Arlina woke up, thoroughly disorientated. She sat up immediately and Riddick's arm fell back to his body. She looked around the room, and as she went to get up, she felt Riddick's shiv against her throat and yelped, claws immediately jutting out. It took a lot of self-control to hold them in if she felt threatened, and she was way too tired to be able to.
"Whoa, where you going?" Riddick asked. He had had to move quickly to avoid getting stabbed by her claws, but she didn't need to know that. He moved around behind her, causing her to tense, although the steady grip on the shiv at her jugular vein didn't shift.
"What the hell!?" Rebel exclaimed, surprised, as she felt metal clamp around her wrist. She was inspecting the heavy looking bracelet by the time she realised the shiv was no longer against her throat.
Riddick watch her thoroughly inspect the bracelet, with a little more then amusement glinting in his eyes. Basically, it gave her a mild electric shock if she wandered more then 10 metres away from him. He remembered the last person he had used it on.
"Riddick? What the fuck are you doing? Why won't you let me come with you? Giving me a fucking electric shock if I try and leave Imam won't convince me. I'm gonna come after you!" Jack had been furious as he fastened the bracelet on her as he left. Imam took it off her after a week, when he had disappeared without trace. He had sent it to Riddick, promptly, not willing to have such a device in his household.
As he watched, Rebel had reached out with a claw and was about to dig into the metal, to find the wiring. She found the compartment, and as she was going to flick it open, Riddick realised and started to say "Don-"…
Too late, she received the small shock, entire body shaking for a second. She scowled at it, and was about to try again when he pulled her hand away. Diverted, she pulled away from him. "It's tamper-proof, set to 10 metre distance, mild electric shock that worsens with distance. Remote control and receptor." He waved the master bracelet in front of her, before putting it on himself.
Rebel shot him a look of irritation. She stared at it, spinning it around her wrist with a claw to get a better look of the other side. He grabbed her shoulder, getting her attention as she tried to jerk away from his strong grip.
"C'mon kid, I'm hungry." Following behind him, somewhat indignantly, she purposefully lagged, trying to judge the maximum distance she could go.
Lost in thought, she didn't realise he had stopped until she barrelled into him, falling onto the ground and yelping out in surprise as the unexpected jolt of being thrown onto her sore wrists hit her. He looked down at her, and crouched by her. She gasped in pain as he grabbed her wrists. Shifting his grip, he pulled her up the arms and pulled her towards a small room. She struggled, confused, but he simply maintained both his grip and fast pace.
Riddick pushed her down onto a bench, and turned as he sorted through a large first aid kit. It flashed through her head to get up and run. Arlina jumped as he shut the door with a foot as he turned around, carrying something from the first aid kit. She eyed him warily as he sat down next to her. He scares me. Is he even aware that whenever he comes near, I have to suppress the urge to run, run, and keep running until I am home again? That I have to stop my claws from coming out? He scares me, but there is something about him… Arlina told herself she didn't find him attractive, but something in her answered to his muscular body and sexy voice. She hid it well beneath layers of fear.
"Arms." It wasn't a question.
After a pause, Arlina complied, letting him tend her sore wrists. She winced as disinfectant touched the skin, but made no sound. He looked up at her when she didn't. Huh! Arlina thought, Not like I could tell what he is thinking…He rubbed his thumb across the tattoo on the underside of her left wrist, and she yanked back her arm from his caress. She had gotten that tattoo to cover up Doc's logo. He'd probably be annoyed that his sign was covered up by a panther, one of his hated animals.
"Swing your legs up." Again, it was a command. Arlina hesitated, she didn't want to lose her ability to move if she felt threatened. Just an instinct. Something flickered across his face. She wondered what it was, but he masked his face before she could recognise it. He sat next to her – too close for comfort – and pulled her legs onto his lap. She tried to sit up, but he just stared at her until she gave in and lay down on the bench.
"Why am I here?" Riddick looked surprised at her question, an interesting emotion on his chiselled face.
"I need some help." He admitted it freely, but his expression didn't allow for any further questions.
Propping herself up on her arms uncomfortably, she watched as he worked on her legs. When he was finished he began to pack up the kit, leaving Rebel on the bench. Her actions amused him somewhat, the way she moved and reacted, her reflexes, they were all so catlike in their precision and grace.
Walking back to the kitchen, he had to look behind him a few times to check wether she was still there, so silent were her movements. Riddick turned on the food unit and studied her as she leant against a wall, still fiddling with the bracelet.
"You really don't like it, do you?" He asked, somewhat sympathising with her dislike of restraints. He couldn't stand being chained or bound either.
Surprised, she met his eyes and shook her head vigorously; there was something of a plea in her eyes but Riddick chose to ignore it.
"Some things are necessary." He shrugged. Didn't really concern him wether she would like it or not, as long as he got to the planet and she helped him in his task to recover Jack. He had a few days before they would land.
The food unit beeped, rousing him from his thoughts and he turned to it, pulling out two plates of food. It was a type of 20th century breakfast, give or take a century or two. It was a thin gruel formed by crushed "oats". He didn't find it particularly delicious, but it was supposed to have good nutrition levels in it. Indicating for Rebel to eat, Riddick began his meal. He noticed her put plenty of sugar over her breakfast, begin eating, and then fiddle with the sugar, salt and pepper dispersers, and wondered what she was doing. Apparently, in the Old Modern Days, the salt and sugar and pepper were of different size and colour, to help distinguish between them, but this quaint custom had long been discontinued for maximum production efficiency. Not finding the food particularly appetising, he set the sugar liberally onto his food. Riddick began to eat, but when he tasted the first mouthful he flinched. She'd switched around the sugar and pepper. Finally forcing the food down, he glared at Rebel, a corner of his mouth twitching as she avoided his gaze. A tell-tale smirk had appeared on her face, confirming his suspicions. Nice one, kid. He grabbed her plate, ignoring her protests, and put the "sugar" in her food. She stared up at him as he shoved it back in front of her and leaned back in his chair. Riddick watched as her face set determinedly, and she sniffed the food, preparing to eat as she grabbed a spoon. Rebel sneezed, drawing his attention.
Jeez! I haven't gotten sick in eons; this would be the time… Arlina sneezed again as she leant back over her food. This is weird. I'm not allergic to anything… am I? She began sneezing again and again, falling off her chair onto the ground in the midst of her sneezing fit. Riddick is just sitting there, staring at me…why does it feel like he can see through my clothes?
After her sneezing fit subsided, she looked up at Riddick. "I think I'm allergic…". He was still sitting there, looking down at her with his eyebrows raised. He nodded. The amusement was torn from both their faces when the ship jolted with sudden impact. Some debris had torn through part of the hull. Following him, she ran down to the piloting room, and watched as he set the auto droids to patch up the ship. Walking down past the bedroom, he paused unexpectedly and Arlina nearly walked into him again. She followed his gaze, and noticed that the debris had hit into the wall, and the bunk had been smashed under the recoil when the ship jolted.
Shrugging, he continued. She didn't notice, she was too busy thinking Oh shit. One bed now. I'll have to sleep on the floor… but what if he doesn't let me? Fuck! She thought wryly. Yeah, that's precisely what I'm afraid of…
Yelping, she fell forward as an unexpected shock raced through her body. Getting up from her knees, she noted a small piece of wire on the ground. She scooped it up into her clothes and continued walking behind him. He hadn't even turned. Following Riddick, she stayed silent and watched him work around the ship… enjoying his muscles tensing and flexing as he moved things around the ship.
Arlina sat down, leaning against the end of the bed, like a good little pet, she thought bitterly, as he sat on his bed and read. He hadn't offered her a book, but then, she hadn't asked. She looked longingly at the shower, visible through the open door down the hall. He caught her glance and followed it, and understanding what she wanted, and reset the bracelet, indicating she could now have a shower without getting shocked for going too far. She gave a small smile before walking in the room. Arlina was damn grateful for a shower, she hated being dirty. Huh! Coulda sworn he just sighed then…as she locked the door carefully behind her.
She took her time in the large shower, and getting dressed. No need to rush anything! I'll just hope he'll be asleep, so I can just grab a pillow and sleep on the floor. Thankfully, he was when she returned to the room. As planned, she picked up one of the pillows and stretched up on the floor by the door. She might have noticed his body as it tensed when she leaned over him to get a pillow, but she was too drowsy. He awoke as she brushed him softly with the pillow.
Riddick watched her sleep. He was somewhat surprised that she had actually slept on the floor, although he had expected it. He jumped as she spoke, in her dreams. He caught a few words – Doc, no… shrugging, he would ask her about it later. After he realised she probably was not going to wake up, he himself fell back to sleep.
After she had slept for a few hours, when she was sure Riddick was asleep, Arlina sat up. She had fiddled enough with the bracelet during the day to know how to get it off. She hated, absolutely hated, chains and restraints. Askin' for trouble here, girl… Steeling herself, she used her claws and the pick to rip out the tracking device.
She soon disappeared, hiding in the ship.