause you got off the boat and back on again."

He slammed onto the bridge and into the pilot's chair, taking over the sequence without missing a beat. "Get on the stick and start overriding the tā mā de dock controls," He snarled as the screens flashed the landlock alarms. "You got by my codes you can get by theirs."

"Easy as cake." Her hands danced over the panel and keyboard as she husked the cortex feed to the harbormaster and overrode the lockdown the authorities had initiated. "We are free to fly."

"We're gone." Rick lifted them up and shot them out of atmo slick as she'd ever seen Wash fly. As the atmosphere buffeted them his arms bulged with tension, fighting the pressure of the changes around the ship. Her strength was near nothing compared to his but she could at least key extra burn to the engines to offset the backflow.

Finally, they were away from Aberdeen and Rick turned a hard gaze on her, silver darkened to iron. "I think it's time we had a talk. Don't you?"

River sighed and nodded. "I agree." She walked into the galley and began to make tea, setting out the cups and boiling the precious water. This would not be an easy conversation. At least she could have tea. Rick stared at her as he walked down the few steps from the bridge into the galley.

"So why are you scared of Purplebellies?"

He hadn't expected to see her again ever, much less half an hour after she'd left. And he might have told her to take a flying leap if it hadn't been for her scent. Absolute terror and truth made for a heady mix in his nose. What she'd said shot him into action like lightning, overriding the safeties to slam the ramp shut and seal as he ran for the bridge. He didn't know what Blue Hands meant but Purplebellies and Feds were a definite problem.

Finding her inside, warming the engines and starting the launch sequence had been a bit of a shock but she ignored his snarl and followed instructions like a seasoned professional. He couldn't follow everything she was doing on the cortex but he could figure enough to know she was hiding their movements and disguising the ship's signature, at least temporarily.

He'd half expected her terror to compromise her reason but she'd smelt of steel and icy control and didn't quail when he finally questioned her. "So why are you scared of Purplebellies?"

She was cupping her tea as if to warm her hands and met his gaze without any of the fear any other woman would have felt. He was a predator and acted like one but this woman didn't seem to think he was anything out of the ordinary. Her voice held a tremor but she wasn't afraid of him, "When I was fourteen I was sent to a government sponsored academy. My intelligence is such that normal schools weren't a challenge and I needed to be challenged." Dark eyes stared into his as she spoke, "The Academy was an…installation of Blue Sun, under the Parliament's direction, and they were interested in turning people of higher intelligence into psychics. They failed, over and over, but with me, they finally succeeded."

"You're psychic," He repeated warily. She didn't act like the freakish Necro Greater Quasi (un)Dead, if she'd read his mind at all it didn't feel like knives to the brain the way they did. "What's that mean, exactly?"

"They turned me into what my old Captain referred to as a Reader." She replied patiently. "I hear thoughts, feel strong emotions, occasionally I foresee events. When I first…gained the ability, I was unstable. I was sane but it was like living in a wind tunnel with constant input and no way to block it out. Then I heard something in someone's mind that drove me insane. At least for a time."

"You haven't been listening to my mind or you'd be nuts again," He commented with a grim chuckle.

"Your mind is actually…calming. You think of yourself as a predator, an animal…" She tilted her head, studying him. "I don't know if there's any truth to that but your mind isn't like other people's. The clearest Reads I get of you are when you're focused on me or when you're more emotional. You're very…regimented? Controlled. Your thoughts don't fly at me across the ship, don't overwhelm me. Not even your dreams. I don't know why though."

"Because that's what I am," He shrugged. It wasn't considered a compliment when he heard it from mercs and feds. But he'd accepted that even a broken clock could be right twice a day. Not that he thought it was a bad thing anymore. That time had long since passed. Weird that she didn't seem bothered by it, civilized Core woman like her.

She sighed, "Blue Sun wants me back. My brother brought me back to Osiris once I was completely stable." She sipped the tea, considering. "I have no doubt he believed any danger had passed with the Miranda wave but…obviously not. Foolish of him but he hasn't ever been very practical unless circumstances forced such upon him. He's improved but... Blue Sun…they're tenacious. They've either been following you or following me. Either way, we'll have to do something about it. I'd hoped I'd have more time."

"How'd you get away from them in the first place if you were crazy?" Riddick considered her thoughtfully. "And why would you go back to the Core if that's where you were from? First place they'd look."

"My brother, Simon, he got me out," One slender shoulder lifted in an elegant half shrug. "Smuggled me off Persephone in a cryo container." Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the memory. "We sailed on that old Firefly I mentioned for almost a year. Blue Sun never stopped hunting me. And one day the government decided the hunt had gone on long enough and they activated one of their Operatives."

"That is…trouble the likes of which very few have known and lived to tell," Riddick remarked slowly. "Although that still don't explain why you ended up back on Osiris."

"The Miranda Wave… that was what I'd heard, the secret that drove me insane," Dark eyes were hard with old memories. "The details don't matter. Once we got the secret out, everyone thought the hunters would stop. And they did, for a while."

"You leave to keep the hunters off your old boat?" He didn't care for the idea that she'd led them to his ship, and him.

"No," River sighed. "There was a gun hand on Serenity. He was uncouth, rough, violent…but he and I became friends. The two most violent people on the boat. Both dangerous in a way no one else really was. Trained killers, not soldiers. My brother found that unsettling. So… he took me away. Brought me 'home' to our parents. Where I could be 'cared for' and 'protected'. I was eighteen nearly nineteen then. It took me a year to convince my parents that I was stable, that I wouldn't bring shame to our family if I went out in public or society. That was oh so important, but once they were convinced, my father gave me control of the money that was mine. After that…" She shrugged again, "I knew how to disappear without funds. With money, it was so much easier."

"They try to take you again while you were home?" She wasn't lying, but he got the feeling there was more to this story.

"No," She shook her head. "But I couldn't stay there for long. The Border and the Rim might not have all the niceties of the Core but there aren't nearly as many cameras or Feds."

"You got money, why not just buy yourself some big place and enjoy it," Riddick couldn't figure out why she was taking ship with him.

"You want to know why I sailed with you, why I'm headed to the Rim instead of staying on some estate on the Border planets," River half smiled at him.

"Yeah, gotta admit it's a point of curiosity," He shrugged. One of his most besetting sins, curiosity, he tried to indulge in it whenever he could.

"Looking for Serenity," She smiled slightly. "They do business on the Border and Rim more than the Core."

"So, you're trying to get in touch with your old crew." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "They know you're looking?"

"No," Dark eyes were as melancholy as her scent. "Not even sure if I'd be welcomed back. I could pilot the ship, but they didn't really need me except as an extra pair of hands."

"Explains how you got us off the ground so quick," He nodded.

Author's Note: Soo… Exchanging histories… What do you think his would be like? I hope you're enjoying this, it's something different for me. No love at first sight and no immediate understanding of each other. Let me know what you think. I should be posting every couple weeks.

Chinese Translations:

tǔ lǎo mào (hillbilly / yokel / redneck / bumpkin)

diǎo (cock)

Dì yù (hell)

tiān shā de (Goddam! / goddamn / wretched)

bèn dàn (fool / idiot)

Shéi zhī dào (God knows...)

è guàn mǎn yíng (lit. strung through and filled with evil (idiom); filled with extreme evil / replete with vice / guilty of monstrous crimes)

tā mā de (fucking)