Reality Check

Zemma pulled the cloak off and wiped her face of the tears. She wouldn't need it now. Riddick had been indulging her for what ever reason. He never did anything she expected, she reminded herself. There was no voice contradicting her, no voice rubbing it in. There was, however a voice behind her.

"All done?"

She cringed. How long had be been watching her act like a child bawling in the dark? Zemma laughed out loud.

"Something funny?" Ah, she did something that surprised him for once.

"I was just wondering how long you had been watching me act like a child," Zemma began as she stood up. "Until I realized you've been watching me act like a child for the better part of a month."

She turned to face him and they regarded each other in the dark for a minute. He's still handsome, she thought. I wonder how he sees me?

There was no critical voice with a disparaging remark to follow this thought up. Zemma sighed out loud. "What kind of fool do you see me as, Richard B. Riddick?" Her voice held no rancor, just curiosity.

"What kind of…?" He just laughed out heartily. "C'mon, you ran out before dinner arrived. I thought you might want some company tonight."

It was an innocent comment. There was no implication of any kind. She didn't have any friends but him. He couldn't count any friends on board either. They could both use some company sans any silly talk about myths and power. He never really did need it, and now neither did she.

They climbed out of the darkness without speaking. For Zemma it was very quiet.

The nearest outlet was not nearest to the Lord Marshal's suite. Zemma felt some trepidation about walking openly in the flagship without any kind of cover but she was through with masks… and madness. Riddick seemed to be watching her from the corner of his eye as he pulled his goggles down. Well, she couldn't blame him for wondering what she would do next. She had to wonder, herself.

She twitched her lenses down and straightened her shoulders. She held up her head with a deep breath and her mouth pressed into a thin line. This was going to be tougher than she thought. But I can handle it, she thought. Min didn't contradict her; she had cried the child out of her system at last. She preceded Riddick down the ramp.

"Nice poise," he said as two steps caught him up to her. She hit him in the ribs with the back of her hand.

"Be nice, this is all new to me."

He just grinned and she couldn't help giving him a lopsided smile in return.

People did stare and Zemma felt nervous the whole way. She didn't make eye contact but she did manage to keep her head up. Everything looked kind of different from this angle. Everything was too bright and dark at the same time, as if she had been looking through a fog for most of her life. A fog of madness or fantasy or both, she mused, and held tenaciously onto the thread of reality.

It's ok, she told herself, and you aren't in danger anymore. You don't have to pretend to be anyone else. Just walk. Almost there. Relax.

The dinner cart was just inside the doorway where the ever present, and wary looking, guards had left it. The smells emanating from it made her very hungry. She pushed it into the suite to the dining area and started offloading the trays.

"Meat rolls!" Zemma laughed.

"And steak."

They descended on the food in comfortable silence in a slightly dimmed room so Riddick could take off his goggles. It was the first comfortable silence Zemma had ever experienced. Everything felt new, even the food tasted different. She felt more real than she ever had and it was strange. She put down her fork and stared at Riddick a moment.

"Why don't you drop your lenses now that you can?"

He glanced up at her, noticed she was staring and stopped the fork midway to his face. "It just feels more natural." He put his fork down and waited for her to say more.

She had expected him to say, 'It's who I am.' But, she reminded herself, not everyone wears a mask. "I think I've been misjudging you from the first," she said, a frown creasing her forehead.

He laughed his big hearty laugh. "Just now figured that out, did you?" He asked and she smiled back.

"Just now figuring out a lot of things."

"Like what?" Now she wondered, was that challenge in his voice or just his normal way of speaking?

"Is that a challenge?" She had to ask him. She'd come close to madness and had to face the reality that she'd thrown her lot in with a complete stranger. She didn't want to make any more assumptions that would tip her back down into the fog.

"Yeah," he tipped his head back. "It's a challenge. What do you think you have figured out about me?"

It was Zemma's turn to laugh. He couldn't read her as perfectly as she had feared. "I still need time to figure out who I am, now." She paused, then, "Why did you let me go on like I did?"

Riddick put his elbows on the table and shrugged with one shoulder. "Figured it would be redundant to 'ask you tomorrow'." He looked at her with his head tipped a little to one side.

"You're making fun of me."

"You're making it easy."

Zemma blushed and suppressed a grin of embarrassment. "Fuck you," she laughed and went back to her dinner. It was her one witty comeback. She'd have to work on more, later.

Riddick laughed back. "When you're not cracking up, you're funny." Then he picked up his fork and with a shake of his head went back to his dinner as well. "I think I'll keep you around awhile."