A/N: Its going to be really hard to type with my cat on my lap. I love my kitty but he has a thing for putting his paws/head in my cleav… uh never mind.
Thanks again to all of those who've reviewed. You guys are awesome.
Cassidy and Riddick were hidden from view, crouched behind the ship. Paris sat in a chair under an umbrella, watching as Zeke did all the grunt work. The strong smell of alcohol drifted to Cassidy's nose and she grimaced. Ever since her childhood she had something against booze and the people who drink it, her father in particular.
"Just watch my back, yeah," Zeke was saying in his heavy Australian accent. "I don't want that dog sneaking up on me."
"That was you he was talking about," Riddick uttered to Cassidy.
Twitching her fox tail a bit she glared up at the muscular man. "I'm a fox not a dog," she hissed back.
Cassidy heard Paris say something in that annoyingly "witty" tone he always seemed to use. Zeke could be heard walking away and Cassidy caught the sound of a third person.
She clapped a hand over her mouth to try to stifle the laughter as Jack took Paris by surprise. The older man said some nasty comment sent Jack off. Cassidy dropped to her knees and shook with silent laughter at the thought of Paris' face. She was trying so hard to keep her fit under control that she hadn't noticed Riddick walking away from her.
A few minutes passed and Cassidy finally stood up, wiping her tears of laughter from her yellow eyes. Her nose gave a slight twitch as she picked up Riddick's scent and that of the alcohol Paris had been drinking.
Cassidy found Riddick lounging Paris' chair, drinking his booze. She meandered over and sat in front of him, just outside of the umbrella's shade. Her large yellow eyes swept across the desert which was tinted by her sunglasses. Cassidy's eyes fell on Shazza, Zeke, Jack, and Paris who all stood over a corpse.
"Did they think that guy was you or something," she asked, her eyes not leaving the scene.
Riddick swalloweda mouthful of brandy. "Probably," he said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
Cassidy thought for a moment. "Johns must have told them some really awful stuff about you."
"Are you implying that I'm not an awful person?" He put the bottle down.
Slowly she turned her wide yellow eyes to Riddick. "I was under the impression that you only kill out of necessity."
"And what gave you that impression," Riddick asked as he leaned back in the chair, fingertips together.
A smile played across the young girl's face and she said, "You spared me when you could have easily killed me."
It was Riddick's turn to smile a devilish half-smile. "How do you know I'm not going to take advantage of you and then kill you?"
Cassidy's smile grew. "You're not the type," she said as she turned back to look out across the desert.
It happened in a flash. Riddick pulled out a shiv he had made in the bone yard and with one swift movement the sharp bone was pressed against Cassidy's throat.
Their bodies were pressed close together, Cassidy's red-brownhair in his face. "I could kill you right now," his deep voice whispered in her ear. Before he could stop himself he was breathing in lungful after lungfulof her scent. It was an essence so animalistic and beautiful it almost made him dizzy.
Riddick felt Cassidy's entire body shake with her hearty laugh. "Are you done messing around, yet," she gently pushed his hand away while she asked. For a moment she had contemplated egging him on or maybe even putting on her sexy voice but both of those could lead to very bad things.
For a moment Riddick was surprised that he couldn't sense her fear and that she had laughed and pushed his hand away. This girl was absolutely… well she was something alright. He put his shiv away and stepped back after one more sniff of her hair.
There was a minute of silence between the two of them as they sat there, watching Shazza, Zeke, Paris, and Jack all load the dead body onto a large scrap of metal. Cassidy sucked her teeth as she thought, something she did often.
"Riddick," she finally said. She really wanted to ask him but at the same time she didn't want to sound ungrateful. "I was just wondering… why did you let me tag along?"
For a long time Riddick didn't answer her. How could he when he didn't know the answer? At the time he figured he owed her for helping him escape, even if he could have done it on his own, and even though he would never admit that he was indebted. Now that he thought about it, he kind of enjoyed the company of someone who didn't fear him and was as much an animal as himself
Through his black goggles he could see Cassidy's yellow eyes watching him from behind her sunglasses. He gave an offhanded shrug before turning his gaze to the people below them.
"We better go," his deep voice rumbled. Without another word Riddick stood up and Cassidy followed him, not pushing the matter. They headed in pretty much the same direction as Zeke, neither one of themsaid anything.
They reached an area with large stone pillars and once again Riddick walked around, looking at things while Cassidy strayed off a bit, keeping a respectful distance. She was admiring the shadows the stones made when the sun beat down on them and she was beginning to wish she could take a photo of it, like the people of Earth used to do.
Suddenly sheflinched as a shot rang through the air. A few more followed the first, accompanied by the shouts of a man. Cassidy didn't waste a minute in running towards the noise.
Cassidy reached a hole where Zeke had been burying all the dead bodies from the crash. The coppery smell of blood filled her nose, strong and pungent. The ditch had human blood splattered all over it but there were no bodies to be found. There was nothing except another small hole at the bottom of the ditch.
After the split second it took her to survey the ditch, Cassidy looked up. Shazza was staring in horror at Riddick who crouched over the ditch, knife in hand. Slowly, Riddick stood up, turned, and then ran.
Cassidy took off after him, Shazza and some others that Cassidy hadn't seen were on her tail. In front of her Riddick's feet thundered across the sandy ground, carrying him quickly away. Well at least I don't have to worry about him not being able to outrun them. Cassidy thought as she slowly began to catch up. Her thoughts were shattered when Riddick tripped, falling to the ground face first.
Johns stepped out from behind a rock, his nightstick in hand. He promptly began to beat Riddick who fought back against the merc. Johns managed to pull off Riddick's goggles, knowing the escaped convict's weakness was his eyes.
Cassidy jumped on Johns' back and put him in a sleeper hold. The man struggled against her while Riddick got up, trying to block the suns' light from his sensitive, silvereyes. Johns hit Cassidy over the head with his nightstick in an attempt to get her off. She winced as pain shot through her skull but she tightened her grip on Johns, refusing to let him go until he passed out.
Unexpectedly, Johns flipped Cassidyover his shoulder and she landed in the soft sand. With a loud growl and a lash of her fluffy tail she pulled herself up into a crouch. Cassidy bared her teeth at Johns who was holding his nightstick in one hand and Riddick's goggles in the other.
Shazza and the others approached, distracting John's slightly. Cassidy took this as her chance. She threw herself at Johns and landed a right hook right in the side of his face. Johns staggered backwards slightly, holding his face and staring at Cassidy with shock.
"Let me at him," Shazza screamed as she fought to get to Riddick. "I'll kill him!"
Cassidy turned her wide yellow eyes from Johns to Shazza. She watched as the woman's foot kicked out and collided with the side of Riddick's head. The muscular man lay unconscious in the sand.
With a growl, Cassidy stood up to try to defend herself and the now helpless Riddick. Her attention was focused on Shazza who was being retained by Fry. She would never hurt them unless she had to and she most certainly wouldn't kill them but she had to try to help Riddick.
Once again pain shot through Cassidy's head but this time it was worse. She let out a howl as she dropped to her knees. Her vision quickly blurred and numbness spread through her body. Cassidy's last thought as she fell unconscious next to Riddick was, SHIT!