Poise

Min explained briefly what her experience with the first captain told her. He could still understand Furyan, so he probably had sidestepped the cleansing as well. The rest was cover, since he knew about the moles he must know more. After that she faded in and out all day. She was always surprised to wake up and see Riddick there.

"Don't you have things to do?" She would ask him every time she faded back.

"Just gotta make sure you don't fall down and hurt yourself again." He would reply dryly.

She wasn't sure if she was annoyed or flattered. But the voices in her head had hardly any time to argue the subject, as she would fade away again. It had been a day and a half since the first captain had made his point, and she had some catching up on sleep to do.

Once she woke up to the smell of steak...and a cup of hot soup on the table next to her. "You're a sadist," she told him.

"Probably."

At least Nor would have a good meal, she thought.

Once she woke up hearing Riddick giving some orders, but they didn't make any sense to her so she figured she was still sleeping. Why would he need a seamstress?

Finally she woke to Riddick shaking her shoulder. "It's time," was all he said in his 'no-nonsense from you' tone of voice. Min tried to sit up on her own and discovered the muscles around her ribs had mutinied. Riddick stood above her watching.

"You're gonna make me ask, aren't you?"

"You gonna ask?" He asked in that slightly mocking tone he used a lot with her.

"I haven't decided yet. How 'bout I just lie here and think about it?"

But Riddick reached down and hauled her up by her good arm while she gritted her teeth and tried not to make any embarrassing noise, like screaming.

"Why does it hurt more now?" She asked rhetorically. Okay, she whined rhetorically. She could face the fact that she had never been hurt this badly her whole life. Killing her mother hadn't been a fight, it had been easy...physically. This was just a slight miscalculation from her lack of experience; Ferrin had told her to practice more.

Slight?

"Because the adrenaline has leeched out of your system," he answered her. "Don't worry, you'll get a boost with the nano-juice."

Min teetered while the blood in her body rushed to her feet, then rushed upwards making her head feel too big. Oh yeah, she fell face first into the com-unit. Forgot about that did you?

Go away.

"Can you walk all the way up there or do I have to order you a stretcher?" Goody, the challenge voice.

Min turned her back on Riddick to walk around the little table. Okay, everything's working.

"Got it."

"Ready for the mythology?" Now there was a new voice. Pleased with himself? Huh.

Min turned slowly, not able to twist her torso but having to shuffle her feet around 90 degrees. Riddick was holding up a hooded cape fashioned similarly to his, but Min sized. Min's eyebrows went up in surprise. She'd been letting her face show her feelings around him more and more... well, some feelings, anyway. Surprise was safe.

"The future Lord Marshal can't be seen walking around in anything not perfectly tailored..."

Ah, mockery again, okay. That was safe too.

"...Or with the shiner you've got."

Practical.

Considerate, the voice amended.

Whose side are you on? I thought you didn't like him.

"You didn't bring the seamstress here did you?" Min didn't want to be seen by anyone in this condition.

Riddick just did that other thing he did with his head, the one that said, 'you're the crazy one, not me, what kind of idiot do I look like?' And she realized that her measurements were known, even if she didn't go every week for new attire.

"Sorry," she waved off her last comment.

He tossed her the cloak and she caught it with a groan. Sadist, she thought again for the umpteenth time. He donned his and she put hers on more slowly.

Poise, Min, she told herself.

The walk up was longer and slower than the one down. Elevators were for freight and speed. Lords and Ladies tended to walk up and down the long, gently graded ramps that offered the best views, of the architecture... and themselves. It would gain more attention to see them step onto an elevator than the mere countenance of the Lord Marshal and his smaller doppelganger.

The future Lord Marshal, she thought to herself.

You're insane, have I mentioned that?

Once or twice.

At the med-lab Riddick ordered the night crew out. Min suddenly felt unsure. She'd never had nano injections before. Did Riddick really know how to operate the machinery? Then she pictured him doing that head cock and 'do I look like an idiot' face and decided not to ask.

He worked quickly and efficiently without a word so Min just closed her eyes when the needles came at her. It wasn't as bad as she feared. But afterwards she still felt pretty sore. Riddick noticed the look on her face before she could ask the question.

"Cures the hurt, leaves the pain."

"Oh." she could live with that. She climbed more steadily out of the reclined chair than she had gotten into. Yes, she could live with that. Riddick was waiting by the door.

"The future Lord Marshal thanks you," she told him as she tipped up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He turned his head slightly into her but didn't advance, or decline, the kiss. Then she spun around, flipped up her hood and preceded him out the door.

Good. He might not be as difficult to convince as I thought.

Insane.

Min just smiled to herself. She could live with that.